302. Tārikh al-Ya`qubi – narrating from al-Zuhri: “One day, I went to see `Umar ibn `Abd al-`Aziz and while I was with him, he received a letter from one of his administrators stating that their city needed rehabilitation. I told `Umar: “One of the administrators of Ali ibn Abi Tālib (a.s.) had sent him a similar letter and he had replied to him as follows: “Now, fortify the city with Justice and clean the tyranny off its pathway!” `Umar wrote the same reply to his administrator.”1
See: 1/4 (The Imām’s Motives for Accepting the Rulership).
6/2
Commitment to Rights
303. Imām Ali (a.s.) – in the Battle of Siffin: “God the Glorified has made incumbent upon you some rights for me by placing me over your affairs (being your ruler) and you too have a right over me like mine over you. The truth is very encompassing in its description but very narrow [difficult] in its application.
Right does not apply in favor of any person unless it applies against him also, and it does not apply against a person unless it also applies in his favor. It is only Allah the Glorified that has rights over others without them having any rights over Him and that is by virtue of His Might over His creatures and by virtue of the justice permeating all of His decrees. He the Glorified has made His right over creatures that they should obey Him and He has laid upon Himself to reward them several times as a mark of His bounty and the generosity that He is worthy of.
Then, from His rights, He the Glorified assigned certain rights for certain people against others. He made them so as to equate with one another. Some of these rights produce other rights. Some rights are such that they do not apply except when
others do. The greatest of these rights that God Almighty has made obligatory is the right of the ruler over the ruled and the right of the ruled over the ruler. This is an obligation which God the Glorified has placed on each one against the other. He has made it the basis of their (mutual) relations and honor for their religion. Consequently, the ruled cannot prosper unless the rulers are sound, while the rulers cannot be sound unless the ruled are steadfast.
If the ruled fulfill the rights of the ruler and the ruler fulfils their rights, then rights attain the position of honor among them, the ways of religion become established, signs of justice become fixed and the traditions (sunna) are carried out. In this way time will improve, the continuance of government will be expected and the aims of the enemies will be frustrated.
But if the subjects overcome the ruler or the ruler oppresses his subjects, then differences will arise, signs of oppression will appear, wile will enter the religion and the traditions (sunna) will become forsaken. Then desires are acted upon, the commands (of religion) are discarded, diseases of the soul become numerous and there is no fear for disregarding even great rights nor for the committing of major wrongs.
In such circumstances, the virtuous are humiliated while the vicious are honored and there are serious punishments from God almighty on the people.
You should therefore counsel each other (for the fulfillment of your obligations) and cooperate with each other. However extremely eager a person may be to secure the pleasure of God and however fully he strives for it, he cannot discharge (his obligation for) obedience to God Almighty as is really due to Him.
It is an obligatory right of God over the people that they should advise each other to the best of their ability and cooperate with each other for the establishment of truth among them. No person, however great his position in the matter of truth and however advanced his distinction in religion may be, is above needing help in connection with the obligations placed on him by God. No man, however small he may be regarded by others or however humble he may appear before eyes, is too low to assist or to be afforded assistance in this matter.”2
