صفحة جديدة 1
Human Rights in Islam
Since God is the absolute and the sole master of men and the universe, He is the
sovereign Lord, the sustainer and Nourisher, the Merciful, Whose mercy enshrines
all beings; and since He has given each man human dignity and honour, and
breathed into him of His own spirit, it follows that, united in Him and through
Him, and apart from their other human attributes, men are substantially the same
and no tangible and actual distinction can be made among them, on account of
their accidental differences such as nationality, colour or race.
Every human-being is thereby related to all others and all become one community
of brotherhood in their honourable and pleasant servitude to the most
compassionate Lord of the Universe. In such a heavenly atmosphere the Islamic
confession of the oneness of God stands dominant and central, and necessarily
entails the concept of the oneness of humanity and the brotherhood of mankind.
Although an Islamic state
may be set up in any part of the earth, Islam does not seek to restrict human
rights or privileges to the geographical limits of its own state. Islam has laid
down some universal fundamental rights for humanity as a whole, which are to be
observed and respected under all circumstances whether such a person is resident
within the territory of the Islamic state or outside it, whether he is at peace
with the state or at war.
The Qur'an
very clearly states: { O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for Allah, as
witnesses to fair dealing, and let not there be hatred of others to make you
swerve to wrong and depart from Justice. Be just: that is next to Piety: and
Fear Allah. For Allah is well -aquainted with all that you do } (Quran 5:80)
Human blood
is sacred in any case and cannot be spilled without justification. And if
anyone violates this sanctity of human blood by killing a soul without
justification, the Qur'an equates it to the killing of entire mankind: { .....
Whoso slays a soul not to retaliate for a soul slain, nor for corruption done in
the land, should be as if he had slain mankind altogether }
It is not
permissible to oppress women, children, old people, the sick or the wounded.
Women's honour and chastity are to be respected under all circumstances. The
hungry person must be fed, the naked clothed and the wounded or diseased treated
medically irrespective of whether they belong to the Islamic community or are
from amongst its enemies.
When we
speak of human rights in Islam we really mean that these rights have been
granted by God; they have not been granted by any king or by any legislative
assembly. The rights granted by the kings or the legislative assemblies, can
also be withdrawn in the same manner in which they are conferred. The same is
the case with the rights accepted and recognised by the dictators. They can
confer them when they please and withdraw them when they wish; and they can
openly violate them when they like. But since in Islam human rights have been
conferred by God, no legislative assembly in the world or any government on
earth has the right or authority to make any amendment or change in the rights
conferred by God. No one has the right to abrogate them or withdraw them. Nor
are they basic human rights which are conferred on paper for the sake of show
and exhibition and denied in actual life when the show is over. Nor are they
like philosophical concepts which have no sanctions behind them.
The
charter and the proclamations and the resolutions of the United Nations cannot
be compared with the rights sanctioned by God; because the former is not
applicable on anybody while the latter is applicable on every believer. They
are a part and parcel of the Islamic Faith. Every Muslim or administrator who
claim themselves to be Muslims, will have to accept, recognise and enforce
them. If they fail to enforce them, and start denying the rights that have been
guaranteed by God or make amendments and changes in them, or practically violate
them while paying lip service to them, the verdict of the Holy Qur'an for such
government is clear and unequivocal: { Those who do not judge by what God has
sent down are the disbelievers } (5:44).
Human Rights
in an Islamic State :
Lastly, it
is to be made clear that Islam tries to achieve the above-mentioned human rights
and many others not only by providing certain legal safeguards but mainly by
inviting mankind to transcend the lower level of animal life to be able to go
beyond the mere ties fostered by the kinship of blood, racial superiority,
linguistic arrogance, and economic privileges. It invites mankind to move on to
a plane of existence where, by reason of his inner excellence, man can realise
the ideal of the Brotherhood of man.
Human Rights in Islam
Since God is the absolute and the sole master of men and the universe, He is the
sovereign Lord, the sustainer and Nourisher, the Merciful, Whose mercy enshrines
all beings; and since He has given each man human dignity and honour, and
breathed into him of His own spirit, it follows that, united in Him and through
Him, and apart from their other human attributes, men are substantially the same
and no tangible and actual distinction can be made among them, on account of
their accidental differences such as nationality, colour or race.
Every human-being is thereby related to all others and all become one community
of brotherhood in their honourable and pleasant servitude to the most
compassionate Lord of the Universe. In such a heavenly atmosphere the Islamic
confession of the oneness of God stands dominant and central, and necessarily
entails the concept of the oneness of humanity and the brotherhood of mankind.
Although an Islamic state
may be set up in any part of the earth, Islam does not seek to restrict human
rights or privileges to the geographical limits of its own state. Islam has laid
down some universal fundamental rights for humanity as a whole, which are to be
observed and respected under all circumstances whether such a person is resident
within the territory of the Islamic state or outside it, whether he is at peace
with the state or at war.
The Qur'an
very clearly states: { O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for Allah, as
witnesses to fair dealing, and let not there be hatred of others to make you
swerve to wrong and depart from Justice. Be just: that is next to Piety: and
Fear Allah. For Allah is well -aquainted with all that you do } (Quran 5:80)
Human blood
is sacred in any case and cannot be spilled without justification. And if
anyone violates this sanctity of human blood by killing a soul without
justification, the Qur'an equates it to the killing of entire mankind: { .....
Whoso slays a soul not to retaliate for a soul slain, nor for corruption done in
the land, should be as if he had slain mankind altogether }
It is not
permissible to oppress women, children, old people, the sick or the wounded.
Women's honour and chastity are to be respected under all circumstances. The
hungry person must be fed, the naked clothed and the wounded or diseased treated
medically irrespective of whether they belong to the Islamic community or are
from amongst its enemies.
When we
speak of human rights in Islam we really mean that these rights have been
granted by God; they have not been granted by any king or by any legislative
assembly. The rights granted by the kings or the legislative assemblies, can
also be withdrawn in the same manner in which they are conferred. The same is
the case with the rights accepted and recognised by the dictators. They can
confer them when they please and withdraw them when they wish; and they can
openly violate them when they like. But since in Islam human rights have been
conferred by God, no legislative assembly in the world or any government on
earth has the right or authority to make any amendment or change in the rights
conferred by God. No one has the right to abrogate them or withdraw them. Nor
are they basic human rights which are conferred on paper for the sake of show
and exhibition and denied in actual life when the show is over. Nor are they
like philosophical concepts which have no sanctions behind them.
The
charter and the proclamations and the resolutions of the United Nations cannot
be compared with the rights sanctioned by God; because the former is not
applicable on anybody while the latter is applicable on every believer. They
are a part and parcel of the Islamic Faith. Every Muslim or administrator who
claim themselves to be Muslims, will have to accept, recognise and enforce
them. If they fail to enforce them, and start denying the rights that have been
guaranteed by God or make amendments and changes in them, or practically violate
them while paying lip service to them, the verdict of the Holy Qur'an for such
government is clear and unequivocal: { Those who do not judge by what God has
sent down are the disbelievers } (5:44).
Human Rights
in an Islamic State :
1. The
Security of Life and Property: In
the address which the Prophet delivered on the occasion of the Farewell
Hajj, he said: "Your lives and properties are forbidden to one another till
you meet your Lord on the Day of Resurrection". The Prophet has also said
about the dhimmis (the non-Muslim citizens of the Muslim state): "One who
kills a man under covenant (i.e., Dhimmi) will not even smell the fragrance
of Paradise".
2. The
Protection of Honour: The Holy Qur'an lays down-
1) {You who believe, do not
let one (set of) people make fun of another set}
2) {Do not defame one
another}
3) {Do not insult by using
nickname}
4) {Do not backbite or speak
ill of one another}
3. Sanctity
and Security of Private Life: The Qur'an has laid down the
injunction-
1) {Do not spy on one
another}
2) {Do not enter any houses
unless you are sure of their occupant's consent}
4. The Security of
Personal Freedom: Islam has laid down the principle that no
citizen can be imprisoned unless his guilt has been proved in an open
court. To arrest a man only on the basis of suspicion and to throw him into
a prison without proper court proceedings and without providing him a
reasonable opportunity to produce his defence is not permissible in Islam.
5. The
Right to Protest Against Tyranny:
Amongst the rights that Islam has conferred on human beings is the right to
protest against government's tyranny. Referring to it the Qur'an says. "God
does not love evil talk in public unless it is by
some one who has been injured thereby". In Islam, as has been argued
earlier, all power and authority belongs to God, and with man there is only
delegated power which becomes a trust; everyone who becomes a recipient or a
donee of such a power has to stand in awful reverence before his people
towards whom and for whose sake he will be called upon to use these powers.
This was acknowledged by Abu Bakr who said in his very first address:
"Cooperate with me when I am right but correct me when I commit error; obey
me so long as I follow the commandments of Allah and His prophet; but turn
away from me when I deviate".
6. Freedom of
Expression: Islam gives the right of freedom of thought and
expression to all citizens of the Islamic state on the condition that it
should be used for the propagation of virtue and truth and not for spreading
evil and wickedness.
The Islamic concept of freedom of expression is much
superior to the concept prevalent in the West. Under no circumstances would
Islam allow evil and wickedness to be propagated. It also does not give
anybody the right to use abusive or offensive language in the name of
criticism. It was the practice of the Muslims to enquire from the Holy
Prophet (P.B.U.H.) whether on a certain matter a divine injunction had been
revealed to him. If he said that he had received no divine injunction, the
Muslims freely expressed their opinion on the matter.
7. Freedom of
Association: Islam has also given people the right to freedom
of association and formation of parties or organisations. This right is
also subject to certain general rules.
8. Freedom of
Conscience and Conviction: Islam has laid down the injunction:
There should be no coercion in the matter of faith.
On the contrary totalitarian societies totally deprive
the individuals of their freedom. Indeed this undue exaltation of the state
authority curiously enough postulates a sort of servitude, of slavishness on
the part of man. At one time slavery meant total control of man over man -
now that type of slavery has been legally abolished but in its place
totalitarian societies impose a similar sort of control over individuals.
9. Protection of
Religious Sentiments: Along with freedom of conviction and
freedom of conscience Islam has given the right to the individual that his
religious sentiments will be given due respect and nothing will be said or
done which may encroach upon his right.
10.
Protection from Arbitrary Imprisonment:
Islam also recognises the right of the individual that he will not be
arrested or imprisoned for the offences of others. The Holy Qur'an has laid
down this principle clearly: {No bearer of burdens shall be
made to bear the burden of another}
11. The Right to
Basic Necessities of Life: Islam has recognised the right of the
needy people that help and assistance will be provided to them: And in
their wealth there is acknowledged right for the needy and the destitute.
12. Equality Before
Law: Islam gives its citizens the right to absolute and
complete equality in the eyes of the law.
13.
Rulers Not Above the Law: A woman
belonging to a high and noble family was arrested in connection with theft.
The case was brought to the Prophet, and it was recommended that she might
be spared the punishment of theft. The Prophet replied, "The nations that
lived before you were destroyed by God because they
punished the common-man for their offences and let their dignitaries go
unpunished
for their crimes; I swear by Him Who holds my life in
His hand that even if Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, had committed this
crime, I would have amputated her
hand".
14. The
Right to Participate in the Affairs of State:
{And their business is (conducted) through
consultation among themselves} (42:38).
The shura or the legislative assembly has no other
meaning except that: The executive head of the government and the members
of the assembly should be elected by free and independent choice of the
people.
Lastly, it
is to be made clear that Islam tries to achieve the above-mentioned human rights
and many others not only by providing certain legal safeguards but mainly by
inviting mankind to transcend the lower level of animal life to be able to go
beyond the mere ties fostered by the kinship of blood, racial superiority,
linguistic arrogance, and economic privileges. It invites mankind to move on to
a plane of existence where, by reason of his inner excellence, man can realise
the ideal of the Brotherhood of man.
