سورة الحج

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said concerning this word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic [where He says:] وَمَنْ یُعَظِّمْ حُرُمَاتِ اللهِ فَهُوَ خَیْرٌ لَهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ [And whoever respects the sacred ordinances of Allah, it is better for him with his Lord]: 'What Allah has made sacred are three obligatory sanctities; whoever violates the sanctity of any one of them has associated others with Allah. First: violating the sanctity of Allah in Bayt al-Haram (the Sacred House); second: setting aside the Book of Allah and acting by other than it; and third: violating the sanctity of our mawaddah (love) and obedience, which Allah has made obligatory.'

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The reverence of three things is so great before Allah the Mighty and Majestic that nothing else is like them: the Quran, which is the wisdom of Allah and His light; His House the Kaaba, which He has made the qibla of the people, and He does not accept from anyone who turns toward any other place besides it [and He does not accept it]; and the household of your Prophet (peace be upon him and his family).

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) say: 'On the Day of Resurrection three things will enter the plain of the gathering and will complain to Allah the Mighty and Majestic: the Quran, the mosque, and the household of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). The Quran's plea will be: "O Lord! They burned me and tore me to pieces." The mosque will say: "O Lord! They abandoned me and wasted my right." The household of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) will also say: "O Lord! They killed us and drove us out and made us wander." At that time I will kneel down on both knees so as to take the right of these three from their enemies, whereupon Allah (the Mighty and Majestic) will address me and say: "I Myself am more worthy of this task [than you]."'

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Allah the Mighty and Majestic has five sanctities on earth: the sanctity of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), the sanctity of the household of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), the sanctity of the Book of Allah, the sanctity of the Kaaba, and the sanctity of the believing person.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Zayd al-Shahham said: "I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about this word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic [where He says:] فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الأوْثَانِ وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ [So avoid the uncleanness of idols and avoid false speech]." The Imam said: "By the uncleanness of idols, chess is meant, and by false speech, rapturous singing is meant."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Hammad ibn Uthman said: "I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about 'false speech' (qawl al-zur)." The Imam said: "One of its instances is that a person says 'Well done!' to someone who sings with a rapturous voice."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about this word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic [where He says:] فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الأوْثَانِ وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ [So avoid the uncleanness of idols and avoid false speech]. The Imam said: "By the uncleanness of idols, chess is meant, and by false speech, rapturous singing is meant; and backgammon (a game similar to chess) is even greater in sin than chess. As for chess: acquiring it is disbelief, playing it is polytheism, and teaching it is a great, destructive sin; greeting the one who plays chess is a sin; and one who moves its pieces is like one who turns over pig's flesh [to eat]; and one who watches the game of chess is like one who gazes at the private parts of his mother. And one who plays backgammon for gambling is like one who eats pig's flesh, and one who plays it without gambling is like one who has put his hand into the flesh or blood of a pig. And ring-play (a form of gambling) and three-feather play (a form of gambling) are not permissible, and all these games and their like are counted as gambling — even the walnut-play of children (a form of gambling) is also counted as gambling. And avoid striking the cymbals, for indeed Satan dances beside you and the angels flee from you; and whoever keeps a tanbur (one of the musical instruments) in his house for forty days will indeed be seized by the wrath of Allah."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): ...As for chess, it is that concerning which Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said: فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الْأَوْثانِ وَ اجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّور [So avoid the uncleanness of idols and avoid false speech]; by false speech, rapturous singing is meant. And the believing person turns away from all these vain pursuits — what has he to do with amusements?! Amusements bring about hardness of heart and hypocrisy. But when you play polo [if it involves winning and losing], Satan runs along with you and the angels flee from you; and if any harm befalls you along this path, you will have no reward; and whoever's horse throws him and he dies shall enter the Fire.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): The meaning of this word of Allah [where He said:] وَ اجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ [And avoid false speech]; and this word of Allah: "And among the people is he who purchases idle talk" (Luqman/6) — is rapturous singing.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) [said in a sermon]: False testimony is equal to associating partners with Allah; then he recited this verse: فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الْأَوْثانِ وَ اجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ [therefore avoid the uncleanness of the idols and avoid false words].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): One who has witnessed an event, if asked, must give testimony, and [in giving this testimony] must keep the fear of Allah in mind, for it is an instance of false and unjust speech that a person testifies to what he does not know or denies what he does know, when Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said: فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الْأَوْثانِ وَ اجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ*حُنَفاءَ لِلهِ غَیْرَ مُشْرِکِینَ بِهِ [therefore avoid the uncleanness of the idols and avoid false words, being upright for Allah, not associating aught with Him]; Allah [through these two verses] has made false testimony equal to shirk (associating partners with Him).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Amr ibn Ubayd came to the presence of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) and recited the verse: "If you avoid the great sins which you are forbidden from" (Nisa/31), and said: "I would like to know the great sins that are mentioned in the Quran." The Imam said: "O Amr! I will explain them to you"; then he enumerated the great sins thus: "One of them is associating partners with Allah; Allah does not [ever] forgive shirk to Him. (Nisa/48) ... Another is false speech: وَ اجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ [and avoid false words]..."