The Fifty Rights which the Master of the Worshippers Ali Ibn Al-Hussein (as) Wrote to Some of His Companions

following is the Treatise of Ali ibn al-Hussein (MGB) to some of his companions:“Know that God the Honorable the Exalted has rights incumbent upon you and that these encompass you in every motion through which you move, every rest which you take, every way-station in which you reside, every limb which you employ, and every instrument which you use.And the greatest of God’s rights incumbent upon you is what He has made incumbent upon you for Himself from His rights: that which is the root of all rights. Then there are those that God the Honorable the Exalted has made incumbent upon you in yourself, from your head to your foot, according to the diversity of your organs. Then the Honorable the Exalted God has established for your tongue a right incumbent upon you, and for your hearing a right incumbent upon you, and for your sight a right incumbent upon you, and for your hands a right incumbent upon you, and for your legs a right incumbent upon you, and for your stomach a right incumbent upon you, and for your private parts a right incumbent upon you. These are the seven organs through which deeds take place.Then the Honorable the Exalted has established for your deeds rights incumbent upon you. Then He established for your ritual prayer a right incumbent upon you, and for your fasting a right incumbent upon you, and for your charity a right incumbent upon you, and for your offering a rightincumbent upon you, and for your deeds a right incumbent upon you. Then the rights extend out from you to others who have rights incumbent upon you.And the most incumbent of them incumbent upon you are the rights toward your leaders, then the rights toward your subjects - those whom you teach and those whom you own. And then the rights toward your relations of kin. And from these rights other rights branch out.The rights of your leaders are threefold: The one most incumbent upon you is the right of him who trains you through authority, then the right of him who trains you through knowledge - as the uneducated is subject to the learned.And then there is the right of those who are your subjects through property, such as wives and those owned by the right hand . And the rights of your relations of kin hold according to the degree of closeness of the relationship. Then the most incumbent one 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, and then the next nearest, and the most worthy, and then the next most worthy.Then there is the right of your master who favors you , then the right of the slave, the servant whose favors reach you , then the right of him who treats you kindly, then the right of your caller to prayer, then the right of your prayer leader, then the right of your sitting companion, then the right of your neighbor, then the right of your companion, then the right of your partner, then the right of your property, then the right of the debtor who must pay you back, then the right of the one who has given you a loan who demands his debt to be paid back, 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 seeks your advice, then the right of him whose advice you seek, then the right of him who seeks your counsel, then the right of him whose counsel you seek, then the right of him who is older than you are, then the right of him who is younger than you are, then the right of him who begs from you, then the right of him from whom you beg, then the right of him who wrongs you either verbally or physically, then the right of him who does something to make you happy either verbally or physically whether intentionally or unintentionally, then the right of the people of your creed, then the right of those under the protection of Islam, then the rights which are incumbent upon you according to the vicissitudes of life and the availability of means. Therefore blessed be the one whom God helps fulfill the rights that He has made incumbent upon him and whom He grants success therein and guides him.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 the right of yourself incumbent upon you is that you employ it in obeying the Honorable the Exalted God. And the right of the tongue is that you consider it too noble for obscenity, accustom it to good, do not use it except in situations of needs and benefits, use it to be kind to the people and talk to them nicely. And the right of hearing is to keep it pure by not listening to gossip and not listening to what is not allowed to be heard. And the right of your sight is that you lower it before everything which is unlawful to you and that you abandon using it except in situations in which you can take heed.And the right of your hand is that you do not stretch it towards that which is unlawful to you. And the right of your legs is that you do not walk with them toward that which is unlawful to you. Then use them to stop on the way and look out so that they do not slip and you fall into the Fire. And the right of your stomach is that you do not make it into a container for that which is unlawful, and that you do not overeat. And the right of your private parts is that you should protect them from adultery and guard them from being looked upon.Then the right of your ritual prayer is that you should know that it is an arrival at the threshold of the Honorable the Exalted God and that through it you are standing before the Honorable the Exalted God. And when you realize that, then you will stand in the station of him who is lowly, vile, beseeching, trembling, hopeful, fearful, and abased. And you will magnify Him who is before you with stillness and humbleness, and accept Him wholeheartedly, and consider His bounds and His rights. And the right of pilgrimage is that you should know that it is an arrival at the threshold of your Lord and a flight to Him from your sins; and through it your repentance is accepted and you perform an obligation made incumbent upon you by God.And the right of fasting is that You should know it is a veil, which God has set up over your tongue, your hearing and your sight, your private parts and your stomach, to protect you from the Fire . Should you break your fast you have pierced the veil which God has placed upon you. And the right of charity is that you should know that it is a storing away with your Lord the Honorable the Exalted, and a deposit for which you will have no need for witnesses. Then once you know this, you will be more confident ofit, if you donate it in secret than if you donate it in public. You should know that your charity would fend off calamities and ailments from you in this world, and fend off the Fire from you in the Hereafter. And the right of the offering is that through it you purify your will toward God the Honorable the Exalted. You should not make the offering for the eyes of His creatures. If this is so, you will neither expose yourself to God’s Mercy, nor benefit from the saving of your spirit on the Day on which you shall meet Him.Then the right of the possessor of authority is that you should know that God has established you as a trial for him. God is testing him through the authority the Honorable the Exalted God has given him over you. And you should not quarrel with him while he has complete dominance over you, for thereby you cause your own destruction and his, too. Should you do so, you will deserve to be considered to be his assistant acting against yourself and as his partner in what he does to you.And the right of the one who trains you through knowledge is glorifying him; respecting his meetings; listening well to him; being responsive to him; not raising your voice over his voice; not answering anyone who asks him before he answers; not talking while you are in his meeting; not gossiping about anyone in his presence; defending him if someone gossips about him near you; covering up his faults and publicize his outstanding traits; not associating with his enemies; and not being an enemy of his friends. Should you do so, God’s angels would witness on your behalf that you went to him and acquired his knowledge, and God would exalt his name amongst the people.And the right of him who trains you through property is that you should be subordinate to him and not disobey him - unless obeying him would displease God - for there can be no obedience to a creature when there is disobedience to God.”Then the right of your subjects through authority is that you should know that they have been made subjects through their weakness and your strength. Hence it is incumbent upon you to act with justice toward them and to be like a compassionate father towards them. You should forgive them because of their ignorance, not hurry to punish them, and thank God for the power over them which He has given to you.And the right of your subjects through knowledge is that you should know that the Honorable the Exalted God established you over them through what He has granted you of knowledge, and what He has granted authority over His Treasures of Wisdom. If you do well in teaching the people, not treatingthem roughly or annoying them, then God will increase His bounty toward you. However, if you withhold your knowledge from people or treat them roughly when they seek knowledge from you, then it will be God’s right to deprive you of the knowledge and its splendor, and make you belittled in the people’s eyes.And the right of your subject through matrimonial contract is that you should know that the Honorable the Exalted God has made her a repose, and a companion for you. Then you should know that this is God’s blessing for you. Then you should honor her and treat her gently. Yet your right over her is more incumbent. You must treat her with compassion, since she is your prisoner whom you feed and clothe. If she is ignorant, you should pardon her.And the right of your subject through being your slave is that you should know that he is a creature of your Lord and is made of the same flesh and blood. And you only own him, but you are very inferior to God and you have not created him. And you have not created any of his organs, nor do you provide his daily sustenance; rather it is the Honorable the Exalted God who gives you sufficiency for that. Then He subjugated him to you, entrusted him to you, and provisionally consigned him to you. So protect him there , and treat him well just as well as God has treated you. And if you dislike him, you ought to let him go and replace him, but do not torment God’s creature. And there is no power but in God.Then 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 all her organs. She did not care if she went hungry as long as you ate, if she was thirsty as long as you drank, if she was naked as long as you were clothed, if she was in the sun as long as you were in the shade, if she was deprived of sleeping as long as you were resting. 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 the right of your father is that you should know that he is your root. And without him, you would not be. Whenever you see anything in yourself which pleases you, you should know that your father is the root of its blessing upon you. So praise God and thank Him in recognition of that. And there is no power but in God.And the right of your child is that you should know that he is from you and he will be ascribed to you in this world due to both his good deeds and hisevil deeds. And you are responsible for what has been entrusted to you in teaching him good conduct, and guiding him toward his Lord - the Honorable the Exalted - and helping him to obey Him. Then regarding his affairs, act like one who knows that he would be rewarded for treating him with kindness and punished for maltreating him.And the right of your brother is that you should know that he is your hand, your support, and your power. Take him not as a weapon with which to disobey God, nor as a means with which to oppress God’s creatures. And do not neglect to help him against his enemy, and give him good counsel. If he obeys God, it is fine. Else God should be more preferable and more honorable to you than he is. And there is no power but in God.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, has released the bonds of his slavery from you, has given you ownership of yourself, and has given you the freedom to worship your Lord. Then you should know that he is the closest creature to you in your life and after your death. It is incumbent upon you to assist him and he is more meritorious than yourself to receive your assistance and support regarding what he needs. And there is no power but in God.And the right of the slave whom you have favored is that you should know that the Honorable the Exalted God has made your freeing him a means of access to Him and a veil against the Fire. Your immediate reward is to inherit from him - if he doesn’t have any relatives - as a compensation for the property you have spent for him, and your ultimate reward is the Garden.And the right of him who treats you kindly is that you should thank him and acknowledge his kindness; spread the good word around about him; and sincerely pray for him between you and the Honorable the Exalted 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.And the right of your caller to prayer is that you should know that he is reminding you of your Lord - the Honorable the Exalted - calling you to your good fortune, and helping you to accomplish what God has made obligatory upon you. So thank him for that just as you thank one who does good to you.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 the Honorable the Exalted God; he speaks for you, but you do not speak for him; he supplicates for you, but you do not supplicate for him. And he has spared you the anxiety of standing before the Honorable the Exalted God. Should he perform the prayer imperfectly, he is held responsible for that. However, should he perform it perfectly, you are considered to be his partner. There is no superiority in this for him over you, or for his prayer over yours. Therefore, thank him for this.And the right of your sitting companion is that you should treat him gently, warmly welcome him, be fair while talking with him, and not leave him without his permission. If he is the first one to come and sit with you, he can leave you when he wishes to. You should forget his mistakes and remember his good qualities, and you should tell nothing about him but good.And the right of your neighbor is that you should be a guardian for him when he is absent, and you should honor him when he is present, and you should assist him when he is oppressed. You should not seek out any of his faults. However, if you should discover any of his faults unintentionally, you should keep them as a secret. If you know that he would accept your advice, you should advise him in private. Do not forsake him at times of hardship, pardon his deviation, overlook his mistakes, forgive him his sins, and associate with him in an honorable manner. There is no power but in God.And the right of the companion is that you should act as his companion with nobility and fairness and honor him as he honors you. Be like mercy upon him, and not as a chastisement. And there is no power but in God.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 not cheat him in this regard, whether there is honor or disdain in it. Indeed it has been transmitted to us: “The Blessed the Sublime God’s hand is with partners as long as they do not cheat.” And there is no power but in God.And the right of him to whom you owe a debt is that, if you have the means, you pay him back. And if you are in straitened circumstances, you satisfy him with good words and send him away with gentleness.And the right of the associate is that you should not fool him, trick him or deceive him. You should fear the Blessed the Sublime God regarding his affairs.And the right of the adversary who has a claim against you is that if his claim against you is true you give witness to it against yourself. You do not wrong him and you give him his full due. If what he claims against you is false, you act with kindness toward him and you show nothing in his affair other than kindness. You do not displease your Lord in his affair. And there is no power but in God.And the right of the adversary against whom you have a claim is that if your claim against him is true, you maintain polite moderation in speaking to him and you do not deny him his right. If your claim is false, you fear the Honorable the Exalted God, repent to Him, and abandon your claim.And the right of him who seeks your advice is that you should exert all efforts to advise him if you can provide him with good advice. However, if you do not have any good advice for him, you should refer him to someone else whom you know and trust his advice yourself.And the right of him whose advice you seek is that you should not accuse him when he gives you advice that doesn’t confirm your own opinion. And if it was appropriate for you, you should thank the Honorable the Exalted God for it.And the right of him who seeks your counsel is that you should give him your counsel. You should choose having mercy and kindness as your course of action.And the right of your counselor is that you should be whole-heartedly attentive to him, and listen to him. If what he presents to you is right, you should praise the Honorable the Exalted God for it. However, if what he presents to you doesn’t agree with you, you should be kind to him and make no accusations against him. And you should know that if he is wrong, you should not hold him responsible in this regard. However, if he deserves to be accused, you should not trust him under any circumstances. And there is no power but in God.And the right of him who is older than you are is that you should respect him because of his age, and honor his submission to God if he is one of the noble ones in Islam. You should recognize his seniority and stop confrontinghim in disputes and should not surpass him or walk ahead of him. And you should not treat him foolishly. If he should treat you foolishly, you should put up with him and honor him to respect his being an older Muslim.And the right of him who is younger than you are is to be friendly with him, train and educate him, pardon him, cover up his faults, and be patient with him and help him.And the right of him who begs from you is that you give to him in the measure of his need.And the right of him from whom you beg is that you should accept from him whatever he grants you with gratitude and acknowledge his nobility. And you should accept his excuse if he withholds and think well of him.And the right of him by which the Sublime God makes you happy is that you first praise the Honorable the Exalted God, then thank that person.And the right of him who wrongs you is that you pardon him. However, if you know that your pardon will harm him, you should defend yourself. The Blessed the Sublime God says, “But indeed if any do help and defend themselves after a wrong (done) to them, against such there is no cause of blame.”And the right of the people of your creed is that you should whole-heartedly provide safety for them; gently show them mercy; treat their wrongdoers with patience; treat them with friendliness; seek their welfare; and thank those of them who do good to you and to themselves. And keep harm away from them. You should love for them what you love for yourself and dislike for them what you dislike for yourself. Their old men stand in the place of your father, their youth in the place of your brothers, their old women in the place of your mother, and their young ones in the place of your children.And the right of those under the protection of Islam is that you should accept from them what the Honorable the Exalted God has accepted from them, do not oppress them and fulfill what God has established for them under His Protection and Covenant.