سورة النساء

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Yunus ibn Ya'qub said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the verse: وَ لا تُؤْتُوا السُّفَهاءَ أَمْوالَکُمُ [And do not give away your property to the weak of understanding]. He said: "It means the one whom you do not trust."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ali ibn Abi Hamza said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the verse: وَ لاَتُؤْتُواْ السُّفَهَاء أَمْوَالَکُمُ [And do not give away your property to the weak of understanding]. He said: "It means the orphans; do not give them their wealth until they reach the age of maturity and adulthood." I said: "How is it that their wealth is [called] our wealth?" He said: "When you are their heir."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): وَ لا تُؤْتُوا السُّفَهاءَ أَمْوالَکُمُ [And do not give away your property to the weak of understanding]; do not give it (the inheritance) into the [hands of] drinkers of wine and women, and which fool is more foolish than a wine-drinker!

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Ibrahim ibn Abd al-Hamid said: I asked Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) about this verse which says: وَ لاتُؤْتُوا السُّفَهاءَ أَمْوالَکُمُ [And do not give your property to the weak of understanding]. He said: "Whoever drinks wine is a fool."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): What is meant by safih (fool) in this verse is the wine-drinker and anyone whose intellect has been lost.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): If a wine-drinker speaks, do not believe him; if he proposes for marriage, do not give him a wife; if he becomes ill, do not visit him; if he dies, do not attend his gathering; and do not entrust any deposit to him. And if someone trusts him and places a deposit with him, he will destroy that deposit, and such a person has no right upon Allah that what he lost should be returned to him or that he should be rewarded for it, because Allah says: وَلاَ تُؤْتُواْ السُّفَهَاء أَمْوَالَکُمُ [And do not give the fools your property]. And which fool is more foolish than a wine-drinker?!

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Hammad ibn Bashir narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) who said: I intended to send some goods for trade to Yemen. I went to Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and said to him: "I want to send a certain person to Yemen for trade." He said to me: "Do you not know that this man is a wine-drinker?" I said: "I have heard the believers saying such about him." He said to me: "They speak the truth, for Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: [But know that] he believes in Allah and trusts [only] the believers (Tawbah/61). If you send him for trade and he destroys and ruins that property, you have no right upon Allah that He should compensate you for it." But I [despite the Imam's advice] sent him for trade and he ruined my wealth, and I asked Allah to compensate that [wealth]. The Imam said: "My son, stop this [praying for the return of the wealth]; you have no right upon Allah that He should compensate you or return that wealth to you." I said to him: "Why?" He said: "Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: وَلاَ تُؤْتُواْ السُّفَهَاء أَمْوَالَکُمُ الَّتِی جَعلَ اللهُ لَکُمْ قِیَاماً [And do not give the fools your property which Allah has made for you a support]. Do you know anyone more foolish than a wine-drinker?!"

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated that Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The first thing that came into my possession during my father's lifetime was two dinars. There was a man who bought cloth, and I wanted to trade with him. My father said: "Do not do this." But I gave [the money] to him secretly, hidden from my father, and he went off. When the man returned, I sent someone to him. That man said: "He has given me nothing!" Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: I thought he said this so that it would remain hidden from my father. I went myself and said: "What has become of the two dinars?" He said: "You have given me nothing!" I went to my father, and when he saw me, he raised his head and said with a smile: "My son, did I not tell you not to give him anything? He is a drinker of wine, and whoever entrusts anything to such a person has no guarantee with Allah for him. Allah says: وَ لا تُؤْتُوا السُّفَهاءَ أَمْوالَکُمُ الَّتِی جَعَلَ اللهُ لَکُمْ [And do not give away your property to the weak of understanding, which Allah has made for you (a means of support)]. What foolish person is more foolish than a drinker of wine? Is it not the case that if he bears witness before you, his testimony is not accepted; and if he intercedes, his intercession is not accepted; and if he seeks a woman in marriage, she is not given to him."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Khallad said: A man said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "O Ja'far (peace be upon him)! A person who has wealth — does he have the right to waste it and lose it?" He said: "Preserve your wealth, for it is the support of your religion." Then he recited this verse: وَ لا تُؤْتُوا السُّفَهاءَ أَمْوالَکُمُ الَّتِی جَعَلَ اللهُ لَکُمْ قِیاماً [And do not give away your property to the weak of understanding, which Allah has made for you a means of support].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): A woman is not chosen as an executor (wasi), because Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: وَ لا تُؤْتُوا السُّفَهاءَ أَمْوالَکُمُ [And do not give away your property to the weak of understanding].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): [What is meant by] السُّفَهَاءُ [the weak of understanding] is women and children. If a man knows that his wife and his child are foolish and corrupt, it is not proper for him to give either of them authority over the wealth which Allah has made a means of support for [his] life and which He calls the means of [his] livelihood and earning of sustenance.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked: "How and in what circumstance is their (the foolish ones') wealth [according to this verse] called our wealth?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "When you are the heir of that person."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): In the narration of Abu al-Jarud it is reported: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: "Whenever I tell you something, ask me for its proof from the Book of Allah." And concerning a certain matter he said: "Allah has forbidden... the squandering of wealth..." They said: "O son of the Messenger of Allah! What is the proof of this statement from the Qur'an?" He said: "This verse: وَ لا تُؤْتُوا السُّفَهاءَ أَمْوالَکُمُ الَّتِی جَعَلَ اللهُ لَکُمْ قِیاماً [And do not give the foolish your property which Allah has made for you a means of support]."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): وَ قُولُوا لَهُمْ قَوْلًا مَعْرُوفاً [And speak to them a fitting word]; what is meant by ma'ruf is making a promise.