سورة الروم

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): ظَهَرَ الْفَسَادُ فِی الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ بِمَا کَسَبَتْ أَیْدِی النَّاسِ [Corruption has appeared in the land and the sea on account of what the hands of people have wrought]; by Allah, this belongs to the time when the Ansar said: "Let there be a leader from us and a leader from you."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): ظَهَرَ الْفَسادُ فِی الْبَرِّ وَ الْبَحْرِ بِما کَسَبَتْ أَیْدِی النَّاسِ [Corruption has appeared in the land and the sea on account of what the hands of people have wrought] — when the rain does not fall, the animals in the wildernesses perish, and likewise the creatures of the sea are destroyed in the same way.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The sin that brings regret is murder; the sin that brings down [Allah's] wrath is oppression; the sin that brings disgrace [tears the veils] is drinking wine; the sin that holds back sustenance is adultery; the sin that hastens death is the severing of ties of kinship; the sin that prevents supplication from being raised and darkens the air is being disobedient to one's parents.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The sins that change blessings are: oppressing people, abandoning the habit of doing good and kindness, ingratitude for blessings, and abandoning gratitude. Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: "[But] indeed Allah does not change the destiny of any people [or nation] until they change what is within themselves." (Ra'd/11). And the sins that bring about regret are: killing a soul which Allah has forbidden. Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: "And do not kill the soul which Allah has made sacred." (An'am/151). Allah the Mighty and Majestic said in the story of Qabil, when he killed Habil and was unable to hide him: "So he became one of [the group of] the regretful." (Ma'idah/31). And [also]: abandoning silat al-rahim (maintaining ties of kinship) until they become needless, abandoning the prayer until it is missed, abandoning the will, [not] returning what has been unjustly taken, and withholding zakat until death arrives and the tongue is tied. And the sins that bring down calamity are: responding to good with evil, transgressing against and oppressing people, and mocking people. And the sins that cause fortune to turn away from a person are: revealing one's poverty, sleeping at the beginning of the night, missing the morning prayer, belittling blessings, and voicing complaints against Allah. And the sins that cause disgrace are: drinking wine, gambling, becoming accustomed to making people laugh with idle talk and jokes, mentioning people's faults, and sitting with those who level accusations. As for the sins that bring down affliction: they are abandoning the helping of the helpless, not aiding the oppressed, and neglecting to enjoin good and forbid evil. And the sins that give enemies the upper hand are: openly committing oppression, displaying wickedness, treating forbidden things as permissible, disobeying the good, and following the wicked. As for the sins that hasten destruction: they are severing ties of kinship, false oaths, lying, adultery, blocking the road against Muslims, and claiming the Imamah without right. As for the sins that bring about despair: they are despairing of Allah's aid, despairing of Allah's mercy, placing hope in other than Allah, and denying Allah's promise. And the sins that darken the air are: sorcery, soothsaying, believing in the role of the stars in a person's destiny, considering divine decree to be a lie, and disobedience to parents. As for the sins that tear away the veils: they are taking a loan with no intention of repaying it, extravagance in spending on falsehood, miserliness towards one's family, children, and blood-relatives, bad character, lack of patience, showing distress and laziness, and treating the people of religion with contempt. The sins that prevent the answering of supplication are: having evil wishes, corruption of the inner self, hypocrisy towards friends, failing to affirm that [the prayer] will be answered, delaying the obligatory prayers until they are missed, abandoning seeking nearness to Allah the Mighty and Majestic through righteousness and charity, and foul and obscene speech. The sins that cause the rain of the sky to be withheld are: the injustice of rulers and judges, false testimony, concealing testimony, withholding zakat, loans, and aid, hardness of heart towards the poor and needy, oppressing the orphan and the widow, and turning the beggar away by night.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Whenever ten traits appear in my Ummah, they are afflicted with ten punishments. It was said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! What are these traits?" He said: "When they reduce their supplication, calamity descends. When they withhold charity, disease becomes widespread. When they refuse to pay zakat, the animals perish. When the ruler oppresses, rain does not fall. When fornication spreads, sudden death multiplies. When usury increases, earthquakes multiply. When they judge by other than the ruling of Allah, the enemy gains dominance over them. When they break their covenants, killing becomes common, and when they give short measure, they are struck by famine." Then the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) recited this verse: ظَهَرَ الْفَسادُ فِی الْبَرِّ وَ الْبَحْرِ بِما کَسَبَتْ أَیْدِی النَّاسِ لِیُذِیقَهُمْ بَعْضَ الَّذِی عَمِلُوا لَعَلَّهُمْ یَرْجِعُونَ [Corruption has appeared in the land and the sea on account of what the hands of men have wrought, that He may make them taste a part of that which they have done, so that they may return].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Ishaq ibn Ammar said: I heard Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) say: "We seek refuge in Allah from the sins that hasten death, bring the appointed times nearer, and empty homes of their inhabitants, which are: cutting off the ties of kinship, disobedience to parents, and abandoning righteousness."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): If four things become widespread, four things appear; if fornication becomes widespread, earthquakes come. If oppression in government becomes widespread, rain is withheld. If fulfilment of covenants and pacts disappears, the polytheists gain the upper hand over the Muslims, and if withholding zakat becomes widespread, poverty spreads.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whoever recites this supplication after every obligatory prayer will see Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his noble reappearance) and his forefathers in sleep or wakefulness ... Make his coming easy and smooth his path, and set me upon the path he treads! Make his rule effective and set his affair aright. O Lord! Populate Your lands through him and give life to Your servants through him, for You Yourself have said, and Your word is truth: ظَهَرَ الْفَسادُ فِی الْبَرِّ وَ الْبَحْرِ بِما کَسَبَتْ أَیْدِی النَّاسِ [Corruption has appeared in the land and the sea on account of what the hands of men have wrought]. Yes! The corruption of people's morals has appeared in the sea and on land. O Allah! Make manifest for us Your wali and the son of the daughter of Your Prophet, who bears the name of Your Messenger (peace be upon him and his family), so that whatever falsehood he encounters, he shatters and eliminates it, and establishes and makes manifest the truth in its place.