Risālat al-Ḥuqūq

بسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ إعْلَمْ رَحِمَكَ اللهُ أَنَّ للهِ عَلَيْكَ حُقُوقًا مُحِيطَةً بكَ فِي كلِّ حَرَكَةٍ تَحَرَّكْتَهَا، أَوْ سَكَنَةٍ سَكَنْتَهَا، أَوْ مَنْزِلَةٍ نَزَلْتَهَا، أَوْ جَارِحَةٍ قَلَّبْتَهَا وَآلَةٍ تَصَرَّفْتَ بهَا، بَعْضُهَا أَكْبَرُ مِنْ بَعْضٍ. وَأَكْبَرُ حُقُوقِ اللهِ عَلَيْكَ مَا أَوْجَبَهُ لِنَفْسِهِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى مِنْ حَقِّهِ الَّذِي هُوَ أَصْلُ الْحُقُوقِ وَمِنْهُ تَفَرَّعَ. ثُمَّ أَوْجَبَهُ عَلَيْكَ لِنَفْسِكَ مِنْ قَرْنِكَ إلَى قَدَمِكَ عَلَى اِختِلافِ جَوَارِحِكَ. فَجَعَلَ ِلِلِسَانِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا وَلِسَمْعِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا وِ لِبَصَرِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا وَلِيَدِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا وَلِرِجْلِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا وَلِبَطْنِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا وَلِفَرْجِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا، فَهَذِهِ الْجَوَارِحُ السَّبْعُ الَّتِي بهَا تَكُونُ الأَفْعَالُ. ثُمَّ جَعَلَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لأَفْعَالِكَ عَلَيْكَ حُقُوقًا فَجَعَلَ لِصَلاتِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا وَلِصَوْمِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا وَلِصَدَقَتِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا وَلِهَدْيِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا وَلأَفعَالِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا. ثُمَّ تَخرُجُ الْحُقُوقُ مِنْكَ إلَى غَيْرِكَ مِنْ ذَوِي الْحُقُوقِ الْوَاجِبةِ عَلَيكَ. وَأَوْجَبُهَا عَلَيْكَ حُقُوقُ أَئِمَّتِكَ ثُمَّ حُقُوقُ رَعِيَّتِكَ ثُمَّ حُقُوقُ رَحِمِكَ. فَهَذِهِ حُقُوقٌ يَتَشَعَّبُ مِنْهَا حُقُوقٌ: فَحُقُوقُ أَئِمَّتِكَ ثَلاثَةٌ أَوْجَبُهَا عَلَيْكَ حَقُّ سَائِسِكَ بالسُّلْطَانِ ثُمَّ سَائِسِكَ بالْعِلْمِ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ سَائِسِكَ بالْمُلْكِ. وَحُقُوقُ رَعِيَّتِكَ ثلاثَةٌ أَوْجَبُهَا عَلَيْكَ حَقُّ رَعِيَّتِكَ بالسُّلْطَان، ثُمَّ حَقُّ رعِيَّتِكَ بالْعِلْمِ، فَإنَّ الْجَاهِلَ رَعِيَّةُ الْعَالِمِ، وَحَقُّ رَعِيَّتِكَ بالْمُلْكِ مِنَ الأَزْوَاجِ وَمَا مَلَكْتَ مِنَ الأَيْمَانِ. وَحُقُوقُ رَحِمِكَ كَثِيرَةٌ مُتَّصِلَةٌ بقَدْرِ اتِّصَالِ الرَّحِمِ فِي الْقَرَابَةِ فَأَوْجَبُهَا عَلَيْكَ حَقُّ أُمِّكَ ثُمَّ حَقُّ أَبيكَ ثُمَّ حَقُّ وَلَدِكَ ثُمَّ حَقُّ أَخِيكَ ثُمَّ الأَقْرَبُ فَالأَقْرَبُ وَالأَوَّلى فَالأَوَّلى. ثُمَّ حَقُّ مَوْلاكَ الْمُنْعِمِ عَلَيْكَ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ مَوْلاكَ الْجَارِيَةُ نِعْمَتُكَ عَلَيْهِ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ ذِي الْمَعْرُوفِ لَدَيْكَ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ مُؤَذِّنُكَ بالصَّلاةِ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ إمَامِكَ فِي صَلاتِكَ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ جَلِيسِكَ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ جَارِكَ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ صَاحِبكَ، غَرِيمِكَ الَّذِي يُطَالِبُكَ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ خَلِيطِكَ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ خَصْمِكَ الْمُدَّعِي عَلَيْكَ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ خَصْمِكَ الَّذِي تَدَّعِي عَلَيْهِ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ مُسْتَشِيرِكَ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ الْمُشِيرِ عَلَيْكَ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ مُسْتَنْصِحِكَ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ النَّاصِحِ لَكَ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ مَنْ هُوَ أَكْبَرُ مِنْكَ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ مَنْ هُوَ أَصْغَرُ مِنْكَ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ سَائِلِكَ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ مَن سَأَلْتَهُ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ مَن جَرَى لَكَ عَلَى يَدَيْهِ مَسَاءَةٌ بقَوْلٍ أَو فِعْلٍ أَوْ مَسَرَّةٍ بذَلِكَ بقَوْلٍ أَوْ فِعْلٍ عَنْ تَعَمُّدٍ مِنْهُ أَوْ غَيْرِ تَعَمُّدٍ مِنْهُ، ثُمَّ حَقُّ أَهْلِ مِلَّتِكَ عَامَّةً ثُمَّ حَقُّ أَهْلِ الذِّمَّةِ، ثُمَّ الْحُقُوقُ الْجَارِيَةُ بقَدْرِ عِلَل الأَحْوَالِ وَتَصَرُّفِ الأَسْبَاب. فَطُوبَى لِمَنْ أَعَانَهُ اللهُ عَلَى قَضَاءِ مَا أَوْجَبَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ حُقُوقِهِ وَوَفَّقَهُ وَسَدَّدَهُ.

In the Name of Allah, the All-merciful, the All-compassionate Know - God have mercy upon you - that God has rights regarding you and that these encompass you in every movement through which you move, every rest through which you rest, every way-station 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. 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 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 your tongue a right against you, your hearing a right against you, your sight a right against you, your hand a right against you, your leg a right against you, your stomach a right against you, and your private part a right against you. These are the seven organs through which acts (af'al) take place. Then He gave your acts rights against you: He gave your ritual prayer a right against you, your fasting a right against you, your charity a right against you, your offering a right against you, and your acts a right against you. 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. The rights of your leaders are three: The most incumbent upon you is the right of him who trains you through authority, then of him who trains you through knowledge, then of him who trains you through property. The rights of your subjects are three: The most incumbent upon you is the right of those who are your subjects through authority, then 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 wives and what is owned by the right hand. 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 the right of your mother, then the right of your father, then the right of your child, then the right of your brother, then the next nearest, then the next nearest - the most worthy, then the next most worthy. Then there is the right of your master who favours you [by freeing you from slavery], then the right of the slave whose favours reach you [by the fact that you free him], then the right of him who does a kindly act toward you, then the right of the mu’adhdhin who calls you to the ritual prayer, then the right of the imam who leads the prayer, then the right of your sitting companion, then the right of your neighbour, then the right of your companion, then the right of your partner, then the right of your property, then the right of him who has a debt he must pay back to you, then the right of him to whom you owe a debt. Then the right of your associate, then the right of your adversary who has a claim against you, then the right of your adversary against whom you have a claim, then the right of him who asks you for advice, then the right of him whom you ask for advice, then the right of him who asks your counsel, then the right of him who counsels you, then the right of him who is older than you, then the right of him who is younger than you. Then the right of him who asks from you, then the right of him from whom you ask, then the right of him who does something evil to you through word or deed, or him who makes you happy through word or deed, intentionally or unintentionally, then the right of the people of your creed, then 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!

فأَمَّا حَقُّ اللهِ الأَكْبَرُ فَإنَّكَ تَعْبُدُهُ لا تُشْرِكُ بهِ شَيْئاً، فَإذَا فَعَلْتَ ذَلِكَ بإخلاصٍ جَعَلَ لَكَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ أَنْ يَكفِيَكَ أَمْرَ الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ وَيَحْفَظَ لَكَ مَا تُحِبُّ مِنْهَما.

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.

وَأَمَّا حَقُّ نَفْسِكَ عَلَيْكَ فَأَنْ تَسْتَوْفِيَهَا فِي طَاعَةِ اللهِ فَتُؤَدّي إلَى لِسَانِكَ حَقَّهُ وَإلَى سَمْعِك حَقَّهُ وَإلَى بَصَرِكَ حَقّهُ وَإلَى يَدِكَ حَقَّهَا وَإلَى رِجْلِك حَقَّهَا وَإلَى بَطْنِكَ حَقَّهُ وَإلَى فَرْجِكَ حَقَّهُ وَتَسْتَعِينَ باللهِ عَلَى ذَلِك.

The right of your self (nafs) against you is that you employ it in obeying God; then you deliver [i.e. fulfill] 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.

وَأَمَّا حَقُّ اللّسَان فَإكْرَامُهُ عَنِ الْخَنَى وتَعْوِيدُهُ الْخَيْرِ وَ تَرك الْفُضُول الَّتي لا فائِدَةِ لَها و البِرُّ بالنَّاسِ و حُسْن القَولِ فيهم.

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.

وَأَمَّا حَقُّ السَّمْعِ فَتَنْزِيهُهُ عَنْ سَماع الغيبةِ و سَماعِها لا يحِلّ سَماعه.

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.

وَأَمَّا حَقُّ بَصَرِكَ أن تُغْمِضَهُ عَمَّا لا يَحِلُّ لَكَ و تَعْتَبِر بالنَّظَرِ بِهِ.

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. [1]

وَأَمَّا حَقُّ يَدِكَ فَأَنْ لا تَبْسُطَهَا إلَى مَا لا يَحِلُّ لَكَ.

The right of your hand is that you stretch it not toward that which is unlawful to you.

وَأَمَّا حَقُّ رِجْلَيْكَ فَأَنْ لا تَمْشِي بهِمَا إلَى مَا لا يَحِلُّ لَكَ فيهما، تقف على الصراط فانظر أن لا تزل بك فتتردى في النار.

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), so you should see to it that your legs do not slip and cause you to fall into the Fire.

وَأَمَّا حَقُّ بَطْنِكَ فَأَنْ لا تَجْعَلَهُ وِعَاءً لِلْحَرَامِ وَلا تَزيد على الشَّبْعَ.

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 after you become full.

وأَمَّا حَقُّ فَرْجِكَ انْ تُحْصِنَهُ عَن الْزِّنا و تَحْفِظَهَ مِن أنْ يُنْظَر الَيْهِ.

The right of your private part is that you protect it from fornication and guard it against being looked upon.