سورة البقرة

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Ubayda al-Hadhdha said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about أَمْوَالَکُم بَینَکُم بِالْبَاطِلِ [your properties among yourselves by false means]. He replied: "The [men of] Quraysh used to gamble with one another over their families and their wealth, and Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, forbade them from that."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): What is meant is wealth acquired through gambling.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): What is meant by "false means" is the false oath by which properties are taken.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Sama'a: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "A man among us has some capital by which he supports the livelihood of himself and his family, and he also has a debt upon him. Should he spend what he has on the food and expenses of his family and wait for a relief so that he may repay his debt? Or should he repay his debt and then borrow again from this person or that, for the expenses of his family, in this harsh time and stagnant market? Or should he live off charity and zakat?" He said: "He should repay his debt from what he has and not consume people's wealth that is in his hand, for indeed Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has said: لا تَأْکُلُوا أَمْوالَکُمْ بَیْنَکُمْ بِالْباطِلِ [Do not consume your properties among yourselves by false means]."

Imam al-Rida (peace be upon him): The Imam (peace be upon him) wrote in a letter: "What is meant by al-hukkam (the rulers) is the qudah (the judges)." Then he wrote beneath it: "That is, if I know that a particular judge is unjust and will rule in my favour, and even so I go to him and [he] rules in my favour and the other party is wronged, then merely saying 'it is not my concern, this is the judge's ruling' does not lift it from my neck, and I am a partner in the judge's sin."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Allah the Mighty and Majestic knew that among the ummah there would be tyrannical rulers; so what He intended [in this verse] is not the just judges, but rather the tyrannical rulers. If you have a right against someone and you summon him for judgement before rulers from the people of justice, and that person refuses and insists on taking the case to a tyrannical ruler so that he may judge between you, he is among those who take their disputes to the taghut, and Allah has said concerning them: أَ لَمْ تَرَ إِلَی الَّذِینَ یَزْعُمُونَ أَنَّهُمْ ءَامَنُواْ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَیْکَ وَ مَا أُنزِلَ مِن قَبْلِکَ یُرِیدُونَ أَن یَتَحَاکَمُواْ إِلَی الطَّاغُوتِ وَ قَدْ أُمِرُواْ أَن یَکْفُرُواْ بِه [Have you not seen those who claim that they believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you, wishing to take their disputes to the taghut, though they have been ordered to reject it] ... .

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Allah knew that there would be rulers who would judge unjustly. Therefore He forbade [people] from placing them as their judges, because they do not rule by the truth and the wealth of people is thereby made void. (Disposing of it is not permissible.)