Risalat al-Huquq (Arabic: رسالة الحقوق, lit. 'treatise of rights') is an early Islamic text about social and religious responsibilities. The book is attributed to Ali al-Sajjad (d. c. 712 CE), an imam in Shia Islam, and the great-grandson of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. Risalat al-Huquq exhaustively describes the rights God has upon humans and the rights humans have upon themselves and on each other, as perceived in Islam. Risalat al-Huquq has been related by Abu Hamza al-Thumali, a close confidant of al-Sajjad.
Risalat al-Huquq (lit. 'treatise on rights') is attributed to Ali al-Sajjad (d. c. 712 CE), probably written at the request of a disciple. Also known by the honorific title Zayn al-Abidin (lit. 'ornament of worshippers'), al-Sajjad was an imam in Shia Islam and the great-grandson of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.[1][2]
Risalat al-Huquq is concerned with social and religious responsibilities. It exhaustively lists the rights God has upon humans and the rights humans have upon themselves and on each other, as perceived in Islam.[3] The book describes the social duties each human must observe, and that those duties predicate on more fundamental ones, such as faith in God and obedience to Him.[4]
Risalat al-Huquq has been viewed as an elaboration of Muhammad's saying, "Surely your Lord has a right against you, your self has a right against you, your wife has a right against you." Some versions of this well-attested hadith, possibly uttered on other occasions, include other rights and the clause, "So give everyone who possesses a right his right." What is meant by "everyone who possesses a right" is exhaustively detailed in Risalat al-Huquq by al-Sajjad, who bases himself in the Quran and hadith literature.[5]
Risalat al-Huquq has been translated as Treatise of Rights, because the word huquq (Arabic: حقوق) in the title is the plural for haqq (Arabic: حق), which is often translated as 'right', although other closely related words are 'justice', 'truth', 'obligation', 'duty', and 'responsibility'. These latter translations might have been more appropriate because Risalat al-Huquq is primarily concerned with the rights of others which the individual must observe, in sharp contrast with Western views where human rights are often interpreted as the rights of the individual. In Islam, however, the only true right of the individual is that of salvation, to attain which the individual must follow the guidance of God. Without this divine guidance, Islam teaches, the individual is unable to perceive his best interests in the midst of his own ego and self-centered desires.[5]
Risalat al-Huquq has been related by Abu Hamza al-Thumali, a close confidant of al-Sajjad.[6] There are two recensions of the book, one of which appears in al-Khisal and al-Amali, authored by the Shia scholar Shaykh al-Saduq (d. 991). Another version is included in Tuhaf al-Uqul, authored by Ibn Shu'ba, a contemporary of al-Saduq. This second version contains clarifications, perhaps added later to the original text. [5]
Risalat al-Huquq begins with an introduction that briefly overviews the rights and begins as
Know–God have mercy upon you–that God 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. Some of these rights are greater than others.[7]
The introduction is followed by a detailed statement of the rights, some of which are listed below.
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.[8]
The documentary Treatise of Life is about the lifestyle mindful of the rights listed in Risalat al-Huquq. It was directed by Amir Farrokh Saber, an Iranian director, and broadcast on the IRIB news channel.[9]
