My father narrated to us. He said: Sa`d b. `Abdullah narrated to us. He said: Ahmad b. Muhammad b. `Isa narrated to me from al-Hasan b. Mahbub from Malik b. `Atiyya from Abi Hamza from Abi Ja`far Muhammad b. `Ali al-Baqir . He said: I heard him say:

There isn’t any less rain in one year than in another. Rather, Allah places it wherever He wishes. If a people sin, Allah sends what was apportioned to them to others, and to the deserts, the oceans, and the mountains. Allah even torments the scarab in its burrow by withholding the rain from the land of the erring people. However, Allah has given it a passage away from the people of sin. Then, Abu Ja`far said: So, take heed of this, O people of insight. Then, he said: We found in the Book of `Ali that the Messenger of Allah (s) said: When fornication becomes apparent, sudden deaths increase. When the scales are off, Allah punishes them with years of shortages. When they prevent almsgiving, the Earth is prevented from all the blessings of its crops, its fruits, and its ore. When they break covenants, Allah empowers their enemy. When they cut blood-ties, wealth goes into the hands of the evil ones. When they don’t enjoin in established virtues, prohibit evil, and follow the chosen ones from my Ahl al-Bayt, Allah empowers the evil ones among them. At that, they will call to their chosen one, but they will not be answered.