صراط عشق صراط عشق
| by Leila Yazdani: Islam has laid down some universal fundamental rights for humanity as a whole. The right to life, security, freedom and justice are basic Islamic rights, and in Islam, man is born free and no one may enslave, humiliate, oppress or exploit him.
In this manner, Islam nullified any sort of racial discrimination and class difference and instilled the spirit of equality and brotherhood and announced its ‘declaration of equal rights of mankind’. In fact the most fundamental rights of man which now is being coveted and studied all over the world had been announced by Islam through its teachings by the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) more than fourteen centuries ago. Not only in his sermons but also in his behavior, the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) clearly showed that he was for the elimination of racial discrimination and class difference. The first and the foremost basic right is the right to live and respect human life.
The right to live
Life is a gift from Allah (SWT). It is guaranteed to all. Individuals, communities and states are responsible to protect this right against any transgression. No life may be destroyed without due legal process. Moreover, the first right enumerated for man by the holy Quran is the right to life. The Holy Quran lays down:
[المائدة32 ] – مِنْ أَجْلِ ذلِکَ کَتَبْنا عَلي بَني إِسْرائيلَ أَنَّهُ مَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسادٍ فِي اْلأَرْضِ فَکَأَنَّما قَتَلَ النّاسَ جَميعًا وَ مَنْ أَحْياها فَکَأَنَّما أَحْيَا النّاسَ جَميعًا وَ لَقَدْ جاءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُنا بِالْبَيِّناتِ ثُمَّ إِنَّ کَثيرًا مِنْهُمْ بَعْدَ ذلِکَ فِي اْلأَرْضِ لَمُسْرِفُونَ
Whosoever kills a human being without (any reason like) man slaughter, or corruption on earth, it is as though he had killed all mankind … (5:32).
The Prophet, may God’s blessings be on him, has declared homicide as the greatest sin only next to polytheism. The Tradition of the Prophet (PBUH) reads: “The greatest sins are to associate something with God and to kill human beings.” In all the verses of the Quran and the Traditions (Sunnah) of the Prophet the word ‘soul’ (Nafs) has been used in general terms without any distinction or particularization which might have lent itself to the elucidation that the persons belonging to one’s nation, the citizens of one’s country, the people of a particular race or religion should not be killed. The injunction applies to all human beings and the destruction of human life in itself has been prohibited.
The principle of respect for human life
From the Islam’s point of view, respect for the life of mankind is the most important thing which has been emphatically underlined, and Islam ensures that this principle must be carried out. This code ensures and protects the life of others in the community, protecting one’s own safety and health and forbids acts such as committing suicide, harming his/her body, refraining from observing the customs of the age of ignorance (such as burying the girls alive or kill children from fear of poverty and hunger). Immediately after the verse of the Holy Quran which has been mentioned concerning the right to life, God has said:
[المائدة2 ] ص106 – يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنُوا لا تُحِلُّوا شَعائِرَ اللّهِ وَ لاَ الشَّهْرَ الْحَرامَ وَ لاَ الْهَدْيَ وَ لاَ الْقَلائِدَ وَ لاَ آمِّينَ الْبَيْتَ الْحَرامَ يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلاً مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَ رِضْوانًا وَ إِذا حَلَلْتُمْ فَاصْطادُوا وَ لا يَجْرِمَنَّکُمْ شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ أَنْ صَدُّوکُمْ عَنِ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرامِ أَنْ تَعْتَدُوا وَ تَعاوَنُوا عَلَي الْبِرِّ وَ التَّقْوي وَ لا تَعاوَنُوا عَلَي اْلإِثْمِ وَ الْعُدْوانِ وَ اتَّقُوا اللّهَ إِنَّ اللّهَ شَديدُ الْعِقابِ
“And whoever saves a life it is as though he had saved the lives of all mankind” (5:32).
The right to justice
This is a very important and valuable right which Islam has given to man as a human being. The Holy Quran 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).
This makes the point clear that Muslims have to be just not only with ordinary people but even with their enemies. In other words, the justice to which Islam invites her followers is not limited only to the citizens of their own country, or the people of their own tribe, nation or race, or the Muslim community as a whole, but it is meant for all the human beings of the world. Muslims therefore, cannot be unjust to anyone.
The principle of equality and eliminating the relative superiority
Islam not only recognizes absolute equality between men irrespective of any distinction of colour, race or nationality, but also makes it an important and significant principle, a reality. The Almighty God has laid down in the Holy Quran:
“O mankind, we have created you from a male and female.”
In other words all human beings are brothers to one another. They all are the descendants from one father and one mother.
[الحجرات13 ] – يا أَيُّهَا النّاسُ إِنّا خَلَقْناکُمْ مِنْ ذَکَرٍ وَ أُنْثي وَ جَعَلْناکُمْ شُعُوبًا وَ قَبائِلَ لِتَعارَفُوا إِنَّ أَکْرَمَکُمْ عِنْدَ اللّهِ أَتْقاکُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ عَليمٌ خَبيرٌ“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 the people belonging to another race or tribe and cooperate with one another. This division of the human race is neither meant for one nation to take pride in its superiority over others nor is it meant for one nation to treat another with contempt or disgrace, or regard them as a mean and degraded race and usurp their rights.
In other words the superiority of one man over another is only on the basis of God-consciousness, purity of character and high morals, and not on the basis of colour, race, language or nationality. In this manner, Islam established equality for the entire human race and struck at the very root of all distinctions based on colour, race, language or nationality. Therefore no man should be discriminated against on the ground of the colour of his skin, his place of birth, the race or the nation in which he was born.
The Prophet (PBUH) rejected the theory that some people were descended from God’s higher attributes and some were from God’s inferior attributes and expressly declared that all the people regardless of their race and colour have been born of single parents: “O’ people! Beware of those who claim to have descended from God and claim that ancestors are from God.”
From the point of view of Islam the difference of people related to race, colour and tongue, wealth and profession and political and religious ideas which are the result of different factors in their environment and nature in no way must allow for creating a system of racial discrimination and class difference. If the Western world and the Western civilization have paid attention to this matter in the recent centuries, Islam has dealt with it from all the various aspects many centuries back. The idea of human rights as a fundamental principle can be seen to underlie throughout Islamic teachings.
Sources:
Human Rights in Islam, Seyyed Abul A’la Mawdudi
Human Rights, Muhammad Ali Tashkiri
Sources Of Human Rights In Islam, Ayatullah Abdullah Javadi Amuli
Foundations of Human Rights in Islam, Abbass Khajeh Piri
Human Rights in Islam, Ayatollah al-Uzma Seyyed Ali Hussaini Khamenei
