The Right of Legs: Commentary on Imam Al-Sajjad’s (AS) Treaties of Right By Mohammad Sobhanie.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
وَ أَمَّا حَقُّ رِجْلَيْكَ فَأَنْ لاَ تَمْشِيَ بِهِمَا اِلَى مَا لاَ يَحِلُّ لَكَ وَ لَا تَجْعَلَهُمَا مَطِيَّتَكَ فِي الطَّرِيقِ الْمُسْتَخِفَّةِ بِأَهْلِهَا فِيهَا فَاِنَّهَا حَامِلَتُكَ وَ سَالِكَة بِكَ مَسْلَكَ الدِّينِ وَ السَّبْقِ لَكَ وَ لا قُوَّةَ اِلاَّ بِاللَّهِ
The Right of Legs
The right of your legs is that you do not walk with them to forbidden places. And do not direct them to carry you on the path that brings you humiliation and debasement. Instead, guide your legs to lead you in the direction of religion so that you exceed others in doing good deeds. And there is no power but in Allah (SWT).
Commentary:
Our legs and feet enable us to walk and move around. We seldom acknowledge the joy of walking until we are old or in poor health when we realize that we can no longer stand without pain and walk without support. Hence, Imam Sajjad (AS) said, “The right of your legs is that you do not walk with them to places that are forbidden to you” because Allah (SWT) has not given you the legs to go to places that are prone to sin.
The Imam stressed that our legs take us from one place to another. Hence, we should not direct them to carry us on the path that brings us insult, shame, and humiliation. Instead, we should guide them to take us to places where we can perform our religious duties. For instance, going to places of worship or visiting friends to meet their needs. Regarding the virtue of going to a masjid, the Prophet (PBUH) said [1]:
مَنْ مَشی إلی مَسْجِدٍ مِنْ مَساجِدِ اللّهِ، فَلَهُ بِکُلِ خُطْوَةٍ خَطاها حَتّی یَرْجِعَ إلی مَنْزِلِهِ، عَشْرُ حَسَناتٍ، وَ مُحِیَ عَنْهُ عَشْرُ سَیِّئاتٍ، وَ رُفِعَ لَهُ عَشْرُ دَرَجاتٍ
Whoever walks towards a masjid, for every step, ten good deeds will be recorded for him, ten sins will be cleansed from him, and his dignity will rise ten degrees (in Paradise).
Visiting friends or parents to meet their needs leads to forgiveness and closeness to God. Of course, this is possible by walking to them. Imam Sadeq (AS), regarding the virtue of visiting a friend to meet his needs, said [2],[3]:
أَبِي عَبْدِ اَللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ قَالَ: مَا مِنْ مُؤْمِنٍ يَمْشِي لِأَخِيهِ اَلْمُؤْمِنِ فِي حَاجَةٍ إِلاَّ كَتَبَ اَللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ لَهُ بِكُلِّ خُطْوَةٍ حَسَنَةً وَ حَطَّ عَنْهُ بِهَا سَيِّئَةً وَ رَفَعَ لَهُ بِهَا دَرَجَةً وَ زِيدَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ عَشْرُ حَسَنَاتٍ وَ شُفِّعَ فِي عَشْرِ حَاجَاتٍ .
Allah (SWT) writes good deeds for every step a believer takes to fulfill another believer’s need, forgives his sins, and raises his rank.
The Qur’an states that the way someone walks indicates their true personality. The way arrogant people[4] walk differs from the way the humble servants of Allah[5] (SWT) walk. The strike of warriors’ feet on the battlefield is indicative of their readiness for the battle. Amiral-mu’minin (AS) told his son, Muhammad ibn Hanafiyya, when he put him in charge of the army in the Battle of Jamal:
تِدْ في الاْرْضِ قَدَمَكَ،
Strike your feet firmly on the ground (on the battlefield to show your determination in facing the enemy).
The Qur’an states that women’s modesty, shyness, and virtues are reflected in their walking. For instance, regarding the daughters of Prophet Shu’ayb (AS), verses 28: 23-28 (Al-Qasas) narrates the following story:
Prophet Musa (AS) left Egypt and arrived in Madyan. He sat within the shadow of a tree next to a water well to rest from the exhausting long journey.
The males of the village gathered around the well and were watering their flocks. At a distance, Prophet Musa (AS) saw two women standing alone. Prophet Musa (AS) approached them and asked them if they needed any help. They replied that they were waiting for the men to finish watering their flocks so they could go next.
Prophet Musa (AS) took the initiative and watered their flocks for them. Consequently, they left for home early that day. The two women were the daughters of Prophet Shu’ayb (AS), who was elderly and had no sons. Prophet Shu’ayb (AS) sent one of his two daughters and invited Prophet Musa (AS) to his home. The Qur’an mentions that the daughter walked with shyness toward Prophet Musa (AS), which is a virtue for women [6].
In the era of the Prophet, women wore ankle bracelets, and they struck their feet on the ground purposely to attract the attention of men with the sound of the bracelets, and the Qur’an forbids them from doing so [7].
The Qur’an mentions that on the Day of Judgment, our tongues, hands, and feet would bear witness against us as to the actions we performed with them.
يَوْمَ تَشْهَدُ عَلَيْهِمْ أَلْسِنَتُهُمْ وَأَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَرْجُلُهُم بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿٢٤﴾
Acknowledgment:
The text is based on “Commentary on Imam al-Sajjad’s (AS) Treaties of Right” by the Grand Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani.
Notes:
[1] Wasa’il Al-Shia, Vol. 3, P.483
[2] Al-Kafi, Vol.2, P.197
[3] https://hadith.inoor.ir/fa/hadith/106059/hadith-noorlib?rownumber=NaN
[4] Al-Isra (17:37) (وَلَا تَمْشِ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَحًا)
[5] Al-Furqan (25:63) (وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا)
[6] Al-Qasas (28:25) (فَجَاءَتْهُ إِحْدَاهُمَا تَمْشِي عَلَى اسْتِحْيَاءٍ)
[7] An-Nur (24:31) (وَلَا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِن زِينَتِهِنَّ)
source:shafaqna