Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Divine Perspective on Rights Right n. 40: The Right of Him Whose Advice You Seek حق المشير وَأمّا حَقُّ المُشِيرِ عَلَيْكَ فَلا تتَّهِمْهُ فِيمَا لا يُوافِقُكَ عَلَيهِ مِنْ رَأْيِهِ إذا أَشَارَ عَلَيْكَ فَإنَّمَا هِيَ الآرَاءُ وَتصَرُّفُ النَّاسِ فِيهَا وَاختِلافُهُمْ. فَكُنْ عَلَيهِ فِي رَأيِهِ بالخِيَارِ إذا اتَّهمْتَ رَأْيَهُ، فَأَمّا تُهْمتُهُ فَلا تَجُوزُ لَكَ إذَا كَانَ عِنْدكَ مِمَّنْ يَسْتَحِقُّ الْمُشَاوَرَةَ.
وَلا تَدَعْ شُكْرَهُ عَلَى مَا بَدَا لَكَ مِن إشْخاصِ رَأْيِهِ وَحُسْنِ وَجْهِ مَشُورَتِهِ، فَإذا وَافَقَكَ حَمِدتَ اللَّهَ وَقَبلْتَ ذلِكَ مِن أَخِيكَ بالشُّكْرِ والإرْصَادِ بالْمُكَافَأَةِ فِي مِثلِهَا إنْ فَزِعَ إلَيْكَ. وَلا قُوَّةَ إلا باللهِ. And the right of him whose advice you seek is that you should not accuse him when he gives you advice that does not conform to your own opinion.
It is quite natural that opinions are divergent and people have various views about their affairs in which they disagree. You are free not to accept his advice if you doubt it. However, you are not permitted to accuse him of providing you with ill advice as long as you consider him to be of those worthy of consultation. Do not stop thanking him for the thoughts and the good advice he has given you.
And if it was appropriate for you, you should thank God for it, accept it from your brother with gratitude, and be ready to act similarly for him should one day he seek your advice. And there is no power but in God. Imam Sajjad advises us not to accuse the one whose advice we seek, if what they suggest does not agree with our own opinion. If his advice is in agreement with our own opinion, then we should thank God and be grateful to the person who advised us.
An Advisor’s Honesty and Trustworthiness In the previous discussions, we described whose advice we should seek. We also expressed the expected qualities of a good advisor using traditions. There is a chapter in Wasa`il al-Shī`ah in this respect.
This is the first tradition in that chapter: Imam Sadiq said: “A man went to see the Commander of the Faithful and said: “I have come to seek your advice and that of Hasan, Husayn and Abdullah ibn Ja’far about marriage.” The Blessed Imam Ali said: المُستَشارُ مُؤتَمَنٌ. “One whose advice is sought is a confidant”. [^1] Then he told the man his viewpoints.
In the second tradition, we read that Imam Sadiq said: مَن اسْتَشارَ أخاهُ فَلَم يَنْصَحْهُ مَحْضَ الرّأيِ سَلَبَهُ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ رَأيَهُ.