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 honor, 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, color or race.
Every human being is thereby related to all others and all
become one community of brotherhood in their honorable 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 or at
war. The Quran very clearly states:
"O believers, be you securers of
justice, witness for God. Let not detestation for a
people move you not to be equitable; be equitable - that
is nearer to God-fearing." (5:8)
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 Quran 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." (5:32)
It is not permissible to oppress women,
children, old people, the sick or the wounded. Women's
honor 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 among 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 recognized 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 are
not applicable on anybody while the latter are applicable
on every believer. They are a part and parcel of the
Islamic Faith. Every Muslim or administrator who claims
himself to be Muslim, will have to accept, recognize 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 Quran 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
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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."
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The Protection Of Honor:
The Holy Quran lays down:
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"You who believe, do
not let one (set of) people make fun of another
set."
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"Do not defame one
another."
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"Do not insult by
using nicknames."
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"Do not backbite or
speak ill of one another."
(49:11-12)
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Sanctity And Security Of
Private Life:
The Quran has laid down the injunction:
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The Security Of Personal
Freedom:
Islam has laid down the principle that no citizen can
be imprisoned unless his guilt has been proven 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 defense is not
permissible in Islam.
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The Right To Protest Against
Tyranny:
Among the rights that Islam has conferred on human
beings is the right to protest against government's
tyranny. Referring to it the Quran says:
"God does not love evil talk
in public unless it is by someone who has been
injured thereby." (4:148)
In Islam, as has been argued
earlier, all power and authority belong to God, and
with man there is only delegated power which becomes a
trust; everyone who becomes a recipient of such a
power has to stand in awful reverence before his
people toward whom and for whose sake he will be
called upon to use these powers. This was acknowledged
by Hazrat 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."
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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
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.
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Freedom Of Association:
Islam has also given people the right to freedom of
association and formation of parties or organizations.
This right is also subject to certain general rules.
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Freedom Of Conscience And
Conviction:
Islam has laid down the injunction:
"There should be no coercion
in the matter of faith." (2:256)
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.
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Protection Of Religious
Sentiments:
Along with the 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.
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Protection From Arbitrary
Imprisonment:
Islam also recognizes the right of the individual not
to be arrested or imprisoned for the offenses of
others. The Holy Quran has laid down this principle
clearly:
"No bearer of burdens shall
be made to bear the burden of another." (35:18)
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The Right To Basic
Necessities of Life:
Islam has recognized the right of the needy people for
help and assistance to be provided to them:
"And in their wealth there is
acknowledged right for the needy and the
destitute." (51:19)
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Equality Before Law:
Islam gives its citizens the right to absolute and
complete equality in the eyes of the law.
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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 offenses 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."
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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 realize the ideal of the
Brotherhood of man.
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