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INTRODUCTION
KNOW - God have mercy upon you -
that God has rights against you and that these encompass you in every movement through
which you move, every rest through which you rest, every waystation in which you reside,
every limb which you employ, and every instrument which you put to work. Some of these
rights are greater and some less.
[A] [1] The greatest of God's rights
against you is the right which He has made incumbent upon you for Himself and which is the
root of all rights, then [2] those which He has made incumbent upon you in yourself, from
your crown to your foot, in keeping with the diversity of your organs. He has given [3]
your tongue a right against you, [4] your hearing a right against you, [5] your sight a
right against you, [6] your hand a right against you, [7] your leg a right against you,
[8] your stomach a right against you, [9] and your private part a right against you. These
are the seven organs through which acts (af'al) take place.
[B] Then He gave your acts rights
against you: He gave [10] your ritual prayer a right against you, [12] your fasting a
right against you, [13] your charity a right against you, [14] your offering a right
against you, and your acts a right against you.
[C] Then these rights extend out
from you to others who have rights against you. The most incumbent of them against you are
the rights toward your leaders (a'imma), then the rights toward your subjects (ra'iyya),
then the rights toward your womb [relatives] (rahim).
From these rights branch out other
rights. [C1] The rights of your leaders are three: The most incumbent upon you is [15] the
right of him who trains you through authority, then [16] of him who trains you through
knowledge, then [17] of him who trains you through property.
[C2] The rights of your subjects are
three: The most incumbent upon you is [18] the right of those who are your subjects
through authority, then [19] the right of those who are your subjects through knowledge
for the man of ignorance is the subject of the man of knowledge then the right of those
who are your subjects through property, such as [20] wives and [21] what is owned by the
right hand.
[C3] The rights of your womb
relatives are many; they are connected to you in the measure of the connection of the womb
relationship. The most incumbent upon you is [22] the right of your mother, then [23] the
right of your father, then [24] the right of your child, then [25] the right of your
brother, then the next nearest, then the next nearest - the most worthy, then the next
most worthy.
[D] Then there is [26] the right of
your master who favours you [by freeing you from slavery], then [27] the right of the
slave whose favours reach you [by the fact that you free him], then [28] the right of him
who does a kindly act toward you, then [29] the right of the muezzin who calls you to the
ritual prayer, then [30] the right of the imam who leads the prayer, then [31] the right
of your sitting companion, then [32] the right of your neighbour, then [33] the right of
your companion, then [34] the right of your partner, then [35] the right of your property,
then the right of him who has a debt he must pay back to you, then [36] the right of him
to whom you owe a debt, then [37] the right of your associate, then [38] the right of your
adversary who has a claim against you, then [39] the right of your adversary against whom
you have a claim, then [40] the right of him who asks you for advice, then [41] the right
of him whom you ask for advice, then [42] the right of him who asks your counsel, then
[43] the right of him who counsels you, then [44] the right of him who is older than you,
then [45] the right of him who is younger than you, then [46] the right of him who asks
from you, then [47] the right of him from whom you ask, then the right of [48] him who
does something evil to you through word or deed, or [49] him who makes you happy through
word or deed, intentionally or unintentionally, then [50] the right of the people of your
creed, then [51] the right of the people under your protection, then all rights in the
measure of the causes of the states and the occurrence of events.
Therefore happy is he whom God aids
in the rights which He has made incumbent upon him and whom He gives success therein and
points in the proper direction!
[A. RIGHTS OF GOD AGAINST ONESELF]
[1] The greatest right of God
against you is that you worship Him without associating anything with Him. When you do
that with sincerity (ikhlas), He has made it binding upon Himself to give you
sufficiency in the affair of this world and the next.
[2] The right of your self (nafs)
against you is that you employ it in obeying God; then you deliver to your tongue its
right, to your hearing its right, to your sight its right, to your hand its right, to your
leg its right, to your stomach its right, to your private part its right, and you seek
help from God in all that.
[3] The right of the tongue is that
you consider it too noble for obscenity, accustom it to good, refrain from any meddling in
which there is nothing to be gained, express kindness to the people, and speak well
concerning them.
[4] The right of hearing is to keep
it pure from listening to backbiting (ghiba) and listening to that to which it is
unlawful to listen.
[5] The right of sight is that you
lower it before everything which is unlawful to you and that you take heed whenever you
look at anything.
[6] The right of your hand is that
you stretch it not toward that which is unlawful to you.
[7] The right of your two legs is
that you walk not with them toward that which is unlawful to you. You have no escape from
standing upon the narrow bridge (al-sirat [over hell]), so you should see to it
that your legs do not slip and cause you to fall into the Fire.
[8] The right of your stomach is
that you make it not into a container for that which is unlawful to you and you eat no
more than your fill (shib').
[9] The right of your private part (farj)
is that you protect it from fornication and guard it against being looked upon.
[B. RIGHT OF ACTS]
[10] The right of your ritual prayer
(salat) is that you know that it is an arrival before God and that through it you
are standing before Him. When you know that, then you will stand in the station of him who
is lowly, vile, beseeching, trembling, hopeful, fearful, and abased, and you will magnify
Him who is before you through stillness and dignity. You will approach the prayer with
your heart and you will perform it according to its bounds and its rights.
[11] The right of the hajj
is that you know it is an arrival before your Lord and a flight to Him from your sins;
through it your repentance is accepted and you perform an obligation made incumbent upon
you by God.
[12] The right of fasting is that
you know it is a veil which God has set up over your tongue, your hearing, your sight,
your stomach, and your private part to protect you from the Fire. If you abandon the fast,
you will have torn God's protective covering away from yourself.
[13] The right of charity (sadaqa)
is that you know it is a storing away with your Lord and a deposit for which you will have
no need for witnesses. If you deposit it in secret, you will be more confident of it than
if you deposit it in public. You should know that it repels afflictions and illnesses from
you in this world and it will repel the Fire from you in the next world.
[14] The right of the offering (hady)
is that through it you desire God and you not desire His creation; through it you desire
only the exposure of your soul to God's mercy and the deliverance of your spirit on the
day you encounter Him.
[C1. RIGHTS OF LEADERS]
[15] The right of the possessor of
authority (sultan) is that you know that God has made you a trial (fitna)
for him. God is testing him through the authority He has given him over you. You should
not expose yourself to his displeasure, for thereby you cast yourself by your own hands
into destruction and become his partner in his sin when he brings evil down upon you.
[16] The right of the one who trains
you (sa'is) through knowledge is magnifying him, respecting his sessions,
listening well to him, and attending to him with devotion. You should not raise your voice
toward him. You should never answer anyone who asks him about something, in order that he
may be the one who answers. You should not speak to anyone in his session nor speak ill of
anyone with him. If anyone ever speaks ill of him in your presence, you should defend him.
You should conceal his faults and make manifest his virtues. You should not sit with him
in enmity or show hostility toward him in friendship. If you do all of this, God's angels
will give witness for you that you went straight to him and learned his knowledge for
God's sake, not for the sake of the people.
[17] The right of him who trains you
through property is that you should obey him and not disobey him, unless obeying him would
displease God, for there can be no obedience to a creature when it is disobedience to God.
[C2. RIGHTS OF SUBJECTS]
[18] The right of your subjects
through authority is that you should know that they have been made subjects through their
weakness and your strength. Hence it is incumbent upon you to act with justice toward them
and to be like a compassionate father toward them. You should forgive them their ignorance
and not hurry them to punishment and you should thank God for the power over them which He
has given to you.
[19] The right of your subjects
through knowledge is that you should know that God made you a caretaker over them only
through the knowledge He has given you and His storehouses which He has opened up to you.
If you do well in teaching the people, not treating them roughly or annoying them, then
God will increase His bounty toward you. But if you withhold your knowledge from people or
treat them roughly when they seek knowledge from you, then it will be God's right to
deprive you of knowledge and its splendour and to make you fall from your place in
people's hearts.
[20] The right of your wife (zawja)
is that you know that God has made her a repose and a comfort for you; you should know
that she is God's favour toward you, so you should honour her and treat her gently. Though
her right toward you is more incumbent, you must treat her with compassion, since she is
your prisoner (asir) whom you feed and clothe. If she is ignorant, you should
pardon her.
[21] The right of your slave (mamluk)
is that you should know that he is the creature of your Lord, the son of your father and
mother, and your flesh and blood. You own him, but you did- not make him; God made him.
You did not create any one of his limbs, nor do you provide him with his sustenance; on
the contrary, God gives you the sufficiency for that. Then He subjugated him to you,
entrusted him to you, and deposited him with you so that you may be safeguarded by the
good you give to him. So act well toward him, just as God has acted well toward you. If
you dislike him, replace him, but do not torment a creature of God. And there is no
strength save in God.
[C3. RIGHTS OF WOMB RELATIVES]
[22] The right of your mother is
that you know that she carried you where no one carries anyone, she gave to you of the
fruit of her heart that which no one gives to anyone, and she protected you with all her
organs. She did not care if she went hungry as long as you ate, if she was thirsty as long
as you drank, if she was naked as long as you were clothed, if she was in the sun as long
as you were in the shade. She gave up sleep for your sake, she protected you from heat and
cold, all in order that you might belong to her. You will not be able to show her
gratitude, unless through God's help and giving success.
[23] The right of your father is
that you know that he is your root. Without him, you would not be. Whenever you see
anything in yourself which pleases you, know that your father is the root of its blessing
upon you. So praise God and thank Him in that measure. And there is no strength save in
God.
[24] The right of your child is that
you should know that he is from you and will be ascribed to you, through both his good and
his evil, in the immediate affairs of this world. You are responsible for what has been
entrusted to you, such as educating him in good conduct (husn al-adab), pointing
him in the direction of his Lord, and helping him to obey Him. So act toward him with the
action of one who knows that he will be rewarded for good doing toward him and punished
for evildoing.
[25] The right of your brother is
that you know that he is your hand, your might, and your strength. Take him not as a
weapon with which to disobey God, nor as equipment with which to wrong God's creatures. Do
not neglect to help him against his enemy or to give him good counsel. If he obeys God,
well and good, but if not, you should honour God more than him. And there is no strength
save in God.
[D. RIGHTS OF OTHERS]
[26] The right of your master (mawla)
who has favoured you [by freeing you from slavery] is that you know that he has spent his
property for you and brought you out of the abasement and estrangement of bondage to the
exaltation and comfort of freedom. He has freed you from the captivity of possession and
loosened the bonds of slavehood from you. He has brought you out of prison, given you
ownership of yourself, and given you leisure to worship your Lord. You should know that he
is the closest of God's creatures to you in your life and your death and that aiding him
with your life and what he needs from you is incumbent upon you. And there is no strength
save in God.
[27] The right of the slave (mawla)
whom you have favoured [by freeing him] is that you know that God has made your freeing
him a means of access to Him and a veil against the Fire. Your immediate reward is to
inherit from him-if he does not have any maternal relatives-as a compensation for the
property you have spent for him, and your ultimate reward is the Garden.
[28] The right of him who does a
kindly act (dhu l-ma'ruf) toward you is that you thank him and mention his
kindness; you reward him with beautiful words and you supplicate for him sincerely in that
which is between you and God. If you do that, you have thanked him secretly and openly.
Then, if you are able to repay him one day, you repay him.
[29] The right of the muezzin is
that you know that he is reminding you of your Lord, calling you to your good fortune, and
helping you to accomplish what God has made obligatory upon you. So thank him for that
just as you thank one who does good to you.
[30] The right of your imam in your
ritual prayer is that you know that he has taken on the role of mediator between you and
your Lord. He speaks for you, but you do not speak for him; he supplicates for you, but
you do not supplicate for him. He has spared you the terror of standing before God. If he
performs the prayer imperfectly, that belongs to him and not to you; but if he performs it
perfectly, you are his partner, and he has no excellence over you. So protect yourself
through him, protect your prayer through his prayer, and thank him in that measure.
[31] The right of your sitting
companion (jalis) is that you treat him mildly, show fairness toward him while
vying with him in discourse, and do not stand up from sitting with him without his
permission. But it is permissible for him who sits with you to leave without asking your
permission. You should forget his slips and remember his good qualities, and you should
tell nothing about him but good.
[32] The right of your neighbour (jar)
is that you guard him when he is absent, honour him when he is present, and aid him when
he is wronged. You do not pursue anything of his that is shameful; if you know of any evil
from him, you conceal it. If you know that he will accept your counsel, you counsel him in
that which is between him and you. You do not forsake him in difficulty, you release him
from his stumble, you forgive his sin, and you associate with him generously. And there is
no strength save in God.
[33] The right of the companion (sahib)
is that you act as his companion with bounty and in fairness. You honour him as he honours
you and you do not let him be the first to act with generosity. If he is the first, you
repay him. You wish for him as he wishes for you and you restrain him from any act of
disobedience he might attempt. Be a mercy for him, not a chastisement. And there is no
strength save in God.
[34] The right of the partner (sharik)
is that if he should be absent, you suffice him in his affairs, and if he should be
present, you show regard for him. You make no decision without his decision and you do
nothing on the basis of your own opinion, but you exchange views with him. You guard his
property for him, and you do not betray him in that of his affair which is difficult or of
little importance, for God's hand is above the hands of two partners as long as they do
not betray each other. And there is no strength save in God.
[35] The right of your property (mal)
is that you take it only from what is lawful and you spend it only in what is proper.
Through it you should not prefer above yourself those who will not praise you. You should
act with it in obedience to your Lord and not be miserly with it, lest you fall back into
regret and remorse while suffering the ill consequence. And there is no strength save in
God.
[36] The right of him to whom you
owe a debt (al-gharim alladhi yutalibuka) is that, if you have the means, you pay
him back, and if you are in straitened circumstances, you satisfy him with good words and
you send him away with gentleness.
[37] The right of the associate (khalit)
is that you neither mislead him, nor act dishonestly toward him, nor deceive him, and you
fear God in his affair.
[38] The right of the adversary (khasm)
who has a claim against you is that, if what he claims against you is true, you give
witness to it against yourself. You do not wrong him and you give him his full due. If
what he claims against you is false, you act with kindness toward him and you show nothing
in his affair other than kindness; you do not displease your Lord in his affair. And there
is no strength save in God.
[39] The right of the adversary
against whom you have a claim is that, if your claim against him is true, you maintain
polite moderation in speaking to him and you do not deny his right. If your claim is
false, you fear God, repent to Him, and abandon your claim.
[40] The right of him who asks you
for advice (mustashir) is that, if you consider that he has a correct opinion,
you advise him to follow it, and if you do not consider it so, you direct him to someone
who does consider it so.
[41] The right of him whom you ask
for advice (mushir) is that you do not make accusations against him for an
opinion which does not conform to your own opinion. If it conforms to it, you praise God.
[42] The right of him who asks your
counsel (mustansih) is that you give him your counsel, but you conduct yourself
toward him with compassion and kindness.
[43] The right of your counsellor (nasih)
is that you act gently toward him and give ear to him. If he presents you with the right
course, you praise God, but if he does not agree with you, you show compassion toward him
and make no accusations against him; you consider him to have made a mistake, and you do
not take him to task for that, unless he should be deserving of accusation. Then attach no
more importance to his affair. And there is no strength save in God.
[44] The right of him who is older
than you (kabir) is that you show reverence toward him because of his age and you
honour him because he entered Islam before you. You leave off confronting him in a
dispute, you do not precede him in a path, you do not go ahead of him, and you do not
consider him foolish. If he should act foolishly toward you, you put up with him and you
honour him because of the right of Islam and the respect due to it.
[45] The right of him who is younger
(saghir) is that you show compassion toward him through teaching him, pardoning
him, covering his faults, kindness toward him, and helping him.
[46] The right of him who asks (sa'il)
from you is that you give to him in the measure of his need.
[47] The right of him from whom you
ask is that you accept from him with gratitude and recognition of his bounty if he gives,
and you accept his excuse if he withholds.
[48] The right of him through whom
God makes you happy (surur) is that you first praise God, then you thank the
person.
[49] The right of him who does evil
to you is that you pardon him. But if you know that your pardon will harm him, you defend
yourself. God says, Whosoever defends himself after he has been wronged - against them
there is no way (42:41).
[50] The right of the people of your
creed (milla) is harbouring safety for them, compassion toward them, kindness
toward their evildoer, treating them with friendliness, seeking their well-being, thanking
their good-doer, and keeping harm away from them. You should love for them what you love
for yourself and dislike for them what you dislike for yourself. Their old men stand in
the place of your father, their youths in the place of your brothers, their old women in
the place of your mother, and their young ones in the place of your children.
[51] The right of the people under
the protection [of Islam] (dhimma) is that you accept from them what God has
accepted from them and you do no wrong to them as long as they fulfil God's covenant.
Translator's Introduction to the "Treatise on Rights" |