Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Divine Perspective on Rights Right n. 33: The Right of the Companion حق الصاحب وَأما حَقُّ الصَّاحِب فَأَنْ تَصْحَبَهُ بالفَضلِ مَا وَجَدْتَ إلَيهِ سَبيلاً وإلا فَلا أَقَلَّ مِنَ الإنصَافِ، وَأَنْ تُكْرِمَهُ كَمَا يكْرِمُكَ، وَتحْفَظَهُ كَمَا يحْفَظُكَ، ولا يَسْبقَكَ فِيمَا بَينَكَ وبَينَهُ إلَى مكْرَمَةٍ، فَإنْ سَبَقَكَ كَافَأتَهُ. ولا تُقَصِّرَ بهِ عَمَّا يَسْتَحِقُّ مِنَ الْمَوَدَّةِ.
تُلْزِمُ نفْسَكَ نصِيحَتَهُ وَحِيَاطَتَهُ وَمُعَاضَدتَهُ عَلَى طَاعَةِ رَبهِ وَمَعُونتَهُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ فِيمَا لا يَهُمُّ بهِ مِنْ مَعْصِيةِ رَبهِ، ثُمَّ تَكُونُ [عَلَيْهِ] رَحْمَةً ولا تَكُونُ عَلَيهِ عَذَاباً. ولا قُوَّةَ إلا باللهِ. And the right of the companion is that you should act as his companion with nobility as much as you can, otherwise you should at least treat him with fairness.
Honor him as he honors you, and guard him as he guards you, and do not let him precede you in generosity. And if he precedes you, then recompense him. Do not fall short of giving him the love that he deserves. Commit yourself to advise him, care for him, and help him perform the acts of obedience to his Lord, and help him restrain himself from any act of disobedience of his Lord that he might attempt. Then be a mercy upon him, and not a chastisement. And there is no power but in God.
To summarize the Imam’s words, we can say: Treat him with nobility as much as possible. At least be fair with him. Honor him as he honors you. Try to be the first one to treat the other one with kindness. Return his favors. Commit yourself to advise him to do acts of obedience to God. Always restrain him from sinful acts. Try to be like a blessing for him.
We read the following in the Qur’an: يَا صَاحِبَيِ السِّجْنِ أَأَرْبَابٌ مُّتَفَرِّقُونَ خَيْرٌ أَمِ اللّهُ الْوَاحِدُ الْقَهَّارُ “O my two companions of the prison! (I ask you): are many lords differing among themselves better, or the One God, Supreme and Irresistible?” [The Holy Qur’an, Yusuf 12:39] In the Arabic text of the following verse, the word used for ‘a wife’ actually means a companion.