سورة النساء

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Abd al-Azim al-Hasani said: Imam Jawad (peace be upon him) narrated to me from Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): One day Amr ibn Ubayd came to my father Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) and said: "I would like to know the major sins from the perspective of the Book of Allah the Mighty and Majestic." He said: "O Amr! The greatest of the major sins is associating partners with Allah, as Allah says: For whoever associates partners with Allah, Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his abode is the Fire, and the wrongdoers shall have no helpers (Ma'idah/72). [Another major sin is] consuming the property of the orphan [which too bears no fruit in the Hereafter except punishment], as Allah the Exalted says: إِنَّما یَأْکُلُونَ فِی بُطُونِهِمْ ناراً وَ سَیَصْلَوْنَ سَعِیراً [they only consume fire into their bellies and they shall enter a burning fire]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ubayd ibn Zurara said: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Explain to me the major sins." He said: "The major sins are five, which make the Fire of Hell obligatory upon the one who commits them. Allah says: Indeed Allah does not forgive that partners be associated with Him (Nisa/48), and He says: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ یَأْکُلُونَ أَمْوالَ الْیَتامی ظُلْماً إِنَّما یَأْکُلُونَ فِی بُطُونِهِمْ ناراً وَ سَیَصْلَوْنَ سَعِیراً [Indeed those who consume the property of orphans unjustly, only consume fire into their bellies and they shall enter a burning fire]."

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Whoever consumes even a single dirham of an orphan's property unjustly, Allah will make him abide forever in the Fire.

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Consuming the property of the orphan is among the major sins for which Allah has promised the Fire, for Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ یَأْکُلُونَ أَمْوالَ الْیَتامی ظُلْماً إِنَّما یَأْکُلُونَ فِی بُطُونِهِمْ ناراً وَ سَیَصْلَوْنَ سَعِیراً [Indeed those who consume the property of orphans unjustly, only consume fire into their bellies and they shall enter a burning fire].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ajlan Abi Salih said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about one who consumes the property of an orphan. He said: "His state is like the one about whom Allah says in this noble verse: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ یَأْکُلُونَ أَمْوَالَ الْیَتَامَی ظُلْمًا إِنَّمَا یَأْکُلُونَ فِی بُطُونِهِمْ نَارًا وَسَیَصْلَوْنَ سَعیرًا [Indeed those who consume the property of orphans unjustly, they only consume fire into their bellies and they shall enter a blazing fire]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whoever takes on the guardianship of an orphan until his orphanhood [and his need for a guardian] ends, or until he becomes self-sufficient [financially], Allah makes Paradise obligatory for him, just as He makes the punishment of Hell obligatory for the one who consumes an orphan's property.

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Ahmad ibn Muhammad said: I asked Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) about a man in whose hand is the property of orphans, and he becomes in need of that property and takes from it with the intention of returning it. He said: "It is not fitting for him to consume from this property except with moderation and restraint, and he must not be extravagant; and if his intention is not to return that property to the orphans, he is in the position of the one about whom Allah says: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ یَأْکُلُونَ أَمْوَالَ الْیَتَامَی ظُلْمًا [Indeed those who consume the property of orphans unjustly]."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): When Allah gave permission to Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) to leave Mecca and settle in Medina, He established Islam upon five testimonies and declarations: bearing witness to the Oneness of Allah, and to the messengership of the Messenger and his servanthood to Him, and establishing prayer, and giving zakat, and pilgrimage to the House of Allah, and fasting the month of Ramadan. In Medina He revealed to that noble one the legal punishments and the division of inheritance, and informed him of the sins and disobediences that lead to entry into the Fire... Concerning those who consume the property of orphans unjustly, He said: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ یَأْکُلُونَ أَمْوالَ الْیَتامی ظُلْماً إِنَّما یَأْکُلُونَ فِی بُطُونِهِمْ ناراً وَ سَیَصْلَوْنَ سَعِیراً [Indeed those who consume the property of orphans unjustly, they only consume fire into their bellies and they shall enter a blazing fire]. When the Day of Resurrection is established, the one who consumed the property of the orphan will be brought before Allah while fire blazes from his belly such that flames come out from his mouth. At that moment, all the people of the Resurrection will realise that he was a consumer of the property of orphans.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): When I was taken on the ascension (Miraj), I saw a people upon whose bellies fire was being cast and it was coming out from behind them. I said: "O Jibrail (peace be upon him)! Who are these?" He said: "الَّذِینَ یَأْکُلُونَ أَمْوالَ الْیَتامی ظُلْماً [Those who consume the property of orphans unjustly]."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "On the Day of Resurrection, people will rise from their graves with fire blazing from their mouths. It was said to him: 'O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Who are these?' He said: 'Those who consume the property of orphans unjustly, [in reality] consume only fire, and they shall soon burn in the flames of the Fire [of Hell].'"

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Sama'a said: I asked Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) about one who consumes the property of an orphan: "Is there any way of repentance for him?" He said: "He must return that property to its owners, because Allah says: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ یَأْکُلُونَ أَمْوَالَ الْیَتَامَی ظُلْمًا إِنَّمَا یَأْکُلُونَ فِی بُطُونِهِمْ نَارًا وَسَیَصْلَوْنَ سَعِیرًا [Indeed, those who consume the property of orphans unjustly consume only fire into their bellies, and they shall soon burn in a blazing fire]."

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): I asked him about a man who had someone's property with him — either through a sale or a loan — and had not yet paid that person's debt when the creditor died, leaving behind young orphans to whom this debt was owed, and he was unable to pay them their debt. Is he among those who consume the property of the orphan unjustly? He said: "If he intends to pay them back, then no." Al-Ahwal said: "I asked Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): 'One who consumes [such] property and does not intend to pay it back — is he among those who consume the property of orphans?' He said: 'Yes.'"

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When the verse إِنَّ الَّذِینَ یَأْکُلُونَ أَمْوالَ الْیَتامی ظُلْماً إِنَّما یَأْکُلُونَ فِی بُطُونِهِمْ ناراً وَ سَیَصْلَوْنَ سَعِیراً [Indeed, those who consume the property of orphans unjustly consume only fire into their bellies, and they shall soon burn in a blazing fire] was revealed, everyone who had an orphan with him sent him out [out of fear of this verse] and they sought the Messenger of Allah's (peace be upon him and his family) opinion on this matter, so Allah the Blessed and Exalted sent down this verse: یَسْئَلُونَکَ عَنِ الْیَتامی قُلْ إِصْلاحٌ لَهُمْ خَیْرٌ وَ إِنْ تُخالِطُوهُمْ فَإِخْوانُکُمْ وَ اللهُ یَعْلَمُ الْمُفْسِدَ مِنَ الْمُصْلِحِ [They ask you concerning the orphans. Say: To set right their affairs is better; and if you mix with them, they are your brethren; and Allah knows the corrupt from the reformer]. And Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "There is no harm in you sharing food with the orphan [in equal share], since young ones eat [almost] as much as adults eat. As for clothing and other needs, they must be given to each person (orphan), young or old, according to what they need."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Basir said: I said to Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): "May Allah grant you well-being, what is the easiest deed by which a servant enters the Fire?" He said: "Whoever consumes a single dirham from the property of an orphan. And we are the orphans [and khums is reckoned as our property]."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him)- Muhammad ibn Muslim said: I said to Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): "With what amount of consuming an orphan's property does the fire of Hell become obligatory upon a person?" He said: "Even with two dirhams."