Association with Sinful People

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘It is not proper for a believer to attend a meeting wherein Allah is disobeyed and one is not able to change it.’”

“I heard abu al-Hassan (a.s.) saying, ‘Why is it that I find you with ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Ya’qub?’ I (the narrator) then said, ‘It is because he is my uncle from my mother’s side.’ The Imam said, ‘He says great heavy words about Allah. He describes Allah who is beyond description. You either sit with him and leave us or sit with us and leave him.’ I then said, ‘He may say anything he wants but what does that have to do with me when I say none of the things that he says?’ Abu al-Hassan (a.s.) said, ‘Are you not afraid of the misfortune that may befall him and involve all of you also? Do you not know about the thing that happened to the people of Moses? The father of one of them was of the people of the Pharaoh. When the Pharaoh’s horsemen approached Moses, he withdrew himself from Moses to convince his father to join Moses but his father kept moving while he argued against his father until they reached the shore and both were drowned. The news reached Moses and he said, ‘He is in the mercy of Allah, but when misfortune falls there is no defense for those who are close to the sinners.’”

"Do not accompany the people of innovation, nor sit with them, lest you be considered by the people as one of them. The Messenger of Allah (sw) said: A person is upon the religion of their friend and companion."

“The Messenger of Allah (sw) said, ‘When you find the people of doubt and innovation after me, show your dissassociation from them and increase your insults against them, speaking against them, and exposing them, so that they do not corrupt Islam, and (so that) people be warned against them and avoid learning their innovations. Allah will record good deeds for you because of that and elevate your ranks in the Hereafter.’”

“It is not proper for the Muslim to establish brotherhood with the open sinner, the fool or the liar.”

“Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s.) would say from the pulpit, ‘It is very proper for a Muslim not to establish brotherhood with three kinds of people: a vulgar, a fool and a liar.
As for the vulgar person, he polishes his acts for you and loves that you become like him. He does not help you in your religious matters and your life in the hereafter. Association with him is injustice and hardheartedness. His coming and going with you is a disgrace.
As for the fool, he does not show you anything good. There is no hope in his diverting any evil from you even if he may make an effort (to help). Perhaps he may like to benefit you, instead he harms you. His death is better than his living, his silence is better than his speaking, and his being at a distance is better than his being nearby.
As for the liar, he will never provide you a happy life. He narrates your words to others and the words of the others to you. Whenever he runs out of a story, he stretches one story to the other so much so that even if he may tell the truth it is not believed. He creates animosity among people and grows hatred in the hearts.
So fear Allah and look after your souls.’”

“Once Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.) said to me, ‘My son, beware of five kinds of people and do not associate with, speak to and accompany them on the road.’ I then asked, ‘Who are they O father?’ He then said, ‘You must not accompany a lying person; he is like a phantom. He tells you of what, in fact, is faraway to be very near and what, in fact, is near to be very far. You must not associate with a sinful person; he may sell you for a single loaf or even less to this or that person. You must not associate with a stingy person; he leaves you out in the cold in financial matters in your desperate conditions. You must not associate with a silly person; he may want to benefit you instead he causes you harm. “You must not associate one who has failed to maintain good relations with relatives; 1 have found him as condemned in three places of the book of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, ‘If you ignore the commands of Allah, would you then also spread evil in the land and sever the ties of kinship? (47:22) Allah has condemned these people and made them deaf, dumb, and blind.’ (47:23) ‘Those who disregard their covenant with Allah after He has taken such a pledge from them, who sever the proper relations that Allah has commanded them to establish, and those who spread evil in the land will have Allah’s condemnation instead of reward and will face the most terrible end.’ (13:25) ‘. . . The evil doers (2:26) who break their established covenant with Him and the relations He has commanded to be kept and who spread evil in the land; these are the ones who lose a great deal.’” (2:27)

“Once I asked Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) about the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, ‘Allah has told you (believers) in the Book that when you hear people disbelieving and mocking Allah’s revelations, do not sit with them unless they change the subject. You will become like them. Allah will gather all the hypocrites and the unbelievers together in hellfire.’ (4:140) The Imam said, ‘It means that when you hear the man who rejects the truth, denies it and opposes A ’immah, you then must leave him and do not sit with him no matter whoever he may be.’”

“Whoever believes in Allah and in the Day of Judgment must not sit in a seat whereby an Imam is belittled or a believer is criticized.”

“Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) has said, ‘Whoever believes in Allah and in the Day of Judgment must not stay in a place that casts doubt on one’s credentials and make them murky.’”

“I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) saying, ‘Whoever believes in Allah and in the Day of Judgment must not sit in a place where an Imam is belittled or a believer is criticized.’”

“There are three kinds of gatherings that Allah despises and sends His anger upon the attendance therein. You must not sit there to associate with them: a gathering wherein there is one whose tongue speaks lies in his Fatwas (legal opinion), a gathering wherein our enemies are praised freshly and we are mentioned as old (of less value) ones, and a gathering wherein obstacles are created for us and you know it.’ The Imam then read three verses from the book of Allah as if they were in his mouth (or as if they were on his palms): ‘O believers, do not say bad words against the idols lest they (pagans) in their hostility and ignorance say such words against Allah. ’(6: 108) ‘When you see people mocking Our revelations, turn away from them so that they may change the subject. . . .’ (6:68) ‘(Unbelievers), do not follow whatever your lying tongues may tell you is lawful or unlawful to invent lies against Allah. . . .’” (16:116)

“If you are caught up with the people who are bitter enemies of ‘A’immah, recipients of divine supreme covenant, and you associate with them, you must act like a person on a piece of stone heated in a furnace whereby you move away as fast as you can; Allah hates them and condemns them. If you find them, speak against any one of ‘A ’immah, you must move away from them; Allah’s anger descend down there upon them.”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘Whoever sits with those who abuse the friends of Allah has certainly disobeyed Allah,the Most High.’”

“Whoever sits in a gathering where any of A ’immah is abused and one is able to move out of such gathering, but does not do so, Allah will dress him with humiliation in this world and punish him in the next life and take away from him the goodness that was granted to him due to his acquaintance with us.’”

“I saw Yahya ibn ‘Umm Tawil standing at al-Kunasa (an open area in Kufah) calling at the peak of his voice, ‘O group of friends of Allah, I disavow whatever you hear. Whoever abuses Ali (a.s.) allow the condemnation of Allah be upon him. We renounce the people of the family of Marwan and all that they worship besides Allah.’ He then would lower his voice and say, ‘Do not sit with those who abuse the friends of Allah. Do not sit with those who doubt our belief and do not accept them as your judge. If any of your brothers (in belief) would need to ask you questions (help), then you have violated your trust with him (for not helping before his appeal).’ He then would read, ‘. . . For the unjust We have prepared a fire which will engulf them with its flames. Whenever they ciy for help they will be answered with water as hot as liquefied brass, which will blister their faces. How terrible is such a drink and such a resting place!”’ (18:29)