Treatise of Rights — Hadith 1

In the Name of Allah, the All-merciful, the All-compassionate Know - God have mercy upon you - that God has rights regarding you and that these encompass you in every movement through which you move, every rest through which you rest, every way-station in which you reside, every limb which you employ, and every instrument which you put to work. Some of these rights are greater and some less. The greatest of God's rights against you is the right which He has made incumbent upon you for Himself and which is the root of all rights, then those which He has made incumbent upon you in yourself, from your crown to your foot, in keeping with the diversity of your organs. He has given your tongue a right against you, your hearing a right against you, your sight a right against you, your hand a right against you, your leg a right against you, your stomach a right against you, and your private part a right against you. These are the seven organs through which acts (af'al) take place. Then He gave your acts rights against you: He gave your ritual prayer a right against you, your fasting a right against you, your charity a right against you, your offering a right against you, and your acts a right against you. Then these rights extend out from you to others who have rights against you. The most incumbent of them against you are the rights toward your leaders (a'imma), then the rights toward your subjects (ra'iyya), then the rights toward your womb [relatives] (rahim). From these rights branch out other rights. The rights of your leaders are three: The most incumbent upon you is the right of him who trains you through authority, then of him who trains you through knowledge, then of him who trains you through property. The rights of your subjects are three: The most incumbent upon you is the right of those who are your subjects through authority, then the right of those who are your subjects through knowledge - for the man of ignorance is the subject of the man of knowledge - then the right of those who are your subjects through property,