Tradition

"لوْ أَنَّ النَّاسَ أَدَّوْا حُقُوقَ أَمْوَالِهِمْ لَكانُوا عايِشِينَ بِخَيْر"

Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) is narrated to have said: “If the people were to honor the mutual rights of one another and to help those in need, then their lives would become pleasant and satisfying for them.”1

Brief Commentary

The aforementioned tradition is telling us that if we pay attention to the rights of others and the needy are taken care of, then the very quality of our lives will dramatically change for the better. This shows that the financial rights of people cannot be considered as just an ethical or moral issue. It is in reality an important foundational aspect of social life which brings about widespread societal health and peace.

The dangerous situation that we have at hand today, where society has been divided into varying classes, shows how important this issue really is. As long as the people of this world believe that ‘might makes right,’ this issue will never be resolved; people will have to understand that just because they are momentarily powerful, this does not allow them to usurp the rights of others. Eventually, the ‘chickens will come home to roost’ and a great price will have to be paid.

• 1. Wasa’il al-Shi’ah, vol. 6, p. 2.