Risalat al-huquq (Treatise on Rights)

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This article is an introduction to the Risalat al-huquq (Treatise on Rights); to read its text see text:Risalat al-huquq (Treatise on Rights).
Risalat al-huquq
AuthorImam al-Sajjad (a)
Original titleرِسالَة الحُقُوق
LanguageArabic
SubjectRights
GenreHadith
Pages45
Full textwww.al-islam.org
English translation
En. publisherAl-Shaheed Publications


Risāla al-Ḥuqūq (Arabic: رِسالَة الحُقُوق) is the title of a long narration from Imam al-Sajjad (a). This narration, which contains over 50 duties of any individual toward others, is in fact a treatise on moral conducts in both personal and social life. The rights discussed in this treatise address various social relations of any individual; like the duties toward parents, spouse, children, neighbors, teachers, students, believers, the leader of Congregational Prayer, the government etc. Because of the particular position and the comprehensive content, several translations and commentaries have been written on this treatise.

Content

In this charter, Imam al-Sajjad (a) outlines 51 divine rights under seven general categories:

  1. The rights of God
  2. The rights of the soul and body organs
  3. The rights of worship rituals
  4. The rights of the governor and the people
  5. The rights of the family members and the relatives
  6. The rights of different groups of people
  7. financial rights

The Meaning of Right

In this context, what is meant by Right, is the divine-originated obligations and duties toward others. These rights are not confined within the jurisprudential obligations but include recommended acts as well. That is, the treatise comprises recommended ethical norms, which is not always a sin and does not result in jurisprudential penalties. This treatise discusses the most significant of Divine and moral duties and in each duty, the most important aspects have been covered.

Risalat al-Huquq in the Encyclopedic Works of Traditions

The oldest traditional sources that recorded a complete version of Risalat al-Huquq are as follow:

However, there are some points regarding the authenticity of this narration.

First: in the version of Man La Yahdur , the chain of narration is not mentioned, therefor the narration is classified as Mursal.

Second: there are differences in the wording and some phrases of these three versions.

Third: in the chain of narration in al-Khisal , there is no account of Isma'il b. Fadal.

Forth: in Man la Yahdur it is not stated that these rights are in fact a treatise of Imam al-Sajjad (a) while in al-Khisal such fact is explicitly mentioned.

The Titles of Risalat al-Huquq

According to the account of al-Shaykh al-Saduq in al-Khisal , the titles of Risalat al-Huquq are:

  1. The right of God
  2. The right of soul
  3. The right of tongue
  4. The right of ears
  5. The right of eyes
  6. The right of hands
  7. The right of feet
  8. The right of abdomen
  9. The right of private parts
  10. The right of prayers
  11. The right of pilgrimage to Mecca
  12. The right of fasting
  13. The right of charity
  14. The right of sacrificed animals
  15. The right of governor
  16. The right of teacher
  17. The right of lord
  18. The right of bondman
  19. The right of student
  20. The right of woman
  21. The right of slave
  22. The right of mother
  23. The right of father
  24. The right of child
  25. The right of brother
  26. The right of a freed slave
  27. The right of servant
  28. The right of whoever does you a favor
  29. The right of the reciter of Adhan
  30. The right of the Imam in congregational prayer
  31. The right of companion (general)
  32. The right of neighbor
  33. The right of friend
  34. The right of partner
  35. The right of money and whatever you possess
  36. The right of a loan seeker
  37. The right of companion (personal and particular)
  38. The rights of your enemy (your duties toward your enemy)
  39. Your rights against your enemy (what you are allowed to do toward your enemy)
  40. The right of anyone who consults you
  41. The right of counselor
  42. The rights of anyone who seeks advice
  43. The rights of anyone who gives advice
  44. The right of elderly
  45. The right of children
  46. The right of beggar
  47. The right of whoever gives charity
  48. The right of whoever makes you happy
  49. The right of whoever does you wrong
  50. The right of the followers of your religion
  51. The right of the followers of other religions

Commentaries and Translations

There are several commentaries in Arabic and Persian translation of this treatise. It also has been translated to English.

Notes

  1. Ibn Shuʿba al-Ḥarrānī, Tuḥaf al-ʿuqūl, p. 255-272.
  2. Ṣadūq, al-Khiṣāl, vol. 2, p. 564-570.
  3. Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 2, p. 618-625.

References

  • Ibn Shuʿba al-Ḥarrānī, Ḥasan b. ʿAlī. Tuḥaf al-ʿuqūl ʿan Āl-i al-Rasūl. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī. Second edition. Qom: Daftar-i Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1404 AH.
  • Ḥābībī, Salmān and Mukhtār Shams al-Dīnī Muṭlaq. Kitāb shināsī Imām Sajjād, Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādīyya wa Risāla al-Ḥuqūq. 1st ed. Tehran: Majmaʿ Jahānī Ahl al-Bayt (a), 1394 Sh.
  • Ḥusaynī Jalālī, Sayyid Muḥammad Riḍā. Jahād-i Imām Sajjād. Translated by Mūsā Dānish. 1st ed. Mashhad: Bunyād-i Pazhūhishha-yi Islāmī, 1382 Sh.
  • Ḥusaynī Jalālī, Sayyid Muḥammad Riḍā. Risālat al-Ḥuqūq, Dānishnāmah-yi Jahān Islām. 1st ed. Tehran: Bunyād-i Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif al-Islāmī, 1393 Sh.
  • Sepehrī, Muḥammad. Tarjuma wa sharḥ-i Risālat al-Ḥuqūq-i Imām Sajjād. 8th ed. Qom: Dār al-ʿIlim, 1384 Sh.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Amālī. 6th ed. Tehran: Kitābchī, 1376 Sh.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Khiṣāl. 1st ed. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī. Qom: Jāmiʿat al-Mudarrisīn, 1362 Sh.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh. 2nd ed. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī. Qom: Jāmiʿat al-Mudarrisīn, 1413 AH.
  • Najāshī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-. Rijāl al-Najāshī. 8th ed. Qom: Jāmiʿat al-Mudarrisīn, 1365 Sh.
  • Nūrī, Mīrzā Ḥusayn al-. Mustadrak al-wasāʾil wa musṭanbit al-wasā'il. 1st ed. Qom: Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt, 1408 AH.