A Divine Perspective on Rights

About The Author

Although this book is written by Ghodratullah Mashayekhi and is a commentary on The Treatise on Rights, it is actually considered to be authored by the fourth Imam - Ali ibn al-Husayn - since he is the author of The Treatise On Rights. The commentator has just given more details about what the Immaculate Imam has said. Imam Sajjad is the son of Imam Husayn and Shah Banu.

According to some narrations, he was born on Sha’ban 5, 660 A.D. and became martyred on Muharram 12, 717 A.D. by Walid Ibn-e Abdol Malik. When he was born, his grandfather Imam Ali was controlling the affairs of the government. He experienced three years of the Alavi Caliphate and a short period of Imam Hassan’s government, which lasted for only several months.

He witnessed the saga of Karbala that took place in 683 A.D. and survived the day of Ashura. In accordance with the Divine decree, Imam Husayn appointed him as the people's next leader after Imam Husayn’s martyrdom at Karbala. Imam Sajjad who was also present there was ill and unable to join the fight against the forces of Yazid. Thus, he was not martyred. During his journey from Karbala, he delivered speeches in the towns of Kufa and Damascus, and he informed the people of his father's holy intentions. In this way, he disgraced Yazid.

Imam Sajjad liked the orphans, the poor, and the handicapped to come to his house and be his guests. He used to give food and clothing to many families who were poor and needy. Imam Sajjad was so earnest in worshipping God that he was called ‘Zayn al-Abidin’, which means ‘the adornment of the worshippers’, while his title ‘al-Sajjad’ means ‘one who prostrates long and often.’ He lived for fifty-seven years, and devoted most of his efforts to reviving the spiritual aspects of the society. Hence, Imam Sajjad's life and statements were entirely devoted to asceticism and religious teachings.

His religious teachings are in the form of invocations and supplications. Having witnessed the unpleasant social situation of that era during which religious values were deviated and changed, Imam Sajjad attempted to establish a divine relationship between the people and God. Consequently, he was able to touch the hearts of the people and the people were deeply influenced by his words and his life style. His famous supplications are well-known as “al-Ŝaĥīfah al-Sajjadiyyah.”

About three decades of the Imam's life were devoted to the revival of spiritualism in the society. This book is one of his most outstanding teachings. It is a master document on Islamic human rights, which not only covers human rights, but also includes the rights of God, our body parts, and our deeds. To any intelligent reader who ponders deeply about the contents of this valuable document on rights, it immediately becomes clear that Islam has already established the first document on rights nearly fourteen centuries ago. However, unfortunately in our modern world, there are those who claim to respect human rights, but they do so only superficially