Most of us are
already (and hopefully) aware of the horrendous religious consequences of
committing adultery / zina. Most of us already know that it is considered
amongst the worst of sins, and thus, we are aware that we should constantly
remain vigilant to stay away from anything that may put us on the path to
adultery. It is necessary to point out
that adultery is not merely having intercourse with a man or a woman, outside
of marriage, when you are married. Any
form of lustful or sexual deed that falls outside of what is religiously permitted,
is considered zina / adultery, including masturbation. Keeping this in mind, we should be very attentive
about staying away from zina / adultery.
Since most of us
are already informed about the sinful aspect of adultery, in this post, I would
like to bring our attention to it from a different perspective, namely from the
cause-and-effect or physical perspective.
Unfortunately,
there is this prevailing idea amongst too many religious people that sins are
harmful only in the spiritual realm (whatever that may be in their minds) and
only injurious to our souls (however they may understand the soul.)
For this reason,
they may be more careless about keeping away from sins. After all, unfortunately, more people seem to
care more about what is immediately physically evident than what is not
immediately physically noticeable. For this reason, the idea that the harm of a
deed may not even be physical may make many religious people more negligent of
the harmful consequences of that deed.
In this post, via
two traditions, one Reliable and
one Good, I would like to
highlight that adultery has physical, and not just spiritual, consequences.
Following the
traditions below I will make a couple of points regarding the second tradition.
9) Good
Arabic Text:
عَلِيُّ بْنُ
إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ حَمَّادِ بْنِ عِيسَى عَنْ حَرِيزِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ
عَنِ الْفُضَيْلِ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ ع قَالَ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ص فِي الزِّنَا خَمْسُ خِصَالٍ يَذْهَبُ بِمَاءِ الْوَجْهِ وَ يُورِثُ
الْفَقْرَ وَ يَنْقُصُ الْعُمُرَ وَ يُسْخِطُ الرَّحْمَنَ وَ يُخَلِّدُ فِي النَّارِ
نَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ النَّارِ
English Translation:
Narrated by Ali Ibn Ibrahim from his father
from Hamad Ibn Eissa from Huraiz Ibn Abdullah from Al-Fadil from Abu Ja’far
(peace be upon him) who said:
The prophet (peace be upon him) said, “In
adultery there are five qualities. It causes the loss of countenance [face], it
bequeaths poverty, shortens life, arouses the indignation of the All-Beneficent
and [he who commits it] remains in hellfire; may Allah spare us from hellfire.”
8) Reliable
Arabic Text:
مُحَمَّدُ
بْنُ يَحْيَى عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنِ ابْنِ فَضَّالٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ
بْنِ مَيْمُونٍ الْقَدَّاحِ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ قَالَ يَعْقُوبُ لِابْنِهِ يَا بُنَيَّ لَا تَزْنِ فَإِنَّ الطَّائِرَ لَوْ زَنَى لَتَنَاثَرَ
رِيشُهُ
English Translation:
Narrated by Mohamed Ibn Yehya from Ahmed Ibn
Mohamed from Ibn Faddal from Abdullah Ibn Maymoun Al-Quaddah from Abu Abdullah
(peace be upon him) who said:
“Jacob (peace be upon
him) said to his son, ‘My son, commit not adultery for
if even a bird commits adultery its feathers become scattered.’”
The latter
tradition is very significant, though its significance may not be readily
noticed. In the latter tradition, it is
vividly stated that even birds (or animals), who are beyond the realm of
spiritual, who are not judged for their deeds in the hereafter, cannot escape
the effects of adultery. Thus, this
tradition, very clearly, highlights the physical and worldly effects of
adultery / zina.
Another acute
element that stands out in this tradition is the connection that is made
between a sin and animals. This
connection should provoke us to re-examine our understanding of the concept of sins. If animals could be said to be involved in
sins, then what exactly are sins? If
animals cannot sin, then why use what is impossible to occur in a moral lesson?
Source:
Al-Kafi,
Volume 5, Page 542, Traditions #8, #9
