سورة البقرة

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): This verse was revealed concerning Thaqif, Khuza'a, Banu Amir ibn Sa'sa'a and Banu Mudlij, who had made unlawful upon themselves agricultural produce, cattle, bahira, sa'iba and wasila. ("Bahira": a she-camel that has given birth five times; "sa'iba": a she-camel freed by a vow; "wasila": a she-camel whose male offspring were sacrificed to idols.)

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): O people! Eat of what is in the earth — the various fruits and lawful, pure foods — for by honouring the one who must be honoured and belittling the one whom Allah has made small and lowly, you have obeyed Allah.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Worship has seventy parts, the best of which is the pursuit of lawful sustenance.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): Do not follow the footsteps of Satan by which he leads you toward himself and incites you — namely, opposing the one whom Allah has made His Messenger, indeed the best of the messengers, and whom He commanded to appoint the best of the successors after him, and [after him] to appoint the other successors and awliya'.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) and Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Among the footsteps [and schemes of Satan] are swearing by divorce, making vows to commit sins, and every oath by other than Allah the Exalted.

Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him): And I warn you against listening to the call of Satan.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): لا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُواتِ الشَّیْطانِ [Do not follow the footsteps of Satan] — it has been said: "What is meant by the footsteps of Satan is the deeds of Satan."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): [Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Abd Allah said:] I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about a man who had sworn an oath to sacrifice his son. The Imam said: "That act is among the footsteps (schemes) of Satan."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): If someone swears an oath about something [that he will abandon it], and doing it is better than leaving it, he should do that which is good, and there is no kaffara (expiation) upon him [for breaking the oath], for indeed such [oaths] are among the footsteps (schemes) of Satan.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The Imam (peace be upon him) was asked about a man who says, "Upon me is [the vow of sacrificing] a thousand camels," while he is in ihram for a thousand hajjs. The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "This is from the footsteps (schemes) of Satan."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) was asked about the ruling concerning a woman who had bound herself by an oath that if she ever spoke to her sister, she would have to sacrifice all her wealth and free all her male and female slaves. The Imam said: "If she speaks to her sister, nothing is binding upon her, and this oath and its like are among the footsteps of Satan."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Tariq was a man who traded in slaves in the city of Madinah. One day he came to Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and said: "O Aba Ja'far (peace be upon him)! I am ruined, for I have sworn oaths of divorce, of freeing slaves, and of vows." The Imam said: "O Tariq! This act of yours is among the footsteps of Satan."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): A woman from the family of Mukhtar swore an oath concerning her sister or a female relative and said: "O so-and-so! Come near me and eat with me." That woman answered her: "No." So the woman swore against her: "If you do not come near me and eat, I swear that I shall never be under one roof with you, and I shall never sit at my table with you." She also swore that she would go on foot to the House of Allah and free all her female slaves. The other woman swore the same oath. Umar ibn Hanzala related their words to Imam Baqir (peace be upon him). The Imam said: "I shall give judgement in this matter. Tell that woman that she must eat with her and sit with her under one roof, and she must not walk on foot to Bayt Allah al-Haram, and must not free her male and female slaves; she should adopt taqwa (Allah-consciousness) of Allah and never again bind herself with such an oath, for that is among the footsteps of Satan."

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): إِنَّهُ لَکُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُبینٌ [Indeed, he is your open enemy] — Satan bears enmity towards you and commands you to oppose the best of Allah's Prophets and to show enmity to the noblest of the successors and heirs of the Prophet.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Satan cannot establish himself in whispering to a person unless that person has turned away from the remembrance of Allah the Exalted, has belittled Allah's commands and injunctions, has settled comfortably into what Allah has forbidden, and has become heedless of Allah's knowledge, awareness and encompassing of him. Whispering enters the heart from outside it, through the domain of intellectual [and cognitive] knowledge and through attachment to and engagement with nature [in material needs]. And when the aspect of nature and material desires overcomes the aspect of the intellect and the attention and awareness of the intellect departs, whispering becomes so firm and established that it ends in disbelief and misguidance. Allah the Exalted, out of kindness and mercy, has called His servants to Himself and has made known to them Satan's enmity and hostility; He says: إِنَّ الشَّیْطَانَ لَکُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُبِینٌ [Indeed, Satan is an open enemy to you].