Commentary on Imam Sajjad’s (AS) Treaties of Right By Mohammad Sobhanie.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
وَأمّــــــا حَقُّ الخَصْمِ الْمُدَّعَى عَلَيهِ فَإنْ كَانَ مَــــــــا تدَّعِيهِ حَقًّا أَجْمَلْتَ فِي مُقَـــــاوَلَتِهِ بمَخرَجِ الدَّعْوَى، فَإنّ لِلدَّعْوَى غِلْظَةً فِي سَــــــــــــــمْعِ الْمُدَّعَى عَلَيهِ. وَقَصَــــــــــــــــدْتَ قَصْدَ حُجَّتِكَ بالرِّفْقِ وَأَمْهَلِ الْمُهْلَةِ وَأبْينِ الْبَيَـــــــانِ وَألطَفِ اللُّطْفِ ولَمْ تَتشَـــــــاغَلْ عَنْ حُجَّتِكَ بمُنازَعَتِهِ بالقِيلِ وَالقَــــــــــــــــالِ فَتَذهَبْ عَنْكَ حُجَّتُكَ ولا يَكُونَ لَكَ فِي ذَلِكَ دَرْكٌ. ولا قُوَّةَ إلا باللهِ
The right of the Defender (39th)
Translation: The party against whom you have a valid claim deserves to receive it in respectful language, as hearing it may be challenging for the defendant.
Therefore, you should present your argument against him with leniency, calmness, clarity, and courtesy. Avoid basing your argument on shaky evidence, as this could undermine your case and lead to losing the opportunity to prove your point. And there is no power but in God.
Commentary: There are two parties in every dispute: the plaintiff and the defendant. The plaintiff refers to the person who has a claim against someone else, the defendant. The Imam (AS) assumes the plaintiff is truthful in his claim and advises him on proper etiquette for filing his claim. Here is the Imam’s (AS) advice:
- When making your argument, use respectful language, as the defendant may find it difficult to hear your claim.
- Present your argument gently and clearly, ensuring politeness and giving the defendant time to respond.
- Avoid arguing based on weak evidence, as this can undermine your case and hinder your chances of achieving a favorable outcome.
These recommendations apply if the court judge is familiar with Islamic etiquette and does not perceive the plaintiff’s leniency as a sign of weakness in their claim. In this regard, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS), guided Malik in his instructions about selecting the judge: “Then, choose the best of your subjects in your opinion to judge between people.” [1]
ثُمَّ اخْتَرْ لِلْحُكْمِ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ أَفْضَلَ رَعِيَّتِكَ فِي نَفْسِكَ
Imam Ali (AS) in the Court [2]: The plaintiff submitted his complaint to the Caliph of the time, Umar ibn Al-Khattab. Both parties involved in the dispute were required to appear in court, and the case had to be officially heard. The defendant in this case was Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS). Umar decided to preside over the case and took the judge’s seat.
According to Islamic Law, both parties to the dispute needed to sit next to each other, emphasizing the principle of “equality before the court.” The Caliph called the plaintiff by name and instructed him to stand before the judge at a designated spot.
He then turned to Imam Ali (AS) and said: “O’ Abul-Hassan! Stand next to your plaintiff.” Upon hearing this, Imam Ali’s (AS) expression turned gloomy, and discomfort was evident on his face. The Caliph asked: “O’ Ali! Don’t you want to stand beside your aggrieved party?”
Imam Ali (AS) said: “My discomfort wasn’t due to standing beside my opponent; rather what annoyed me was that you did not uphold complete justice. You addressed me respectfully by using my name and referring to me as ‘O’ Abul-Hassan,’ while you called my opponent by his ordinary name. This inconsistency is what caused my annoyance.”
Note:
[1] https://ahlolbait.com/content/11660/ ترجمه-و-شرح-نامه-53-نهج-البلاغه-عهدنامه-مالک-اشتر؛-بخش-چهاردهم-قاضیان-برگزیده
[2] https://ahlolbait.com/content/8773/ داستانهای-ائمه-امام-علی-ع-در-محضر-قاضی
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