Chapter on What to Begin With from the Obligatory Duties
And likewise that man. There is nothing intervening between it and her, nor between it and annulment, «by their movements and their stillnesses» [damaged]
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Chapter on What One Begins With Among the Obligations
I said: If you have observed the right of God, Exalted and Glorious, with regard to the passing thoughts (khawatir) that call to the adoption of beliefs, and the passing thoughts that call to the limbs «by their movements and their stillnesses,» do you then fear anything further upon me? And is anything else incumbent upon me beyond that?
He said: Yes. Verily God, Exalted and Glorious, has made His obligations binding. In the recitation of His Book there is explicit text, and in the sunna (prophetic practice) of His Prophet ﷺ. Much of the explicit text of recitation is conveyed in general terms regarding the obligation, requiring interpretation, and in the sunna of His Prophet ﷺ the interpretation is obligatory.
He made some of His obligations more binding than others when the obligations converge. He made obligatory for the servant an obligation with a time that expires: if its time passes without excuse before one fulfills it, the servant is disobedient to his Lord, since he did not fulfill it in its time. And He made obligatory an obligation that has two times. Whoever fulfills it at the beginning of its time, that is more meritorious for him, and if he fulfills it in the second time, he is not burdened with sin.
God, Exalted and Glorious, made it obligatory that one not attain His obligation through what He has forbidden upon His servants, and that one not prefer a supererogatory act (nafila) over His obligation as a means of drawing near to Him. It is incumbent upon you and upon the servants that they not delay what He has made obligatory among His obligations that must be begun with first, nor advance what He has commanded to be deferred after the rest of the obligation, nor abandon an obligation seeking nearness through a supererogatory act, nor otherwise.
And what is that which He delayed from it? And what is that which has a time for it and that which does not have a time and will be fulfilled at its time?
He said: When two obligations are incumbent upon you, begin with that which is most obligatory upon you in the Book and the Sunnah. And if their time arrives simultaneously — as with the need of the mother and the father — then begin with the mother's need. This is only an example, and the explanation of every detail of this would be lengthy. This is the principle regarding the two parents; so apply this to what resembles it. Let the servant begin with his mother's need, for her right is given precedence, and the scholars are in consensus on giving her precedence over the father in obedience to God. Likewise, if one has neither mother nor father but has relatives, and a hardship or need befalls them that necessitates its removal or their maintenance, and you are unable to provide for all of them, then begin with the nearest and then the next nearest.
And the Sunnah has come regarding the two parents and relatives in accordance with this, when the Prophet ﷺ was asked. The questioner said to him:
"O Messenger of God, whom should I treat with most birr (dutiful righteousness)?" He said: "Your mother." He said: "Then whom?" He said: "Your mother." He said: "Then whom?" He said: "Your mother." He said: "Then whom?" He said: "Your father." He said: "Then whom?" He said: "The nearest to you and then the next nearest."
Likewise, every possessor of a sacrosanct kinship tie — begin with them before one who does not have a sacrosanct bond. And if they are equal in
So begin with the relatives in their rights. If you are of ample means, then you encompass them all at that time with connection and maintenance.
Likewise, if one had a vow upon him — if he arrived from a journey safely, or recovered from his illness — to begin fasting a month, and God does that for him, then on the first day of Ramadan he begins with the fast of Ramadan, and the fasting of the vow is delayed. Likewise, if the day of his arrival or his recovery coincided with the day of the Eid, he does not fast, because following the six [days of Shawwal] in breaking the fast takes precedence over it.
Likewise, if the servant possessed what he could perform hajj (pilgrimage) with, but he did not have what he could leave for his parents — or one of them — or his family and children, if they were unable to sustain themselves, he would stay and prefer spending on them over the hajj, for this was more obligatory upon him according to the Sunna and according to the scholars of the umma (community).
Likewise, the appointment is binding upon the servant. If the time of one of the five prayers comes to its end and he fears missing the prayer before the appointment, let him begin with the prayer, and even if he loses it [the appointment], he is not one who wastes it, because he began with what is more obligatory than it. For the Muslims have agreed that they only make appointments with one another on the basis of not abandoning the obligatory prayer, even if they did not speak of it — for that is the resolve of their hearts. Or he attends the Friday prayer, or the last of the time of one of the five prayers, while the children desire a need in the abandonment of which there is nothing except that it [the prayer] is gentle with them, and they [the children] become angry at its abandonment and its delay — so let him begin with the Friday prayer and the obligatory prayer when the Friday prayer is one he thinks will be missed, or like the rising of the sun for the morning prayer, or its setting for the afternoon prayer.
Likewise, every obligation — it is not permissible for him to waste it. As for her obedience and her righteousness, he fears her anger, and there has been disagreement regarding some of the obligations at that point. Do you not see that the Prophet ﷺ said:
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"There is no obedience to a created being in disobedience to the Creator."
Likewise, the ḥajj (pilgrimage) is made obligatory upon him, while he possesses that by which proof is established against him, and he owes a debt. Let him fulfill His right; and he should not go forth [on pilgrimage]. And [his creditor] may imprison him, so he does not go forth—even if he had other things of goods and properties, let him sell them and go forth [on pilgrimage] with the proceeds. Likewise, if the debt is owed by him
and he fears that his parents and dependents will go hungry, let him begin with the repayment of the debt, for that which is obligatory upon him regarding his dependents—Exalted and Glorified is God—is an obligation, yet there is an obligation that is more binding than it, because the rendering of rights to their rightful claimants [takes precedence]. And the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
"The procrastination of a wealthy person is injustice."
Likewise, if his parents forbid him from repaying his debt, obedience to them in this matter is not his [to give], when his creditor has already been subjected to a wrong that has accrued against him [through the debtor's] withholding of [what is owed], or what has accrued against him [of wrongdoing].
If he begins with something other than what has been prescribed for him from these matters, or their likes, then he has gone astray, because he has given precedence to what God has deferred and deferred what God has given precedence. He does not draw near to God, Exalted is He, in contravention of
And likewise, if an obligation (fard) has become incumbent upon him and its time has arrived, he should begin with it before attending to what has not yet arrived in time from among the obligations. This is like the case of a man who intends the Hajj pilgrimage at a time in which there is ample room among the days, and his father commands him to wait until the last time for Hajj — then let him obey him and begin with the need for it, until the constricted time arrives upon him lest he miss it. Or like the prayer (such as the Friday prayer or other than it) before the constricted time arrives upon him that he must not let pass — then let him obey him and begin with his parent's need, until the constricted time arrives lest he miss it.
Likewise, if the funeral of a relative is present and he fears missing it, then let him begin with it. Likewise with an appointment — it is binding upon him before he fears missing the Hajj or the prayer, so let him begin with his appointment.
And likewise it may be upon him — two appointments, one of them at a known time of the day, and the other has no known time of the day — as when someone says: "I will come to you today," or "tonight," or "I will come to you" without mentioning a specific time. Then let him begin with the one that has a known time.
And likewise, if he misses an obligatory prayer through forgetfulness, sleep, or negligence, and the time of another prayer arrives — then let him begin with the missed prayer, unless he fears missing the current one, in which case he begins with the current one. And he should not neglect the other one as he would waste it. There is disagreement regarding that — when he fears missing it and when he does not fear missing the current one, it is agreed upon him that he should begin with the first.
And likewise, if he makes an appointment and another appointment follows it — while he is among people and does not mention it — then let him begin with the first and delay the latter, because God, exalted and glorified, prescribed His obligations [in order]: so He began with the morning prayer before the noon prayer, and the noon prayer before the afternoon prayer, and many of His obligations are likewise.
Among such statements is the saying of Abu Bakr, may God be pleased with him, in his bequest to 'Umar, may God be pleased with him: "Indeed God, exalted and glorified, has a right in the night that He does not accept in the day, and a right in the day that He does not accept in the night." So he counseled him [accordingly].
to present what God, exalted and glorified, has ordained before what He has deferred, and to defer what God has deferred — this being among the obligations (furud).
And if he is engaged in one obligation and another obligation becomes due, he should attend to it without interrupting what he is currently in, and he should not abandon it. For example, the Friday prayer (jumu'a), where he enters with the imam while it is still being performed, or the morning prayer (ghadah) when he is near the end of its time and is called to a funeral of a relative — he should not abandon it for that, but should attend to what remains of it. (There is disagreement regarding some of that.)
Likewise, if he is performing the obligatory Hajj, having entered the state of consecration (ihram) for it, and his parents write to him saying, "Do not be away even for an hour" — [he should not abandon the Hajj for that].
It may happen that one faces an obligation yet fulfills it by resorting to acts of disobedience, such as earning through what is unlawful (haram) or doubtful (shubha), intending by that the sustenance of his dependents — upon which there is consensus that it must be abandoned — and the fulfillment of what is obligatory upon him of their rights.
Likewise, the children in his care, or one of them, if they cause harm to his wife or oppress her. He may interpret this and say: "My wife is a captive in my hands, and I have been entrusted with her." And likewise his family. He may intend by that obedience to his parents — whether by striking her, or harming her, or insulting her. He should not do any of that. For if he does so, he has fulfilled an obligation while resorting [to disobedience] against God, exalted and glorified, and it is fitting that this not be accepted from him and that God, exalted and glorified, be wrathful with him.
Likewise, he may strike his child for the sake of his wife, intending the fulfillment of what is obligatory toward his family. And likewise he may command with what is right (ma'ruf) toward a relative, or thinking that this constitutes anger for the sake of God, exalted and glorified.
Or it may be that an affliction befalls him and he becomes irritated, and so he curses the parents, or the wife, or the servant, or harms them in ways that are not permissible for him, thinking that this is anger for the sake of religion.
And if he was engaged in an obligatory act and another obligatory duty arose that necessitated him to interrupt the first one after entering into it, he should interrupt it.
Such as the prayer — he enters into it at the beginning of its time or in the middle of it (with his heart), then he recalls that he has a missed prayer outstanding. Let him interrupt it and pray the missed prayer, then pray this prayer whose time still remains.
Some scholars held the view that one should complete it and that «it is not answered» [TN: i.e., the missed prayer is not discharged by continuing the current one]. They likened it to the invalid hajj (pilgrimage) in which one continues and then makes it up. But this does not resemble the hajj, because the hajj — it is not possible for him to repeat it in his same year, and the state of ihram (ritual consecration) that is binding upon him is not like the contract of prayer.
Likewise, if he was sitting for an appointment, then recalled that he has a missed prayer outstanding — he should leave the appointment and begin with the missed prayer, when he fears that the second prayer that is entering will lapse before he can make up the missed prayer. Such as when the afternoon prayer is about to lapse and he fears the sun will set, and similar cases.
Likewise, if his parents object to him leaving their town, but the call to mobilization [for battle] comes because the polytheists are prevailing over the Muslims and there is no one else to undertake the fighting — then he is obliged to go out and to leave staying behind.
Likewise the prayer — he enters into it at the beginning of its time, then he sees a man who has been laid down to be killed unjustly, or a woman being coerced [into fornication], and he is able to change that — let him change that, and let him interrupt the prayer as long as he does not fear its lapsing.
The scholars differed when its lapsing is otherwise. Likewise, if he woke up fasting from an obligatory vow, and it became clear to him that it was the day of Eid, he breaks his fast. Likewise, if a woman was fasting from a vow and then menstruated, or she had entered into an obligatory prayer and then menstruated (while she had not completed it), she interrupts the prayer, (and the fast) — she breaks her fast and (does not complete it).