محمد بن مسلم بن رباح

“About the case of a man who says to another man, ‘Sell my cloth for ten dirham, if you sold for more, then the extra is for you.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘It is not harmful.’”

“I once asked abu Ja‘far (a.s.), about the case of a discarded child. He (the Imam) said, ‘He is free but cannot be sold or given away as a gift.’”

“About the case of a man who has a slave whom he has left at a vineyard to sell grapes or juice, but the slave goes and squeezes wine and sells it, abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ’The price received is not useable.’ He (the Imam) then said, ‘Once a man from Thaqif presented to the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, two sacks of wine and the Messenger of Allah commanded to throw them away and said, “The One who has prohibited its drinking has prohibited to accept its price also.’” Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), then said, ‘The best thing to do about what this slave has done is to give it as charity.’”

“About the case of a man to whom another man owes a certain amount of dirham who sells wine or pig when he (the creditor) is looking, then pays him from such funds. He (the Imam) said, ‘It is not unlawful. For the creditor it is lawful and for the seller it is unlawful.’”

“I once asked Abu Ja‘far (a.s.), if ’Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s.) prohibited reading al-Quran in a bathhouse. He (the Imam) said, ’No, however, he prohibited reading while nude but if one has a loincloth on him, then it is not harmful.

“Abu Ja‘far (a.s.), has said, ‘I dislike a man whose footgear is without pursuer (the back part to support the back of the heels).”’

“I once asked abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about the case of a woman who experiences Hayd (menses) if she can perform Salah (prayer) for a deceased. He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, but she must not stand in the line of the others.’”

“Abu Ja‘far (a.s.), has said, ‘There is no particularly prescribed prayer to say in Salah (prayer) for a deceased. You can pray whatever prayer you like; and the most deserving is the believing person who has just died and that such prayer begins with prayer for the Messenger of Allah by saying, ‘O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause.’”

"The sacrifice (udhiyya) is obligatory upon anyone who can afford it, whether young or old, and it is also a sunnah."

I asked him about a man who has two wives, one of whom is more beloved to him than the other. Imam (as) said: "He may spend three nights with her and one night with the other. However, if he wishes to marry four wives, then each wife is entitled to one night. Therefore, it is permissible for him to prefer some of them over others as long as they are not four."

"She is entitled to a gift (mut'ah) and inheritance, but there is no dowry for her." Imam (as) also said: "If he divorced her after marrying her based on her terms, the amount of her terms cannot exceed five hundred dirhams, the dowry of the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)."

I asked Imam (as) about two men who married two women, but each man was mistakenly given the wife of the other. Imam (as) said: "Each woman must observe the waiting period (iddah) from the other man, and then they may return to their rightful husbands."

I asked Imam (as) about a Muslim man marrying a Magian (Zoroastrian) woman. Imam (as) replied: "No, but if he has a Magian bondwoman, then there is no harm in having relations with her while practicing withdrawal, and he should not seek to have a child with her."

"The slightest form of polytheism is when a man invents an opinion and then loves and hates based on it."

I asked Imam (as) about a man who pledges his bondwoman (as collateral). Is it permissible for him to have intercourse with her?" Imam (as) replied: "Those who have taken her as collateral (the creditors) prevent him from having access to her." I then asked: "What if he manages to be with her privately without the knowledge of those who took her as collateral?" Imam (as) said: "Yes, I do not see any harm in this."

"The privacy (awrah) of a believer is forbidden upon another believer." Imam (as) also said: "Whoever spies on a believer in his home, his eyes are lawful to the believer in that situation. Whoever forcefully enters upon a believer in his home without his permission, his blood is lawful to the believer in that situation. And whoever denies the Prophethood of a divinely sent prophet and rejects him, his blood is lawful." I then asked Imam (as): "What about someone who rejects the Imam from among you (Ahlulbayt (as)) - what is his status?" Imam (as) replied: "Whoever rejects an Imam has disassociated from Allah (swt), and Allah (swt) has disassociated from him, as well as from his religion. He is a disbeliever, an apostate from Islam, because the Imam is appointed by Allah (swt), and his religion is the religion of Allah (swt). Whoever disassociates from the religion of Allah (swt) is a disbeliever, and his blood is lawful in that situation unless he repents and returns to Allah (swt), the Almighty and Majestic, from what he has said." Imam (as) further said: "Whoever attacks a believer intending to harm his wealth or his life, his blood is lawful to the believer in that situation."

"I asked Abu Ja'far Imam Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Baqir (as) about a man who has slaves and wills to free one-third of them. Imam (as) said: 'Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) used to draw lots among them.'"

He said: Amir al-Mu'minin (as) used to say: "Whoever recites (aloud) behind an Imam whom he follows (in prayer) and then dies will be resurrected on a different (incorrect) natural disposition (fitra)."

"If there is a distance of three miles between two villages, then there is no problem for these and those to gather (for prayer), and there should not be less than three miles between the two congregations”.

he asked him about sleeping after the Fajr (morning) prayer. Imam (as) said: "Sustenance is distributed during that hour, and I dislike for a man to sleep during that time."