Shafaqna English- Commentary on Imam Sajjad’s (AS) Treaties of Right by Mohammad Sobhanie.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
وَأمـــــــــــــّا حَقُّ الصَّاحِب فَأَنْ تَصْحَبَهُ بالفَضلِ مَـــــــا وَجَدْتَ إلَيهِ سَبيلاً وإلا فَلا أَقَلَّ مِنَ الإنصَــــــــافِ، وَأَنْ تُكْرِمَهُ كَمَا يـُكْرِمُكَ، وَتـحْفَظَـــــــــــــــــهُ كَمَا يـَحْفَظُكَ، ولا يَسْبقَكَ فِيمَــا بَينَكَ وبَينَهُ إلَى مـَكْرَمَةٍ، فَـــــــــــــإنْ سَبَقَكَ كَافَـــأتَهُ. ولا تُقَصِّرَ بهِ عَمَّا يَسْتَحِقُّ مِنَ الْمَوَدَّةِ. تُلْزِمُ نفْسَكَ نصِيحَتَهُ وَحِيَـــــــــاطَتَهُ وَمُعَاضَدتَهُ عَلَى طَـــــاعَةِ رَبهِ وَمَعُونتَهُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ فِيمَــــــــا لا يَهُمُّ بهِ مِنْ مَعْصِيةِ رَبهِ، ثُمَّ تَكُونُ [عَلَيْهِ] رَحْمَةً ولا تَكُونُ عَلَيهِ عَذَاباً. ولا قُوَّةَ إلا باللهِ.
The right of a Friend (33rd)
Translation: The right of a friend is to treat him with kindness as much as you can; otherwise, at least treat him fairly. Honor him as he honors you and protect him as he protects you. Don’t let him outdo you in affection. If he does, try to make up for it. Don’t deprive him of the love he deserves.
Devote yourself to advising, protecting, and helping your friend to obey his Lord and abstain from sin. This action is not a punishment but rather a mercy for your friend. There is no power except in God [1].
Commentary: Man is considered a “social being” by nature, emphasizing the need to live within a community to fulfill physical and spiritual needs. These needs include having companions like family and friends, as they play a crucial role in our spiritual and emotional well-being. Friendship, therefore, is not just a social construct but a profound spiritual connection.
Friends influence how we think and behave, and the Qur’an echoes this in Verse 25:28 (Surah Al-Furqan), which states that the inhabitants of Hell would blame their friends on the Day of Judgment for being caught in the misery of the Hellfire. They would wish they were more meticulous in selecting their friends. The Verse reads:
يَا وَيْلَتَىٰ لَيْتَنِي لَمْ أَتَّخِذْ فُلَانًا خَلِيلًا ﴿٢٨﴾
25:28 Oh, woe to me! I wish I had not taken that one as a friend.”
The Holy Prophet (PBUH), regarding the influence of a friend, said [2]:
مَثَلُ الْجَليسِ الصّالِحِ مَثَلُ الْعَطّارِ اِنْ لَمْ يُعْطِكَ مِنْ عِطْرِهِ اَصابَكَ مِنْ ريحِهِ.
A true friend is like a perfume seller; even if he does not sell you perfume, the fragrance scent will still reach you.
Saʿdī, the Iranian Poet, wrote a poem based on the above Hadith. The poem states that a person was bathing when he noticed a lovely scent from the soap. Curious about its pleasant aroma, he asked the soap where it had obtained its fragrance. The soap said that it was on the shelf beside a perfume box.
The Prophet (PBUH) said [3]: “A person follows the religion of his friend; let each of you consider whom he befriends.”
المَرءُ عَلى دينِ خَليلِهِ ، فَليَنظُر أحَدُكُم مَن يُخالِلُ .
The Prophet (PBUH) statements urges us to reflect on the influence of our friends on our religious beliefs and practices, fostering a sense of introspection and thoughtful consideration.
Imam Sajjad (AS) stated the rights of a friend are as follows:
- Treat him with kindness as much as possible; otherwise, at least treat him fairly.
- Don’t let him outdo you in affection. If he does, try to make up for it.
- Do not deprive him of the love he deserves.
- Advise, protect, and support him in obeying the Lord and avoiding sin.
Note:
[1] Supporting our friend in righteousness reflects our compassion and dedication.
[2] https://www.hadithlib.com/hadithtxts/view/6216
[3] https://hadith.inoor.ir/ar/hadith/297796/hadith-noorlib?rownumber=NaN
Part of a Series: Commentary on Imam Al-Sajjad’s (AS) treaties of right
Commentary on the Quran (Chapter 3:81-82)