A Treatise on Servitude

About this edition

In essence, the Risālat al-huqūq is an expounding of three rights. The first is the responsibilities and existential relationship that the human has with respect to Allah (absolute submission). The second deals with the responsibilities and existential relationship of the human with respect to himself, including his body parts (the right of a human on himself). And the third consists of the responsibilities and laws governing the human’s relationship with one another (the rights of others). If we correctly understand the meaning of rights, then we will clearly recognize that to achieve complete success in fulfilling the rights of Allah, there is no other way except to humble oneself before Allah and seek His help. Even the prophets and awliyāʾ (close servants) of Allah, despite their abundant knowledge and spiritual stations, never neglected seeking help from Allah, not even for a moment! The Noble Prophet of Islam (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), whose blessed existence was an infinite ocean of knowledge, at every moment considered himself in need of Allah’s assistance.