Commentary on Imam Sajjad’s (AS) Treaties of Right by Mohammad Sobhanie.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
وَأَمَّـــــــــــــــــا حَقُّ مَوْلاكَ الْجَارِيَةِ عَلَيْهِ نِعْمَتُكَ فَأَنْ تَعْلَمَ أَنَّ اللهَ جَعَلَكَ حَــامِيَةً عَلَيْهِ، وَوَاقِيَــــــــــــةً وناصِرًا وَمَعْقِلاً، وَجَعَلَهُ لَكَ وَسِيلَةً وَسَبَباً بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ فَبالْحَرِيِّ أَنْ يَحْجُبَكَ عَنِ النَّــــــــــــــارِ فَيَكُونَ فِي ذَلِكَ ثَوَابٌ مِنْهُ فِي الآجِلِ، ويَحْكُمُ لَكَ بمِيرَاثِهِ فِي الْعَاجِلِ إذَا لم يَكُنْ لَهُ رَحِــــــــــــــــــمٌ، مُكَافَأَةً لِمَـــــــــــا أَنفَقْتَهُ مِنْ مَالِكَ عَلَيْــــــــــهِ وَقُمْتَ بهِ مِنْ حَقِّـــــهِ بَعْدَ إنفَاقِ مَالِكَ، فَإنْ لَمْ تَقُمْ بحَقِّهِ خِيفَ عَلَيْكَ أَنْ لا يَطِيبَ لَكَ مِيرَاثُهُ. وَلا قُوَّةَ إلا باللهِ.
Translation: The right of the enslaved person you have favored and freed is that God has appointed you as his protector, defender, helper, and sanctuary (after his freedom).
The Right of the Freed Slave on Master (27th)
(The reward for your kindness is that) Allah (SWT) has assigned him as a reason and a means for you to receive God’s Grace. By freeing him, Allah (SWT) will protect you from the eternal Fire; this is your reward in the Hereafter. Additionally, you will inherit from him if he has no relatives; this is your immediate reward. This inheritance aims to compensate you financially for the resources you spent to secure his freedom, and the expenses incurred to fulfill his rights after his release.
If you do not respect his rights, there is a concern that it will not be permissible for you to inherit from him. And there is no power but in God.
Commentary: Imam Sajjad (AS) suggests the relationship between a master and an enslaved person is like that of a father and son. Just as a father cares for the well-being of his child, a master should care for the welfare of his freed enslaved person and empower him to overcome his challenges. Imam Sajjad (AS), in this regard, said:
أَنَّ اللهَ جَعَلَكَ حَــامِيَةً عَلَيْهِ، وَوَاقِيَــــــــــــةً وناصِرًا وَمَعْقِلاً
God has appointed you his protector (حَــامِيَةً), defender (وَاقِيَــــــــــــةً), helper (ناصِرًا), and sanctuary (مَعْقِلاً).
A master may become arrogant or prideful because of the favor he has done by freeing his slave. This sense of pride can lead the master to frequently remind the freed slave of his generosity, which may humiliate the formerly enslaved person. Imam Sajjad (AS) addresses the issue of potential arrogance and undue pride by indicating that Allah (SWT) will grant the master eternal salvation for freeing his slave. Therefore, the master should avoid jeopardizing his reward by reminding others of his favor. Verse 2:264 (Al-Baqarah) says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُبْطِلُوا صَدَقَاتِكُم بِالْمَنِّ وَالْأَذَى … ﴿٢٦٤﴾
2:264 O’ you who have believed, do not invalidate your charities with reminders or injury.
The Imam’s (AS) statement on this matter is as follows:
وَجَعَلَهُ لَكَ وَسِيلَةً وَسَبَباً بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ فَبالْحَرِيِّ أَنْ يَحْجُبَكَ عَنِ النَّــــــــــــــارِ فَيَكُونَ فِي ذَلِكَ ثَوَابٌ مِنْهُ فِي الآجِلِ،
Allah (SWT) has chosen him a reason (سَبَباً) and a means (وَسِيلَةً) for you to receive God’s Grace. By freeing him, He will protect you from the eternal Fire; this is your reward in the Hereafter.
God recognized the financial sacrifices made by the master to secure the freedom of the enslaved person. Thus, God decreed that the master could inherit from his freed servant if he had no relatives. The Imam’s (AS) saying in this regard is:
ويَحْكُمُ لَكَ بمِيرَاثِهِ فِي الْعَاجِلِ إذَا لم يَكُنْ لَهُ رَحِــــــــــــــــــمٌ، مُكَافَأَةً لِمَـــــــــــا أَنفَقْتَهُ مِنْ مَالِكَ عَلَيْــــــــــهِ وَقُمْتَ بهِ مِنْ حَقِّـــــهِ بَعْدَ إنفَاقِ مَالِكَ،
You will inherit from him if he has no relatives; this is your reward in this world. This inheritance aims to compensate you financially for the resources you spent to secure his freedom, and the expenses incurred to fulfill his rights after his release. The above ruling is permissible if the master respects the rights of his formerly enslaved individuals. The Imam’s saying in this regard is:
فَإنْ لَمْ تَقُمْ بحَقِّهِ خِيفَ عَلَيْكَ أَنْ لا يَطِيبَ لَكَ مِيرَاثُهُ. وَلا قُوَّةَ إلا باللهِ.
If you do not respect his rights, there is a concern that it will not be permissible for you to inherit from him. And there is no power but in God.
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