Jurisprudence and Rulings

A hadith from Imam al-Kazim (AS) states that buying wheat increases one’s wealth, buying flour halves it, and buying bread causes it to be lost. The hadith points to the health, economic, spiritual, and psychological dimensions of buying each of these items, and locates blessing in preserving the integrity of food, self-sufficiency, and a spiritual connection with the Creator.

A vow must be fulfilled according to the intention, time, place, and amount specified when it was made. If an emergency prevents this, the vow may be fulfilled once the situation has passed. If the appointed time has gone by, the vow remains due for the following year. Without a valid reason, reducing or increasing the amount, or changing the time, is not permissible.

Ablution is recommended and preferable at all times, but special emphasis is placed on being in a state of ablution when reciting the Quran, praying and supplicating, going to sleep or eating, visiting holy sites, entering a mosque, and in the hours before dawn.

A person’s rights are not discharged except by making amends and obtaining their forgiveness. But if someone is unable to repay what is owed, God, the Absolutely Self-Sufficient, may make restitution on their behalf—provided they have fulfilled all the requirements of repentance. Taking a careless attitude toward the rights of others deprives a person of the grace to repent and the opportunity to make amends.

The rationale for zakat on livestock—cattle, sheep, and camels—is not easy to explain. In general, however, zakat is an act of worship that purifies and increases one’s wealth. These animals benefit not only their owners in material ways but society as well. Wealth that does not fall into one of the nine prescribed categories is subject to khums, not obligatory zakat.

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.

Sincere repentance and making amends for unlawful earnings purify a person. Any impurity in their children is their own responsibility; the parent has merely provided the means by which it may have been passed on. If someone has raised children for years on unlawful earnings and then repents, sincere repentance and making amends will purify them.

There is nothing wrong with turning to others for help with our ordinary worldly needs, provided we understand that they are means through which things come about and are themselves in need of God. Asking them for help must not become worship or supplication; we should recognise the limits of their abilities and not regard them as healers in their own right.

The just and most learned jurist is a radiant light of the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Household, and a voice for the Two Weighty Things. So long as he upholds this station and meets the standards of superior knowledge and sound judgment, the authority of God’s proof remains a shelter for all people, and obedience to him is obligatory.

Recognising the most learned and best-qualified jurist, like believing in the prophets and the revealed scriptures, is something inspired in a person through their innate disposition and relationship with God. This recognition comes through sincere seeking and striving in the cause of truth, and God shows the paths of guidance to those who do good.

After remembering a particular deceased person, it is better also to offer a general prayer for all deceased believers, so that the reward reaches everyone without diminishing the reward of the person specifically remembered. Prayers such as «اللهم و اعمم بذلک من شهد لک بالربوبیة...» are recommended for this purpose.

According to a narration from Imam Ali (AS), urinating in the bathroom is one of the factors associated with a lack of blessing and poverty in life. The narration also mentions other causes of poverty, such as leaving cobwebs in the home and eating while in a state of major ritual impurity. Other narrations, meanwhile, point to ways of increasing one’s provision, including maintaining family ties and seeking forgiveness.

Those who remove their hijab in the name of opposing the system, or appear naked in public, fall into a category of disbelief, and their actions must be disavowed. Under certain conditions, the duty to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong must not be neglected in dealing with them. In this context, disbelief means abandoning God’s commands and committing what He has forbidden.

Reports describe writing Qur’anic passages and drinking them for healing, but these practices are said to involve particular principles and mysteries and to require expertise. God is the true Healer; no remedy can be effective without His permission. The Qur’an itself is a healing for what is in the hearts, and a guidance and mercy for the believers.

Someone who rejects general deputyship rejects God’s ruling, because the one who derives rulings from the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) gives voice to their unspoken traditions, and his ruling carries the authority of God’s ruling. Anyone who turns away from certainty and chooses denial has rejected God’s ruling.

Ghusl is different from bathing: it is performed to attain ritual purity before God and requires an intention and a specific order prescribed by Him. Just as provision and healing come by God’s permission, purity too is attained only by following His laws and with His permission. The intention and order in ghusl are essential elements; without them, ritual purity is not achieved.

Sūrat al-Naḥl, verse 67, refers to how people make use of dates and grapes: they can produce both intoxicating drinks and wholesome food. Like the tongue, which may be used for good or ill, this is a sign for those who reflect. However, the verse was abrogated when the prohibition of wine was revealed.

The conditions for paying khums and zakat are clearly defined. Changing or converting property on which khums or zakat has not been paid does not remove the obligation. Whether someone is required to pay khums or zakat should be determined by a religious authority or through the person’s own ijtihad; they may be exempt, or even eligible for assistance.

Sending blessings upon the Prophet and his family is a special form of prayer that, like the funeral prayer, does not require ablution. It is the finest way to remember the Lord and is considered a form of worship. This hadith is reported in al-Tabarsi’s *al-Ihtijāj*.

Although the Qur’an prescribes no specific ḥadd punishment for unveiling, it is considered a form of corruption and carries a severe penalty because of its grave consequences and the seriousness with which God regards it. This major sin is the root of many other sins and, in itself, encompasses a range of offences.