In the Book of Assistance by Imam Al-Haddad most of the chapter dedicated to scrupulousness is in regards to mindfulness of lawful business transactions.
Key Points for Study and Review:
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Avoidance of Prohibited and Suspect Things:
- Scrupulousness (wara’) is fundamental to religion and heavily emphasized by scholars.
- The Prophet Muhammad warned against consuming or acquiring wrongfully gained wealth.
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Impact on Good Deeds:
- Acquiring prohibited/suspect items tarnishes good deeds internally.
- God only accepts good deeds from good sources, highlighting the importance of lawful sustenance.
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Degrees of Prohibited Items:
- Directly prohibited (e.g., carcasses, blood, alcohol) and conditionally illicit items (e.g., items properly acquired).
- Suspect items vary in degrees of suspicion; always opt for the clearer lawful option.
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Taqwa and Scrupulousness:
- True taqwa involves avoiding not only doubtful items but also undeniably lawful items to avoid potential sin.
- Historical piety involved extreme caution to avoid illicit avenues.
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Knowledge of Forbidden Acts:
- Awareness of forbidden acts is crucial to avoid them, understanding the significance of thorough investigation in transactions.
- Categories of people in dealings: trustworthy, unknown, and wrongdoers – each requiring different levels of scrutiny.
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Invalid Transactions and Honesty:
- Importance of valid transactions, avoiding deceit, and transparency in commerce.
- Lying, cheating, and usury (riba) are major sins with severe warnings against them.
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Hoarding (Ihtikar):
- Prohibited practice includes buying essential food and hoarding it to increase prices.
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Worldly Indulgence vs. Necessity:
- Worldly cravings complicate scrupulousness; essentials only narrow it down.
- Simplicity in needs makes lawful sustenance sufficient.
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Scrupulous Behavior and Legal Opinions:
- Internal suspicion about a matter indicates the need for abstention, even with permissible appearances.
- Matters of the heart guide scrupulous decisions more than legalistic indulgence.
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Comprehensive Scrupulousness:
- Applies beyond food and clothing to all aspects of life.
- The impact of lawful food on spiritual and physical well-being is profound.
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Predecessors’ Advice:
- Actions reflect the nature of one’s sustenance.
- Simplicity in diet and lifestyle channels piety and worship.
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God’s Grant of Success:
- Righteous efforts to live scrupulously are ultimately aided by divine success granted by God.
Imam al-Haddad's Book of Assistance:
You must scrupulously avoid prohibited and suspect things. Scrupulousness [wara’] is the pillar of religion and it is the pivot emphasized by the practicing scholars. The Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, has said: ‘All flesh that has grown on wrongfully acquired money, the Fire has first right to it.’ And: ‘The one who guards himself against suspect things has protected his religion and his honour, and the one who falls into suspect things will fall into the prohibited.’
Know that those who acquire prohibited and suspect things are seldom granted success in performing good deeds, and when they appear to be doing so, these are inevitably inwardly tarnished with hidden things which spoil them, such as self-admiration and ostentation. In any case, the works of those who subsist on illicit [resources] are rejected, for God is Good and accepts only that which is good. The explanation of this is that acts can only be performed by using the body, and the body can only move by the energy obtained from food. If that food is vile, the energy it produces and the movements which result will also be vile.
‘Abd-Allah ibn ‘Umar, may God be pleased with them both, has said: ‘If you pray until your backs become bent, and fast until you become [thin] like strings, God will only accept this if done with a safeguarding scrupulousness.’ And it has been reported that the Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, has said: ‘The prayers of a man who buys a garment for ten dirhams, one of which is illicit, will not be accepted by God as long as he is wearing any of it part of it.’
If this is the situation with regard to a garment one-tenth of the price of which is illicit, what if the whole of it was so? And if this is the situation with garments worn on the outside of the body, what about nutrition which runs through the veins and joints and infiltrates the whole body?
Know that prohibited things are of two categories. [Firstly], there are those which are prohibited in themselves, as for instance carcasses, blood, and alcohol. These can never become permissible except in dire necessity when they are the only things available and one’s survival depends on using them. Secondly, that which is licit in itself such as wood and clean water, but which is owned by someone else, thus remaining illicit until acquired by lawful means such as buying, or receiving as a gift or an inheritance, and so forth.
Doubtful or suspect things are of many degrees. In the case of some you may be [almost] convinced of their being prohibited but still entertain the possibility of their being licit; these things should be considered prohibited. Other things you may be convinced are licit, but a suspicion exists that they may be prohibited; these should be avoided out of scrupulousness. Other things are between these two degrees, for instance things which have an equal chance of being licit or illicit. The Prophet has said, may blessings and peace be upon him: ‘Leave that which is suspect in favour of that which is not.’ A man’s scrupulousness is measured by his abstaining from anything suspect until its status is clarified.
A servant [of God] does not become a true man of taqwa until he abstains from things which are undoubtedly licit for fear of that which may follow and be doubtful or illicit. The Prophet has said, may blessings and peace be upon him: ‘A servant does not attain the rank of taqwa until he abstains from that which is harmless for fear of [falling into] that which is harmful.’ And the Companions, may God be pleased with them, used to say: ‘We used to leave seventy licit avenues for fear of falling into the illicit.’ But this is something that has long gone. Where are we now to find such scrupulousness as will keep us from suspect and illicit things? Ability and strength are only by God.
You must know everything that God has forbidden you so as to be able to avoid it, for the one who does not recognize evil falls into it. Know that a religious man is not likely to do anything which is itself illicit such as eating forbidden animals or wrongfully appropriating other people’s money by coercion, injustice, theft, or pillage, for these usually proceed from hard oppressive men and rebellious demons. But religious men are prey to ambiguities because they neglect three things.
Firstly, they do not investigate thoroughly where this is appropriate. To expound this further, we would say that in your dealings with people you should see them as falling into three categories. The first comprises those whom you know to be good and virtuous: you may eat their food and deal with them without inquiring. The second is those whom you know nothing about, whether good or bad. When you wish to deal with them or accept their gifts, then scrupulousness obliges you to inquire about them, but gently. Should you feel that this may hurt them, then silence is better. The third comprises those whom you know to be wrongdoers: usurers, for instance, or people careless about their buying and selling and not really concerned where the money comes from. It is better not to deal with such people at all; but if you must, then investigate and inquire beforehand, for this is a part of scrupulousness, until you know that their licit possessions are free from ambiguity, and then still be careful.
If any object reaches you that you know, or suspect from its appearances, to be illicit or suspect, then do not hesitate to refuse it, even if given to you by the most virtuous of men. Secondly, they do not safeguard themselves against invalid transactions. This safeguarding is effected by avoiding all invalid and discouraged kinds of transactions, and by neither selling nor buying except by valid contract. There is, however, no harm in contractless transactions involving insignificant things.
Avoid cheating, lying, and making oaths concerning any merchandise. Do not hide a defect in your merchandise which you are aware of if seen by the buyer would prevent him from paying the same price. Beware greatly of usury, for it is one of the major sins. God the Exalted has said: O you who believe! Fear God and renounce what remains [due to you] from usury, if you are [truly] believers. And if you do not, then be warned of war [against you] from God and His Messenger. (II: 278, 279) And the Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, cursed the taker of usury, his client, clerk, and witness. The summation of [the law for] usury is that it renders illicit the trading of money for its kind, for instance silver for silver, and food for its kind, for instance wheat for wheat, except when the amounts exchanged are exactly equal. If the kinds differ, for example gold for silver, or dates for wheat, differences in value are allowed and payment should be immediate. There is no usury in trading an animal for an animal, or a garment or food for money.
Beware of ihtikar, which is to buy food which is much needed, and then hoard it until the price goes up. Thirdly, they are engrossed in the world’s cravings and indulge abundantly in its pleasures. Scrupulousness under such circumstances becomes difficult and the lawful is narrowed down. Lawful things do not bear extravagance. On the other hand, scrupulousness is rendered easy for those who want only what is necessary from the world. The Proof of Islam, may God spread his benefit, has said: ‘If you are content with one rough shirt a year and two loaves of coarse grain each day, you will never be short of your lawful sufficiency, for the lawful is abundant. You are not required to investigate deep into everything, but just to be wary of that which you either know is unlawful, or suspect it to be so from any evident indications associated with the money.’
When you have suspicions, then scrupulousness obliges you to abstain even though that thing may be, to all outward appearances, lawful. For sin is that which causes inward suspicion and hesitation even should you be given a legal opinion by those entitled to give them, as the Prophet stated, may blessings and peace be upon him. But this concerns those whose hearts are illuminated and who incline to the side of abstinence, and not that of indulgence.
Do not think that scrupulousness involves only food and clothes: rather it involves everything. However, if you are in possession of lawful and more purely lawful, or lawful and suspect things, then use the most lawful that you have in terms of food. For everything depends on food which, when licit, has a great illuminating influence on the heart and gives the body energy for worship.
One of our predecessors has said: ‘Eat what you will, for in the same wise your actions will be.’ And Ibrahim ibn Adham, may God have mercy on him, has said: ‘If you eat well you will no longer feel obliged to pray at night and fast by day.’ Know this: God it is Who grants success.