“The greatest of Allah’s rights against you is the right...

“The greatest of Allah’s rights against you is the right which He has made incumbent upon you for Himself and which is the root of all rights, then those which He has made incumbent upon you in yourself, from your crown to your feet, in keeping with the diversity of your organs.

He has given your tongue a right against you, your hearing a right against you, your sight a right against you, your hand a right against you, your leg a right against you, your stomach a right against you, and your private part a right against you. These are the seven organs through which acts (af‘al) take place.

“Then He gave your acts rights against you: He gave your ritual prayer a right against you, fasting a right against you, your charity a right against you, your offering a right against you, and your acts a right against you. “Then these rights extend out from you to others who have rights against you. The most incumbent of them against you are the rights toward your Imams, then the rights toward your subjects (ra‘iyya), then the rights toward your womb [relatives] (rahim).

“From these rights branch out other rights. The rights of your Imams are three: The most incumbent upon you is the right of him who trains you through authority, then of him who trains you through knowledge, then of him who trains through property.

“The rights of your subjects are three: The most incumbent upon you is the right of those who are your subjects through authority, then the right of those who are your subjects through knowledgefor the man of ignorance is the subject of man of knowledgethen the right of those who are subjects through property, such as wives and what is owned by your right hand. “The rights of your womb relatives are many; they are connected to you in the measure of the connection of the womb relations.

The most incumbent upon you is the right of your mother, then the right of your father, then the right of your child, then the right of your brother, then the next nearest, then the next nearestthe most worth, then the next most worthy.