سورة المائدة

Imam Rida (peace be upon him)- أَکَّالُونَ لِلسُّحْتِ [devourers of what is forbidden] refers to a person who fulfils a need of his believing brother and then accepts a gift from him.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him)- [It means] the wages of teachers who make contracts for teaching the Quran.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Suht (unlawful gain) is the price paid for carrion, and likewise the price of a dog, the price of wine, the dowry of a prostitute, a bribe in judgement, and the fee of a soothsayer — these too are counted as suht.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Qasim ibn Walid al-Ammari said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the price of a dog that is not used for hunting. He replied: "This is suht (unlawful gain); but there is no harm in the price of hunting dogs."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Suht (unlawful gain) has many kinds, among them: the earnings of a cupper if he stipulates a fixed price, the wages of prostitutes, the price of wine, and a bribe in judgement — which is disbelief in Allah the Great.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Indeed unlawful wealth has many kinds; but a bribe in judgement is disbelief in Allah.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Ammar ibn Marwan said: I asked Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) about ghulul (betrayal and theft). He said: "Anything in which the Imam is betrayed or which is stolen from him is suht (unlawful gain), and consuming the property of an orphan and the like is also suht. And suht has many kinds, among them: the wages of prostitutes, money obtained from selling wine or intoxicating nabidh, riba (usury) after the evidence [after a clear ruling has declared it forbidden], and accepting a bribe in judgement — and this last case is disbelief in Allah the Great and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family)."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Suht is the bribe in judgement, the dowry of the adulteress, the earnings of the cupper, the stud-fee of a male animal, the price of a dog, the price of wine, the price of a carcass, and the gift given to a soothsayer.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Craftsmen, if they stay awake and work the entire night, this is suht.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abdullah ibn Sinan said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about a judge who judged between two villages and took his sustenance from the sultan in return for his judging. The Imam (peace be upon him) replied: "This is suht."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) narrated from his father: "He used to forbid eating the walnuts that children had obtained through gambling." And he would say: "This is suht."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Yazid ibn Farqad reports: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about suht. He said: "It means a bribe in judgement."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated from the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) that regarding this saying of Allah the Exalted: أَکَّالُونَ لِلسُّحْتِ [devourers of what is forbidden], he said: "Suht is a bribe in judgement."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The price of a non-hunting dog is suht.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Suht is of many kinds, among them: what is obtained from the works of oppressive officials.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) regarding this saying of Allah: أَکَّالُونَ لِلسُّحْتِ [devourers of what is forbidden] that he said: "The price of excrement is from unlawful wealth."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Fadl ibn Abi Qurra said: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): They say: "The earnings of a teacher are suht (unlawful gain)!" The Imam (peace be upon him) replied: "They are the enemies of Allah and they lie. They only want the Quran not to be taught. Even if a person were to give the teacher the blood-money of his child, it would be lawful for the teacher."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Hasan ibn Ali al-Washsha said: Imam Rida (peace be upon him) was asked about buying a singing woman. The Imam (peace be upon him) replied: "The singing woman is for the amusement of people, and her price is the very price of a dog, and the price of a dog is suht (unlawful gain), and suht is in the Fire."

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Ibrahim ibn Abi al-Bilad said: Ishaq ibn Umar, at the time of his death, made a bequest that we should sell his singing slave-girls and take the proceeds to Imam Kazim (peace be upon him). Ibrahim relates: "I sold those slave-girls for three hundred thousand dirhams and took the proceeds to the Imam (peace be upon him)." And I said to him: "Your friend, named Ishaq ibn Umar, at the time of his death made a bequest that we should sell his singing slave-girls and bring the proceeds to you, and I have sold them, and this is their price, three hundred thousand dirhams." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "I have no need of this money. This money is suht (unlawful gain). Teaching those slave-girls is disbelief, listening to them is hypocrisy, and their price is suht."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Allah gave His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) a choice through His statement: فَإِنْ جاؤُکَ فَاحْکُمْ بَیْنَهُمْ أَوْ أَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ [Therefore if they come to you, judge between them or turn aside from them].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Basir relates: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: When the people of the Torah and the people of the Injil come to the ruler and bring their dispute before him, this is at the ruler's discretion. If he wishes, he may judge between them, and if he wishes, he may leave them alone.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Umar ibn Hanzala said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about two of our companions between whom a dispute had arisen concerning a debt or an inheritance, and they had taken the judgment to the ruler or to the judges. We asked: "Will this problem be resolved?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said in reply: "Whoever takes his judgment to the taghut (false authority) and the taghut judges for him — even if the right is with him — because he has taken the ruling of the taghut as his standard, while Allah has commanded disbelief in the taghut, he receives only suht (unlawful gain)." I said: "What should these two do?" He said: "Go to someone who is from among yourselves and has narrated our hadith and has looked into our halal and haram and has come to know our rulings, and accept his judgment. I have appointed him as judge over you. And if he judges according to our ruling and it is not accepted from him, then Allah's ruling has been belittled and our word has been rejected; and whoever rejects our ruling has rejected Allah's ruling, and this is at the level of shirk (associating partners) with Allah."