Awakening the Soul

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

The Treatise on Rights

The Treatise on Rights is by Imam Ali Zainul Abideen (as) who is the great grandson of the Prophet and the fourth leader of the Shia school of thought. This book is one of his most outstanding teachings. It is a master document on Islamic human rights, which not only cover human rights, but they also include the rights of God, our parts, and our deeds. To any intelligent reader who ponders deeply about the contents of this valuable document on rights, it immediately becomes clear that Islam has already established the first document on rights nearly fourteen centuries ago. But unfortunately in our modern world there are those who claim to respect human rights but they do so only superficially.
You can read the whole treatise on rights here: Treatise on Rights
These are some of my favourites, even though i havent read through all of it yet.

The Greatest Right, is the right of God:
Then the greatest right of God incumbent upon you is that you worship Him without associating anything with Him. When you do that with sincerity, He has made it binding upon Himself to give you sufficiency in the affairs of this world and the next and to keep for you whatever of them that you like.
The Right of Yourself:
The right of yourself incumbent upon 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.

The Right of Your Mother:
The right of your mother is that you should know that she carried you where no one carries anyone, and she fed you with the fruit of her heart -that which no one feeds anyone, and she protected you with her hearing and sight, and her hands and legs, and her hair and skin and all her other organs. She was highly delighted to do so. She was happy and eager, enduring the harm and the pains, and the heaviness and the grief until the Mighty Hand expelled you out of her and delivered you out to the earth. She did not care if she went hungry as long as you ate, and if she was naked as long as you were clothed, and if she was thirsty as long as you drank, and if she was in the sun as long as you were in the shade, and if she was miserable as long as you were happy, and if she was deprived of sleeping as long as you were resting. And her abdomen was your abode, and her lap was your seat, and her breast was your supply of drink, and her soul was your fort. She protected you from the heat and the cold of this world. Then you should thank her for all that. You will not be able to show her gratitude unless through God's help and His granting you success.
AND THIS HAS TO BE MY FAVOURITE. THIS IS ONE OF THE MANY REASONS THIS MAN WAS
LOVED AND FOLLOWED BY MANY, EVEN THE ONES WHO WRONG YOU HAVE RIGHTS...
The Right of him who wrongs You:
And the right of him who wrongs you 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." 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." 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.

2 Comments:

  • At 7:50 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    salamun alaikum,

    a truly heart-touching site, thankyou for sharing your beautiful thoughts. keep your delicate heart trusting in the Almighty, my friend, He hears every call every sorrowful beat every painful cry for relief from this world of separation and yearning. dont let the creation dishearten you from what Allah has decreed for you in this life. keep in mind that seeking out this world is necessary to know it and so to avoid its traps. perhaps the greatest trial of all is proving to your Lord, through action, that you can face the evil and overcome it. one ray of your light can drown out an abyss of darkness, but since when has the night sky been able to suppress a sincere lonesome flame?

    remember there are those in whose hearts you are never forgotten.

    May Allah bless your kind soul and heal your wounds. All strength is from Him.

     
  • At 7:51 pm, Blogger Tempest said…

    wa alaikum assalaam,
    Thank you for your heart felt message, it was really nice of you.
    You must know that well known saying, there is light at the end of the tunnel...for some people their tunnels are long and full of boundaries they have to overcome before getting to the end, for others the tunnel is short and sweet. At times i wanted my tunnel to just be that short and smooth, but when i looked deeper im glad my tunnel was long, and had obstacles, even though the journey hasn’t ended yet, it was through those obstacles and challenges I learnt so much and understood so little of this life but yet understood more than the ignorance I once knew.
    The struggle will continue, but inshallah the end will not prove disappointing...

    Thank you.

     

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