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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 I 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.tman
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 1 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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