Daily Times

In early civilizations, humans as such were not considered as having inherent human rights, though some traces of the concept of natural rights existed in the Greek and Roman jurisprudence. Islam was the first religion to champion the rights of the citizens in a holistic manner. It declared that man is entitled to all social, political, and economic rights because he is the best and noblest creation, the crown of creations.

The Quran declared in unequivocal terms that these rights are inherent in human existence and are not bestowed by any king or other authority:

‘We have honored the sons of Adam; provided them with transport on land and sea; given them for sustenance things good and pure; and conferred on them special favours, above a great part of our creation.’ (Quran 17:70)

‘We have indeed created man in the best of moulds.’ (Quran 95:4)

The people were not an inferior creature, but vicegerents of God on earth before whom the angels bowed:

‘Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: “I will create a vicegerent on earth.” (Quran 2:30)

Islam provides some fundamental universal rights for humanity as a whole. These rights are to be observed and respected under all circumstances whether a person is a resident within the territory of the Islamic state or outside it, whether he is at peace or at war. The salient features of these fundamental rights are outlined below:

• Human life is sacred in all circumstances, and if anyone violates this sanctity of human life by killing a soul without justification, the Holy Quran equates that act to kill the entirety of mankind. The Quran (5:32) says:

‘On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person – unless it is for murder or for spreading mischief in the land – it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.’

• Security of life and property is guaranteed. In the Last Address on the occasion of the Farewell Hajj, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) said: ‘Your lives and properties are forbidden to one another till you meet the Lord on the Day of Resurrection.
• Honour is protected (Quran 49:11-12). ‘O You who have attained to faith! No men shall deride (other) men: it may well be that those (whom they deride) are better than themselves, and no women (shall deride other) women: it may well be that those (whom they deride) are better than themselves. And neither shall you defame one another, nor insult one another by (opprobrious) epithets: evil is all imputation of iniquity after (one has attained to) faith; and they who (become guilty thereof and) do not repent – it is they, they who are evildoers! O you who have attained to faith! Avoid most guesswork (about one another) for, behold, some of (such) guesswork is (in itself) a sin; and do not spy upon one another, and neither allow yourselves to speak ill of one another behind your backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, you would loathe it!’
• Privacy of the premises is protected. The Holy Quran (24:27) says: ‘O You who have attained to faith! Do not enter houses other than your own unless you have obtained permission and greeted their inmates. This is (enjoined upon you) for your own good so that you might bear (your mutual rights) in mind’.
• The right to protest against tyranny is guaranteed. The Holy Quran (4:148) says: ‘God does not like any evil to be mentioned openly unless it is by him who has been wronged (thereby).’
• The right to freedom of conscience and conviction is guaranteed. The Holy Quran (2:256) says: ‘there shall be no coercion in matters of faith.’
• The right to basic necessities of life is guaranteed. The Holy Quran (51:19) states: ‘and [would assign] in all that they possessed a due share unto such as might ask [for help] and such as might suffer privation.’
• There is equality before the law. When a woman belonging to a high and noble family was arrested for the crime of theft, the case was brought to the Holy Prophet (PBUH). It was recommended that she might be spared the punishment of her crime because of her status in society. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) replied: ‘The nations that lived before you were destroyed by Allah 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 Mohammed, had committed this crime, I would have amputated her hand.’
• The right to participate in the affairs of the state is guaranteed. The Holy Quran (42:38) says: ‘and who respond to (the call of) their Sustainer and are constant in prayer; and whose rule, (in all matters of common concern) is consultation among themselves.

The Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), for the first time in the history of humankind, gave a clear and concise Charter of Human Rights. Muslims can claim and assert with certainty that the establishment of human rights started from this historic declaration made in Khutba-Hajj-tul-Wadaa, the sermon on the Last Pilgrimage (10 AH). The main points of the Last Sermon are listed below:

1. Allah says, ‘O! people, We created you from one male and one female and made you into tribes and nations so as to be known to one another. Verily in the sight of Allah, the most honoured amongst you is the one who is most God-fearing.
2. All mankind is from Adam and Eve; an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab. In the same manner, a white person has no superiority over a black person, nor does a black person have any superiority over a white person.  Superiority can only be established by piety and good action.
3. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood.
4. Behold! All practice of the days of ignorance are now under my feet. The blood revenges of the days of ignorance are remitted.
5. O’ people! Verily your blood, your property and your honour are sacred and inviolable, until you appear before your Lord, as the sacred inviolability of this day of yours, this month of yours and this very town (of yours).
6. Behold, every claim of privilege, whether that of blood or property, is under my heels.
7. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you.
8. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim, which belongs to a fellow Muslim, unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.
9. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners.
10. Allah has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligations shall henceforth be waived. Your capital is yours to keep.
11. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity.
12. O’ people, don’t appear (on the Day of Judgment) with the burden of this world around your necks.
13. O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you.
14. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah’s trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right, then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness.
15. Do treat your women well and be kind to them, for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with anyone of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.
16. The child belongs to the marriage-bed.
17. O’ people! Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, has ordained to everyone his due share (of inheritance). Hence there is no need (of special) testament for an heir.
18. Pay the Zakat (poor due) readily on your property.
19. All debts must be repaid, all borrowed property must be returned, gifts should be reciprocated, and a surety must make good the loss to the assured.
20. Beware! No one committing a crime is responsible for it but himself. Neither the child is responsible for the crime of his father, nor the father is responsible for the crime of his child.
21. Nothing of his brother is lawful for a Muslim, except what he himself gives willingly. So do not wrong yourselves.
22. And your servants; see that you feed them with such food as you eat yourselves, and clothe them with the clothes that you yourselves wear.
23. O’ people! Listen and obey, though a mangled Abyssinian servant is appointed your Amir, provided he executes (the Ordinances of) the Book of Allah among you.
24. And beware of transgressing the limits set in the matters of religion, for it is transgression of (the proper bounds of) religion that brought destruction to many people before you. (Ibn Hisham)

The Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) was so concerned about citizens’ rights to education that he gave to the prisoners from the war of Badar ( 2 AH)  the option to teach Muslims how to read and write and would be set free. The Prophet (PBUH) did not fear that these Jews and Christians (the prisoners of war) would spoil the faith of the believers.

Not only does Islam demand their freedom to practice religion, but also that they be treated justly as any other fellow human. Warning against any abuse of non-Muslims in an Islamic society, the Prophet stated: ‘One who kills a man under covenant (dhimmi) will not even smell the fragrance of Paradise’.

He also said: ‘Beware! Whoever is cruel and hard on a non-Muslim minority, curtails their rights, burdens them with more than they can bear, or takes anything from them against their free will; I (Prophet Mohammed) will complain against the person on the day of judgment’ (Abu Dawud).

The humane treatment of non-Muslims living under Muslim control is widely accepted by non-Muslim historians. The American historian, Will Durant (d. 1981) wrote:

‘At the time of the Umayyad caliphate, the people of the covenant, Christians, Zoroastrians, Jews, and Sabians, all enjoyed a degree of tolerance that we do not find even today in Christian countries. They were free to practice the rituals of their religion and their churches and temples were preserved. They enjoyed autonomy in that they were subject to the religious laws of the scholars and judges .

Let us look at economic rights. Once Usman (RA) asked Abu Zarr Ghifari (RA) to explain why he was so insistent on economic justice.  He replied, ‘he has a goat, half of whose milk was for him and half for the neighbours. This is as per guidance of the holy Prophet’. Then he recited this verse of the Quran (2:219): ‘They ask thee how much they are to spend; Say: What is beyond your needs.”

Once Umar said: ‘He would be held accountable on the day of judgment, if a dog died hungry on the bank of Euphrates’. This was not merely a political slogan or an election manifesto, but a formal declaration of Islamic economic and political philosophy. The Prophet himself said: ‘I am supporter and guardian of the person who has no supporter and guardian’.

The Prophet (PBUH) was not just teaching a moral lesson or explaining his personal conduct, but propounding the policy that the state shall be the guardian and protector of all the vulnerable sections of society. He was also reminding believers of their responsibility to look after the oppressed and deprived segments of the community including the destitute, the orphans, minors and the widows. These were the sublime teachings that gave birth to an ideal society based on social justice, where people enjoyed respect, honour and dignity. In other words, Islam was not only responsible for broadening and enlarging the concept and scope of human rights, but also for assigning the state the role of protection of the rights of the citizens.

Islam has advanced the cause of inherent human rights. Given the evidence, it can safely be said that the Magna Carta (1215 AD), the Bill of Rights (1689) and the modern Human Rights Movement received inspiration and guidance from the sublime ideals enshrined in the Quran and the Khutba-Hajja-tul-Wadaa (the sermon on the Last Pilgrimage).

(Writer is a former SAPM/Minister for Law and Justice and a practicing Barrister: mail@zafarullahkhan.com)