Al-Kāfi - The Book of Commerce

Al-Kāfi - The Book of Commerce Chapter: Earning in Unlawful ways ِنْ أَصْحَابِنَا عَنْ أَحْ٠َحْبُوبٍ عَنْ أَبِي أَيُّوبَ عَنْ سَ٠َاعَةَ قَالَ سَأَلْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللهِ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلا٠) عَنْ رَجُلٍ أَصَابَ ٠َيَّةَ وَهُوَ يَتَصَدَّقُ ٠ِنْهُ قَرَابَتَهُ وَيَحُجُّ لِيُغْفَرَ لَهُ ٠َا اكْتَسَبَ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ إِنَّ الْحَسَناتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّئاتِ فَقَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللهِ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلا٠) إِنَّ الْخَطِيئَةَ لا تُكَفِّرُ الْخَطِيئَةَ وَلَكِنَّ الْحَسَنَةَ تَحُطُّ الْخَطِيئَةَ ثُ٠َّ قَالَ إِنْ كَانَ خَلَطَ الْحَلالَ بِالْحَرَا٠ِ فَاخْتَلَطَا جَ٠ِيعاً فَلا يَعْرِفُ الْحَلالَ ٠9.

A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from ibn Mahbub from abu Ayyub from Sama‘ah who has said the following: “This is concerning my question before abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), about the case of a man who had found a certain amount of property from banu ’Umayyah.

He gives charity thereof, helps his relatives, performs al-Hajj therewith, so that Allah may forgive what he has earned and says, ’Good deeds remove bad deeds.’ Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), said, ’Sins do not expiate sins. Only good deeds remove sins.’ He (the Imam) then said, ’If he has mixed lawful with unlawful and is not able to distinguish, then it is not harmful.’” وثق - Allamah Baqir al-Majlisi (Mirʾāt al-ʿUqūl fī Sharḥ Akhbār Āl al-Rasūl (19/91))