The Treatise on Rights

44- THE RIGHT OF THE YOUNGER ONE

And the right of him who is younger than you are is to be friendly with him, train and educate him, pardon him, and cover up his faults, be patient with him and help him, cover up the guilts of his juvenility because this will make him repent; treat him with patience, and stop quarrelling with him. This will lead him to more sensible conduct.

44. حق الصغير

وَأمّـــــــــا حَقُّ الصَّغِيرِ فَرَحْمتُهُ وتَثقِيفُهُ(46) وتَعْلِيمُهُ وَالعَفْوُ عَنْهُ وَالسِّترُ عَلَـــــــــــــــيهِ وَالرِّفْقُ بهِ وَالمَعُونَةُ لــــــــــــــــَهُ وَالسِّترُ عَلَى جَرَائِرِ حَدَاثتِهِ فَإنّهُ سَبَبٌ لِلتَّوبَةِ وَالْمُدَارَاةُ لَـــــــــــهُ وتَرْكُ مُمَاحَكَتِهِ، فَإنَّ ذَلِكَ أَدنى لِرُشْدِهِ.

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45- THE RIGHT OF HIM WHO BEGS FROM YOU

And the right of him who begs from you ⁵¹ is that you should give him charity if you are certain that he is honest and you are able to fulfill his need. You should also pray to God to relieve him from what has befallen upon him, and help fulfill his needs. But if you doubt his honesty and he has already been accused of (dishonesty), but you are not convinced about this, you will not be sure whether this is one of the plots of Satan who is trying to deprive you from your fortune and cause a blockage between you and your approach to your Lord. Then you should leave him and overlook⁵² and should turn him down gently. But if you can overcome yourself in this respect and grant him what he has asked for despite what is presented to you regarding him, then this is due to your resolution in the conduct of affairs.

45. حق السائل

وَأمّا حَقُّ السَّائِلِ فَإعْطَاؤُهُ إذا تَيَقَّنتَ صِدْقَهُ وَقَدَرْتَ عَلَى سَدِّ حَاجَتِهِ، وَالدُّعَاءُ لَهُ فِيمَـا نزَلَ بهِ، وَالْمُعَاوَنةُ لَهُ عَلَى طَلِبَتِهِ، وَإن شَكَكْتَ فِي صِدْقِهِ وَسَبَقْتَ إلَيهِ التُّهْمَةُ لَهُ وَلَمْ تَعْزِمْ عَلَى ذَلِكَ لَمْ تَأْمَنْ أَنْ يَكُونَ مِنْ كَيْدِ الشَّيْطَانِ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَصُدَّكَ عَنِ حَظِّكَ ويَحُولَ بَيْنَكَ وبَينَ التَّقَرُّب إلَى رَبكَ فَتَرَكْتَـــــــــــــهُ بسِترِهِ وَرَدَدتَهُ رَدًّا جَـــــــمِيلاً. وَإنْ غَلَبتَ نفْسَــــــــــــــــكَ فِي أَمْرِهِ وَأَعْطَيتَهُ عَلَى مَـــــا عَرَضَ فِي نفْسِكَ مِنْهُ، فإنَّ ذلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الأُمُورِ.

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46- THE RIGHT OF HIM FROM WHOM YOU BEG

And the right of him from whom you beg ⁵³ is that you should accept from him whatever he grants you with gratitude and acknowledges his nobility. And you should accept his excuse if he withholds and think well of him. And you should realize that if he withholds, he is withholding his own property, and that he could not be blamed for withholding his own property. If he is doing wrong, "then man is certainly wrong-doing and unbelieving."

46. حق المسؤول

وَأمّــــــــا حَقُّ المَسئولِ فَحَقُّهُ إنْ أَعْطَى قُبلَ مِنْهُ مَـــــــــــــا أَعْطَى بالشُّكْرِ لَهُ وَالمَعْرِفَةِ لِفَضْلِهِ وَطَلَبَ وَجْهِ الْعُذْرِ فِي مَنعِهِ، وَأَحْسَنَ بهِ الظَّنَّ. وَاعْلَمْ أنَّهُ إنْ مَنِعَ [فَ]مَالَهُ مَنَعَ وَأَنْ لَيْسَ التَّثرِيبُ فِي مَــــــــــالِه،(47) وَإنْ كَانَ ظَالِمًا فَإنَّ الإنسَانَ لَظلُومٌ كَفَّارٌ.

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47- THE RIGHT OF HIM THROUGH WHOM GOD MAKES YOU HAPPY

And the right of him through whom God makes you happy is that ⁵⁴ if he intentionally made you happy, you should first praise God and then you should thank him accordingly, and reward him for initiating a nobility and be determined to return his favor. But if he made you happy unintentionally, you should praise God, thank Him, and realize that He chose you exclusively for that, and you liked it. He has been one of the means of God's Blessings descending upon you. You should only wish him well since the means of desension of Blessings are themselves Blessings wherever they be, even if unintentionally. And there is no power but in God.

47. حق من سرك الله به وعلى يديه

وَأمّا حَقُّ مَنْ سَرَّكَ اللهُ بهِ وَعلَى يَدَيهِ، فَـــــــــــــإنْ كَانَ تَعَمَّدَهَا لَكَ حَمِدْتَ اللهَ أَوّلاً ثُــــــــمَّ شَكَرْتَهُ عَلَى ذلِكَ بقَدْرِهِ فِي مَوْضِـــــــــــعِ الجَزَاءِ وَكَافَأتَهُ عَلَى فَضْــــــــــــــــلِ الابْتِدَاءِ وَأَرْصَــــــــــــــدْتَ لَهُ الْمُكَافَأَةَ، وَإنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ تَعَمَّدَهَا حَمِدْتَ اللهَ وَشَكَرتَهُ وعَلِمْتَ أنَّهُ مِنْهُ، تَوَحَّدَكَ بهَا وأَحْبَبتَ هذا إذ كَانَ سَبَباً مِنْ أَسْبَاب نِعَـــــــمِ اللهِ عَلَيْكَ وَترْجُو لَهُ بَعْدَ ذلِكَ خَيرًا، فإنَّ أَسْبَابَ النِّعَمِ بَرَكَةٌ حَيثُ مَا كَانتْ وَإنْ كَانَ لَمْ يَتَعَمَّدَ. ولا قُوَّةَ إلا باللهِ.

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48- THE RIGHT OF HIM WHO WRONGS YOU

And the right of him who wrongs you ⁵⁵ whether verbally or physically is that it is more appropriate for you to pardon him if it was done intentionally. This would eliminate bad feelings and is the polite way to treat most such people. Indeed God says: "But indeed if any do help and defend themselves after a wrong (done) to them, against such there is no blame. The blame is only against those who oppress men with wrongdoing and insolently transgress beyond bounds throughout the land, defying right and justice: for such there will be a Penalty grievous. But indeed if any show patience and forgive, that would truly be an exercise of courageous will and resolution in the conduct of affairs." ⁵⁶

48. حق من ساءك القضاء على يديه بقول أو فعل

وَأمّــــــا حَقُّ مَنْ سَاءَكَ القَضَاءُ عَلَى يَدَيهِ بقَوْلٍ أَوْ فِعْلٍ فَإنْ كَانَ تَعَمَّدَهَا كَانَ العَفْوُ أَوْلَى بكَ لِمَا فِيهِ لَهُ مِن القَمْعِ وَحُسْنَ الأَدَب مَعَ كَثِيرِ أَمْثالِهِ مِنَ الخَلْقِ، فإنَّ اللهَ يَقُولُ {وَلَمَنِ انتَصَرَ بَعْــــــــــــدَ ظُلْمِهِ فَأُولئِكَ مَا عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ سَبيلٍٍ. إنمَّا السّبيلُ عَلى الَّذين يظْلِمونَ النَّاسَ ويَبغونَ في الأرْضِ بغَيرِ الحَقِّ، أُولئِكَ لهُم عَذابٌ أليِمٌ. وَلمَنْ صَبَرَ وَغَفَرَ إنَّ ذلِكَ لََمِنْ عَزْمِ الأُمُورِ}

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The Almighty the High also says: "And if ye do catch them out, catch them out no worse than they catch you out. But if ye show patience, that is indeed the best (course) for those who are patient." ⁵⁷ This is so if it was intentional. But if he who wrongs you has done it unintentionally, then you should not oppress him by intentionally insisting on retaliation, lest you would be punishing him intentionally for what he has done unintentionally. You should also be friendly with him and treat him as gently as you can. And there is no power but in God.

وَقَــــــــــــــــــالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ {وَإنْ عَاقَبْتُمْ فَعَاقِبُوا بمِثلِ مَــــــــــــــا عُوقِبتُمْ به وَلَئِنْ صَبَرْتُمْ لَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لِلصَّابرِينَ} هَـــــــــذا فِي الْعَمْدِ فَإنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ عَمْدًا لَمْ تَظْلِمْهُ بتَعَمُّدِ الانتِصَارِ مِنْهُ فَتَكُونَ قَدْ كَافَأتَهُ فِي تَعَمُّــدٍ عَلَى خَطَــــــــــــــــأٍ. وَرَفِقْتَ بهِ وَرَدَدتَهُ بأَلْطَفِ مَا تقْدِرُ عَلَيْهِ. ولا قُوَّةَ إلا باللهِ.

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49- THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE OF YOUR CREED

And the right of the people of your creed is that you should whole-heartedly provide safety for them, and gently show them mercy, and treat their wrong-doers with patience, and treat them with friendliness, and seek their welfare, and thank those of them who do good to you and to themselves. ⁵⁸ Their doing good to themselves is considered to be the same as doing good to you. This is because (by so doing) they have not bothered you and have not put you to any trouble. Then you should pray for all of them, and back all of them up with your support. And you should respect each one of them as he deserves: their old men hold the position of your fathers, and their children hold the position of your children, and their youths

49. حق أهل ملتك عامة

وَأمّــــــــــا حَقُّ أَهْلِ مِلَّتِكَ عَامَّةً فَإضْـــــــــــمَارُ السَّلامَةِ وَنشْرِ جَنَــــــــــــــــاحِ الرَّحْمَةِ وَالرِّفْقِ بمُسِيئِهــــــــــــــــــــِمْ وَتأَلُّفُهُمْ وَاسْتِصْلاحُهُمْ وَشُكْرُ مُحْسِنِهِمْ إلَى نفْسِهِ وَإلَيْكَ، فَإنَّ إحْسَانهُ إلَى نفْسِهِ إحْسَانهُ إلَيكَ إذا كَفَّ عَنْكَ أَذاهُ وَكَفَاكَ مَئونتَهُ وَحَبَسَ عَنكَ نفْسَهُ فَعَمِّهِمْ جَمِيعًا بدَعْوَتِكَ وَانصُرْهُمْ جَمِيعـاً بنُصْرَتِكَ وَأَنزَلتَهُمْ جَمِيعـــــــــــــــاً مِنْكَ مَنَـــــــــــازِلَهُمْ، كَبيرَهُمْ بمَنْزِلَةِ الْوَالِـــــــــــدِ وَصَغِيرَهُمْ

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hold the position of your brothers. You should gently and compassionately care for those of them who come to you. And you should treat your brethren as brothers deserve to be treated.

بمَنْزِلَةِ الْوَلَدِ وَأَوْسَـــــــــــــطَهُمْ بمَنْزِلَةِ الأَخِ. فَمَـنْ أَتـــــــــــــــاكَ تَعَاهَدْتَه بلُطْفٍ وَرَحْمَةٍ. وَصِلْ أَخَاكَ بمَا يَجِبُ لِلأَخِ عَلَى أَخِيهِ.

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50- THE RIGHT OF THOSE UNDER THE PROTECTION OF ISLAM

And the right of those under the protection of Islam is that you should accept from them what God has accepted from them, and fulfill what God has established for them under His protection and covenant, and entrust them to Him in what they are required to carry out, and are obliged to do. And you should judge among them with the judgments of God that He commanded for you regarding the conditions of dealing with them, and do not wrong them as long as they honor God's covenant and fulfill their pledge. And the pledge of the Prophet, may God's peace be upon him and his household, is a barrier⁵⁹ since it is reported that he ⁶⁰said: "I am the adversary of whoever oppresses one who has a treaty." Therefore fear God. And there is no power but in God.

50. حق أهل الذمة

وَأمّــــــــــــــــــــــا حَقُّ أَهْلِ الذِّمَّةِ فَالحُكْمُ فِيهِـــــمْ أَنْ تَقبَلَ مِنْهُمْ مَا قَبِلَ اللهُ، وَتَفِي بمَا جَعَلَ اللهُ لَهُمْ مِنْ ذِمَّتِهِ وَعَهْدِهِ وَتكِلُهُمْ إلَيهِ فِيمَا طَلبُوا مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِــــــــــــــمْ وَأُجْبرُِوا عَلَيْهِ وَتحْكُمَ فِيهِمْ بمَـــــــــــــــــا حَكَمَ اللهُ بهِ عَلَى نفْسِكَ فِيمَا جَرَى بَيْنَكَ [وَبيْنَهمْ] مِنْ مُعَامَلَةٍ وَلْيَكُنْ بَينَكَ وَبيْنَ ظُلْمِهِمْ مِنْ رِعَايَةِ ذِمَّةِ اللَّهِ وَالْوَفَاءِ بعَهْــــــــــــــدِهِ وَعَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ - حَائِلٌ فَإنَّهُ بَلَغَنَا أنَّهُ قَالَ "مَنْ ظَلَمَ مُعَاهِـــدًا كُنْتُ خَصْمَهُ" فَاتَّقِ اللَّهَ. ولا حَوْلَ ولا قُوَّةَ إلا باللهِ.

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These are the fifty rights that surround you and you cannot evade under any circumstances. It is incumbent upon you to honor them and exert all efforts to fulfill them. You should seek God the Majestic's help in this respect. And there is no power but in God. And all praise is due to God the Lord of the Two Worlds.

فَهذِهِ خَمْسُونَ حَقًّا مُحِيطًا بكَ لا تَخرُجْ مِنْهَــــــــا فِي حَالٍ مِن الأَحْـــــــــــــــوَالِ، يَجِبُ عَلَيْكَ رِعَايَتُهَا وَالْعَمَلُ فِي تَأْدِيَتِهَا وَالاسْتِعَانَةُ باللهِ جَلَّ ثَنَاؤُهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ. وَلا حَوْلَ وَلا قُوَّةَ إلا باللهِ وَالْحَمْدُ للهِ رَب العَالَمِينَ.