محمد بن سماعة

“Had I been governing people I would teach them how to finalize a divorce case and thereafter make the violators to suffer pain.’”

The narrator asked Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) or Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.), “Which Sadaqah is the best?” Imam (a.s.) replied, “Sadaqah given from a little wealth. Didn’t you hear Allah’s saying: ‘and prefer (them) before themselves though poverty may afflict them’? Do you realize its excellence now?”

I asked Aba Abdullah as-Sadiq (MGB) regarding having phlebotomy performed and any blood that flows out of the body. The Imam (MGB) replied, ‘There is no need to make any ablutions since one must only make ablutions due to what leaves from the two sides by (the mechanisms bestowed to us due to) God’s Blessing.’”The compiler of the book - may God increase his honor - said, “This means defecation, farting, urination, and ejaculation.”

"His masters should be paid the remaining amount of his contract, and whatever remains after that belongs to his son."

I asked Imam (as) about a man who said to his wife: "You are forbidden to me." Imam (as) replied: "If I had authority over him, I would have struck his head and said to him, 'Allah (swt) the Exalted has made her lawful for you, so who has made her forbidden for you?' He has done nothing more than lie, claiming that what Allah (swt) has made lawful for him is forbidden. This does not count as divorce nor does it require any expiation." I then asked Imam (as) about the saying of Allah (swt), the Mighty and Majestic: "O Prophet! Why do you forbid (yourself) what Allah (swt) has made lawful for you, seeking to please your wives? And Allah (swt) is Forgiving, Merciful. Allah (swt) has already ordained for you (Muslims) the dissolution of your oaths." (Surah At-Tahrim 66:1-2) Imam (as) replied: "The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) had forbidden himself from his bondwoman Mariyah and had sworn not to approach her. The expiation was made obligatory on him because of his oath, not because of the prohibition."

“I once heard abu Ja’far (a.s.), saying, ‘In matters of divorce people do not behave properly without the sword. Had I been governing them I would return them to the book of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious.’”

“I once asked Abu Ja’far (a.s.), about the case of a man who says to his wife, ‘You are unlawful for me.’ He (the Imam) said to me, ‘Had I control over him I would have hurt his head and said to him that Allah has made her lawful for you, then what has made her unlawful for you? In fact, the one who says it(‘You are unlawful for me’) has lied, because then he would claim that what Allah has made lawful for him is unlawful, and there is no divorce or expiation on him.‘ I then asked about the meaning of the words of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, ‘O Prophet, why do you make unlawful what Allah has made lawful for you’ (66:1), then expiation is made necessary.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘He only made unlawful for him his slave-girl Maria, and swore not to go near her. He made expiation necessary on him in the case of swearing, not in the case of making something unlawful.’”

“I asked him (the Imam), ‘What kind of charity is more excellent?’ He said, ‘It is the kind of charity that one provides after doing his utmost. Have you heard the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, “They give preference to others over themselves even though they are in dire need?” (59:9) It is this kind of charity giving in which you can see excellence.’”

“It is of the good fortune of a believing person to have a stumper that he can ride to meet his own needs and the needs of his brothers (in belief).”’

“Once, a man in al-Kufah came to ’Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s.), and said, ‘I have divorced my wife after she became clean from her Hayd (menses) and before I went to bed with her.’ ’Amir al- Mu’minin asked, ‘Did you ask two just men to witness as Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, has commanded to do?’ He replied, ‘No, I did not do so.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Your divorce in not valid.’”

I heard him saying, 'God - Mighty and Exalted - has given women the patience of ten men, and when they are proved, they have the strength of ten men.'"

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that two pieces of al-Jaridah (twig of palm tree) are placed with a deceased: one on the right and the other on the left side.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘It is in the wisdom of Ale (family) Dawud that a reasonable Muslim should not travel unless it is for three kinds of tasks: amending one’s means of living, supplies for the hereafter or enjoyment with lawful matters. A reasonable Muslim should assign certain hours of his time to work on the matters between him and Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, certain hours to meet his brothers (in belief) with whom he speaks and they speak with him about the issues of the hereafter, and certain hours for himself and matters of enjoyment with lawful matters which are helpful during these two hours.”

“This is concerning my question before abu Ja‘far (a.s.), about the case of a man who proposes marriage to a man for his daughter for a certain amount of mahr (dower) but in the night of their going to bed he sends his other daughter who is from a slave-girl. He (the Imam) said, ‘He returns her to her father who must send his wife to him and her mahr (dower) is on her father.’”