حماد بن عيسى

The Maghdhub Alayhim (those angered upon) are the Nussab (i.e. haters of the Ahl al-Bayt) while the Dhalin (those astray) are the Jews and Christians

I was seated at Abi Ja’far’s عليه السلام place and there was no one with him except his son Ja’far, so he (Abu Ja’far) said: O Zurara, Abu Dhar رضي الله عنه and Uthman argued in the life-time of the prophet, so Uthman said: every kind wealth whether it be gold or silver which circulates [is active i.e. having in-flow and out-flow], is worked with [as a capital], and is used for business – then there is Zakat on it if a year elapses, so Abu Dhar رضي الله عنه said: as for that which is used for business, is active, and is worked with – then there is no Zakat on it, rather Zakat is on that which is buried treasure (found fortuitously) and also on stored-up (saved) wealth, so if a year elapses on it then on it is Zakat, so they argued and referred it back to the messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله, so he said: the true position is what was said by Abu Dhar, so Abu Abdillah عليه السلام said to his father: you do not want anything else but that such a one [narration] comes out [and is spread among the people] so that the people stop giving their poor and needy (anything of Zakat)?! So his father said: keep to yourself [don’t interfere], I do not find any option other than it (to narrate what happened and speak the truth).

I said to Abi Ja’far عليه السلام – my clothes come into contact with blood either because of nose-bleeding or some other reason or it comes into contact with some amount of semen … and the time to pray arrives and I forget that my clothes have something (impure in them) – so I pray and then remember after finishing? He said: you repeat the prayer and you wash it off (the impurity) … I said: if I only suspect that it has come into contact with it and am not certain of that, and I try to inspect (to look for it) but find nothing, then I inspect it again after finishing the prayer and find it? he said: you wash it and do not repeat the prayer, I said: how come it is like that (repeat the prayer in the former case and not here)? he said: because you were certain of its purity (when you began praying) and then you doubted later, so it is not appropriate for you to override your certainty because of doubt ever … (Zurara said): what if I see it on my clothes whilst I am praying? He said: you will only break the prayer and repeat it anew if you had doubt about where exactly it was (the location of it – having not found it before) and go on to find it (while praying), but if you had no doubt [of having contracted impurity at all] and then see it (the impurity) – still wet – you cut off your prayer and wash it, then you continue with the same prayer [where you left off], because you just don’t know perhaps it is something that fell on you [while praying], for it is not appropriate for you to override certainty by doubt.

I asked Aba Abdillah عليه السلام: at what age is the boy taken to task over prayers? He said: between seven and six years of age, I said: at what age is fasting demanded from him? he said: between fifteen or fourteen years, and if he fasts before that then leave him to do it for one of my sons began fasting before that and I let him.

The Qur’an is the covenant of Allah to His creatures, it is incumbent therefore on a Muslim man to look into his covenant and that he recite fifty verses from it every day

Asma bt. Umays had the Nifas [post-natal bleeding] of Muhammad b. Abi Bakr [after delivering him] and wanted to assume Ihram at Dhi al-Hulayfa so the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله ordered her to stuff pieces of cotton and rags [to stop the blood flow] and enter into Ihram [proclaim Talbiyya] for Hajj ...

the messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه واله said: my Umma are absolved [not held liable] of nine things: error, forgetfulness, what they are compelled to do, what they do not know, what they do not have the strength for, what they have to do out of necessity, jealousy, bad omen, and thinking over the whispered doubts in regards creation so long as it is not voiced aloud.

do not abandon your gods. Do not abandon Wadd, Suwa’, Yaghuth, Ya’uq and Nasr” (71:23) - He said: They (the people named in the verse) used to worship Allah Mighty and Majestic then they died. Their people cried out (because of that) and it weighed heavily on them. Iblis - curse of Allah be upon him - came to them and said: ‘I will make idols for you in their image, you will look at them and obtain comfort while continuing to worship Allah’. He made for them idols in their likeness. They used to worship Allah Mighty and Majestic and look upon those idols. When winter and the rains came they transferred the idols inside their houses. They continued worshipping Allah Mighty and Majestic until that generation died out and their sons grew up. They (the second generation) said: ‘Our fathers used to worship these (idols)’ so they began worshipping them instead of Allah Mighty and Majestic. This then is the interpretation of the words of Allah Blessed and Elevated: “Do not abandon Wadd nor Suwa’a …”

I said: May I be made your ransom - a group from the people of Iraq claim that He hears with other than that which He sees by, and He sees with other than that which He hears by. He (the Imam) said: They have lied, deviated and likened (Allah to His creation) - Far elevated is Allah from that. He is Hearing, Seeing. He hears with what He sees by and sees with what He hears by. I said: They claim that He sees using that which they understand i.e. eyes. He said: Elevated is Allah. Only that which has the attribute of the created can be understood and Allah is not like that.

I heard Aba Abdillah عليه السلام saying: Allah Mighty and Majestic cannot be described (as He really is). He (Fudhayl) said: Zurara said: Abu Ja’far عليه السلام said: Allah Mighty and Majestic cannot be described with (having) any Incapacity.How can He be described (as He really is) when He says in His book: “they have not estimated Allah His true estimate” (39:67)? Thus He is not described with (a level of) power except that He is greater than that.

Ismail the son of Abi Abdillah had gold coins and a man from the Quraysh wanted to set out to Yaman, so Ismail said: O father – so and so wants to set out to Yaman and I have some gold coins do you think I should give them to him to buy me some goods from Yaman? Abu Abdillah عليه السلام said: O my son – has it not reached you that he drinks wine? Ismail said: this is what the people say, he said: O my son – do not do that, but Ismail did not obey his father and gave the gold coins to him so he (that man) lost it all and did not give anything of them (back) to him… he said: O my son – verily Allāh Mighty and Majestic says in his book: “(he) believes in Allāh and believes the believers” (9:61) – meaning: confirms the truth of Allāh and considers the believers truthful, so if the believers witness something to you then accept it from them…

the messenger of Allāh صلى الله عليه واله said: my Umma are absolved of nine things: error, forgetfulness, what they are coerced to do, what they do not have the strength for, what they are ignorant of, what they have to do out of necessity, jealousy, bad omen, and thinking about the whispered (Shaytan-inspired) prompts (doubts cast) in regards the creation – so long as it is not voiced aloud.

the messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه واله said: my Umma are exempted from nine things: error, forgetfulness, what they are coerced to do, what they do not have the strength for, what they do not know, what they have to do out of necessity, jealousy, bad omen, and thinking about the whispered (Shaytan-inspired) prompts (doubts cast) in regards the creation – so long as it is not voiced aloud.

I said to Abi Ja’far عليه السلام: will you not inform me how you knew and ruled that the wiping should only be limited to a part of the head and a part of the feet, so he laughed and then said: … then he said: “Allāh does not intend to place upon you [in the religion] any difficulty” (5:6) – and “difficulty” is “discomfort”.

I said to Abi Ja’far عليه السلام: will you not inform me how you knew and ruled that the wiping should only be limited to a part of the head and a part of the feet, so he laughed and then said: O Zurara – the messenger of Allah ruled it to be so and the Book from Allah descended with it – because Allah Mighty and Majestic says: “wash your faces” so we understood that the whole face … then he said: “and wipe part of your head” so we understood when He said بِرُءُوسِكُمْ that the wiping is limited to part of the head because of the (letter) ‘ب’ (Ba) …

I asked him about the words of Allah Mighty and Majestic: “two just men among you” (5:95) he said: the just man is the messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله and the Imam after him, then he said: this is among that which the scribes made a mistake in.

Abu Abdillah عليه السلام said to Humran b. A’yan in regards a matter he had asked him about: the people are destroyed because they do not ask questions.

I said to Abi Abdillah عليه السلام: what is the least thing by which the slave becomes Kafir? he said: that he innovates something and associates solely on its basis and disassociates from the one who opposes him (in it).

He has lied the one who claims that Allah Mighty and Majestic is from a thing, or in a thing, or upon a thing.

I heard Aba Ja’far عليه السلام saying: From the matters are matters which are deferred with Allah. He brings forward from them what He wills and puts back from them what He wills.