notifications_active Weekly Meshkat-e Noor Session: Thursdays at 20:30 at Haj Reza Mosque
Respected teacher, regarding this statement from Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (peace be upon him):
“The effects of unlawful earnings become evident in a person’s descendants.”
First, how can this be established?
Second, what effects and consequences can it have on one’s descendants? And how can we say with certainty that those consequences are caused by consuming what is unlawful?
َّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ
A pure spirit is breathed into a pure seed, and an impure spirit into an impure seed. The harmful effects of unlawful earnings are not confined to the seed; they also affect a person’s constitution and character, and become visible in outward appearance. A tendency toward base behavior and an insatiable appetite for sin are among the signs of the consequences of consuming what is unlawful.
َ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ: كَسْبُ الْحَرَامِ يَبِينُ فِي الذُّرِّيَّةِ.
Wasa’il al-Shi‘a, vol. 17, p. 82
A pure spirit is breathed into a pure substance, and an impure spirit into an impure one. A person’s body and soul, character and actions provide a setting for the presence and influence of spirits suited to them—within their physical and mental space, the very particles of their being, their blood and, likewise, their seed.
The harmful effects of earning through forbidden means are not confined to one’s seed; they also affect a person’s constitution, becoming visible in their outward appearance.
Nor is it always the case that people of low and vile character are the result of their parents’ ill-gotten gains. Other factors may well shape a person’s character, including their own actions.
A tendency toward baseness, an insatiable appetite for sin, and transgression are among the signs of the effects of consuming what is unlawfully acquired.