Basic
Human Rights
1. The Right To Life:
The
first and foremost basic right is the right to life. The Holy Qur'an lays
down: "Whosoever kills a human being (without any reason like) man-
slaughter, or corruption on earth, it is though he had killed all
mankind." (5:32) The propriety of taking life in retaliation for murder or
for spreading corruption can be decided only by a competent court of law.
During a war it can be decided only by a properly established government.
In any event, no individual has the right to decide such questions by
himself. As the Holy Qur'an makes clear: "Do not kill a soul which Allah
has made sacred except through the
due
process of law." (6:151) Homicide is
thus distinguished from destruction of life carried out in the pursuit of
justice. The Prophet, blessings of Allah and peace be upon him, has
declared homicide as the greatest sin after polytheism. A Tradition of the
Prophet reads: "The greatest sins are to associate something with God and
to kill human beings." In
all these verses of the Qur'an and the Traditions of the Prophet the word
'soul' (nafs) has been used in general terms without any indication
that citizens belonging to one's own nation or the people of a particular
race or religion should not be killed. The injunction applies to all human
beings. The
'Right to Life' has been given to man as a whole only by Islam. You will
observe that reference to human rights in constitutions or declarations in
many countries clearly implies that these rights are applicable only to
the citizens of that country or 2.
The Right To The Safety Of Life:
Immediately after the verse in
the Holy Qur'an which has been mentioned In connection with the right to
life, God says: ,. And whoever saves a life it is as though he had saved
the lives of all mankind�(532)
There can be several forms of
saving man from death. If a man is ill or wounded it is your duty to get
him medical help. If he is dying of starvation, it is your duty to feed
him. If he is drowning, it is your duty to rescue him. We regard it as our
duty to save every human life, because it is thus that we have been
enjoined in the Holy Qur'an. The
third important element in the Charter of Human Rights granted by Islam is
that a woman's chastity must be respected and protected at all times,
whether she belongs to one's own nation or to the nation of an enemy,
whether we find her in a remote forest or in a conquered city,
The words of the Holy Qur'an in
this respect are: "Do not approach (the bounds) of adultery" (17:32).
Heavy punishment has been prescribed for this crime, and no mitigating
circumstances are indicated. Since the violation of the chastity of a
woman is forbidden in Islam, a Muslim who perpetrates this crime cannot
escape punishment -whether he receives it in this world or In the
Hereafter.
This concept of the sanctity of
chastity and the protection of women can be found nowhere else except in
Islam. From the point of view of Islam, not only the woman but also the
man possesses chastity. A man who perpetrates rape or adultery spoils not
only the chastity of the woman. but his own as well.
Speaking about economic rights, the Holy Qur'an enjoins its
followers: "
And in their wealth there is acknowledged right for the needy and
destitute." (51:12) The wording of this
injunction shows that it is categorical and unqualified. Furthermore, this
injunction was given in Makkah where there was no Muslim society in
existence and where the Muslims came in contact mostly with
disbelievers. The clear meaning of this verse is that anyone who asks for
help and anyone who is suffering from deprivation has a right to share in
the property and wealth of a Muslim; irrespective of whether he belongs to
this or to that nation, to this or to that country, to this or to that
race. If one is in a position to help and a needy person asks for help
or if one comes to know that he is in need, then it is one's duty to help
him. 5. The Individual's Right To Freedom:
Islam
has categorically forbidden the primitive practice of capturing a free man
to make him a slave or to sell him into slavery. On this point the
unequivocal words of the Prophet (blessings of Allah and peace be upon
him) are as follows: "There are three categories of people against whom I
shall myself be a plaintiff on the Day of Judgement. Of these three, one
is he who enslaves a free man, then sells him and eats this money"
(Bukhari and Ibn Maja). The
words of this Tradition of the Prophet have not been qualified or
restricted to a particular nation or race, or to followers of a particular
religion. The
Position Of Slavery In Islam
Islam tried to solve the problem
of the slaves that were already in Arabia by encouraging people to set
them free. Muslims were told that freeing slaves would mean the expiation
of some of their sins. Freeing a slave of one's own free will was declared
to be an act of such great merit that the limbs of the man who manumitted
a slave would be protected from hell- fire- one for each limb of the slave
freed. The
result of this policy was that, by the time the period of the Rightly-
Guided Caliphs was reached, all the old slaves of Arabia had been
liberated. The Prophet {blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) alone
liberated as many as 63 slaves. The number of slaves freed by. A'isha was
67; Abbas liberated 70; , Abd
Allah bin 'Umar liberated one thousand; and 'Abd al-Ral purchased
thirty thousand and set them free. Other Companions of the Prophet
liberated a large number of slaves, the details of which are given in the
Traditions and books of history of that period. The
problem of the slaves of Arabia was thus solved in under 40 years. After
this the only slaves left in Islamic society were prisoners of war
captured on the battlefield. These were kept by the Muslim government in
question until their own government agreed to receive them back in
exchange for Muslim soldiers captured by them or arranged the payment of
ransom on their behalf. If the soldiers they captured were not exchanged
for Muslim prisoners of war, or their people did not pay their ransom
money to purchase their liberty, the Muslim government distributed them
among the soldiers of the army which had captured them.
This
was a more humane way of disposing of them than penning them like cattle
in concentration camps and taking forced labour from them and, if their
womenfolk were also captured, setting them aside for prostitution. Islam
preferred to spread them through the population and thus bring them in
contact with individual human beings. Their guardians, in addition, were
ordered to treat them well. The
result of this policy was that most of the men who were captured on
foreign battlefields and brought to the Muslim countries as slaves 6.
The Right To Justice: This
is a very important and valuable right which Islam has given to man. The
Holy Qur'an has laid down: "Do not let your hatred of a people incite you
to aggression" (5:3). " 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). Stressing this point the Qur'an again says: "You who
believe stand steadfast before God as witness for (truth and) fair play" (
4: 135).
The point is thus made clear that
Muslims have to be just not only to their friends but also their
enemies. In other words, the justice to which Islam invites her followers
is not limited to the citizens of one's own country, or the people of
one's own tribe, nation or race, or the Muslim community as a whole; it is
meant for all human beings. 7.
The Equality Of Human Beings: Islam
not only recognizes the principle of absolute equality between men
irrespective of colour, race or nationality, it makes it an important
reality. Almighty God has laid down in the Holy Qur'an: "O mankind, we
have created you from a male and female." In other words, all human beings
are brothers. They all are the descendants from one father and one mother.
" And we set you up as nations and tribes so that you may be able to
recognize each other" (49: 13). This means that the division of human
beings into nations, races, groups and tribes is for the sake of
distinction, so that people of one race or tribe may meet and be
acquainted with people belonging to another race or tribe and co-operate
with one another . This
division of the human race is neither meant for one nation to take pride
in its superiority over others nor for one nation to treat another with
contempt. "Indeed, the noblest among you before God are the most heedful
of you " ( 49: 13). That is, the superiority of one man over another
is only
on the basis of God-consciousness, purity of character and high morals,
and not colour, race, language or nationality. People are therefore not
justified in assuming airs of superiority over other human beings. Nor do
the righteous have any special privileges over others.
This
has been thus exemplified by the Prophet (blessings of Allah and peace be
upon him) in one of his sayings: '.No Arab has any superiority over a
non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab 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." (Bayhaqi and Bazzaz). In this
manner Islam established the principle of equality of the entire human
race and struck at the very root of all distinctions based on colour,
race, language or nationality. According
to Islam, God has given man this right of equality as a birthright. No man
should therefore be discriminated against on the grounds of the colour of
his skin, his place of birth, the race or the nation in which he was born.
Islam has prescribed a general principle of paramount
importance and universal application. The Holy Qur'an says: "Co-operate
with one another for virtue and heedfulness and do not co-operate with one
another for the purpose of vice and aggression" (5:2). This means that the
man who undertakes noble and righteous work, irrespective of whether he is
living at the North Pole or the South Pole, has the right to expect
support and active co-operation from Muslims. But he who practises vice
and aggression, even if he is our closest relation or neighbour, does not
have the right to our support and help in the name of race, country,
language or nationality, nor should he expect Muslims to co-operate with
him. The wicked and vicious person may be our own brother, but he is not
of us, and he can have no help or support from us as long as he does not
repent of his ways. On the other hand, the man who is doing deeds of
virtue and righteousness may have no kinship with Muslims, but Muslims
will be his companions and supporters, or at least his well-wishers.
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