هارون

Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, 'There is no occupation more beloved to Allah than agriculture, and every single prophet that Allah sent down was a farmer except Prophet Enoch [Prophet Enoch (AS) is known as Idris in the Arabic tradition (ed.)] (AS) who was a tailor.

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘The Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, would milk his family’s goat.”

“Abu Ja‘far (a.s.), has said that Salman, may Allah be pleased with him, has said, ‘The soul disturbs its owner when he does not have dependable sustenance; but upon reserving sustenance his soul becomes comfortable and settled.”

“I once heard abu £ Abd Allah (a.s.), saying, ’Farmers are the mines of living creatures. They farm goodness that Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, makes to grow and on the Day of Judgment they will have the best position and the closest place and they are called the blessed ones.’”

I asked him about a man who hired a laborer, but neither of them trusted the other, so they deposited the wages with a third person. Then that third person died without leaving anything to cover the wages, and the wages were lost. Imam (as) said: 'The employer is responsible for the wages of the laborer until they are settled, unless the laborer had invited the employer to do so and agreed to it. If he did, then his right is where he placed it and what he agreed upon.'

“I once asked abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), about the case of one who hires a man who because of not being able to trust each other, places the wages in the hand of another man who dies without any replacement and the wages vanish. He (the Imam) said, ‘The person hiring is responsible for the wages of the worker until he pays, unless the worker has told him to do so and agreed to give it to that person; if so then his right is where he agreed to be placed.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), once said to me, ‘You must not roam around in market places and you must not perform small tasks personally; it is not proper for a Muslim man of good position and religion to buy small things personally, except three kinds of items, in which case a person of good position and religion should personally perform, such as real estate, slaves and camels.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), once asked me, ‘What has ‘Umar ibn Muslim done?’ I replied, ‘I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, ‘he has devoted himself in worship and has given up doing any business.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Fie upon him! Does he not know that the prayer of one who neglects work to make a living is not answered? A people of the companions of the Messenger of Allah, when this was revealed, “Those who maintain piety before Allah, He makes a way out for them and provides them sustenance from unexpected sources” (66:7), closed their doors and begun to worship. They said, “We have found what we needed.” This was reported to the Holy Prophet who called them in his presence and asked, “What made you do what you had been doing?” They replied, O Messenger of Allah, you guaranteed our sustenance, and thus, we devoted ourselves in worship.” He said, “Whoever does this his prayer is not answered. You must work for your living.’””

“Abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘When women migrated toward the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, among them there was a woman called ‘Umm Habib and she circumcised girls. When the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, saw her, he asked, ‘O ‘Umm Habib, do you still do the work you did or have you stopped?’ She replied, ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allah, I still practice unless it is unlawful and you prohibit. He (the Messenger of Allah) said, ‘No, I do not prohibit. It is lawful. Come closer to me so I can teach you.’ She has said, ‘I went closer to him and he said, “O ‘Umm Habib, when you circumcise, you must not make a large cut from the root. You must only do it like a sniff (a little scrape) because it brightens the face and is enjoyable for the husband.’” ‘Umm Habib had a sister called ‘Umm ‘Atiyyah. She was a hairdresser. When ‘Umm Habib returned to her sister and informed her about what the Messenger of Allah had said ‘Umm ‘Atiyyah then came to the Messenger of Allah and told him about what her sister had told to her. The Messenger of Allah of said, ‘Come closer to me, O ‘Umm ‘Attiyah, when you work on the hairs of a girl you must not wash her face with rags; it absorbs the water of the face (affects the beauty of the face).”’