THE RIGHT OF ....................... IN ISLAM

THE RIGHT OF MASTER ON THE FREED SLAVE

Then the right of your master who has favored you is that you should know that he has spent his property for you and has brought you out of the abasement of slavery and its desolation, and has brought you into the honor of freedom and its sociability. And he has freed you from the captivity of his own possession and has released the bonds of his slavery from you. And he has led you to smell the scent of honor, and has brought you out of the prison of subjugation, and has repelled hardship from you, and has extended to you the tongue of fairness, and has liberated you to freely move about in the whole world, and has given you ownership of yourself, and has freed you from captivity, and has given you the freedom to worship your Lord. 

And for this he has suffered a decrease in his fortune. Then you should know that he is the closest creature to you after your relations of kin, in your life and after your death, and that he is the most meritorious creature to receive your assistance and support, and your help for God's sake. Therefore do not prefer yourself to him regarding any of his needs.

 THE RIGHT OF THE FREED SLAVE ON HIS MASTER

And the right of the slave whom you have favored is that you should know that God has established you as his supporter, and shelter and assistant, and refuge, and He has established him for you as the means and as a mediator between you and Him. Then by freeing him, he will protect you from the Fire . And this is the reward you get from him in the future. And your immediate reward is to inherit from him if he does not have any relations of kin. There is a compensation for the property you have spent for him, and respecting his rights after you spent your property. Then if you do not respect his rights, there is the fear upon you that his inheritance would not be purified for you. And there is no power but in God.

THE RIGHT OF HIM WHO TREATS YOU KINDLY

And the right of him who treats you kindly is that you should thank him and acknowledge his kindness; and spread the good word around about him, and sincerely pray for him between you and God the Praised One. Then if you do that, you have thanked him both in private and in public. Then if you are able to practically recompense him, Do recompense him. Otherwise you should be determined to do so later.

THE RIGHT OF THE CALLER TO PRAYER

And the right of your caller to prayer is that you should know that he is the one reminding you of your Lord, and is calling you to your good fortune, and is your greatest helper in fulfilling an obligation that God has made incumbent upon you. Therefore thank him for that just as you thank one who does some good to you. And if you are upset with him at home due to this, you should not accuse him for this since his act is for God. And you should know that he is one of the Blessings of God to you. There is no doubt about it. Then you should kindly treat God's Blessing, by praising God for him under all circumstances. And there is no power but in God.

THE RIGHT OF THE RITUAL PRAYER LEADER

And the right of your leader in your ritual prayer is that you should know that he has taken on the role of a mediator between you and God and appeared in the presence of your Lord on your behalf. And he speaks for you, but you do not speak for him; and he supplicates for you, but you do not supplicate for him; and he has beseeched for you and you do not beseech for him. And he has spared you the anxiety of standing before God and the question of interrogation for your prayer, but you do not spare him that. Should he perform the prayer imperfectly, he is held responsible for that not you; and if he makes a mistake during the prayer, you will not be his partner in it, and there is no superiority in this for him over you. Then he protected you through himself, And he protected your prayer through his prayer. Therefore thank him for this. And there is no power nor any strength but in God.

THE RIGHT OF YOUR SITTING COMPANION

And the right of your sitting companion is that you should treat him gently, and warmly welcome him, and be fair while talking with him, and do not take your eyes off of him when you are looking at him, and pronounce your words clearly to help him understand what you say. And if you are the first one to go and sit with him, you can leave him when you wish. However, if he is the first one to come and sit with you, he can leave you when he wishes to. And you should not leave him without his permission. And there is no power but in God.

THE RIGHT OF THE NEIGHBOR

And the right of your neighbor is that you should be as a guardian for him when he is absent, and you should honor him when he is present, and you should assist and support him in both situations. You should not pursue any of his imperfections, and you should not seek any of his faults. But if you should discover any of his faults unintentionally, you should take the role of -regarding what you know- a fortified stronghold and a veiling screen. You should guard them in such a way that none of his defects can be discovered even if they are thoroughly inspected through spears. And you should not eavesdrop on him, and you should not forsake him during times of hardship. And you should not envy him when he receives a blessing. 

Pardon his deviation and forgive his mistakes. And do not lose your temper when he behaves out of ignorance with you. And do not stop to be his supporter, and answer those who scold him. And divulge for him the deception of those who counsel him, and associate with him in an honorable manner. And there is no power nor any strength but in God.

THE RIGHT OF THE COMPANION

And the right of the companion is that you should act as his companion with nobility as much as you can. You should at least treat him with fairness and honor him as he honors you, and guard him as he guards you, and do not let him be the first one to deal with the other one with honor. And if he does so, you should do something for him in return. And you should not neglect the friendship that he deserves in the least bit. You should commit yourself to advise him, care for him, and help him perform the acts of obedience to his Lord, and help him restrain himself from any act of disobedience of his Lord that he might attempt. Then be like a mercy upon him, and not as a chastisement. And there is no power but in God.

THE RIGHT OF THE PARTNER

And the right of the partner is that you should take care of his affairs in his absence. And you should treat him equally when he is present. And you should not make any decisions on your own without considering his opinion. And you should not act according to your own opinion before discussing it with him. You should safeguard his property, and advise him against cheating whether there is honor or disdain in it, since it has been transmitted to us: "God's hand is with partners as long as they do not cheat." And there is no power but in God.

THE RIGHT OF PROPERTY

And the right of your property is that you should not attain it except by legitimate means and you should only spend it for legitimate causes. You should not spend it improperly, you should not use it wrongfully, and you should not use what is from God in ways other than in His way and make it as a means to approach God. And you should not prefer to use it for one who does not show gratitude instead of using it for yourself. It is better that you do not leave it for others as inheritance who might use it not to obey your Lord, and then your wealth may be considered to be as an assistance for them in so doing. Or you may bequeath your property to one who spends it in the way of obedience to God in ways better than you do. Then he will gain the benefits, and you will be left with the sins, and the regret, and blame yourself for the ill consequence. And there is no power but in God.

THE RIGHT OF THE CREDITOR

And the right of him to whom you owe is that you should pay him back if you have the means to do so. You should meet his need, make him rich, and avoid putting him off and procrastinating. The Prophet, may God's peace be upon him and his household, said: "Procrastination is oppression for the rich." But if you are in hardship you should satisfy him by using good words. You should gently ask him and send him away with gentleness. You should not take his property and mistreat him too. That will surely be mean. And there is no power but in God.

THE RIGHT OF THE ASSOCIATE

And the right of the associate is that you should not mislead, or cheat him, lie to him or fool him, and you should not trick him. And you should not treat him as an enemy does -who alienates all his friends. If he trusts you, you should be very careful of yourself for his sake, and realize that cheating the intimate ones is like usury. And there is no power but in God.

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