سعد بن

“Abu Ja’far (a.s.), has said, ‘The filthiest earning is earning by means of Riba , . ,,,

“Abu al-Hassan (a.s.), has said, ‘With whatever (lawful) means one opens the door to his sustenance it is business and trade.’”

“I once asked abu al-Hassan (a.s.), about a people who make al-Qufzan (measuring devices) small with which they sell. He (the Imam) said, ‘They are of the people who cause losses in their belongings.’”

I was with Abu Abdullah (a) in his pavilion in Mina (during the season of the hajj) when he looked at people and said: They eat, dress, and marry illegally. But you eat, dress, and marry legally. By Allah, it is only you whose hajj is valid and whose deeds are accepted.

“There are two prayers for high quality goods, and there are two curses for bad goods. People pray for high quality goods and say, ‘May God bless you and the man who sold you to me.’ People curse bad goods and say, ‘May God not bless you and the man who sold you to me.’”

Whoever engages in buying and selling should avoid the following five things. He should not do any business if he cannot do so. They are as follows: usury; swearing to something or someone; covering up the defects of his goods; praising the goods while selling them, and finding faults with goods while buying them.”

Aba Abdullah Imam as-Sadiq (MGB) said, “What is the condition for dealing when buying an animal?” The Imam (MGB) replied, “The buyer has three days (to return it if he doesn’t want it).” Then he asked, “And what are the conditions for buying things other than an animal?” The Imam (MGB) replied, “Either the buyer or the seller has the right to call off the deal before they separate. Once they separate, they cannot call off the deal unless both sides agree.”

There are many types of ill-gotten properties. They include: what is earned by oppressive rulers including what judges earn and what prostitutes earn; money earned from wine; intoxicating drinks; usury after it was disallowed. O Am’mar (ibn Marvan)! You should know that taking a bribe for judgement is equal to atheism and denying God’s Prophet (MGB).”

Whenever there is food in a town other than what one person has bought then it is permissible for him to hold on to the excess of commodity. If there is sufficient food available for people in the city, then the price will not rise merely because one person purchases the excess. Verily, the price only rises if one person buys all the food that enters the city.

Abu `Abdillah al-Sadiq (as) said: He who says “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, one without partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and His Messenger (la ilaha illallah wahdahu la shareekalah, wa ashhadu anna muhammadan `abduhu wa rasuluh)” in the market, Allah records one million good deeds for him.

If the Honorable the Exalted God becomes angry with a nation and doesn’t destroy them, He will bring about inflation; shorten their lives; bring loss to their trade; reduce the amount of fruit grown on their trees; reduce the amount of water flowing in their streams; withhold rain from them; and the wicked ones will overcome them.”

I asked AbaAbdullah as-Sadiq to tell me about the major sins. The Imam (MGB) told me, ‘They are related to the following five which God has made incumbent not to do upon you. The Honorable the Exalted God has said, ‘Those who unjustly eat up the property of orphans, eat up a Fire into their own bodies: They will soon be enduring a Blazing Fire!’ God has also said, ‘O ye who believe! when ye meet the Unbelievers in hostile array, never turn your backs to them.’ God has also said, ‘O ye who believe! Fear God, and give up what remains of your demand for usury, if ye are indeed believers.’ And accusing married women of adultery and intentionally killing a believer for his belief.’”

`Ali (as) would go out every morning and patrol the marketplaces in Kufa, one market at a time. With him was a whip, which he carried on his shoulder. It had two strips, and it was called al-Sabsabiyya. He would stand at every market and call: “O merchants! Seek goodness [from Allah], conclude each transaction with ease, be close to the consumers, adorn yourselves with forbearance, abstain from swearing [false oaths], desist from lying, and abandon injustice. Relieve the oppressed, and do not come close to usury. Maintain proper measurement and balance. Do not undervalue the people's things, and do not spread corruption in the land.” He would roam through all the markets of Kufa and say this. Then, he would say: Pleasure will fade away when it is taken from the forbidden, What will remain is sin and embarrassment, Harsh punishment will remain as its consequence, There is no good in a pleasure that precedes the Fire.

I asked Aba Abdullah as-Sadiq (MGB), ‘May I be your ransom! Why do we believe that our opponents areatheists and will go to Hell, but we do not believe that we ourselves and our companions are going to go to Paradise?’ The Imam (MGB) replied, ‘That is due to your own weakness. You should know that you will go to Paradise, if you do not commit any major sins.’ I asked, ‘What are the major sins?’ The Imam (MGB) said, ‘The greater of the major sins are associating others as partners with the Honorable the Exalted God; emigration from an Islamic environment; damnation of parents; accusing pious women of fornication; fleeing from a holy war; oppressively devouring the properties of an orphan; usury after having clear proof of its forbiddance ; and murdering a believer.’ I asked the Imam (MGB), ‘What about adultery and stealing?’ The Imam (MGB) replied, ‘They are not like the above.’”The compiler of the book - may God be pleased with him - said, “The various narrations in this book which differ in the quantity of major sins are not really that different from each other, although some state that there are five major sins, while others have stated that there are seven, eight and even more major sins. However, these are not different from each other since after the sin of associating partners with God which is the greatest major sin, the other sins are somewhat greater than the following ones, and every other major sin is less than the sin of associating a partner with God.”

An Arabian of one of the sons of ‘Amer came to the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, and so he asked him, and he mentioned a long speech in which he mentioned in its last that the Arabian asked him about the bald, the bare, the best of the earth’s spots and the worst of the earth’s spots. Then he said, after Jibra’eel came to him and informed him: Indeed, the bald (land) is the marshy earth that satisfies neither with liquid nor food, its grazing. The bare (land) is the earth that does not give its blessing, and whose mellow does not come out, and whose expenditure is not known. The worth of earth’s spots are markets, and they are the arena of Iblees in which he appears with his banner, places his chair and spreads his offspring. Hence, it is between a cheater with measurement, a reckless with the scale, a (thief) stealing with the arm or a liar about a merchandise, saying: «(I swear to you that) Upon you is a man whose father has died, whereas your father is alive», and so, Shaytan does not disappear from being with the first who enters and the last who returns. The best of the earth’s spots are mosques, and the most beloved to Him are the first to enter and the last to exit. The narration was long; we abbreviated from it the place of need.

A man came to the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, and said: O Messenger of Allah, I have taught my son this book, so for what thing shall I give it? He said: Give it, for the sake of Allah, to your father, and do not give it to five: do not give it to an evil-wisher, nor a goldsmith, nor a slaughterer, nor a wheat seller, nor a slave trader. Then he said: O Messenger of Allah, and what is an evil-wisher? He said: The one who sells winding sheets and wishes for the death of my nation, whereas the one born from my nation is more beloved to me than what the sun has shined upon. As for the goldsmith, he treats the fraud of my nation. As for the slaughterer, he slaughters until mercy departs his heart. As for the wheat seller, he corners food from my nation, whereas for a servant to meet Allah as a thief is more beloved to me than if he meets Him having cornered food for forty days. As for the slave trader, indeed, Jibra’eel, peace be upon him, came to me and said: O Muhammed, indeed, the evil ones from your nation are those who sell people.

`The importer is blessed and the hoarder is cursed.’ If it is from the Mighty and High, then it is obligatory to be satisfied with it and accept it. Similarly it is obligatory when it is due to shortage of things or shortage of income, because that is from Allah, the Mighty and High. What is from Allah, the Mighty and High, or is from the people, is from previous in the knowledge of Allah, Exalted be His remembrance. Like the creating of the creation and that is with His Destiny and His Decree, as I have explained in the meaning of the Predestination and the Divine Decree.