Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Part 2 Chapter 3: Laws Pertaining To Matrimonial And Family Affairs

134. It is obligatory upon unmarried mature men or women to marry, even with the minimal financial ability, in the event that not getting married causes him or her to sin.

135. It is obligatory to defend one’s wife, children, and relatives against any danger to the extent that it does not result in one’s death. In such cases, depending upon the situation, it may either be allowed or forbidden.

136. It is obligatory to maintain relations with family and relatives, which means keeping a good relationship with one’s parents in matters of salutation, speech, visit, correspondence, and other common affairs the refraining from which is considered breaking off connections with them. This is also applicable to other relatives, yet with different levels. In addition to providing their livelihood, these actions are obligatory towards one’s parents and children.

137. It is forbidden to act disrespectfully towards the parents through such acts like causing one’s father or mother distress and refraining from carrying out their biddings if such behavior causes them heartfelt sorrow or anguish except in cases where they order their children to commit an unlawful deed or violate a forbidden matter.

138. It is forbidden to cut off the ties of kinship without acceptable reason. This includes refraining from providing the expenses of parents, children, grandparents, and grandchildren (however much removed) if they are in need, and also cutting off relationships with one’s paternal and maternal relatives unless there is a lawful excuse to do so.

139. It is obligatory upon fathers and paternal grandfathers to undertake the supervision and guardianship of their immature and mentally disabled children and grandchildren even after the mentally disabled ones attain puberty. Likewise, it is obligatory upon fathers and grandfathers to hold the properties of their children and grandchildren in trust until they are mature. They are required to educate them physically and mentally and provide them with necessary expenses by using the children’s property or their own property in case the children have no property in a generally acceptable way that is corresponding with the laws of Islam.

140. It is forbidden to kill one’s child for any reason; such as financial deficiency, inability to train them, or disgrace and accusation regarding the parents. This law includes illegitimate children, because to kill an illegitimate child is the same as killing any other Muslim individual.

141. It is obligatory upon the testamentary guardians of fathers and grandfathers to undertake the guardianship and supervision of their immature or mentally disabled children and their properties in the event that their guardian dies and entrusts this responsibility to the testamentary guardian.

142. When fathers, grandfathers, or testamentary guardians are absent and when the supreme religious authority cannot be reached, it is obligatory upon any believer(mu’min) - if a just1 (‘adil) believer is not available - to look after and supervise orphans and the mentally disabled and provide for them through these individuals’ own property. Naturally, relatives have priority in this regard.

143. It is obligatory upon solvent fathers and paternal grandfathers to pay the marriage expenses of their male and female children and grandchildren when they are in need for marriage, too destitute to afford their own marriages, and expected to commit sins otherwise. As to children and grandchildren, it is obligatory upon them to pay the marriage expenses of their single fathers and mothers according to the aforementioned conditions, since it is obligatory upon them to supply their parents with the necessary provisions. However, this issue is controversial.

144. It is obligatory for a man who marries an immature girl by the permission of her legal guardian and copulates with her before she attains maturity, causing her urinary and vaginal canals or vaginal and anal canals to become joined, to pay her life-time alimony even if she divorces him and marries another man.2

145. In the aforementioned case, it is perpetually forbidden for the husband to copulate with the wife even if he does not intend to divorce her.3

146. It is obligatory upon wives whose husbands apostatize to separate from them and observe a widow’s period of waiting4 (‘iddah) . The period of waiting starts from the time of the husband’s apostasy, regardless of whether he repents or not.

147. Before entering into a marriage contact, it is obligatory for men who suffer one of the following four defects to declare so: (1) insanity, although periodical, (2) having defected testicles or lack thereof, (3) having no genital organ, and (4) impotency (i.e. inability to have sexual intercourse).

148. Before entering into a marriage contact, it is obligatory upon women who suffer one of the following seven defects to declare so: (1) insanity, (2) genital mass that prevents sexual intercourse, (3) leprosy, (4) muteness, (5) vitiligo, (6) blindness, and (7) union of the urinary and vaginal canals or the vaginal and anal canals.

149. It is obligatory upon all men and women to commit themselves to the conditions they have agreed upon in the marriage contract or any other irrevocable contract. Such conditions may involve teaching the other party the Holy Qur’an, financing thehajj pilgrimage of the other party, not taking a wife away from her homeland, etc.

150. It is obligatory upon wives to obey their husbands in sexual matters and to provide him with any type of sexual gratification he desires, whether through sexual intercourse or other means, unless she has a religiously valid excuse. It is forbidden for a wife to deny their husbands from having such pleasure and enjoyment.

151. It is obligatory upon husbands to provide their permanent wives with such livelihood expenses like food, clothing, and housing in a generally acceptable manner. This is also applicable to the alimonies during the period of waiting of revocably divorced wives.

152. It is obligatory upon both wives and husbands to treat each other kindly through such praiseworthy behavior like nice language, good manners, high individual and social moral standards, and familiar family etiquettes, refraining from which is considered misbehavior.

153. It is obligatory upon the wealthy to ensure the living expenses of their needy fathers, mothers, paternal and maternal grandfathers and grandmothers, children, and grandchildren.

154. Even if they do not intend to divorce, in case the husbands are wealthy enough to pay, it is obligatory upon husbands to pay their wives’ dowries, identified in the marriage contracts, whenever the wives demand them. In case the husbands have not yet had sexual intercourse with their wives who demand them to pay their dowries, half of the dowry must be paid. If the dowry has not been identified yet and copulation with the wife has taken place, a familiar dowry5 (mahr al-mithl) must be paid. However, if neither the dowry has been determined nor has copulation taken place husbands are not required to pay anything unless they divorce their wives before copulation. In that case, the husband must pay an amount relative to his own situation, which is then called mut’ah in the terminology of Muslim jurisprudence. It is strictly forbidden to refrain from paying the dowry, to pay a lesser amount than determined, or to force the woman to give up part of or the entirety of her dowry.

155. It is obligatory upon polygynous husbands to apply justice with reference to sleeping (not copulating) with their wives. This does not apply to men who have only one permanent wife. To explain, a husband who has more than one wife must sleep with each wife equally; if he sleeps with a certain wife once a week, he must sleep with the others, be they one or more, once a week, too. However, this issue is controversial.

156. It is obligatory upon permanent and temporary wives who have had sexual intercourse with their husbands to observe the period of waiting(‘iddah) after separating from them by divorce or legal cancellation of the marriage contract for permanent wives or by termination of the term of the temporary marriage or the optional revocation of the contract for the temporary wives. Generally, a marriage contract is automatically revoked in the following cases:

a. If the husband apostatizes.

b. In cases where both husband and wife are non-Muslim and the wife converts to Islam while the husband keeps his to his faith.

c. Certain cases of breastfeeding, such as when the mother-in-law breastfeeds her son-in-law’s child, with further details found in books of Muslim jurisprudence.

In all of these cases, divorced or separated women must observe a period of waiting before they are allowed to remarry.

157. It is obligatory upon permanent and temporary wives to observe the widow’s period of waiting immediately after the death of their husbands even if they have not had sexual intercourse with them.

158. During this period of waiting, it is obligatory upon widows to abandon all sorts of adornment and makeup such as using kohl or perfume, or wearing fancy dresses regardless of the occasion.

159. It is obligatory upon wives who mistakenly have intercourse a man other than their husbands to observe a period of waiting from the time of the intercourse. The husbands then must stay away from them. This serves to remove all ambiguity about paternity should pregnancy have occurred due to the mistaken intercourse.

160. It is obligatory upon a revocably divorced woman to comply with all the rules of matrimony during the period of waiting. She is therefore required to refrain from leaving her house without the permission of her husband and to refrain from refusing her husband if he revokes the divorce. Likewise, it is obligatory upon the revocably divorcing husband to comply with the rules of matrimony, such as paying the living expenses of his wife and not casting her out of the house.

161. It is obligatory upon husbands to break oaths meant to upset their wives. In plain words, if a husband swears that he will not have intercourse with his permanent wife for more than four months or forever, intending to upset or distress her, it is then obligatory upon him to break his oath and engage in intercourse. Moreover, such husbands must make atonement for taking such an oath, which is terminologically called ila’.

162. It is forbidden to act with prejudice regarding one’s kith and kin, such as introducing them dishonestly, giving them what rightfully belongs to others, turning a blind eye to their violation or oppression, and helping them persecute the others.

163. It is forbidden for wives to act contrary(nushuz) and refrain from fulfilling their legal and moral responsibilities towards their husbands without acceptable reason.

164. It is forbidden for husbands to act contrary and refrain from fulfilling their legal and moral responsibilities towards their wives and treating them in an unworthy manner.

165. It is forbidden for husbands to have sexual intercourse with their permanent or temporary wives before they (i.e. the wives) have reached the age of puberty, be they willing or not.

166. It is strictly forbidden for husbands and wives to have sexual intercourse during the wife’s menstrual and lochial periods, be they permanent or temporary wives.

167. It is forbidden for wives to hide the existence of a fetus in their wombs, to keep their husbands ignorant of their menstrual calendar, or to give false information regarding these issues when it is necessary for their husbands to be informed, such as in case they must know whether the period of waiting has terminated or not to see if they can return to their wives.

168. It is forbidden to harass wives with divorce. In other words, it is forbidden for a husband to revocably divorce his wife, then return to her at the very end of the period of waiting, and then divorce her again and so on, in order to deprive her of her right to remarry. It is also forbidden to prevent her from remarrying after the termination of the period of waiting.

169. It is forbidden to cheat the suitors of a woman by describing her falsely and giving false information about her health, mental, and physical conditions in order to fool the suitors, whether this action is done by the woman herself or by her legal guardians and whether the defects being concealed are among those that automatically cancel a marriage contract or not. If this happens, the husband, after discovering that the woman has one of the defects that automatically annul a marriage contract, has the right to cancel the marriage contract without resorting to divorcement.

170. It is forbidden for any duty-bound person who has not performed thetawaf al-nisa’ ritual inhajj (Women’s Circumambulation) or has performed it incorrectly to engage in sexual intercourse with his or her lawful spouse, whether the spouse is male or female, mature or immature, because such a person is considered to have not yet released himself/herself from the state of ihram until he/she or a proxy on behalf of him/her performs this ritual in the approved manner.

171. It is forbidden for the abovementioned person to choose a spouse and get married until he/she performs this ritual. As to persons who do not believe intawaf al-nisa’ as one of the obligatory rituals ofhajj , such as Sunnis, to have sexual intercourse with their spouses or to get married is not forbidden or invalid. Thus, it is not forbidden for Shi’ite men and women to marry Sunni women and men who have not performed the ritual oftawaf al-nisa’.

172. It is forbidden for men to marry unmarriageable(mahram) 6 blood kinswomen; namely, the following five categories:

1. Daughters and granddaughters, however much removed.

2. Mothers and paternal and maternal grandmothers, however much removed.

3. Full sisters and maternal and paternal half-sisters.

4. Daughters and granddaughters of one’s full or half-siblings.

5. Sisters of one’s parents, grandparents, and so on.

173. It is forbidden for a man to marry anyone who falls within one of the five aforementioned categories because of an illegitimate sexual relationship, such as an illegitimate sister, illegitimate mother, and the like.

174. It is forbidden for men to marry anyone who falls within one of the five aforementioned categories as a result of drinking a sufficient amount of a woman’s milk and thus becoming her foster(ridha‘i) child.

175. It is forbidden for women to marry unmarriageable blood kinsmen; namely, the following five categories:

1. Sons and grandsons, however much removed.

2. Fathers and paternal and maternal grandfathers, however much removed.

3. Full and half-brothers.

4. Sons and grandsons of one’s full or half-siblings.

5. Brothers of one’s parents, grandparents, and so on.

176. It is forbidden for a woman to marry anyone who falls within one of the five aforementioned categories because of an illegitimate sexual relationship, such as an illegitimate father, illegitimate son, and the like.

177. It is forbidden for women to marry anyone who falls within one of the five aforementioned categories as a result of ridha‘i fostership (see item 174).

178. It is forbidden to marry stepdaughters (i.e. a daughter of one’s wife by another marriage) and step-granddaughters, if sexual intercourse has been had with the wife herself.

179. It is forbidden for a man, after the marriage contract has been carried out, to marry his mother-in-law, the mother of his father-in-law, the mother of his mother-in-law, and so on up.

180. It is forbidden for a man to marry his daughter-in-law (i.e. the son’s wife).

181. It is forbidden for a woman to marry her father-in-law and grandfathers-in-law, however much removed.

182. It is forbidden for a man to marry his father’s wife and it is forbidden for a woman to marry her husband’s son and grandsons, however much removed.

183. It is forbidden for a man to simultaneously have two sisters as wives, whether their marriage contract is conducted at the same time or with an interval. In this case, the marriage with the second sister is forbidden.

184. It is forbidden for a man to marry the daughter of his wife’s brother or sister without the permission of his wife.

185. It is forbidden for a man to marry the mother, sister, and daughter of a boy with whom he has committed sodomy during childhood or maturity. However, it is not forbidden for the sodomized to marry the mother, sister, or daughter of the perpetrator.

186. It is forbidden to marry more than four permanent wives.

187. It is precautiously forbidden to marry a second or more wives permanently for those who know that they will not be able to treat the wives fairly and equally.

188. It is forbidden for Muslim men to marry non-Muslim women with the exception of theAhl al-Kitab 7 (i.e. People of the Book), although this exception is a controversial issue among Muslim master jurisprudents.

189. It is forbidden for a Muslim woman to marry temporarily or permanently a non-Muslim man, be he from the Ahl al-Kitab or not.

190. It is forbidden for a permanent wife to leave her house without her husband’s permission, except in certain cases such as performing the obligatoryhajj and ‘umrah, urgent medical treatment, and participation in defensive or primary jihad if individually obligatory or commanded by the supreme religious authority.

191. It is forbidden for fathers to disavow paternity of their children unless they have proof that the child is not theirs and by the verdict of a religious magistrate.

192. It is forbidden for a husband to hinder his wife’s right of custody and nursing of her own children if she is willing to nurse without being paid or for a wage equal or less than what others get.

It is forbidden to force one’s wife to nurse her child if she does not want to, with or without payment.

It is forbidden to impose on the father a payment beyond his lawful responsibility.

193. It is forbidden to divorce one’s wife three times on one occasion. This is not a valid divorce and accordingly the wife is not legally detached from matrimony.

194. It is forbidden for a man to remarry his three-time divorcee unless she permanently marries another man, has sexual intercourse with him, and then separates from him through divorce or his death. After observing the period of waiting of the divorced or the widow, the first husband is allowed to remarry her.

195. It is forbidden for a woman whose husband is missing to remarry unless she gains conclusive knowledge of his death or she refers to the supreme religious authority who is required by the divine law to search for the missing husband for four years. If the husband is not found, then the wife’s guardian can declare her divorced by a judgment issued by the supreme authority who, also, has the right to declare her divorced. After her period of waiting elapses, she has the right to remarry.

196. It is forbidden for a husband to swear, in one of the legal forms of oath, to eschew sexual intercourse with his permanent wife for more than four months, with the intent to upset her. Although such an oath is valid, it is forbidden and it is obligatory to break it and make atonement, as previously shown in Question No. 71.

197. It is forbidden for a man to accuse his wife of adultery due to likelihood, suspicion, or someone else’s word, even if the informer is reliable, before he has absolute conviction. Even if he has such conviction, a husband must not accuse his wife, because this exposes him to punishment if he cannot provide before the judge four witnesses to testify to the wife’s having committed adultery after their testimonies are subjected to certain strict procedures. If not, the husband and wife have to take part in a mutual imprecation of God’s curse upon the lying party (terminologically li’an).

198. It is forbidden for a man to marry a woman after they have been the parties of a legal form of mutual imprecation. Mutual imprecation of God’s curse upon the lying party(li’an) is a legal procedure according to which a husband who has accused his wife of committing adultery or disavowed her child swears before the judge, using the fourfold Qur’anic forms of oath, that he is the truthful party while his wife is lying. In order to prove her innocence, the wife swears in the same manner that she is telling truth while her husband is lying. Once they do so, their matrimonial contract revoked and they are forever disallowed from marrying one another.

199. It is forbidden for a husband to remarry his divorcee after he has divorced her revocably nine times, even if she has been married and then divorced by another husband for every three times. After the ninth divorce, it becomes eternally forbidden for the divorcer and the divorcee to remarry. Details of the revocable divorcement can be found in books of Muslim jurisprudence.

200. It is forbidden to carry out a matrimonial contract with a married woman or a woman whose period of waiting due to a previous marriage with another husband has not yet elapsed. If the two parties of such a matrimonial contract have had full acquaintance of this condition, it becomes forbidden for both of them to remarry each other forever, even after the woman’s current husband divorces her or departs life.

201. It is forbidden for a man to marry a woman with whom he has committed adultery during her husband’s lifetime or during her period of waiting of revocable divorcement. As a general law, it is eternally forbidden to marry a woman with whom adultery was committed during the lifetime of her husband even if the he divorces her or dies.

202. It is forbidden forever for ex-husbands to remarry their deaf and mute ex-wives after they have accused them of adultery, but could not prove it by providing religiously acceptable evidence. In this case, their matrimonial contract is revoked and they can never remarry.

203. It is forbidden for a man to marry a daughter of one of his parents’ sisters if he has had sexual intercourse with her. However, the issue is controversial.

204. In the Islamic law, it is strictly obligatory upon women to wearhijab (the modest, covering veil of Muslim women). It is forbidden for women to beautify themselves and show their ornaments and parts of their bodies - except the naturally and normally shown parts, such as the face, the palms of the hands, and the outward appearance of the clothed body - before men other than the following categories:

1. Husbands,

2. unmarriageable blood relatives (i.e. father, brothers, and the like),

3. unmarriageable foster-relatives(ridha‘i) ,

4. unmarriageable in-laws,

5. insane and feeble minded men, and

6. immature boys.

Women who have lost any sexual attraction because of old age or the like matters are allowed to show their body parts on condition that they do not beautify themselves.

205. It is forbidden to allow wives to return to their infidel husbands after they, having been proven as faithful Muslims, have separated from their husbands and have taken refuge in the Muslim state. Of course, when a wife converts to Islam, her marriage with an infidel husband is canceled and it is forbidden to return her to the ex-husband; rather, she is allowed to marry a Muslim man.

206. It is forbidden for men to look at the body parts of marriageable women(ajnabiyyah) except the face and the hands, whether with the intention of lust and taking pleasure or otherwise. Excepted from this law are the lust-free looks at women who are accustomed to exposing certain parts of their body and do not heed enjoinments to the contrary, such as non-Muslim women and Muslim women who imitate them.

It is also forbidden to look lustfully and pleasurably at the faces and hands of marriageable women.

207. It is forbidden for women to look at the body parts of unmarriageable men with and without the intention of lust and taking pleasure. Excepted from this law are the looks at the body parts that are naturally uncovered.

It is forbidden for women to look lustfully and pleasurably at the naturally uncovered body parts of men.

208. Adultery and all kinds of illegal sexual intercourse are forbidden. So are all preparatory acts to illegal sexual intercourse, such as conversation, phone calls, correspondence, dating, moving towards an illegal goal, lustful looks, shaking hands, kissing, and the like.

209. Sodomy (i.e. male homosexuality) is forbidden along with all of its preparatory acts, such as kissing and lustful physical contact. Likewise, lustful looks of men at boys and other men are forbidden.

210. Lesbianism (i.e. female homosexuality) is forbidden, whether the two women are relatives, one of them or both are married or single, or one is mature and the other is immature. However, in case that one of them is immature, the effects of violating this prohibition are undergone by the mature only. Likewise, all preparatory acts of lesbianism are forbidden, such as the acts previously mentioned for the prohibition of sodomy.

211. It is forbidden for two naked men or two naked women to sleep under one cover. Excepted from this law are the relatives, like father and his son and mother and her daughter even if it is not necessary to do so. It is forbidden for men to sleep with non-relative women under one cover even if both are fully clad. Specified punishments have been determined for committing such sins.

212. It is forbidden to act as intermediary between two persons for committing adultery or homosexuality.

213. On the whole, all sorts of lustful actions that are intended for taking pleasure are forbidden for men (except with their wives and bondwomen) and for women (except with their husbands and masters).8 This prohibition is extended to include all sorts of masturbation, and lustful manual and mutual stimulation for sexual pleasure, whether or not the two parties are of the same sex or one party is not human, regardless of the form of sexual pleasure; e.g. looking, kissing, body contact, or sexual intercourse.

214. It is obligatory upon men to cover their private parts against all discerning persons (i.e. having the power of mind developed enough to discern the good from the bad) regardless of the sex except their wives. The ritual prayers of those who do not cover their private parts during prayer are invalid.

215. It is forbidden to look at the private parts of others, be they male, female, or hermaphrodite, marriageable or unmarriageable, except for spouses, undiscerning children, or instances of necessity.

216. Exclusive of husbands, it is forbidden for men to assist women in childbirth, be they relatives or not, except in urgent cases.

217. It is forbidden to inhibit a man’s ability to have sexual intercourse by depriving him of sexual appetite or power towards his present or future wife through means such as casting a spell upon him, using certain medications, and any other means. It is also forbidden to inflict such means on a wife in order to make it impossible for her husband to have sexual intercourse with her.

218. Abortion and removal of a fetus from the womb after the fertilization of the ovum whether at the beginning of the fertilization or in later stages is forbidden, whether this is done by the parents or a third person and whether their permission is or is not obtained, except in cases of emergency, such as danger to the life of the mother. Miscarriage, regardless of the stage, is a sin that necessitates atonement and payment of blood money.

219. Medical examination, treatment, surgery, care, and childbirth of women, requiring sight and touch of body parts must be done by female physicians except in cases of necessity and emergency.

220. Medical examination, treatment, surgery, and care of men, requiring sight and touch of body parts must be done by male physicians except in cases of necessity and emergency.

Notes

1. - An ‘adil person is one who complies with religious duties and refrains from violating religious prohibitions.

2. - In the terminology of Muslim jurisprudence, this case is known as ifdha'.

3. - Here it seems necessary to add that a girl who has been married to a man before her age of consent may annul the marriage after reaching that age. Additionally, item 145 is a point of controversy.

4. - ‘Iddah is a specified period of time that must elapse before a widow or divorcee may legally remarry.

5. - This is a dowry equal to the dowries of women similar to her in terms of familial, social, aesthetic, religious, intellectual, etc. statuses.

6. - These are illegally marriageable persons due to kinship, foster relation, or the like.

7. - These are followers of divine religions such as Judaism and Christianity that possess divine books as distinguished from those whose religions that are not based on divine revelations.

8. - According to the law of Islam, the unmarried women that are owned by men due to slavery are legally considered their wives. Owing to the wisdom of the Islamic legislation, slavery was abolished, yet gradually.

Part 2 Chapter 4: Laws Pertaining To Financial And Ownership Affairs

221. It is obligatory upon every man and woman to engage in work and other lawful ways of earning, in order to provide their living expenses and that of their dependants and to settle their debts. This rule is applicable to every person who has the ability to work and make money and whose expenses cannot be maintained in any other way. It is forbidden for any person to refuse a job that is within his/her ability that suits his/her personality, and meets the abovementioned needs.

222. It is forbidden to use derelict lands, public resources of water, and unknown-owner properties more than needed such that others are deprived of their use, although the use of them is allowed in itself.

223. It is forbidden to act extravagantly; that is to use one’s own belongings in an excessive manner, leave them unattended until they are wasted, or give others the permission to waste them.

224. It is forbidden to squander; that is to use one’s property in an unlawful way.

225. It is obligatory upon the owners and breeders of domestic animals such as camels, cows, sheep, horses, mules, chickens, bees, and the like to provide their fodders or to turn them out to feed in pastures; otherwise, the owner must sell them or transfer their ownership.

226. It is forbidden to slaughter an animal with pronouncing a name other than the Name of God - a name of something that the speaker considers holy, stated to gain proximity with it - such as offering animals to an idol, the sun, a sheep, a rock, an old tree, etc. In addition to the prohibition of this act, it wastes the life of the animal and it is regarded as worthless damage of property.

227. It is obligatory upon a usurper of a property or a person who has acquired a usurped property from another to return it to its owners as immediately as possible. In addition to restoring to its owner, it is obligatory upon a usurper or holder of a usurped thing to make the following reparations:

1. Return of the property itself.

2. Payment of an adequate rent for the time it was usurped.

3. Recompense for damage caused by the usurper.

4. Giving back the benefits obtained from the usurped thing, including produce such as milk, wool, offspring, etc. and revenues.

5. Fully compensate for consumed or lost benefits with money.

228. It is obligatory to restore the properties of others even if they were not gained by means of usurpation if they do not have the right to keep them and the properties are restorable; otherwise, the current keeper of such properties is required to make the aforementioned reparations.

229. It is obligatory to compensate a just amount for a usurped property if it exists but cannot be returned, such as a gold coin or ring that has fallen into a well or a river, or a property that has been confiscated by a tyrannical person and cannot be taken back. This recompense is calledbadal haylulah (compensation for unreturnable things) in the language of Muslim jurisprudence.

230. It is obligatory upon all those who held a usurped property to satisfy the owner, because the owner has the right to ask for her/his property from any one of them. To explain, if, for example, a property was handed down through ten persons the last of whom wasted it, the owner will have the right to ask for his property from any one of the ten persons. When the owner asks for his/her property from one of them, she/he must pay its price and then refer to the person to whom he/she gave that property. Finally, the compensation is paid by the person who has used up or lost the property. If, in this case, the property is available in the hands of the tenth person, the owner can still demand her/his property from any one of them and it is obligatory upon that one to provide the property and give it back to its owner. If he/she cannot, she/he must pay an amount equal to its worth as compensation of unreturnable things.

231. It is obligatory to announce found property(luqatah) . If one picks up a thing of unknown ownership or he/she is given a thing of unknown ownership, she/he must then announce that thing being in his/her possession. If a found property is in the possession of a single person, it is individually obligatory upon her/him to announce it, but if it is in the possession of a group of people, it is not obligatory upon all of them to announce it; rather, it is sufficient for one of them to announce it.

232. It is obligatory to pick up and protect a foundling (i.e. a child whose guardian has for any reason abandoned him/her and who is exposed to death) whether infant or not, discerning or undiscerning.

233. It is forbidden to give and receive usurious money (i.e. money lent at interest) whether the giver or taker is a relative or nor, except in the following cases:

1. The recipient is in extreme need and has no other option.

2. The recipient is Muslim but the giver is not.

In the two above cases, interest is allowed for the recipient.

3. The recipient and the giver are father and son.

4. The recipient and the giver are spouses.

234. Fraud in dealings is forbidden, which involves selling a product in the name of another product, selling a mixed product described as a pure one without informing the customer, or selling a product that seems to be something other than what it is, be it food, clothes, means of transportation, housing, etc. Fraud in transactional deals is also forbidden, such as contracts of lease, partnership, sharecropping, and the like.

235. It is forbidden to enter another person’s property, such as house and ranch, before obtaining his/her approval unless there is a specific or general indication of the owner’s approval.

236. It is forbidden to make any sort of disposition of the possessions of others before obtaining permission, or if there is doubt or hesitation about their permission, regardless of whether the disposer is poor or wealthy, whether she/he intends to make compensation or not, and whether he/she is family or otherwise. Excepted from this law are the following cases:

1. Cases of emergency.

2. Making disposition of the others’ property having the status of right of passage. To explain, if a person incidentally passes by an orchard or a fruitful tree, he/she has the right to eat some of its fruits by picking some fruits from the tree or picking up the ones that have fallen to the ground, even if the permission of the owner is in doubt.

3. Making disposition of the houses and household furniture and appliances that God has given permission to make disposition of. These are namely the houses of one’s children, father, mother, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, and friends, and also houses which one (rightfully) possesses the keys of. According to the law of Islam, it is allowable to use the possessions in these houses without need for obtaining their owners’ permission. The disposition allowed at such houses without obtaining their owners’ permission includes such ordinary matters like sitting, sleeping, performing and offering prayers, eating, and drinking from the available foods and drinks.

237. Usurpation is forbidden. This means that it is forbidden to appropriate others’ properties wrongfully. Usurpation may take various forms. It may be in the form of (1) making changes to the properties of others, (2) making use of the other’s properties themselves or of their benefits, like the domination of an owner over his/her property after she/he has rented it out, (3) appropriating wrongfully the others’ prerogatives, like controlling over an uncultivated land after someone else has fenced it, (4) appropriating the others’ rights, like the domination of a debtor over the property he/she has charged in favor of a creditor as security for a debt, before obtaining the creditor’s permission, or (5) actions, like forcing a person to do a definite action.

238. It is forbidden to take possession of derelict lands that fall inside the borders of the properties of others or that the use of which interferes with another person’s right or property. For instance, it is forbidden to dig a well within the perimeter of the well of others, causing them loss.

239. It is forbidden to make disposition of one’s own property in a way that causes loss for neighbors or other people in the event that to avoid making this disposition does not cause loss and severe hardship to the owner him/herself.

240. It is forbidden to make changes in public ways, roads, and streets in a dominating manner or any other manner if doing so is obtrusive to people’s passage.

241. It is forbidden to construct balconies, install rainwater pipes, dig underground tunnels, dig a well, and make a stream in a public way if doing so is obtrusive to pedestrians.

242. It is forbidden to take possession of any animal that is found in villages or cities, such as cows, sheep, and chickens. It is also forbidden to take possession of animals that are found in deserts that can protect themselves from predators by means of escape or defense, such as horses, camels, cows and buffalos. If they are taken, then their safety must be guaranteed.

243. It is forbidden to take possession and make disposition of properties or unknown ownership other thanluqatah (i.e. found property with specific attributes), whether they are kept by the person himself or given to another person.

244. Setting off against a debtor is forbidden. To explain, it is prohibited for a creditor to take secretly her/his due from the debtor’s property while the debtor intends to pay his/her debt.

245. It is forbidden for beneficiaries ofzakat andkhumus taxes to take secretly their portions from the property of persons who owe these dues except by the permission of the supreme religious authority.

Part 2 Chapter 2: Rulings of Devotional Acts

51. It is obligatory upon any ceremonially impure person to obtain purity by means of minor ablution(wudhu’) in order to be allowed to do the following acts: (1) performing daily prayers, (2) performing obligatorytawaf , (3) touching the scripts of the Holy Qur’an, and (4) performing prayers for a semi-menstrual(mustahadhah: a woman in the state of light irregular menstruation) five times a day for the five daily prayers, regardless of whether or not it is obligatory upon her to perform the major ablution(ghusl) .

52. It is obligatory upon one who isjunub (unclean as a result of sexual intercourse) to perform the major ablution in order to perform the following six actions: (1) performing the daily ritual prayers, (2)tawaf , (3) touching the script of the Holy Qur’an, (4) reciting the four verses of prostration (i.e. the four Qur’anic verses upon the reciting of which, it is obligatory to prostrate oneself), (5) staying or stopping in a mosque, and (6) passing through the Sacred Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in al-Madinah.

53. It is obligatory to wash the urinary orifice with water and to clean the anal orifice with water or three pieces of cleaning material (such as cloth, toilet paper, etc.), for the performance of prayers and obligatorytawaf .

54. For performing the previously mentioned six actions, it is obligatory upon a woman whose menstruation period is over to perform the major ablution of menstruation.

55. In order to be allowed to perform the six mentioned actions, it is obligatory upon a woman who has just given birth to a child to perform the major ablution of lochia after the allowance of ten days for bleeding related to childbirth.

56. In order to be allowed to perform the six mentioned actions, it is obligatory upon a woman who has seen a certain amount of blood in other than her menstrual period to do the major ablution of semi-menstruation.

57. It is obligatory upon a person who has touched a human corpse to perform the Touching the Dead Ritual Ablution(ghusl mass al-mayyit) , in the event that the corpse has cooled and has not been given the three ritual ablutions; otherwise, the ritual ablution is not obligatory. This rule is also applicable to touching any separated body part that has a bone.

58. Whenever it is impossible to perform the obligatory major and minor ritual ablutions, it becomes obligatory to perform the dry ablution (i.e. tayammum; wiping a portion of the face and the backs of both hands with dust of certain qualifications) instead.

59. It is individually obligatory to put moribund Muslims, be they male or female, adult or child, legitimate or illegitimate child of two Muslims, in the direction of qiblah. To put someone in the direction of qiblah is to make him/her lie on the back with the feet facing the qiblah direction. It must be noted, however, that this is one of the controversial issues in Muslim jurisprudence.

60. It is individually obligatory upon each duty-bound person who becomes informed of a Muslim’s death to purify the dead body from ceremonial impurities and then give three ritual ablutions: first, with sidr(jujube) leaves water, meaning a little amount of jujube leaves mixed with water; second, with camphor mixed with water; third, with pure (unmixed) water.

61. It is obligatory to perform hanut, meaning to rub camphor on seven parts of a dead body, which are the parts that touch the ground while prostrating. These seven parts are the forehead, the palms of the hands, the knees, and the big toes.

62. It is obligatory to shroud every Muslim dead person with three pieces of pure and legally obtained(halal) fabric; (1) a waistcloth, (2) a shirt, and (3) an allover cloth. The abovementioned three obligations (i.e. ritual ablution, camphorating, and shrouding) are not obligatory upon those martyred in the battlefield.

63. It is obligatory to perform the Prayer of the Dead(salat al-mayyit) on any dead Muslim of more than six years of age, even if he or she is an illegitimate child of a Muslim. This prayer is performed after the ritual ablution, camphorating, and shrouding.

64. It is obligatory to bury any dead Muslim person under the earth, towards the qiblah direction, in a way that the right side be on the ground and facing the qiblah. To perform the abovementioned five matters (i.e. ritual ablution, camphorating, shrouding, praying, and burying) is a collective obligation. It is forbidden to perform these things for a disbeliever and to bury him/her in a Muslim cemetery.

65. It is obligatory to obtain permission from the dead person’s guardian for performing these five rituals. When such a guardian is missing, it becomes obligatory upon all Muslims, yet unconditionally, to perform these five rituals. In this respect, a guardian(i.e. wali) is any of the dead person’s heirs, such as father, son, brother, or husband, each ranking in special order.

66. It is obligatory to dig up the grave of a believer who has been buried: (1) in a usurped place, (2) with an illegally-gotten shroud, (3) before performing one of the ritual ablutions, camphorating, or shrouding, (4) in a non-Muslim cemetery, (5) in a disrespectful place, or (6) in a place other than what was willed by him/her. In all these cases, it is an obligation to disinter the corpse, resolve the shortcomings, and bury it in a suitable place.

67. It is obligatory to intend seeking nearness to God Almighty(i.e. niyyat al-qurbah) in all devotional acts. This means that the only motive driving one towards doing an act of worship must be the intention of seeking nearness to God only, without adding any other intention to this act. For achieving the required intention of seeking nearness to God the Almighty in doing any devotional act, any of the following purposes is adequate; though some are better than others:

1. To comply with God’s command.

2. To attain spiritual nearness to Him.

3. Because He is worthy of worship.

4. To thank Him for His bounties.

5. To acquire His love and satisfaction.

6. Because of understanding the good in the deed itself.

7. To be allowed Paradise in the Next World.

8. To be saved from Hellfire in the Next World.

9. To acquire the worldly blessings of God.

10. To escape worldly calamities.

The best of all these intentions is the fifth item, then the third, and the lowest intention is the last.

68. It is an emphasized obligation to perform the five daily ritual prayers -fajr (between false dawn and sunrise) prayer,zuhr (midday) prayer,‘asr (afternoon) prayer,maghrib (nightfall) prayer, and‘isha’ (early night) prayer - each in its own specified time, meeting all given conditions. It is forbidden to refrain from performing any of these prayers or from performing them in their times.

69. It is emphatically obligatory upon the supreme religious authority of Muslims(wali al-amr) or the leader of Friday Prayers appointed by him to hold the congregational Friday Prayers and invite people to participate as long as the prayer conditions are met. It is optional to choose between performing the ritual Noon Prayer and the congregational Friday Prayer.

70. It is obligatory to present oneself in the congregational Friday Prayers when the call to join these prayers is heard and when the conditions of holding them are fully met. However, this obligation is optional; that is to mean that a duty-bound person has the freedom to choose between performing the two-unit Friday Prayer or the four-unit Noon Prayer. However, to attend the congregational Friday Prayers brings about more rewards than performing the Noon Prayer instead. This, however, is a controversial issue.

71. It is obligatory to perform the Fear Prayer(salat al-khawf) . However, the performance of this prayer is contingent upon certain conditions. In other words, this prayer is performed in the battlefield when enemy attack is anticipated and when the enemy stands in the opposite direction of the qiblah. When performed congregationally, this prayer must be shortened even if the soldiers are not travelers. The method of this prayer is as follows: a number of soldiers perform the first unit(rak‘at) of the Noon Prayer, for instance, with the leader(imam) and the second on their own. They then leave to the battlefield, allowing another group of soldiers to come and perform the first unit of their prayer congregationally, following the imam who would be performing the second unit of his - or her - prayer. They would then each complete their prayer individually.

72. It is obligatory to perform the pursuit prayer(mutaradah) , which is performed in battlefields under heavy attack when it is impossible to perform the acts of ritual prayers. After uttering the takbir statement, it is obligatory to perform all the acts of prayer to the extent possible although it is sufficiently acceptable to make gestures with the eye and eyebrow to express the acts of the prayer. Hence, the other conditions of the validity of a prayer, such as standing erect, facing the qiblah direction, genuflection, and prostration are all cancelled.

73. It is obligatory to investigate and inquire about the qiblah direction when it is unknown, because to face the qiblah direction is a condition of the validity of some ritual acts, such as prayer, facing a dying person towards it, burying the dead towards it, or refraining from discharging in its direction.

74. It is obligatory upon a traveler to half his/her four-unit prayers. In other words, a traveler is required to perform the noon, afternoon, and evening prayers in the form of two units only.

75. It is obligatory to performSalat al-ayat (the Alarm Prayer) at times of sun and moon eclipses, earthquakes, or at the occurrence of any other frightening earthly or heavenly event.

76. It is obligatory to performSalat al-Tawaf (The Ritual Circumambulating Prayer) after accomplishing the rite of circumambulating the Holy Ka’bah. This two-unit prayer must be performed as close as possible toMaqam Ibrahim (the standing-place of Prophet Abraham).

77. It is obligatory upon the eldest son to perform the prayers his father had missed before his death. The son can either perform these prayers himself on behalf of his father or hire someone to perform them instead. Similarly, the eldest son is required to make up for the number of the days on which his father is required to observe fasting and to perform the prayers his dead mother missed to perform. Yet, the latter issue is a matter of dispute.

78. It is obligatory upon a duty-bound person to make up for her/his missed daily and other obligatory prayers as well as the prayers he/she has performed incorrectly and the obligatory prayers she/he has not performed under conditions such as apostasy. However, there are some exceptions. It is forbidden to avoid performing any obligatory prayer or neglect performing it in its time.

79. It is obligatory to perform all prayers that are undertaken under vow, promise, and pledge, or by hire, including those that are originally recommended (vis-à-vis obligatory). Likewise, it is also obligatory to perform the prayers that are stipulated as conditions.

80. It is obligatory to perform any prayer or any other pious deed requested by one's parents if they would be unhappy or offended in the event their request was disobeyed, since causing one’s parents distress is forbidden.

81. It is obligatory to prostrate oneself when any of the four verses of obligatory prostration is recited or heard. These four verses are the fifth verse of Surah al-Sajdah, the thirty-seventh verse of Surah Fussilat, the last verse of Surah al-Najm, and the last verse of Surah al-’Alaq.

82. It is obligatory upon all the duty-bound to observe fasting in the holy month of Ramadhan, unless there is a legally acceptable excuse preventing from doing so. Fasting can be defined as abstinence from the following matters during the daylight hours of Ramadhan, intending nearness to God:

a. Eating,

b. drinking

c. sexual intercourse,

d. masturbation; that is, manual stimulation of the genitals for sexual pleasure,

e. deliberate keeping of oneself in the state of major impurity until morning that necessitates ritual bathing, such as sexual intercourse, menstruation, or lochia,

f. intentional fabrication of forgery against God, the prophets, and the Imams,

g. intentional submerging of the whole head under water,

h. intentional inhalation of thick dust or smoke,

i. using liquid enemas; i.e. forcing them into the rectum and colon, and

j. intentional or voluntary vomiting.

Being forbidden for those observing fasting, all these things invalidate fasting and make it obligatory to make atonement for these acts. Just as it is emphatically forbidden to refrain from observing fasting during the month of Ramadhan, so also is it forbidden to refrain from observing any other obligatory fast-day.

83. It is obligatory to make up for the missed obligatory fast-days, be they from the holy month of Ramadhan or any other month, as long as it is possible to observe fasting.

84. It is obligatory to supplement the two-dayi’tikaf (devotional seclusion) with a third day. To explain, if one practices i’tikaf in a mosque for two days and keeps oneself there up to the morning of the third day, it then becomes obligatory to observe fasting and continue practicing i’tikaf from theadhan (call to prayer) of the third day up to the beginning of the fourth night.

85. It is obligatory to defray thezakat (poor-rate) tax, according to their conditions, that is made on certain kinds of property; namely, (1) golden currency, (2) silver currency, (3) camels, (4) cows, (5) sheep, (6) wheat, (7) barley, (8) dates, and (9) raisins.

The beneficiaries of these taxes are the following eight categories of people: (1) the poor, (2) the needy, (3) officials appointed to collect these taxes, (4) those whose hearts may to incline to truth by receiving such money, (5) the ransoming of captives, (6) those in debts, (7) in the way of Allah, and (8) wayfarers.

86. It is obligatory to defray thezakat al-fitrah tax that is made on the most ordinary foods. This tax must be paid in the period between the night before ‘«d al-Fitr and the time of theeid al-Fitr Prayer. This period may be extended to midday instead of morning for those who do not offer the ‘«d al-Fitr Prayer.

87. It is strictly forbidden to refrain from paying thezakat and thezakat al-fitrah taxes either by desisting from or delaying to a later time than the prescribed.

88. It is obligatory to pay thekhumus (one-fifth) tax that is the due of the Household of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon them, and currently of Imam al-Mahdi (may Allah hasten his reappearance) in his capacity as the Imam; i.e. the Divinely ordained leader of Muslims. During the Occultation Age, this tax must be paid to his representatives. When the conditions of its payment are met, this tax is payable on certain kinds of property as follows:

a. spoils of war,

b. mines and quarries,

c. treasures (when discovered),

d. pearls and marine gems (obtained through diving),

e. lands purchased by Dhimmis (i.e. non-Muslim subjects enjoying the protection of Muslim governments) from Muslims,

f. properties mixed with illegally-gotten property when neither their owners nor amounts are known, and

g. all profits and incomes that are gained due to dealings or any other source after deducting the annual expenses.

It is a strictly forbidden to refrain from or delay paying this tax whenever paying is possible.

89. It is obligatory to perform Hijjat al-Islam; i.e. going on ritual pilgrimage to the Holy House of God in Mecca according to the divine law of Islam. Hijjat al-Islam is obligatory once in a lifetime upon all duty-bound persons who meet its conditions and qualifications. It must be performed in the holy city of Mecca, in the great monuments of worship, and in the month of Dh’ul-Hijjah. Hajj is classified into three kinds: tamattu’, ifrad, and qiran. Although the three kinds ofhajj are similar to each other with regard to rites in general, they differ in intentions and certain rites. There are ten qualifications that must be met by those intending to carry out this religious duty, and it has thirteen ritual parts.

Hajj is incumbent on every Muslim who is (1) mature, (2) mentally healthy, (3) financially able to make the pilgrimage, (4) physically able, (5) having enough time to go on pilgrimage, (6) having access to the place of pilgrimage, (7) sure enough that this journey and the performance of the rituals ofhajj will not cause him/her physical harm, (8) sure enough that this will not place hardships on him/her, (9) this journey and rituals will not be the reason for neglecting a more important duty, and (10) going on this pilgrimage will not result in committing a religious forbidden thing.

The ritual parts ofhajj are (1) ihram (ritual consecration; a state into which a Muslim must enter before performing a pilgrimage by wearing a certain costume and refraining from certain acts), (2) halting on Mount ‘Arafat, (3) halting at the Holy Monument (mash’ar), (4) ramy al-Jamarat; throwing a certain number of pebbles on the statues representing Satan, (5) offering an animal as sacrifice, (6) taqsir; shaving or cutting short the hair and trimming the nails, (7)tawaf ; circumambulating the Holy Ka’bah, (8) performing Salat al-Tawaf; the Circumambulating Prayer, (9) sa’y; running seven rounds between al-Safa and al-Marwah hillocks, (10) mabit; staying at Mina for two or three nights, (11) ramy al-Jamarat during the days spent at Mina, (12)tawaf al-nisa’; circumambulating the Holy Ka’bah, and (13) performing a two-unit prayer (salattawaf al-nisa’) after the circumambulating.

It is strictly forbidden to forgo or delay performing thehajj or ‘umrah pilgrimages that is made obligatory under any condition to a later time than the ascribed.

90. It is obligatory to perform the ‘umrat al-tamattu’ (the lesserhajj ; a pilgrimage made independently of or at the same time as the obligatoryhajj according to definite conditions), which is obligatory once in a lifetime. Its obligation, ritual actions, and conditions are the same of those ofhajj al-tamattu’. The ‘umrat al-tamattu’ consists of five ritual actions: (1) ihram, (2)tawaf , (3) salat al-tawaf , (4) sa’y, and (5) taqsir.

91. It is obligatory to perform al-’umrah al-mufradah; a special devotional act that is obligatory once in a lifetime upon the residents of Mecca and a limited area of its surrounding villages. It consists of seven parts: the previously mentioned five parts in addition totawaf al-nisa’ and salattawaf al-nisa’.

92. It is obligatory upon a duty-bound person to performhajj and ‘umrah that become obligatory on account of other factors such as proxy (niyabah; being appointed by another person going on the pilgrimage to stand in for the principal), re-performing a previous invalid obligatoryhajj or ‘umrah, vow, meeting a condition, or any other factor.

93. It is obligatory to accept any generous offer to make the pilgrimage. In plain words, if one, being honest, offers to someone else to bear the expenses of thehajj pilgrimage, it is then obligatory to accept this offer and ready oneself for making the pilgrimage at the proper time.

94. In case of committing certain sins and violating certain religious laws, it is obligatory to make atonement (kaffarah). The kinds and amounts of these atonements, as well as the sins and violated laws for which atonement must be made, can be found in details in the books of Muslim jurisprudence. Because the making of atonement is regarded as a devotional act, it must be done with the intention of seeking nearness to God. It seems necessary to explain the situations at which atonements must be made as well as the prescribed amounts.

95. It is obligatory upon a person who accidentally kills a Muslim individual to undergo the hierarchical atonement (kaffarah murattabah) in addition to paying the blood money (diyah). To undergo a hierarchical atonement means to begin with freeing a slave. If this is impossible, fasting for two successive months must be observed. If this is impossible too, then sixty poor persons must be served with 750 grams of any kind of food each.

96. It is obligatory upon a person who has intentionally and without acceptable reason broken his/her fast in the month of Ramadhan to undergo an optional atonement (kaffarah mukhayyarah), which stands for the option to choose any of the abovementioned atonements (i.e. freeing a slave, fasting for two successive months, or serving sixty poor persons with food).

97. If after midday, one breaks the fast one has observed as settlement of a missed Ramadhan fast-day without acceptable reason, then one is required to serve two poor persons with food as atonement. If this is impossible, one must fast for three days. This is also a type of hierarchical atonement.

98. It is obligatory to undergo the atonement for committing the forbidden ¨ihar, which is a sort of dispute between spouses due to which the husband likens his wife to his mother, declares that sexual intercourse with his wife is like it with his mother, or likens his wife’s back to his mother’s, meaning to deem forbidden the matrimonial relationship between his wife and him. In fact, to pronounce these words and their likes is forbidden in itself although it is not considered formal divorce. Yet, a husband who utters such words must undergo expiation; he must perform one of the following three matters respectively: freeing a slave, serving food to sixty poor persons, and fasting for two successive months.

99. It is obligatory upon a person who has broken a legal vow or promise to undergo the same atonement determined for breaking fasting in a Ramadhan fast-day. Optionally, such person must free a slave, observe fasting for two successive months, or serve sixty poor persons with food.

100. It is obligatory upon a woman who has cut her hair with scissors or with any other means in order to express deep grief for the loss of one of her relatives to pay the same atonement determined for breaking fasting in a Ramadhan fast-day.

101. It is obligatory upon a person who has broken an oath to make atonement, by freeing a slave, serving ten poor people with food or giving them clothes, or fasting for three days if it is impossible for him/her to do the previous items.

102. It is obligatory upon a woman who has pulled out the hair of her head as sign of showing grief for the death of her husband or relatives to make atonement, which is the same determined for breaking an oath. Originally, it is forbidden for women to pluck their hair and scratch their faces to draw blood at such misfortunes like the loss of their husbands or relatives.

103. It is obligatory upon men who tear their clothes as sign of showing grievance for the loss of their wives or children to make the same atonement determined for breaking an oath. In essence, such acts are forbidden.

104. It is obligatory upon a person who intentionally and unlawfully kills a Muslim individual to make the combined atonement (kaffarat al-jam’); he/she must free a slave, fast for two successive months, and feed sixty poor people. If it is impossible to find a slave to free, the two other things must be done.

105. Making the combined atonement is also obligatory upon a person who intentionally and without acceptable reason breaks the fast in the month of Ramadhan by committing a forbidden matter, such as eating a forbidden food, drinking wine, or committing adultery.

106. Old men and women as well as persons affected by the disease of continuous thirst who cannot observe fasting in Ramadhan due to lack of physical ability and severe hardship must make atonement.

Pregnant and breast-feeding women who break the fast in Ramadhan for fear of sickness or harm of the fetus or the baby must make atonement, which is, in this as well as the previous case, to pay the amount of one meal, which is 750 grams of food for each broken fast-day. Hence, for the whole month, the quantity is 22.5 kilograms.

Similarly, for the violation of most of the actions forbidden for those in the state of the ritual ihram such atonement must be made. The details of these laws can be found in the books known as Manasik al-Hajj (The Hajj Rituals).

107. As long as the qualifications are met it is obligatory to enjoin the good (i.e. calling upon persons to carry out religious duties to the possible extent) according to the following hierarchy:

1. Using soft language and avoiding cruel statements,

2. Using physical force, softly and harshly in order, and

3. Using severe force, even if it is harmful and serious.

The first level is obligatory upon everyone, the second is also obligatory yet after obtaining the supreme religious authority’s permission, and the third is the responsibility of the supreme religious authority alone.

108. It is obligatory to forbid evil by preventing any violation of religious prohibitions according to the same abovementioned hierarchy. It is emphatically forbidden to refrain from enjoining good and forbidding evil whenever possible; i.e. in the event that there is nothing preventing effectuation of these two duties.

109. It is obligatory upon those who are informed about the innovation of a heretic matter in the religion to prevent it as long as they have the ability to do so. Likewise, it is obligatory to try to eliminate any heretic matter that has already been innovated.

110. It is obligatory to confront the cultural, political, and economic assaults of the enemies of Islam, be they non-Muslims or Muslims trying to deform true Islam.

111. It is forbidden for faithful Muslims in general and scholars in particular to keep silent before any attempt to eradicate the religious rulings, innovate heretic matters in religion, impose anti-Islamic rules, disrespect the sanctities of Islam, or promulgate forbidden acts, even if standing against such things results in physical and financial loss unless doing so would entail greater evil.

112. It is forbidden for any duty-bound person to turn the face or the back towards the qiblah direction while discharging urine or feces, whether in a desert or in a city.

113. It is forbidden for ceremonially impure persons, menstruating women, women in the lochial period, or any person who has not performed the ritual ablution (wudhu’) to touch or come into contact with the inscriptions of the Holy Qur’an as well as the inscriptions of the Name of God (i.e. Allah), the Divine Attributes, and the names of the Holy Prophet and the Holy Imams. However, the question of the prohibition of touching the names of the Holy Imams by the aforementioned categories of people is controversial.

114. It is forbidden for ceremonially impure persons, menstruating women, and women in their lochial period to stop in any mosque under any circumstance. However, it is allowed for them to pass through a mosque.

115. It is forbidden for the abovementioned categories of people to pass through the Sacred Mosque in Mecca and the Holy Prophet’s Mosque in al-Madinah.

116. It is forbidden for a ceremonially impure person, a menstruating women, and women in her lochial period to read the four verses of prostration (i.e. the four Qur’anic verses upon the reciting of which, it is obligatory to prostrate oneself). However, to read the other verses of these Qur’anic chapters is a matter of disagreement among master jurisprudents.

117. It is forbidden for menstruating women and women in their lochial period to perform the ritual prayers, observe the ritual fasting, or stay in the state of ritual i’tikaf.

118. It is forbidden to fast during the ‘«d al-Fitr Day (the first of Shawwal) and the ‘«d al-Adhha Day (the tenth of Dhu’l-Hijjah).

119. It is forbidden for those performing the ritualhajj and those staying at Mina to fast on the Tashriq Days (i.e. the 11th, 12th, and 13th of Dhu’l-Hijjah).

120. For those who fast during the Doubt Day (yawm al-skahh; the day that is doubted to be the first of Ramadhan or the last of Sha’ban), it is forbidden to decisively consider this day to be the first of Ramadhan.

121. It is forbidden for women to observe a recommended fast in case their fasting occludes any of their duties towards their husbands.

122. It is forbidden for children to fast if it upsets their parents or if it is against their explicit will.

123. It is forbidden to observe obligatory or recommended fasting in travel except in cases of ritual vows. It is also forbidden for ailed persons to fast if it causes harm to their health. As a rule, the forbidden fast is invalid.

124. It is forbidden to cross the arms in prayers, whether the prayers are obligatory or recommended, intending it to be a religious duty or etiquette. Jurisprudents disagree on whether this action invalidates the prayer or not.

125. It is forbidden for the followers in a congregational prayer to say amin (i.e. Amen) when the imam (i.e. leader of the prayer) finishes the recitation of Surah al-Fatihah, intending this word to be part of the ritual prayer or a religious law. The same ruling is applicable to the leaders of congregational prayers when they utter this word after finishing reciting Surah al-Fatihah as well as all those who perform prayers individually. However, there is disagreement as to whether this word invalidates the prayer or not.

126. It is forbidden to interrupt a daily prayer intentionally and without shari‘a-approved reason - even if the prayer is re-performed later. This includes intentionally interrupting prayer by minor impurity1 (hadath asghar), major impurity2 (hadath akbar), turning from the qiblah direction, talking in the middle of prayers, laughter, audible weeping for worldly affairs, doing any action that deforms the form of the prayer, eating, drinking, or any similar action except in cases of emergency.

127. It is forbidden to receive a wage for an action that is individually or collectively obligatory according to religious law, such as performing funeral ablution, funeral prayer, shrouding, or any other action that is within the obligatory funerary ceremonies, whether wage is received from the dead person’s guardian or any other person. However, this matter is controversial.

128. It is forbidden to act hypocritically in any obligatory or recommended act of worship. In other words, to perform any act of worship with the intention of attracting people’s attention exclusively or in tandem with a religiously acceptable intention is forbidden. It does not make a difference whether hypocrisy is intended in the essence of the devotional act, in one of its parts (such as washing the hands and wiping the head in the ritual ablution, and recitation and prostration in a ritual prayer), in its characteristics (such as praying congregationally or in mosques), or whether hypocrisy originated at the beginning of a devotional act or in the middle of it. To sum up, showing off is forbidden in all these cases and also invalidates the devotional acts.

129. After two days of i’tikaf it is forbidden to break it until the start of the fourth night; that is, from the dawn of the third day to the start of the fourth night, because every third day of i’tikaf becomes obligatory at the end of the second day. This is applicable to every third day, such as the sixth, ninth, and so on.

130. When performing the ritualhajj or ‘umrah, it is forbidden to violate any of the twenty-four prohibitions of ihram, which are as follows:

1. Hunting wild, non-aquatic animals, whether on land or in the sky.

2. Lustful association with a woman, even lustful regard.

3. Concluding a temporary or permanent marriage contract for oneself or others and bearing witness to such contracts.

4. Masturbation, which is forbidden regardless.

5. Using perfumes.

6. Men wearing sewn clothes.

7. Darkening the eyes with kohl.

8. Looking in mirrors.

9. Men wearing socks and shoes that cover the top of the feet.

10. Lying, swearing, and boasting.

11. Altercation, which stands for using such expressions like ‘bala-wallahi (yes, by God)’ and ‘la-wallahi (no by God)’ to prove or deny something, be the converser truthful or liar.

12. Killing body parasites, including lice and fleas.

13. Wearing a ring as adornment.

14. Women applying makeup.

15. Applying oily substances on the body, such as lotions.

16. Removing any amount of body hair by shaving or other means.

17. Men covering their heads with anything.

18. Women covering their faces.

19. Men shading themselves while moving or traveling by any transportation means.

20. Emitting blood, even by brushing or pulling out a tooth.

21. Clipping all or part of the nails.

22. Pulling out a tooth, even if it does not bleed.

23. Cutting grass or a tree inside the Shrine.

24. Carrying any sort of weapon.

Atonement as specified by religious laws must be made for violating most of these forbidden matters.

131. It is forbidden to defile mosques with any type of impure thing (najasat); the same applies to the shrines of the Holy Infallibles, the covers and pages of the Holy Qur’an, and soil taken from the tombs of the Holy Infallibles, if it can be considered disrespectful. Regardless of how it has become impure, it is obligatory to remove as immediately as possible the impurity from these places and things.

132. It is forbidden to destroy mosques, close them down, or prevent people from using them, except in cases of restoration and remodeling.

133. It is forbidden to allow unbelievers, be they polytheists or not, into mosques if this causes disrespect to these places or if they are not ceremonially pure.

Notes

1. - Any act that invalidates minor ritual ablution, i.e. wudhu’, such as urination, excrement, emission of intestinal gas, and sleep.

2. - Any act that invalidates the major ritual ablution, i.e. ghusl, such as having a wet dream, sexual intercourse, ejaculation, and menstruation.