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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, it follows that, united in Him and through Him, men are substantially the same and no tangible and actual distinction can be made among them.
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 he is at peace with 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 the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from Justice. Be just: that is next to piety." (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: " Who 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 honour and chastity are to be respected under all circumstances. The hungry person must be feed, 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 The rights granted by the kings or the legislative assemblies can also be withdrawn in the same manner in which they are conferred.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 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 is not applicable on anybody while the latter is applicable on every believer. They are a part and parcel of the Islamic Faith.
If any do fail to judge by what Allah hath revealed, they are Unbelievers." (5:44)
Human Rights in the Qur'an and the Sunnah:
These are some human rights which Islam highlighted and secured for people. If any one wants to acknowledge Islam and its perspective of human rights, he should not examine the practice of so and so of Muslims simply because it is not a trial to Islam at all. Islam can be only acknowledged through the holy Qur'an and the noble Sunnah.
The two primary sources of knowledge in Islam are the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah. The Holy Qur'an consists of the Arabic text revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) over a period of 23 years. The Sunnah refers to Prophet's sayings and deeds, also known as Ahadith. The Ahadith are collected in different books, mostly named after the scholar who collected it.
Here are some human rights as proved in the holy Qur'an and the Noble Sunnah:
1- The Right to Life:
The first and the foremost basic right is the right to live and respect human life. The Holy Qur'an lays down: " ... if anyone killed a person not in retaliation of murder, or (and) to spread mischief in the land - it would be as if he killed all mankind..." (5:32) "Do not kill a soul which Allah has made sacred except through the due process of law ..." (6:151)
2- The Right to Justice:
This is a very important and valuable right, which Islam has given to man as a human being. The Holy Qur'an has laid down: "Do not let your hatred of a people incite you to aggression." (5:2) "And do not let ill-will towards any folk incite you so that you swerve from dealing justly. Be just; that is nearest to heedfulness." (5:8)
3- Equality of Human Beings:
The Prophet has exemplified this in one of his sayings thus: "No Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab. Nor does a white man have any superiority over a black man, or the black man any superiority over the white man. You are all the children of Adam, and Adam was created from clay." (al-Bayhaqi and al-Bazzaz)
4- 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." Allah Almighty has laid down in the Holy Qur'an: "Anyone who kills a believer deliberately will receive as his reward (a sentence) to live in Hell for ever. God will be angry with him and curse him, and prepare dreadful torment for him." (4:93)
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. a dhimmi) will not even smell the fragrance of Paradise." (al-Bukhari and Abu Dawud)
5- The Protection of Honor:
Holy Qur'an clearly lays down: "You who believe, do not let one (set of) people make fun of another set. Do not defame one another. Do not insult by using nicknames. And do not backbite or speak ill of one another." (49:11-12)
6- The Rights of the Non-Combatants:
Islam has first drawn a clear line of distinction between the combatants and the non-combatants of the enemy country. As far as the non-combatant population is concerned such as women, children, the old and the infirm, etc., the instructions of the Prophet are as follows: "Do not kill any old person, any child or any woman" (Abu Dawud). "Do not kill the monks in monasteries" or "Do not kill the people who are sitting in places of worship"
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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, it follows that, united in Him and through Him, men are substantially the same and no tangible and actual distinction can be made among them.
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 he is at peace with 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 the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from Justice. Be just: that is next to piety." (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: " Who 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 honour and chastity are to be respected under all circumstances. The hungry person must be feed, 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 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 is not applicable on anybody while the latter is applicable on every believer. They are a part and parcel of the Islamic Faith.
If any do fail to judge by what Allah hath revealed, they are Unbelievers." (5:44)
Human Rights in the Qur'an and the Sunnah:
These are some human rights which Islam highlighted and secured for people. If any one wants to acknowledge Islam and its perspective of human rights, he should not examine the practice of so and so of Muslims simply because it is not a trial to Islam at all. Islam can be only acknowledged through the holy Qur'an and the noble Sunnah.
The two primary sources of knowledge in Islam are the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah. The Holy Qur'an consists of the Arabic text revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) over a period of 23 years. The Sunnah refers to Prophet's sayings and deeds, also known as Ahadith. The Ahadith are collected in different books, mostly named after the scholar who collected it.
Here are some human rights as proved in the holy Qur'an and the Noble Sunnah:
1- The Right to Life:
The first and the foremost basic right is the right to live and respect human life. The Holy Qur'an lays down: " ... if anyone killed a person not in retaliation of murder, or (and) to spread mischief in the land - it would be as if he killed all mankind..." (5:32) "Do not kill a soul which Allah has made sacred except through the due process of law ..." (6:151)
2- The Right to Justice:
This is a very important and valuable right, which Islam has given to man as a human being. The Holy Qur'an has laid down: "Do not let your hatred of a people incite you to aggression." (5:2) "And do not let ill-will towards any folk incite you so that you swerve from dealing justly. Be just; that is nearest to heedfulness." (5:8)
3- Equality of Human Beings:
The Prophet has exemplified this in one of his sayings thus: "No Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab. Nor does a white man have any superiority over a black man, or the black man any superiority over the white man. You are all the children of Adam, and Adam was created from clay." (al-Bayhaqi and al-Bazzaz)
4- 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." Allah Almighty has laid down in the Holy Qur'an: "Anyone who kills a believer deliberately will receive as his reward (a sentence) to live in Hell for ever. God will be angry with him and curse him, and prepare dreadful torment for him." (4:93)
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. a dhimmi) will not even smell the fragrance of Paradise." (al-Bukhari and Abu Dawud)
5- The Protection of Honor:
Holy Qur'an clearly lays down: "You who believe, do not let one (set of) people make fun of another set. Do not defame one another. Do not insult by using nicknames. And do not backbite or speak ill of one another." (49:11-12)
6- The Rights of the Non-Combatants:
Islam has first drawn a clear line of distinction between the combatants and the non-combatants of the enemy country. As far as the non-combatant population is concerned such as women, children, the old and the infirm, etc., the instructions of the Prophet are as follows: "Do not kill any old person, any child or any woman" (Abu Dawud). "Do not kill the monks in monasteries" or "Do not kill the people who are sitting in places of worship"
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