The Effects of Stinginess

The Story

Abou Baseer reported that he asked Imam Abou Jaa'far (Pbuh): "The Messenger of Allah (Pbuhp) used to seek refuge with Allah from stinginess."

The Imam (Pbuh): "Yes O Abou Mohammad, every morning and every night and so we do. Allah says: { And those saved from the covetousness of their own souls,- they are the ones that achieve prosperity}. I will tell you about the effects of stinginess.

The people of Loutt were very frugal on food. Their stinginess caused them a disease in their genitals that has no cure. The village were Loutt used to live was on the way towards Sham and Egypt. The travelers used to rest in their village and thus they used to host them. When this because frequent, it started frustrating and distressing them because of their stinginess and baseness. Their stinginess made them uncover the genitals of their guests without having the desire to see it but because they didn’t want any more guests to come to their village. The other villages knew what they were doing and so the travelers started to take caution from them. Thus stinginess caused them an infliction that they can’t resolve without having the desire to do it. Then they started desiring it and asking men to allow them to do it and they would give them a price in returns."

It is also narrated: "There were plenty of trees, plants and goods in the village where Loutt lived. It was on the road between villages. Every traveler who used to pass in the village was used to eat from their fruits and crops. This frustrated and distressed them. Iblees came to them in the image of an old man and said to them: "Shall I tell you a way that if you did it no one would pass in your village anymore?" They said: "What is it?" He said: "Take off the clothes of everyone who passes in your village and rape him from his behind." Then Iblees imaged himself as a young beautiful man and came to them. They directly hopped on him and committed the obscenity with him. They started loving that and thus men started satisfying their pleasures with men and women with women. This was the first perversion of Loutt's people and the cause of their perishment."