127. Keeping Woman in good Fellowship
Abu al-Qasim al-Farisi reported, saying: "I said to al-Rida`, peace be on him: May I be your ransom, Allah says in His Book:
Then keep (them) in good fellowship or let (them) go with kindness. What does He mean by that? 'As for keeping (them) in good fellowship,' he replied, 'means refraining from harming them and spending on them; and as for letting (them) go with kindness means divorce according to what has been revealed in the Book.'
3"
128. Spending generously on Family
Mohammed b. 'Ali b. al-Husayn narrated, saying: [Abu` al-Hasan al-Rida, peace be on him, said:] "One should spend generously on his family lest they should wish for his death.
4"
____________
1. Ibid., p. 63.
2. Ibid., 95.
3. Tafsir al-Qummi, p. 686.
4. Wasa'il al-Shia, vol. 15, p. 249.
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129. Divorce lacking Conditions is Invalid
Ahmed b. Mohammed b. Abu Nasr reported on the authority of al-Rida, peace be on him, saying: "I asked him about a man who divorced his wife with two just witnesses after he had slept with her, and he replied: 'This is not a divorce.' 'How is the divorce of the Sunna?' I asked him. 'He should divorce her (in the presence) of two just witnesses when she is pure from her menstruation and before he sleeps with her,' he answered, 'if he opposes that, he should refer to the Book of Allah, the Great and Almighty.' 'If he divorces her in the presence of one man and two women?' I asked. 'The testimony of women is not permissible in divorce,' he replied.
1 "
130 The Divorce of the Drunk
Zakariya b. Adam narrated, saying: "I asked al-Rida`, peace be on him, about the divorce of the drunken, the boy, the mad, the one whose reason is overcome, and the one who has not gotten married yet; and he answered: 'It is not permissible.'
2"
The divorce of these people is not correct. As for the drunk, his divorce is not correct, for he has no awareness. As for the boy and the mad, the pen has been raised from them; therefore their divorce is not correct. As for him who has not gotten married yet, namely has not made a marriage contract with his wife, his divorce is invalid.
131. The Divorce of the Dumb
Ahmed b. Mohammed b. Abu` Nasr al-Bizanti reported, saying: "I asked Abu` al-Hasan al-Rida`, peace be on him, about a man who has a wife, but he keeps silent and does not speak; and he asked me: 'Is he dumb?' I replied: 'Yes, and I know that he detests and hates his wife¾is it permissible for his guardian to divorce her on his behalf?' 'No,' he answered, 'but he should write and make (two just witnesses) bear witness to him.' Then I asked him: 'He neither writes nor hears, so how will he divorce her?' 'Through his acts which are recognized
____________
1. Ibid., p. 276.
2. Al-Tahdhib, vol. 2, p. 270.
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just as you have mentioned concerning his detesting and hating (her),' he replied.
1"
132. The Correctness of Divorce before those Present
Ahmed b. Mohammed b. Abu Nasr narrated on the authority of Safwan, on the authority of Abu al-Hasan al-Rida, peace be on him. He (Safwan) said: "He (al-Rida) was asked about a man whose wife was pure from her menstruation; and he (the man) said: 'So-and-so is divorced;' and a group of people heard his words; but he did not say: 'Bear witness.' Does divorce occur against her? 'Yes,' he (al-Rida`) replied, 'this is a testimony.'
2 "
133. A Three-time Divorce after 'Idda
In his letter to al-Ma'mun, al-Rida, peace be on him, said: "When women is divorced three times after
'idda, it is not lawful for her husband to remarry until she marries a husband other than him.
3 "
134. Al-Muhalil4 should be Adult
'Ali b. al-Fadl al-Wa`siti reported, saying: "I wrote to al-Rida, peace be on him: 'A husband has divorced his wife with the divorce in which it is not lawful for him to remarry her until she marries a husband other than him; and a minor has married her?' 'No,' he answered, 'until he becomes of age.' Then I wrote to him: 'What is the period of maturity?' 'According to the periods which Allah has made obligatory on the believers.'
5 "
____________
1. Man la Yahdarahu al-Faqih, vol. 2, p. 168.
2. Furu' al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 101. Wasa'il al-Shia, vol. 15, p. 302.
3. Wasa'il al-Shia, vol. 15, p. 317.
4. Al-muhalil is he who marries a divorced woman in order to dismiss her, so that the first husband may marry her again.
5. Furu' al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 103.
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135. The Castrated cannot be Muhalil1
Mohammed b. Muda`rib narrated, saying: "I asked al-Rida, peace be on him: 'Can the castrated be
Muhalil?' 'No, he replied, 'he cannot be
Muhalil.'
2 "
136. Witnesses for Returning to Wife
Sa'd b. Sa'd al-Ash'ari reported on the authority of al-Marzban, who said: "I asked Abu al-Hasan al-Rida, peace be on him, about a husband who said to his wife: 'Be in
'idda, for I have released you', namely he has divorced her with a divorce including all the pre-conditions.' Some days ago, he made (two just witnesses) bear witness to his returning to her; and then he was absent from her before he slept with her; and then some months after
'idda passed. So how do you order him? He answered: 'If he had made (two just witnesses) bear witness to his returning to her, then she would have been his wife.'
3 "
137. Second Divorce without having Sexual Intercourse
Ahmed b. Mohammed b. Abu Nasr narrated, saying: "I asked al-Rida, peace be on him, about a man who divorced his wife in the presence of two witnesses, and then he returned to her and did not have a sexual intercourse with her until she became pure from her menstruation, and then he divorced her in purity and in the presence of two witnesses¾did the second divorce occur against her, while he had returned to her and not taken a sexual intercourse with her? 'Yes,' he replied.
4 "
138. Driving the Woman with Revocable 'Idda out of her House
Al-Ma'mu`n asked al-Rida, peace be on him, about these words of Him, the Great and Almighty:
Do not drive them out of their
____________
1. See the note on al-muhalil.
2. Wasa'il al-Shia, vol. 15, p. 369.
3. Furu' al-Kafi, vol 2, p. 102.
4. Wasa'il al-Shia, vol. 15, p. 378.
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houses, nor should they themselves go forth, unless they commit an open indecency, and he answered: 'By the open indecency He meant that she harmed the family of her husband. If she does that, then he has the right to drive her out (of her house) before her 'idda` terminates.'
1"
139. The Difference between the 'Idda of Divorce and that of Death
Ahmed b. Mohammed b. Abu Nasr reported on the authority of al-Rida`, peace be on him, saying: "Safwan asked him (al-Rida) in my presence about a man who divorced his wife and he was absent. Some months ago, and he replied: 'If a proof was established that he divorced her from so-and-so (month) and her
'idda terminated, then it was lawful for her to marry.' He (Safwa`n) asked: 'What about her whose husband died?' 'This is not similar to that,' he answered, 'this (woman) should start her
'idda from the day when she hears of the news (of his death), for she should mourn.'
2 "
140. If al-Mukhtala'a 3returns to her Husband
In the tradition of
al-Khal', Isma'ïl b. Buzaygh narrated on the authority of al-Rida`, peace be on him, who said: "And if she wants him to return to her what he had taken from her and to be his wife, then she can do. " If
al-mukhtala'a returns to her husband and takes what she had given to him, then the divorce is revocable, and the husband has the right to return to her.
____________
1. Furu' al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 110.
2. Qurb al-Isnad, p. 159. Wasa'il al-Shia, vol. 15, p. 445.
3. Al-Mukhtala'a is the woman who pays compensation to her husband in order to divorce her.
4. Wasa'il al-Shia, vol. 15, p. 499.
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141. Al-Zahar1does not occur due to Anger
Ahmed b. Mohammed b. Abu Nasr reported on the authority of al-Rida, peace be on him, who said:
"Al-zahar does not occur because of anger.
" Al-zahar is correct when it occurs because of willingness and consent; it is incorrect when husband is angry or forced.
142. Al-Zahar occurs against Bond maid
Ahmed b. Mohammed b. Abu Nasr narrated on the authority of al-Rida, peace be on him, saying: "I asked him about the man who likened the back of his bond maid to that of his mother (
zahara), and he answered:
'Al-zahar occurs against the free woman and the bond maid.'
3 "
143. Precepts for him who likens the Back of his Wife to that of his Mother
Al-Husayn b. Mahran asked al-Rida, peace be on him, about a man who likened the backs of four wives to that of his mother, and he replied: "He should pay a religious expiation on behalf of each of them." Then he asked him about a man who likened the back of his wife and of his slave-wife to that of his mother, and he, peace be on him, answered:
"He should pay a religious expiation on behalf of each of them: releasing a slave or fasting two successive months or feeding sixty needy ones.
4"
144. Abandoning Bond maid for Swearing
Ahmed b. Mohammed b. Abu` Nasr reported on the authority of al-Rida`, peace be on him, saying: "I asked him about the man who abandoned his bond maid because of his swearing, and he replied: 'No, why has he abandoned her while she is not divorced?'
5 "
____________
1. Al-Zahar means putting away the wife by likening her back to that of his mother's back.
2. Furu' al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 128.
3. Wasa'il al-Shia, vol. 15, p. 527.
4. Ibid.
5. Qurb al-Isnad, p. 160.
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145. Releasing old Salves
Ibn Abu Sa'd al-Imkari went in to Abu al-Hasan al-Rida, peace be on him, and said to him: "A man was about to die and he said: 'All my old slaves are free for the pleasure of Allah,' and he (al-Rida) said: 'Yes, for Allah says in His Book:
till it becomes again as an old dry palm branch, so all his slaves who spent sixth months are free and old.'
1"
146. A Man had anal Sexual Intercourse with his Pregnant Female-slave
Al-Hasan b. 'Ali al-Washsha' narrated on the authority of Abu al-Hasan al-Rida, peace be on him, saying: "I asked him (al-Rida`) about a man who had an anal sexual intercourse with his pregnant female-slave, and he answered: 'If he knew what was in the womb of the female-slave, then it had the same rank of her; and if he did not know, then what was in her womb was a slave.'
2"
The supposed question concerning the female-slave with whom the man had an anal sexual intercourse and to whom he said: 'You are free after my death,' should be as follows: She was made pregnant by someone other than him; otherwise, if she was made pregnant by him, then she was a slave-wife and would be released after his death by her child's share.
147. A Precept for unpromissory Oath
Isma'ïl b. Sa'd al-Ash'ari reported on the authority of Abu` al-Hasan al-Rida, peace be on him, saying: "I asked him about a man who swore (by Allah) to cut the ties of the womb, and he replied: 'Allah's Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, said: 'There is no vow for an act of disobedience (to Allah), nor is there an oath for cutting the ties of the womb.'
3"
Oath and vow are promissory when the thing is acceptable; and they are unpromissory when the thing is unacceptable.
____________
1. Wasa'il al-Shia, vol. 40, p. 16.
2. Furu' al-Kafi, vol. 6, p. 184.
3. Ibid., vol. 7, p. 440. Wasa'il al-Shia, vol. 16, p. 157.
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148. False Oath
In a tradition Isma'ïl b. Sa'd al-Ash'ari narrated on the authority of Abu al-Hasan al-Rida, peace be on him, saying: "I asked him about a man whom the ruler (Sultan) made swear by divorce or other than that, and he swore; and he (al-Rida) replied: 'No blame is put on him.' Then I asked him about a man who swore (by Allah) to save his property from the ruler, and he answered: 'No blame is put on him.' Then I asked him: 'Does one swear (by Allah) (to save) the property of his brother just as he swears (to save) his own property?' 'Yes,' he replied.
1"
Oath is promissory when one swears by Allah, the Most High. As for oath by divorce without mentioning the name of Allah, it is unpromissory. It is permissible for one to swear by Allah before the unjust ruler in order to drive oppression away from his own soul and his brothers; and there is no religious expiation against him.
149. Hunting Birds at Night is lawful
Ahmed b. Mohammed b. Abu Nasr reported on the authority of al-Rida, peace be on him, saying: "I asked him about hunting birds in their nests by night, and he answered: 'There is no harm in it.'
2 "
Yunus b. 'Abd al-Rahma`n narrated on the authority of al-Rida, saying: "I asked him: 'May I be your ransom, what do you say about hunting birds in their nests and wild animals in their places by night, for the people hate that?' 'There is no harm in that,' he replied.
3"
150. Hunting Birds belong to someone
Ahmed b. Mohammed b. Abu Nasr reported, saying: "I asked Abu al-Hasan al-Rida, peace be on him, about a man who hunted a bird which equaled many dirhams and whose wings are even; and who knows its owner or its owner comes and asks it from him without any accusation; and he (al-Rida`) answered: 'He has no right to keep it; he
____________
1. Furu' al-Kafi, vol. 7, p. 440.
2. Ibid., vol. 6, p. 215.
3. Wasa'il al-Shia.
( 498 )
should return it to him.' Then I asked him: 'What do you say about a man who hunted a bird whose owner he did not know?' 'It belongs to him (the hunter),' he replied.
1 "
151. Rabïtha is Lawful
Mohammed b. Isma'ïl narrated, saying: "I wrote to Abu al-Hasan al-Rida, peace be on him: 'The people have differed over rabïtha (a kind of fish), what do you say about it? He, peace be on him, wrote: 'There is no harm in it.'
2"
152. The Meat of Vulture is Prohibited
Sulayman b. Ja'far al-Hashimi, reported, saying: [Abu al-Hasan al-Rida, peace be on him, related to me:] "One night we visited Ibn Abu Maryam while Harun was in Medina, and he said: 'Tonight Ha`run has an ache in his waist. We asked someone to send us some meat of a vulture, and he sent it to us.' So he (al-Rida`) said: 'We do not eat such a thing; nor do we bring it to our houses; and if we have such a thing, we will not give it (to anyone).'
3 "
153. Mutton
Sa'd b. Sa'd narrated, saying: "I said to Abu` al-Hasan al-Rida`, peace be on him: 'My household eat the meat of goats and do not eat the meat of sheep.' 'Why?' he asked. 'It excites the gallbladder,' they say. 'If Allah had known that there was something better than sheep,' he answered, 'He would have sacrificed it for Isha`q (Isaac).'
4 "
154. Wine is Prohibited
Mohammed b. Ahmed reported on the authority of al-'Amraki, who said: "I said to al-Rida, peace be on him: Ibn Da`wud said: 'You said that one who drank wine was an unbeliever.' So he (al-Rida`) replied: 'He was right; I said that to him.'
5 "
____________
1. Furu' al-Kafi, vol. 6, p. 222.
2. Al-Tahdhib. Wasa'il al-Shia, vol. 16, p. 407.
3. Al-Tahdhib, vol. 9, p. 20
4. Furu' al-Kafi, vol. 6, p. 256.
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155. Beer is Prohibited
Mohammed b. 'Isa narrated on the authority of al-Washsha`', who said: "I wrote to him (al-Rida`), peace be on him, to ask him about beer, and he wrote: 'It is prohibited; and it is wine.'
1"
156. Selling the Pasture within a Personal Property
Ahmed b. Mohammed b. Abu Nasr reported on the authority of Mohammed b. 'Abd Allah, who said: "I asked al-Rida, peace be on him, about a man who had a productive land which was about twenty miles, and a man came to him and said: 'Give one of the pastures of your land, and I will give you so-and-so dirhams. 'There is no harm in it if the land belongs to him,' he replied.
2"
157. The nearest Woman inherits Property when there is none except her
Al-Qasim b. al-Fadl narrated on the authority of al-Rida, peace be on him, concerning a man who died and left none but his close wife behind him; he (al-Rida`) said: "All the property is given to her.
3"
158. The Testimony of Women
Mohammed b. al-Fudayl reported, saying: "I asked Abu` al-Hasan al-Rida`, peace be on him: 'Is it permissible for women to bear witness to marriage, divorce, and stoning?' He replied: 'It is permissible for women to bear witness to that at which men cannot look and there is no man with them. It is permissible for them to bear witness to marriage when there is a man with them. It is permissible for them to bear witness to the prescribed punishment for fornication when there are three men and two women. As for the testimony of two men and four women regarding fornication or stoning, it is not permissible; and it is not permissible for women to bear witness to divorce or murder.'
4"
____________
1. Ibid., p. 287.
2. Furu' al-Kafi, vol. 5, p. 276.
3. Wasa'il al-Shia, vol. 17, p. 480.
4. Ibid., 18, p. 259.
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159. The prescribed Punishment for him who wars against Allah
'Ubayd Allah al-Mada'ini narrated on the authority of Abu al-Hasan al-Rida`, peace be on him, saying: "He (al-Rida`) was questioned about these words of Him, the Exalted:
The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His apostle and strive to make mischief in land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be banished from the land. When does one deserve one of these four punishments? He, peace be on him, replied: 'When he wages war against Allah and His apostle and strives to make mischief in the land and kills (someone), he should be murdered. If he kills (someone) and takes (his) property, then he should be murdered and crucified. If he takes the property and does not kill (someone), his hand and his feet should be cut off on opposite sides. If he draws the sword, wages war against Allah and His apostle, strives to make mischief in the land, but he does not kill (someone) nor does he take the property, he should be banished from the land.'
1"
160. Banishing the anti-Islam Warrior
In the tradition of warrior (
hadith al-muharib) 'Ubayd Allah al-Mada`'ini reported on the authority of Abu` al-Hasan al-Rida`, peace be on him, saying: "I asked him: 'How is he banished? What is the prescribed punishment for banishing him?'
"He, peace be on him, answered: 'He is banished from the city in which he does what he does, and it is written to the people of that city that the person is banished, so do not sit with him nor deals with him nor marry him nor eat with him nor drink with him. This is done toward him for a year, but if he comes out that city to other than it, then it is written to them in the same manner until the year terminates.' I (the asker) asked: 'If he heads for the land of polytheism in order to enter it?' 'If he heads for the land of polytheism
____________
1. Furu' al-Kafi, vol. 7, p. 246.
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in order to enter it, then a war should be waged against its people', he answered.
1"
161. The Blood of a Thief is not protected by the Law
Mohammed b. Fudayl narrated on the authority of al-Rida`, peace be on him, saying: "I asked him (al-Rida`) about a thief who went in to a pregnant woman and killed what was in her womb, hence the woman took a knife, stabbed and killed the thief. So he (al-Rida`) replied: 'The blood of a thief is not protected by Islamic law.'
2"
162. Precept for him who helps and kills a person
Mohammed b. Sulayman and Yunus b. 'Abd al-Rahman reported, saying: "We asked Abu al-Hasan al-Rida, peace be on him, about a man whom a group of people asked for help in order to save them from a group of people who attacked them in order to take their properties and capture their children, so the man went out running and carrying his weapon in the dark night. He passed by a man standing by the brink of a well and drinking water out of it. He pushed him unintentionally and without awareness, so the man fell into the well and died. However, the man went on running and saved the properties of those people who asked him for help. When he came back to his family, they asked him: 'What have you done?' 'The people departed from them, and they are safe and sound,' he replied. 'Did you know that so-and-so fell into the well and died?' they asked him. 'By Allah, I pushed him,' he answered. 'How?' they asked. 'I went out running and carrying my weapon in the dark night. I feared that I might miss the people who asked me for help, so I passed by so-and-so who was standing and drinking out of the well. I pushed him without any intention, and he fell into the well and died,' he replied.' Therefore, who should pay blood-money?
____________
1. Wasa'il al-Shia, vol. 18, p. 539.
2. Man la Yahdarahu al-Faqih, vol. 4, p. 122. Wasa'il al-Shia, vol. 19, p. 42.
(502 )
"He (al-Rida`), peace be on him, answered: 'His blood-money should be paid by the people who asked the man for help, and he helped them and saved their properties, their women, and their children. If they had given him a wage (to help them), then he and his family would have paid the blood-money apart from them. That is because an old woman came to Sulayma`n b. Da`wud and asked him for help against the wind, saying: 'O Prophet of Allah, while I was sleeping on the roof of mine, the wind dropped me and broke my hand, so help me against her.' So Sulayma`n b. Da`wud summoned the wind and asked her: 'What made you do this toward this woman?' 'You are right, O Prophet of Allah,' the wind answered, 'surely the Lord of mightiness, the Great and Almighty, had sent me to the ship of the children of so-and-so in order to save it from drowning. So I went out according to the laws, and Allah, the Great and Almighty, hastened me to what He had ordered me, so I passed by this woman while she was on her roof, and I stumbled across her; and I had no (ill) intention toward her, so she fell and broke her hand.' So Sulayma`n said: 'My Lord, how shall I judge against the wind?' He revealed to him: 'O Sulayma`n, decide the blood-money of the broken hand of this woman against the owners of the ship which the wind save from drowning, for none of people is wronged before Me.'"
With this matter we will finish our talk about some precepts which have been reported from Ima`m al-Rida`, peace be on him, and which have included most chapters of the science of Islamic jurisprudence such as the acts of worship, dealings, contracts, and others from among the Sunna on which the Shï~'ites depend and in whose light the Ima`mi jurists give religious decisions.
It is worth mentioning that Ima`m al-Rida`, peace be on him, has another group of traditions regarding religious precepts; this group has been mentioned in the encyclopedias of demonstrative jurisprudence, but it requires a study and contemplation. The books of jurisprudence have objectively presented them, but I (i.e. the author) have not presented them because this book is not one of the jurisprudence books; I have mentioned these examples of jurisprudence as proofs of the Ima`m's scientific wealth and of that he was the highest authority of religious decisions in the Islamic world of his time.
