The Reasons for some unlawful Things
In his answer to the questions of Mohammed b. Sina`n, the Ima`m, peace be on him, has mentioned the reasons for some unlawful deeds in Islam as follows:
1. Killing the Soul
He, peace be on him, said: "And Allah has made it unlawful to kill the soul, for if He made it lawful, then it would lead to the corruption of the creation, their annihilation, and the corruption of direction."
Premeditated murder is the most dangerous one, for it disturbs peace. As for Islam, it has forbidden it and legislated a severe punishment on him who commits it. In this connection Allah, the Most High, has said: "And there is life for you in (the law of) retaliation, O men of understanding.
1" If this crime was made lawful, then it would result in the corruption and annihilation of the creation.
2. The Disobedience of Parents
He, peace be on him, said: "And Allah has made unlawful the disobedience of parents because therein is the violation of reverence."
Surely Allah, the Most High, has associated the rights of parents with His rights and obedience to them with obedience to Him. The ugliest and most unlawful thing is the disobedience of parents and denying their kindness to their children.
3. Adultery
He, peace be on him, said: "And adultery is prohibited due to the corruption it causes such as murders, loss of lineage, child desertion, chaos regarding inheritance, and other such aspects of corruption."
Adultery is among the ugliest kinds of vice; Allah, the Most High, has described it in the Qur'a`n as an indecency, saying: "And go not nigh to adultery; surely it is an indecency and evil is the way.
2"
As for the adulterer, he causes crime to society. For if a child
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1. Ibid., 2, 179.
2. Ibid., 17, 32.
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results from him, then the child will have no father to look after him, commit the most horrible crime and, in addition, adultery results in the loss of lineage. As for lawful marriage, it is a natural law which makes it incumbent on one to sacrifice his own life for educating his own children with righteous education, that they may be the delight of his eye.
The Punishment for Adulterer
He, peace be on him, said: "And the reason for flogging adulterer with the severest flogging is due to his committing adultery in which the whole body takes pleasure, so flogging has been determined as a punishment for him and a lesson to other than him; and it (adultery) is the greatest crime."
An example of the good Islamic legislation is this heavy punishment for this vice, which is one hundred lashes for the single adulterer and stoning for the married one. In this respect Allah has said: "(As for) the adulterer and the adulteress, flog each of them, (giving) a hundred stripes, and let not pity for them detain you in the matter of obedience to Allah, if you believe in Allah and the last day, and let a party of the believers witness their chastisement.
1 "
The Testimony which establishes Adultery
He, peace be on him, said: "And the reason for the witness of four (witnesses) regarding adultery and two (witnesses) respecting all the rights is due to the severe punishment of the married, for therein is killing, so the witness regarding it (adultery) has been doubled due to killing his soul, the loss of the lineage of his children, and the corruption of the inheritance."
Surely the punishment is not established except through four just witnesses. So if one of them fails to attend, then the three witnesses are liable to the punishment of slander. The witness has been made strict lest people should carelessly accuse each other.
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1. Ibid., 24, 2.
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3. Sodomy and Lesbianism
He, peace be on him, said: "And the reason for prohibiting males for males and females for females is due to that which has been created in females and that which males have by nature, and due to the cessation of progeny, the corruption of planning, and the destruction of the world which happens when males (practice sodomy) with males and when females (practice lesbianism) with females."
As for sodomy, it is among immoral crimes and leads to deviation from the laws of nature, and Allah has named it indecency. He, the Exalted, has said: "And (We sent) Lut when he said to his people: Most surely you are guilty of an indecency which none of the nations has ever done before you.
1 "
The punishment for sodomy is killing, because this crime leads to the loss of lineage and the destruction of the world, as the Imam, peace be on him, has said.
As for lesbianism, it is among immoral vices and leads to deviation from the law of Allah, the Most High, and man's nature.
5. Looking at the hair of women
He, peace be on him, said: "Looking at the hair of married and single women is prohibited, for it excites men, and this excitement results in (committing) the unlawful; likewise (looking at) that which is like hair (is unlawful) except that concerning which Allah has said:
And (as for) women advanced in years who do not hope for a marriage, it is no sin for them to put off their clothes without displaying their ornaments.
2 He means other than the garment; there is no harm in looking at the hair of such a kind of women."
Surely looking at woman's hair excites man and motivates him to commit the unlawful. As for looking at the hair of women advanced in years, it does not excite man, so Islam has made it permissible.
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1. Ibid., 29, 28.
2. Ibid., 24, 60.
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6. Usury
The Imam, peace be on him, explained the reasons for prohibiting usury (
riba) as follows:
A. He, peace be on him, said: "And as for the reason for prohibiting usury is because Allah has prohibited it; because it corrupts funds, for when one buys a dirham for two dirhams, then the price of the dirham is a dirham, and the price of the other is injustice, so the sale of usury is any how a loss for the buyer and the seller. So Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has prohibited usury because of the corruption of funds just as He has prohibited fund to be given to the fool until his sane is perceived. For this reason Allah has prohibited usury and the sale of the two dirhams hand in hand."
B. He, peace be on him, said: "The reason for prohibiting usury after the evidence because it (makes the usurer) disparage the unlawful, and it is a great (sin) after the explanation, and the prohibition of Allah, the Exalted, for it. And that does not occur through him (the usurer) except disparaging the unlawful; and disparaging that (means) entering unbelief."
C. He, peace be on him, said: "The reason for prohibiting usury is because it eliminates favors, ruins funds, causes greed for profit, causes people to abandon their dealing with loans to each other or in paying with cash, or when they do one another favors, and due to all the bad consequences of corruption and oppression and the exhaustion of funds."
Islam has inclusively prohibited usury and regarded it as the most excessive of all kinds of oppression. Usury opposes the Islamic teachings which summon men to help each other and have mercy on one another. It brings about enmity and hatred, spreads misery and poverty among men.
It has been established that usury is a means for colonizing and occupying peoples, for some colonists double the profits against loans, accordingly those who take such a kind of loan are unable to repay them and fall into the net of the colonists who plunder their wealth and spread poverty in their countries.
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Usury has decisively been prohibited in the Qur'a`n. Allah, the Exalted, has said: "O you who believe, do not devour usury, making it double and redouble.
1 " He, the Exalted, has also said: "O you who believe, be careful of (your duty to) Allah and relinquish what remains (due) from usury, if you are believers. But if you do (it) not, then be apprised of war from Allah and His Messenger; and if you repent, then you shall have your capital; neither shall you make (the debtor) suffer loss, nor shall you be made to suffer loss.
2"
Islam has cursed the capitalist, the creditor, the scribe, and the witness, for they help the usurer with that which Allah has prohibited.
7. Swallowing the Property of the
Orphans
He, peace be on him, said: "Swallowing the property of the orphans unjustly has been prohibited for many reasons of the aspects of corruption. The first of that is that if one swallows the property of the orphan, surely he helps with killing him, for the orphan is not free from need; nor does he undertake his own soul; nor does he know his affairs; nor has he anyone to take care of him and spare him as his parents do. So if one swallows his property, he kills him, makes him poor and needy. And due to that Allah, the Great and Almighty, has frightened (men) through the punishment He has decided in these words of Him, the Great and Almighty:
And let those fear who, should they leave behind them weakly offspring, would fear on their account; so let them be careful of (their duty to) Allah, and let them speak right words.3
"And due to the statement of Abu Ja'far, peace be on him: 'Surely Allah, the Great and Almighty, has promised two punishments regarding swallowing the property of the orphan: one punishment is in the world and the other is in the next. So through making the property of the orphan prohibited, the orphan subsists, depends on himself, the
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1. Ibid., 3, 129.
2. Ibid., 2, 278-279.
3. Ibid., 4, 9.
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offspring are saved from what has befallen him, because of the punishment Allah has promised regarding it (swallowing the property of the orphan), and, in addition, the orphan will avenge himself when he becomes a grown-up; enmity and hatred occur to the extent that they annihilate each other.'"
Islam has strongly prohibited swallowing the property of the orphan and ordered men to maintain his property until he becomes an adult. Allah, the Most High, has said: "And test the orphans until they attain puberty; then if you find in them maturity of intellect, make over to them their property.
1"
The Imam, peace be on him, has mentioned the reasons for prohibiting swallowing the property of the orphan.
8. Theft
He, peace be on him, said: "Theft is prohibited. If it was permissible, then it would lead to the corruption of funds, killing, disputes, envy, abandoning trades and industries, and acquiring properties without any right."
As for theft, it is among the ugliest prohibited things, for it means swallowing the funds of people without any right. The thief takes the funds of those who have sacrificed their own souls for gathering them, makes them lead a life of neediness, while he leads a happy life through the funds he has taken. Theft is among the worst kinds of injustice, for this reason Allah, the Most High, has said: "And (as for) the man who steals and the woman who steals, cut off their hands as a punishment for what they have earned.
2"
The jurists have mentioned numerous conditions regarding cutting the hand off. If these conditions are available, the thief's hand is cut off.
Amputating the right hand of the Thief
He, peace be on him, said: "And the reason for amputating the right hand of the thief is because he undertakes the things with his
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1. Ibid., 4, 6.
2. Ibid., 5, 38.
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own right hand, which is the best of his limbs and most useful of them to him. So amputating the right hand has been decided as a punishment and lesson to the creatures lest they should seek taking funds without any right; and because he (the thief) most times undertakes theft with his own right hand.
"Usurping and taking funds without right has been prohibited, for it results in kinds of corruption; corruption is prohibited because it leads to total ruin, and other aspects of corruption."
For these firm reasons which the Imam, peace be on him, has mentioned, Islam has ordered the right hand of the thief to be cut off, and not his left hand.
9. Wine
He, peace be on him, said: "Allah has prohibited wine because it leads to corruption, changes the intellects of those who drink it, makes them deny Allah, the Great and Almighty, and fabricate lies against Him and his apostles, and makes them do other things such as corruption, murder, slander, and adultery; therefore they do not refrain from the unlawful. For this reason we have decided that all intoxicating drinks are unlawful for they result in that which results from wine; therefore, he who believes in Allah and the Last Day should turn aside from it, show love for us, for their is no safeguard between us and those who drink it (wine)."
As wine does man and society abundant harm, Islam has decisively prohibited it. In this connection Allah, the Most High, has said: "O you who believe, intoxicants and games of chance and (sacrificing) stones set up and (dividing by) arrows are only an uncleanness, the Shaitan's work; shun it therefor that you may be successful.
1"
Surely wine brings about all vices and leads to committing all the prohibited such as fornication and theft, and, in addition, it destroys man's health, for it gives rise to enteritis, high blood pressure, and the like. Moreover, the drunk's blood is full of alcohol to
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1. 5, 90.
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the extent that it burns just as alcohol does. I (the author) have mentioned the damages of wine in my book
Work and the Rights of the Worker in Islam.
10. Dead Animals
He, peace be on him, said: "As regarding dead animals, the prohibition of eating their meat is due to the damage such meat will cause to the body, and due to the fact that Allah has made lawful the meat of animals slaughtered in His names so that that would be a distinction between what is lawful and what is not."
As for eating the meat of dead animals, it gives rise to many diseases and, perhaps, death.
1 That is because dead animals are still accompanied by germs which sometimes do not die even through roasting their meat, as it has been mentioned by modern medicine.
11. The Blood
He, peace be on him, said: "And Allah, the Great and Almighty, has prohibited the blood just as He has made unlawful dead animals, for it (the blood) gives rise to the corruption of the bodies, the yellow water, bad breath, bad smell, bad manners, the cruelty of the heart, the paucity of graciousness and mercy, to the extent (that the one who drinks it) kills his father and his friend."
Islam has prohibited drinking the blood, for it conveys deadly secretions and poisons. If one drinks the blood of a sick animal, surely his blood will have the germs of such an animal. Physicians have unanimously agreed on that the blood is never a food.
12. The Spleen
He, peace be on him, said: "The spleen has been prohibited because of the blood it contains; the cause of its prohibition is similar to that of the blood and dead animals; it is equally bad in its consequences."
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1. Dr 'Abd al-'Aziz Isma'il, al-Islam wa al-Tibb al-Hadith, p. 17.
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Islam has prohibited the spleen and regarded it as the blood and dead animals, for eating it causes damages and corruption to man's body, just as the Ima`m, peace be on him, has stated.
13. Pigs and Apes
He, peace be on him, said: "And pigs are prohibited; their creation was distorted by Allah in order to provide a moral lesson to the creation, and in order to remind them to fear Allah, and as evidence of Allah's might to distort what He creates at will, and because the food they eat is the filthiest of filth, in addition to many other reasons.
"And likewise, pigs are prohibited; (Allah) distorted their creation as He distorted that of pigs in order to provide a moral lesson to the creation, and as evidence of Allah's might to distort what He creates at will; and He has placed in them (qualities) similar to that of man in order to indicate that they (apes) belong to the creation upon whom (His) wrath was brought down."
Islam has prohibited the meat of pigs, and, through that, it has saved the Muslims from great evil. Bity Wdikson says: "Surely the infection by the worms of the pig's meat is about general in special regions from France, Germany, Italy, and Briton, but it is rare in the eastern country, for the religion of its people has prohibited eating pig's meat; pig's meat also conveys Tarnjina to man."
The following are some realities on pig's meat and the extent of its danger:
A. The specialist physician cannot decide that one pig is not infected by these worms; rather all pigs are infected by them.
B. Each female of these worms lays 1500 ova in the mucous membrane of the sick person's bowels. So the blood distributes and spreads the million ova laid by all the female worms all over the body, and the fetuses come together in muscles, so the give rise to severe aches, and very painful muscular inflammations, and after that one is inflected by malignant tumors.
C. There is no medicine for this disease and, in addition, pig's meat coveys to man some germs and paratyphoid, and they cause to
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him an acute poisoning accompanied by severe inflammations in the digestive system, and they may give rise to death within some hours.
1
14. Rabbits
He, peace be on him, said: "The rabbits are prohibited because they are with the same rank to cats: their claws are like those of cats and like wild animals, so their behavior is equally wild, in addition to their own inner dirtiness and due to their bleeding which is similar to the bleeding of women during their menstrual period; and because they are miscreants."
As for eating the meat of rabbits, it is prohibited according to the reasons given by the Ima`m, peace be on him. However, some
Islamic schools do not regard rabbit as dirty, and they have regarded eating the meat of rabbits as permissible.
15. Beasts and Birds of Prey
He, peace be on him, said: "Beasts and birds of prey are prohibited because they eat carcasses, the flesh of men, feces, and the like. So Allah, the Great and Almighty, has placed signs in the lawful and the unlawful animals and birds. And just as my father has said: 'Beasts with canine teeth and birds with claws are prohibited; birds with gizzards are lawful.'
"Yet another reason for distinguishing lawful birds from unlawful ones is these words of him, peace be on him: 'Eat birds which flap their wings and do not eat those birds which glide their wings.'"
Islam has prohibited birds of prey such as falcon and Egyptian vulture; likewise, the birds which have neither crop nor gizzard nor spurs on their feet; it is sufficient when one spur is on the feet of the lawful birds.
2
The Imam, peace be on him, has stated that such birds and animals are prohibited because they eat carcasses, the flesh of men,
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1. Ruh al-Din al-Islami (3rd edition), p. 405.
2. Minhajj al-Salihin, vol. 2, p. 274.
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feces, and their meat is affected by that, so their meat is not appropriate for man's stomach.
16. That over which any other (Name) than that of Allah has been invoked
He, peace be on him, said: "It is prohibited (to eat) that over which any other (name) than that of Allah has been invoked, for Allah, the Great and Almighty, has made it incumbent on His creation to profess Him and to invoke His name over the lawful sacrifices; lest that through which they seek nearness to Him and that which has been made as act of worship to Satan and idols should be equal, because invoking the name of Allah, the Great and Almighty, (over sacrifices) means professing His Lordship and His Oneness. As for that over which any other (name) than that of Allah has been invoked, it has nothing except associating others with Him and seeking nearness through it to other than Him, that mentioning and invoking the name of Allah over sacrifice may be a difference between what Allah has made lawful and what He has made unlawful."
It is prohibited to eat the meat of the sacrifices over which any other name than that of Allah is invoked, for they are slaughtered to seek nearness to other than Allah such as idols, and this was the custom of those people who lived before Islam, and who had neither awareness nor thought; rather they were like beasts. When Islam came, it prohibited their sacrifices. It regarded their thoughts and works as dirty, their sacrifices as unclean and inedible.
17. Eating the Meat of Mules is Reprehensible
He, peace be on him, said: "It is reprehensible to eat the meat of domestic mules because the people are in need of their backs and employing them; and for fear that they may be few; not because of the dirtiness of their creation nor because of the dirtiness of their food."
Islam has made it reprehensible to eat the meat of domestic donkeys and mules, for they were the most important means for transportation during those times. If they had been slaughtered, the
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means of transportation would have been few. As for their meat, it is eatable and has nothing to damage general health.
18. Man may marry up to four Women
He, peace be on him, said: "Why may a man marry up to four women, while a woman is prohibited from marrying more than one man? Because when a man marries four women, his children will all be related to him; had a woman married two husbands or more simultaneously, nobody would know for sure who fathered the sons she gave birth to, since they all were in cohabiting with her, and this causes a complete disorder for relating one to his father, and who should inherit who, and who is the kin of who."
The Imam, peace be on him, has explained the reason why a man may marry four women, while a woman may not marry two husbands or more simultaneously. Had it was permissible for her to marry more than a husband at the same time, then who would father the son she gave birth to? Surely such a kind of marriage loses lineage and corrupts inheritances.
19. Repeating the Divorce Statement thrice
He, peace be on him, said: "The reason for repeating the divorce statement thrice is due to the time interval between each, and due to a possible desire for reconciliation or the calming of anger, if any, and to teach women to respect their husbands and deter them from disobeying them."
The revocable divorce (
talaq al-'idda) is that the husband divorces his wife when the pre-conditions are available; then he has the right to return to her during the 'idda and to remarry her. Then he divorces her during another purity, so it is prohibited for him to remarry her until she marries another husband; the reasons for such a kind of divorce has been mentioned by the Ima`m, peace be on him.
20. The Woman divorced nine times
He, peace be on him, said: "The reason why a husband can never remarry his wife whom he divorced nine times is that it is his right
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penalty so that men do not take divorce lightly or take advantage of women and think of them as weak, and so that the man would be considering his affairs, remaining awake and aware, so that he would lose all hope of a reunion after the ninth pronouncement of the divorce statement."
If a woman is divorced in the manner mentioned in the previous question, and someone else marries her, then he divorces her, and her first husband marries her and divorces her three times in the previous manner, then it is prohibited for him to marry her until she marries someone else. If someone else marries her and divorces her, then her first husbands marries her and divorces her thrice in the previous manner, then he can never marry her again. As for the reasons for such a kind of divorce, they have been mentioned by the Ima`m, peace be on him. If the divorce is not revocable, the divorced woman can never be prohibited, even if the divorce is more than nine times.
21. The Inheritance of Woman
As for the inheritance of a woman, it is that she inherits half what men get of inheritance. The Ima`m, peace be on him, has given two reasons for that:
Regarding the first reason, he, peace be on him, said: "The reason for giving women half what men get of inheritance is that when the woman marries, she receives, while the man gives; therefore, Allah decided to assist the males to be able to give."
Regarding the second reason, he, peace be on him, said: "Yet another reason for giving the male twice as much as the female is that the female is considered dependent on the male when she needs, and he has to take care of her living expenses and to spend on her, while the woman is not required to take care of the expenses of the man, nor can she be required to pay his expenses if he was in need; therefore, Allah decreed to give the man more according to these words of Him, the Great and Almighty:
Men are the protectors and maintainers of women because Allah has given the one more than the other, and because they support them from their means.
1"
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1. Qur'an, 4, 34.
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As the man is responsible for paying the expenses of the woman such as those of house, food, clothes, and others mentioned by the jurists, the woman is given half what the man gets of inheritance, just as the Imam, peace be on him, has stated. With this question we will end our talk about the reasons for some precepts which have been reported from
Imam al-Rida, peace be on him.
The Conditions of the Prophets and Bygone Communities
The Imam, peace be on him, was asked about the reasons for the conditions of some prophets and bygone communities, and he answered. The following are some of them:
The Drowning of Pharaoh
Ibrahim b. Mohammed al-Hamadani narrated, saying: "I asked Abu al-Hasan 'Ali b. Musa al-Rida, peace be on him: 'What is the reason for which Allah, the Great and Almighty, drowned Pharaoh even after Pharaoh had believed in Him and admitted His unity?'"
He, peace be on him, answered: "Because he believed only when he saw Allah's retribution, and belief to avoid danger is not accepted. This is Allah's judgment regarding past and future generations. Allah, the Great and Almighty, has said:
When they saw Our punishment, they said: We believe in Allah, the One, and we reject the partners we used to associate with Him. But their professing the faith when they (actually) saw Our punishment was not going to benefit them.
1 And He, the Great and Almighty, has said:
The day that certain signs of your Lord do come, no good will it do to a soul to believe in them then, if it did not believe before nor did it earn righteousness through its faith2.
"So when Pharaoh was about to be drowned, he said:
I believe that there is no god except the One in Whom the children of Israel believe, and I am of those who submit (to Allah in Islam). (It was said
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1. Ibid., 40, 84-85.
2. Ibid., 6, 158.
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to him):
Ah now! But a little before were you in rebellion! And you did mischief (and violence)! This day shall We save you in your body, so that you may be a Sign to those who come after you!
1
"Pharaoh was dressed in iron from head to foot; he had worn it on his body. When he drowned, Allah placed him in his body on an upland, that he might be a Sign to those who came after him, so they would see him on a lofty ground though he was heavy in iron; heavy things go down and do not go up; and that was a sign and mark.
"And for another reason Allah, the Great and Almighty, drowned Pharaoh; and it is that when he was about to be drowned, he sought the help of Musa and did not seek the help of Allah, so Allah, the Great and Almighty, revealed to Musa:
O Musa, why do you help Pharaoh? Because you did not create him. If he asked Me for help, I would help him."
The Drowning of the World during the Days of Nuh
'Abd al-Sala`m b. Sa`lih al-Harawi narrated, saying: "I asked al-Rida, peace be on him: 'O son of Allah's Messenger, what is the reason for which Allah, the Great and Almighty, drowned all the world in the time of Nu`h, while there were among them children and those who had no sins?'
"He, peace be on him, answered: 'There were no children among them because Allah, the Great and Almighty, sterilized the loins of the people of Nuh and the wombs of their wives for forty days, so their progeny ceased. They were drowned and there was no child among them; and Allah, the Great and Almighty, does not destroy with His punishment him who has no sin. As for the rest of the people of Nuh, they were drowned due to the lying of the liars; and he who is absent from an affair and is satisfied with it is like him who witnesses and does it."
The Miracle of Musa
Ibn al-Sikkït asked Imam al-Rida, peace be on him: "Why did Allah, the Great and Almighty, send Musa (Moses) b. 'Umran with a
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1. Ibid., 10, 90-92.
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miraculous cane and white hand and the tool of sorcery, 'Isa (Jesus) with miraculous medicine, and Mohammed, may Allah bless him and his family, with miraculous speech and oratory?"
He, peace be on him, replied: "When Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, sent Mu`sa`, sorcery dominated the minds of the people of his time, so he brought them from Allah, the Great and Almighty, something which they never had, nor could they bring about anything like it, thus rendering their sorcery void and proving his argument against them. When Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, sent 'Isa during a period of time when chronic diseases were widespread and people were in dire need of cure, 'Isa brought them from Allah, the Great and Almighty, something they never had, bringing the dead back to life, curing those born blind and the lepers by the will of Allah, proving his argument against them. And when Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, sent Mohammed, may Allah bless him and his family, during the time when speeches and oratory dominated the minds of the people of his time, he brought them the Book of Allah, the Great and Almighty, and with the wisdom and counsel, thereby voiding their arguments."
Ibn al-Sikkït admired this answer of the Ima`m and said: "By Allah, I have never seen anyone like you! What is the argument against people these days, then?"
"Reason," answered the Imam, "through it can you come to know who tells the truth about Allah, so you believe in him, and who tells lies about Allah, so you disbelieve in him."
"This, by Allah, is the right answer," retorted Ibn al-Sikkït.
Ulu al-'Azm
The Imam, peace be on him, said: "Ulu al-'Azm have been called Ulu al-'Azm because they were the possessors of the laws and resolutions, and that is every prophet after Nu`h, and every prophet during the days of Ibra`him and after him adopted his law and his method and followed his Book, to the time of our Prophet Mohammed, may Allah bless him and his family. So these five (prophets) are Ulu` al-'Azm (the Possessors of Constancy); they are the most excellent of the prophets and the messengers; the shari'a (law) of Mohammed, may Allah bless him and his family, is not abrogated until the Day of Resurrection, nor is there a prophet after him until the
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Day of Resurrection. So if one claims prophecy after him or brings a book after the Qur'a`n, then his blood is permitted for all those who hear that from him."
Al-Hawariyun (the Disciples)
'Ali b. al-Hasan b. 'Ali b. Fadda`l narrated on the authority of his father, who said: "I asked Abu` al-Hasan al-Rida`, peace be on him: 'Why have the Hawariyu`n been called the Hawariyu`n?'"
He, peace be on him, answered: "In the opinion of the people is that they have been called the Hawariyu`n because they shortened (their clothes) purified their clothes of dirt through washing; and it is a name derived from
al-khubz al-hawar1. In my opinion the Hawariyu`n have been called the Hawariyu`n because they purified their own souls and purified those other them of the dirtiness of sins through preaching (to them) and reminding (them of Allah)"
He ('Ali's father) said: "I asked him (al-Rida): 'Why have they been call al-Nasara.'"
"Because they were from a village called Na`sira in Syria (bilad al-Sham) inhabited by Maryam (Mary) and 'Isa after their return from Egypt," he answered.
Ibrahim, the Bosom Friend of Allah
Al-Husayn b. Khalid narrated on the authority of Abu al-Hasan al-Rida, peace be on him, who said: [I heard my father relate on the authority of his father, peace be on him, who said:] "Allah, the Great and Almighty, took Ibra`him for friend because he did not come to anyone and never asked anyone except Allah, the Great and Almighty."
Isma'il, the Truthful in his Promise
Sulayman al-Ja'fari narrated on the authority of Abu al-Hasan al-Rida, peace be on him, who said: "Did you know why Isma'il was called the Truthful in his promise?"
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Al-khubz al-hawar it is that which is sifted serveral time; and in al-Qamus, it is the white flour.
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"No, I did not know," replied Isma'il.
"He promised a man and sat down for a year waiting for him," retorted the Imam.
With this matter we will end our talk about the reasons which the Ima`m, peace be on him, has given for the conditions of some prophets and bygone communities.
