The Duties Incumbent on the Individual (1/4)

Every individual in the community has rights, and is charged with duties. In brief, the rights that are due on individuals are four:

1- The rights of Allah.

2- The person's own Rights.

3- The rights of human beings.

4- The rights of the creatures, and all that is in the possession of man that are lawful to use, or utilize.

It is the duty of every true Muslim to know these four types of rights, and to fulfill them truthfully and sincerely. The Shari'ah has clearly defined each type of these rights separately, and has directed man to the methods and ways of fulfilling these rights in such a manner that none of these rights may be neglected within the scope of man's ability.

The Rights of Allah:

The first of Allah's rights is believing in Him, as the only true God, Who deserves to be worshipped alone, associating no partner with Him, nor taking gods or lords beside, or instead of Him. This right may be fulfilled by believing in the Kalimah, meaning: "There is no true god except Allah.”

The second of Allah's rights is to submit completely to the truth and guidance that came down from Him by following His Messenger, Muhammad, peace be upon him, and this is the meaning of "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah", the second part of the Testimony of Faith.

The third of Allah's rights is that He must be obeyed by adhering to His laws that are made manifest in the Glorious Book of Allah, and expounded by the Sunnah, of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.

The fourth of Allah's rights is the fulfillment by man the above-mentioned duties with which Allah has charged him. One must sacrifice his own as well as the rights of his fellow-human beings for the sake of this right. When a Muslim for instance, performs prayer, or observes fasting, he in fact, sacrifices many of his particular requirements. He wakes up early in the morning to perform ablution for the dawn prayer. He leaves behind many of his important occupations more than once during the day and night to perform his prayer. He also refrains from eating and drinking, and restrains himself just to observe fasting throughout the month of Ramadhan. A Muslim gives preference to the love of Allah over his love of wealth when giving out the Zakah, and he endures hardships of the Pilgrimage trip, leaving behind his beloved ones, and his business, and expends from his wealth to perform this duty. He also sacrifices his wealth and life in the jihad for the sake of Allah alone. Besides that, a Muslim sacrifices many of his possessions, i.e. slaughtering sacrificial animals, as well as expending in charity.

Allah, the Exalted, on the other hand, has put limits to the fulfillment of His rights so that He may not overburden His slaves. Take prayer for instance, Allah does not impose hardship on His slaves for performing it. If water is not available, or if a person is sick, he may perform tayammum. [1]A traveling person may shorten some of the obligatory prayers. Or if a person is sick, he may perform his prayer while sitting, or even lying down. The Qur'anic recitation during the course of prayer, on the other hand, does not have to be long. If a person is not in a hurry, he may take his time reciting longer chapter such as surat al-Baqarah, Aali Imran, an-Nisa, or any other long chapter. It is not permissible though for an imam, who leads the prayer, to prolong praying period by reciting longer chapter, for there may be behind him those who are sick, or weak of whom he must be considerate.

Allah loves that His slaves perform supererogatory prayers following the obligatory prayers, but not to the point of depriving them of sleep and rest, or on account of earning one's living, nor to the point of neglecting one's own rights altogether, or the rights of other slaves of Allah.

The same applies to fasting. Allah has made obligatory observing fast of the month of Ramadhan only. Even then, when a person happens to be sick, or on a journey during that month, it is permissible for him to defer observing fast until he is well again, or when he returns home. He may make up the number of days that are missed out after Ramadhan. On the other hand, it is not permissible to add an extra minute to the fasting period of the day, nor to delete a minute there from. The fasting person may, during the night in Ramadhan, eat and drink until the white thread becomes distinct to him from the black thread of the dawn. Once it is sunset, a person must break his fast right away.

Although Allah loves His slaves to observe voluntary fasting, He does not like them to continue fasting for more than one day without taking food or drink. Such observance drains the energy, and incapacitates man.

Islam has imposed as Zakah only a fraction percentage to be given out in charity. It is only imposed on those who are liable for Zakah. Although Allah loves those who expend in His cause, yet He does not want His slave to forfeit his rights, or his wealth for charity and be left empty handed. Rather a person must keep within the reasonable limits when it comes to expending in charity.

Now consider the fardh of Hajj, or pilgrimage. It is obligatory only on those who can afford it financially and health-wise, and can endure the hardship of the journey. To make it even easier, Allah has made this rite obligatory once in a lifetime. Moreover, if a person is worried about his safety, or does not have ready funds, he may defer the trip until such time when the trip becomes affordable.

It is also imperative that the person who intends to perform Pilgrimage that he should seek his parents' permission lest they may be inconvenienced by his absence, due to their old age or disability. It has thus, become clear that Allah has given consideration to many rights of His slaves on account of His Own. Glory be to Allah. The greatest sacrifice man offers is in the jihad. Man in the jihad, sacrifices his as well as the others' wealth and lives just seeking the pleasure of Allah, keeping His word the supreme. Even then, Allah commands the mujahid to kill only those who must be killed, not to attack the disable, women, children or the wounded. He also commands them to fight only those who fight them from the people of falsehood, and not to act injuriously and corruptly in the enemy's land unnecessarily, or insensibly. Moreover, they must apply justice in dealing with the enemy if they conquer their land, and to observe any treaty they enter with them. If the enemy has given up fighting and resisting the truth, and cease to support the falsehood, the mujahideen must stop fighting them. All this signifies that Allah, the Exalted, permitted only this indispensable sacrifice on the part of His slaves in order that they fulfill His right.

(Continued)