Aslam

Praise be to Allah.Islamic rights are many, among the most important

of which are the following:

The rights of Allaah

The blessings of Allaah to His slaves are

innumerable. Every blessing deserves thanks. The rights of Allaah upon

His slaves are many, the most important of which include the following:

1.Tawheed, which means believing that Allaah is One in His

Essence, His names, His attributes and His deeds. So we should believe

that Allaah alone is the Lord, the Sovereign, the Controller, the Creator,

the Provider, in Whose hand is Dominion and He is Able to do all things:

“Blessed be He in Whose Hand is the

dominion; and He is Able to do all things”[al-Mulk 67:1 – interpretation

of the meaning]

2.‘Ibaadah (worship), which means worshipping Allaah alone because

He is their Lord, Creator and Provider. So all kinds of worship should

be devoted to Him alone, such as du’aa’ (supplication), dhikr (remembering

Allaah), seeking help, humbling oneself, submitting, hope and fear,

vows, sacrifices, and so on. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Worship Allaah and join none with

Him (in worship)”

[al-Nisaa’ 4:36]

3.Shukr (gratitude, giving thanks), for Allaah is the One

Who bestows favours and blessings upon all of creation, so they have

to show their gratitude for these blessings on their lips and in their

hearts and in their physical actions, by praising Allaah and using these

blessings to obey Allaah and in ways that Allaah has permitted:

“Therefore remember Me (by praying,

glorifying). I will remember you, and be grateful to Me (for My countless

Favours on you) and never be ungrateful to Me

[al-Baqarah

2:152 – interpretation of the meaning]

The rights of the Messenger

The sending of the Messenger

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is a great blessing for

all of mankind. Allah sent him to bring mankind forth from darkness

into light, and to show them that which will bring them happiness in

this world and in the Hereafter.

Among the rights that the Messenger has over

us are that we should love him, obey him and send blessings upon him.

Loving him (peace and blessings

of Allaah be upon him) is achieved by obeying his commands and believing

what he told us, avoiding that which he forbade and not worshipping

Allaah except in the ways that he prescribed.

Parent’s rights

Islam pays special attention to the family

and encourages love and respect within it. The parents are the basis

and foundation of the family, hence honouring one's parents is one of

the best deeds and one of the most beloved actions to Allaah.

Honouring one’s parents is achieved by obeying

them, respecting them, being humble towards them, treating them kindly,

spending on them, praying for them, upholding ties of kinship with those

to whom one is related through them, and honouring their friends:

“And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but

Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents”[al-Israa’ 17:23]

The rights of the mother in this regard

are greater, because she is the one who bears the child, gives birth

to him and breastfeeds him. A man came to the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of

Allaah, who is most deserving of my good companionship?” He said, “Your

mother.” He said, “Then who?” He said, “Your mother.” He said, “Then

who?” He said, “Your mother.” He said, “Then who?” He said, “Your father.”

(Agreed upon. This version was narrated by al-Bukhaari,

al-Adab, 78)

The rights of one Muslim over another

The believers are brothers and are an integrated

nation, like a building parts of which support other parts. They treat

one another with mercy and compassion, and love one another. In order

to preserve this building and this brotherhood, Allaah has prescribed

rights which each Muslim has over his fellow Muslim. These include love,

sincerity (naseehah), relieving his distress, concealing his

mistakes, supporting him when he is in the right, respecting neighbours

and honouring guests.

These rights also include returning greetings

of salaam, visiting the sick, accepting invitations, saying “yarhamuk

Allaah (may Allaah have mercy on you) to a Muslim when he sneezes,

and attending his funeral. The Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The rights of one

Muslim over another are five: returning the greeting of salaam, saying

‘yarhamuk Allaah (may Allaah have mercy on you)’ when he sneezes,

accepting invitations, visiting the sick and attending funerals.” (Narrated

by Muslim, 2625)

Neighbour’s rights

Islam pays attention to the issue of neighbours,

whether they are Muslim or not, because of the interests served by that

in making the nation like one body. The Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Jibreel kept on enjoining

the good treatment of neighbours to the extent that I thought that he

would include neighbours as heirs.” (Agreed upon. Narrated by Muslim,

2625)

Among the rights of one neighbour over

another as affirmed by Islam are the initiation of greetings, visiting

him if he is sick, offering condolences if calamity befalls him, congratulating

him at times of joy, overlooking his mistakes, concealing his faults,

bearing his annoyance with patience, giving him gifts, lending him money

if he needs it, lowering one’s gaze from looking at his womenfolk, and

guiding him to that which will benefit him in his religious and worldly

affairs. The Prophet (peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“The best of companions with Allaah is the one who is

best to his companion, and the best of neighbours with Him is the one

who is best to his neighbour.”(Narrated by al-Bukhaari in al-Adab

al-Mufrad, 115)

Concerning neighbours’ rights, Allaah says

(interpretation of the meaning):

“Worship Allaah and join none with Him (in worship);

and do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, Al-Masaakeen (the poor),

the neighbour who is near of kin, the neighbour who is a stranger, the

companion by your side…”[al-Nisaa’ 4:36]

Islam warns against annoying one’s neighbours

or treating them badly. The Messenger

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) explained that this would

lead to being deprived of Paradise: “He will not enter Paradise from

whose harm his neighbour is not safe.” (Agreed upon. Narrated by Muslim,

64).

In order to achieve the common interest, Islam gives

rights to the ruler over his subjects and to the subjects over their

ruler, and its gives the husband rights over his wife and the wife rights

over her husband, and there are other just rights which Islam has enjoined.