{"id":2194,"date":"2015-06-28T11:18:51","date_gmt":"2015-06-28T09:18:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/?p=2194"},"modified":"2015-06-28T11:18:51","modified_gmt":"2015-06-28T09:18:51","slug":"human-rights-in-islam-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/?p=2194","title":{"rendered":"HUMAN RIGHTS IN ISLAM"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n
\n

HUMAN RIGHTS IN ISLAM<\/span><\/h1>\n

\"humanrights\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The first thing that we find in Islam in this connection is that it
\nlays down some rights for man as a human being. In other words it
\nmeans that every man whether he belongs to this country or that,
\nwhether he is a believer or unbeliever, whether he lives in some forest
\nor is found in some desert, whatever be the case, he has some basic
\nhuman rights simply because he is a human being, which should be
\nrecognized by every Muslim. In fact it will be his duty to fulfil these
\nobligations.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

1. The Right to\u00a0<\/span>Life<\/span><\/h2>\n

The first and the foremost basic right is the right to live and
\nrespect human life. The Holy Quran lays down:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 Whosoever kills a human being without (any reason like) man
\nslaughter, or corruption on earth, it is as though he had killed
\nall mankind … (5:32)<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

As far as the question of taking life in retaliation for murder or the
\nquestion of punishment for spreading corruption on this earth is con-
\ncerned, it can be decided only by a proper and competent court of
\nlaw. If there is any war with any nation or country, it can be decided
\nonly by a properly established government. In any case, no human
\nbeing has any right by himself to take human life in retaliation or for
\ncausing mischief on this earth. Therefore it is incumbent on every
\nhuman being that under no circumstances should he be guilty of
\ntaking a human life. If anyone has murdered a human being, it is as if
\nhe has slain the entire human race. These instructions have been
\nrepeated in the Holy Quran in another place saying:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 Do not kill a soul which Allah has made sacred except through the due
\nprocess of law … (6:151)<\/span><\/p>\n

Here also homicide has been distinguished from destruction of
\nlife carried out in pursuit of justice. Only a proper and competent
\ncourt will be able to decide whether or not an individual has forfeited
\nhis right to life by disregarding the right to life and peace of other
\nhuman beings. The Prophet, may God’s blessings be on him, has
\ndeclared homicide as the greatest sin only next to polytheism. The
\nTradition of the Prophet reads: “The greatest sins are to associate
\nsomething with God and to kill human beings.” In all these verses of
\nthe Quran and the Traditions of the Prophet the word ‘soul’ (nafs) has
\nbeen used in general terms without any distinction or particularization
\nwhich might have lent itself to the elucidation that the persons belong-
\ning to one’s nation, the citizens of one’s country, the people of a
\nparticular race or religion should not be killed. The injunction applies
\nto all human beings and the destruction of human life in itself has
\nbeen prohibited.<\/span><\/p>\n

‘The Right to Life’ has been given to\u00a0<\/span>man only by Islam. You\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

will observe that the people who talk about human rights if they have
\never mentioned them in their Constitutions or Declarations, then it is
\nclearly implied in them that these rights are applicable only to their
\ncitizens or they have been framed for the white race alone. This can
\nclearly be gleaned by the fact that human beings were hunted down
\nlike animals in Australia and the land was cleared of the aborigines for
\nthe white man. Similarly the aboriginal population of America was
\nsystematically destroyed and the Red Indians who somehow survived
\nthis genocide were confined to specified areas called Reservations.
\nThey also penetrated into Africa and hunted down human beings like
\nwild animals. All these instances go to prove that they have no respect
\nfor human life as such and if they have, it is only on the basis of their
\nnationality, colour or race. Contrary to this, Islam recognizes this right
\nfor all human beings. If a man belongs to a primitive or savage tribe,
\neven then Islam regards him as a human being.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. The Right to the Safety\u00a0<\/span>of Life<\/span><\/h2>\n

Immediately after the verse of the Holy Quran which has been
\nmentioned in connection with the right to life, God has said: “And
\nwhoever saves a life it is as though he had saved the lives of all
\nmankind” (5:32). There can be several forms of saving man from
\ndeath. A man may be ill or wounded, irrespective of his nationality,
\nrace or colour. If you know that he is in need of your help, then it
\nis your duty that you should arrange for his treatment for disease or
\nwound. If he is dying of starvation, then it is your duty to feed him so
\nthat he can ward off death. If he is drowning or his life is at stake,
\nthen it is your duty to save him. You will be surprised to hear that the
\nTalmud, the religious book of the Jews, contains a verse of similar
\nnature, but records it in altogether different form. It says: “Whoever
\ndestroyed a life of the Israelite, in the eyes of the Scripture, it is as
\nif
\nhe destroyed the whole world. And whoev<\/span>er protected and saved one\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

life of the Israelite, in the light of the Scripture, it is as if he saved
\nthe
\nwhole world.” Talmud also contains the view that if a non-Israelite is
\ndrowning and you tried to save him then you are a sinner. Can it be
\ngiven a name other than racialism? We regard it as our duty to save
\nevery human life, because it is thus that we have been enjoined in the
\nHoly Quran. On the other hand, if they regard it necessary to save
\nthe life of a human being at all, it should be the life of an Israelite. As
\nfar as other people are concerned, according to this view, they do not
\nseem to be human enough to deserve protection of their persons. In
\ntheir literature the concept of ‘Goyim’ for which the English word
\n‘Gentile’ and the Arabic word ummi (illiterate) is used, is that they
\nenjoy no human rights; human rights are reserved only for the children
\nof Israel. The Quran has mentioned this belief of the Israelites and
\nquotes the Jews saying: “There is no blame on us (for anything we
\nmay do) with regard to the unlettered folk (i.e. the ummi)” (3:75).
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Respect for the Chastity of Women<\/span><\/h2>\n

The third important thing that we find in the Chart<\/span>er of Human\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rights granted by Islam is that a woman’s chastity has to be respected
\nand protected under all circumstances, whether she belongs to our
\nown nation or to the nation of an enemy, whether we find her in the
\nwild forest or in a conquered city; whether she is our co-religionist or
\nbelongs to some other religion or has no religion at all. A Muslim
\ncannot outrage her under any circumstances. All promiscuous relation-
\nship has been forbidden to him, irrespective of the status or position
\nof the woman, whether the woman is a willing or an unwilling partner
\nto the act. The words of the Holy Quran in this respect are: “Do not
\napproach (the bounds of) adultery” (17:32). Heavy punishment has
\nbeen prescribed for this crime, and the order has not been qualified by
\nany conditions. Since the violation of chastity of a woman is
\nforbidden in Islam, a Muslim who perpetrates this crime cannot escape
\npunishment whether he receives it in this world or in the Hereafter.
\nThis concept of sanctity of chastity and protection of women can be
\nfound nowhere else except in Islam. The armies of the Western powers
\nneed the daughters of their nation to satisfy their carnal appetites even
\nin their own countries, and if they happen to occupy another country,
\nthe fate of its women folk can better be imagined than described. But
\nthe history of the Muslims, apart from a few lapses of the individuals
\nhere or there, has been free from this crime against womanhood. It has
\nnever happened that after the conquest of a foreign country the
\nMuslim army has gone about raping the women of the conquered
\npeople, or in their own country, the government has arranged to
\nprovide prostitutes1for them. This is also a great blessing which the
\nhuman race has received through Islam.2
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

4. The Right to a Basic Standard of Life<\/span><\/h2>\n

Speaking about the economic rights the Holy Quran enjoins upon
\nits followers:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 And in their wealth there is acknowledged right for the needy and
\ndestitute. (51:19)<\/span><\/p>\n

The words of this injunction show that it is a categorical and un-
\nqualified order. Furthermore this injunction was given in Makkah
\nwhere there was no Muslim society in existence and where generally
\nthe Muslims had to come in contact with the population of the
\ndisbelievers. Therefore the clear meaning of this verse is that anyone
\nwho asks for help and anyone who is suffering from deprivation has a
\nright in the property and wealth of the Muslims; irrespective of the
\nfact whether he belongs to this nation or to that nation, to this
\ncountry or to that country, to this race or to that race. If you are in
\na position to help and a needy person asks you for help or if you come
\nto know that he is in need, then it is your duty to help him. God has
\nestablished his right over you, which you have to honour as a Muslim.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Individual’s Right to Freedom<\/span><\/h2>\n

Islam has clearly and categorically forbidden the primitive
\npractice of capturing a free man, to make him a slave or to sell him
\ninto slavery. On this point the clear and unequivocal words of the
\nProphet (S) are as follows: “There are three categories of people
\nagainst whom I shall myself be a plaintiff on the Day of Judgement.
\nOf these three, one is he who enslaves a free man, then sells him and
\neats this money” (al-Bukhari and Ibn Majjah). The words of this
\nTradition of the Prophet are also general, they have not been qualified
\nor made applicable to a particular nation, race, country or followers
\nof a particular religion. The Europeans take great pride in claiming
\nthat they abolished slavery from the world, though they had the
\ndecency to do so only in the middle of the last century. Before this,
\nthese Western powers had been raiding Africa on a very large scale,
\ncapturing their free men, putting them in bondage and transporting
\nthem to their new colonies. The treatment which they have meted
\nout to these unfortunate people has been worse than the treatment
\ngiven to animals. The books written by the Western people themselves
\nbear testimony to this fact.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>The Slave Trade of Western Nations:<\/span><\/h2>\n

After the occupation of America and the West Indies, for\u00a0<\/span>three\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

hundred and fifty years, traffic in slave trade continued. The African
\ncoasts where the black-skinned captured Africans were brought from
\nthe interior of Africa and put on the ships sailing out from those
\nports, came to be known as the Slave Coast. During only one century
\n(from 1680 to 1786) the total number of free people who were
\ncaptured and enslaved only for British Colonies amounts, according to
\nthe estimate of British authors, to 20 million human beings. Over the
\nperiod of only one year (1790) we are told that 75,000 human beings
\nwere captured and sent for slave labour in the Colonies. The ships
\nwhich were used for transporting the slaves were small and dirty.
\nThese unfortunate Africans were thrust into the holds of these ships
\nlike cattle right up to the top and many of them were chained to the
\nwooden shelves on which they could hardly move because these were
\nonly eighteen inches apart, kept one on top of the other. They were
\nnot provided with suitable food, and if they fell ill or were injured, no
\nattempt was made to provide them with medical treatment. The
\nWestern writers themselves state that at least 20% of the total number
\nof people who were captured for slavery and forced labour perished
\nduring their transportation from the African coast to America. It has
\nalso been estimated that the total number of people who were
\ncaptured for slavery by the various European nations during the
\nheyday of the slave trade comes to at least one hundred million. This
\nis the record of the people who denounce Muslims day and night for
\nrecognizing the institution of slavery. It is as if a criminal is holding
\nhis finger of blame towards an innocent man.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The Position of Slavery in Isla<\/span>m:<\/span><\/h2>\n

Briefly I would like to tell you about the position and nature
\nof slavery in Islam. Islam tried to solve the problem of the slaves that
\nwere in Arabia by encouraging the people in different ways to set
\ntheir slaves free. The Muslims were ordered that in expiation of some
\nof their sins they should set their slaves free. Freeing a slave by one’s
\nown free will was declared to be an act of great merit, so much so that
\nit was said that every limb of the man who manumits a slave will be
\nprotected from hell-fire in lieu of the limb of the slave freed by him.
\nThe result of this policy was that by the time the period of the
\nRightly-Guided Caliphs was reached, all the old slaves of Arabia were
\nliberated. The Prophet alone liberated as many as 63 slaves. The
\nnumber of slaves freed by ‘Aishah was 67, ‘Abbas liberated 70, ‘Abd
\nAllah ibn ‘Umar liberated one thousand, and ‘Abd al-Rahman
\npurchased thirty thousand and set them free. Similarly other
\nCompanions of the Prophet liberated a large number of slaves, the
\ndetails of which are given in the Traditions and books of history of
\nthat period.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus the problem of the slaves of Arabia was solved in a short
\nperiod of thirty or forty years. After this the only form of slavery
\nwhich was left in Islamic society was the prisoners of war, who were
\ncaptured on the battlefield. These prisoners of war were retained by
\nthe Muslim Government until their government agreed to receive
\nthem back in exchange for Muslim soldiers captured by them, or
\narranged the payment of ransom on their behalf. If the soldiers they
\ncaptured were not exchanged with Muslim pris<\/span>oners of war, or their\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

people did not pay their ransom money to purchase their liberty, then
\nthe Muslim Government used to distribute them among the soldiers of
\nthe army which had captured them. This was a more humane and
\nproper way of disposing of them than retaining them like cattle in
\nconcentration camps and taking forced labour from them and, if their
\nwomen folk were also captured, setting them aside for prostitution.
\nIn place of such a cruel and outrageous way of disposing of the
\nprisoners of war, Islam preferred to spread them in the population and
\nthus brought them in contact with individual human beings. Over and
\nabove, their guardians were ordered to treat them well. The result of
\nthis humane policy was that most of the men who were captured on
\nforeign battlefields and brought to the Muslim countries as slaves
\nembraced Islam and their descendants produced great scholars, imams,
\njurists, commentators, statesmen and generals of the army. So much
\nso that later on they became the rulers of the Muslim world. The
\nsolution of this problem which has been proposed in the present age is
\nthat after the cessation of hostilities the prisoners of war of the
\ncombatant countries should be exchanged. Whereas Muslims have been
\npractising it from the very beginning and whenever the adversary
\naccepted the exchange of prisoners of war from both sides, it was
\nimplemented without the least hesitation or delay. In modern warfare
\nwe also find that if one government is complet<\/span>ely routed leaving her in\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

no position of bargaining for the prisoners of war and the winning
\nparty gets its prisoners easily, then experience has shown that the
\nprisoners of war of the vanquished army are kept in conditions which
\nare much worse than the conditions of slaves. Can anyone tell us what
\nhas been the fate of the thousands of prisoners of war captured by
\nRussia from the defeated armies of Germany and Japan in the Second
\nWorld War? No one has given their account so far. No one knows how
\nmany thousands of them are still alive and how many thousands of
\nthem have perished due to the hardship of the Russian concentration
\nand labour camps. The forced labour which has been taken from them
\nis much worse than the service one can exact from slaves. Even perhaps
\nin the times of ancient Pharaohs of Egypt such harsh labour might not
\nhave been exacted from the slaves in building the pyramids of Egypt, as
\nhas been exacted from the prisoners of war in Russia in developing
\nSiberia and other backward areas of Russia, or working in coal and
\nother mines in below zero temperatures, ill-clad, ill-fed and brutally
\ntreated by their supervisors.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

6. The Right to Justice<\/span><\/h2>\n

This is a very important and valuable right whic<\/span><\/p>\n

h Islam has given
\nto man as a human being. The Holy Quran has laid down: “Do not let
\nyour hatred of a people incite you to aggression” (5:2). “And do not
\nlet ill-will towards any folk incite you so that you swerve from dealing
\njustly. Be just; that is nearest to heedfulness” (5:8). Stressing this
\npoint
\nthe Quran again says: “You who believe stand steadfast before God as
\nwitness for (truth and) fairplay” (4:135). This makes the point clear
\nthat Muslims have to be just not only with ordinary human beings but
\neven with their enemies. In other words, the justice to which Islam
\ninvites her followers is not limited only to the citizens of their own
\ncountry, or the people of their own tribe, nation or race, or the
\nMuslim community as a whole, but it is meant for all the human beings
\nof the world. Muslims therefore, cannot be unjust to anyone. Their
\npermanent habit and character should be such that no man should ever
\nfear injustice at their hands, and they should treat every human being
\neverywhere with justice and fairness.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Equality of Human Beings<\/span><\/h2>\n

Islam not only recognizes absolut<\/span><\/p>\n

e equality between men
\nirrespective of any distinction of colour, race or nationality, but makes
\nit an important and significant principle, a reality. The Almighty God
\nhas laid down in the Holy Quran: “O mankind, we have created you
\nfrom a male and female.” In other words all human beings are brothers
\nto one another. They all are the descendants from one father and one
\nmother. “And we set you up as nations and tribes so that you may be
\nable to recognize each other” (49:13). This means that the division of
\nhuman beings into nations, races, groups and tribes is for the sake of
\ndistinction, so that people of one race or tribe may meet and be
\nacquainted with the people belonging to another race or tribe and
\ncooperate with one another. This division of the human race is neither
\nmeant for one nation to take pride in its superiority over others nor is it
\nmeant for one nation to treat another with contempt or disgrace, or
\nregard them as a mean and degraded race and usurp their rights.
\n“Indeed, the noblest among you before God are the most heedful of
\nyou” (49:13). In other words the superiority of one man over another
\nis only on the basis of God-consciousness, purity of character and high
\nmorals, and not on the basis of colour, race, language or nationality,
\nand even this superiority based on piety and pure conduct does not
\njustify that such people should play lord or assume airs of superiority
\nover other human beings. Assuming airs of superiority is in itself a
\nreprehensible vice which no God-fearing and pious man can ever dream
\nof perpetrating. Nor does the righteous have more privileged rights over
\nothers, because this runs counter to human equality, which has been
\nlaid down in the beginning of this verse as a general principle. From the
\nmoral point of view, goodness and virtue is in all cases better than vice
\nand evil.<\/span><\/p>\n

This has been exemplified by the Prophet in one o<\/span>f his sayings thus:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“No Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab
\nhave any superiority over an Arab. Nor does a white man have any
\nsuperiority over a black man, or the black man any superiority over the
\nwhite man. You are all the children of Adam, and Adam was created
\nfrom clay” (al-Bayhaqi and al-Bazzaz). In this manner Islam established
\nequality for the entire human race and struck at the very root of all
\ndistinctions based on colour, race, language or nationality. According to
\nIslam,God has given man this right of equality as a birthright. Therefore
\nno man should be discriminated against on the ground of the colour of
\nhis skin, his place of birth, the race or the nation in which he was born.
\nMalcolm X, the famous leader of African Negroes in America, who had
\nlaunched a bitter struggle against the white people of America in order
\nto win civil rights for his black compatriots, when he went to perform
\nthe pilgrimage, and saw how the Muslims of Asia, Africa, Europe,
\nAmerica and those of different races, languages and colours of skin,
\nwere wearing one dress and were hurrying towards God’s House-the
\nKa’bah and offering prayers standing in one row and there was no
\ndistinction of any kind between them, then he realized that this was the
\nsolution to the problem of colour and race, and not what he had been
\ntrying to seek or achieve in America so far. Today, a number of non-
\nMuslim thinkers, who are free from blind prejudice, openly admit that
\nno other religion or way of life has solved this problem with the same
\ndegree of success with which Islam has done so.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

8. The Right to Co-operate and Not to Co-operate<\/span><\/h2>\n

Islam has prescribed a general principle of paramount importance
\nand universal application saying: “Co-operate with one another for
\nvirtue and heedfulness and do not co-operate with one another for the
\npurpose of vice and aggression” (5:2). This means that the man who
\nundertakes a noble and righteous work, irrespective of the fact whether
\nhe is living at the North Pole or the South Pole, has the right to expect
\nsupport and active co-operation from the Muslims. On the contrary he
\nwho perpetrates deeds of vice and aggression, even if he is our closest
\nrelation or neighbour, does not have the right to win our support and
\nhelp in the name of race, country, language or nationality, nor should
\nhe have the expectation that Muslims will co-operate with him or
\nsupport him. Nor is it permissible for Muslims to co-operate with him.
\nThe wicked and vicious person may be our own brother, but he is not
\nof us, and he can have no help or support from us as long as he does not
\nrepent and reform his ways. On the other hand the man who is doing
\ndeeds of virtue and righteousness may have no kinship with Muslims,
\nbut Muslims will be his companions and supporters or at least his well-
\nwishers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n
Search For Islam<\/span><\/address>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/address>\n
searchforislam.com<\/span><\/a><\/address>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HUMAN RIGHTS IN ISLAM The first thing that we find in Islam in this connection is that it lays down some rights for man as a human being. In other words it means that...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,9],"tags":[265],"class_list":["post-2194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-human-rights","category-peace-in-islam","tag-human-rights"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2194"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2196,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2194\/revisions\/2196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}