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Hamady
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 Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2008 3:40 am Post subject: Basic Human Rights |
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http://www.jamaat.org/islam/HumanRightsBasic.html
We have already seen that every man, whether he belongs to this
country or that, whether he is a believer or unbeliever, whether he
lives in a forest or in a desert, has certain basic human rights
simply because he is a human being. We have seen, too, that it is the
duty of every Muslim to recognize these rights. They are:
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 thought 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, 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 Allah 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 to the white race.
For example, human beings were hunted down like animals in Australia
and the land was cleared of the aborigines for the white man.
Similarly, the aboriginal population of America was systematically
destroyed and the Red Indians who somehow survived this genocide were
confined to reservations. In Africa human beings were also hunted down
like wild animals. Contrary to this partial concept of human rights,
Islam recognizes such rights for all human beings.
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, Allah says:
"And whoever saves a life it is as though he had saved the lives of
all mankind." (5:32)
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 f
starvation, it is your duty for 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.
3. Respect For The Chastity Of Women
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, whether she is our co-religionist or belongs to some other
religion or has no religion at all. A Muslim may not physically abuse
her under any circumstances. All promiscuous relationships are
forbidden to him, irrespective of the status or position of the woman
or of whether she is a willing partner to the act.
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. The armies of the Western
powers need the daughters of their own nations to satisfy their carnal
appetites even in their own countries, and if they happen to occupy
another county, the fate of its womenfolk can better be imagined than
described.
But the history of the Muslim, apart from individual lapses, has been
free from this crime against womanhood. It has never happened that
after the conquest of a foreign country the Muslim army has gone about
raping the women of the conquered people, or, in their own country,
the government has arranged to provide prostitutes for them.*
4. The Right To A Basic Standard Of Life
Speaking about economic rights, the Holy Qur’an enjoins its followers:
"And in their wealth there is acknowledge 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 Muslim 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
Judgment . 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 Europeans take great pride in claiming that
they abolished slavery from the world, though they had the decency to
do so only in the middle of the last century. Before this, the Western
powers had been raiding Africa on a very large scale, capturing free
men, putting them in bondage and transporting them to their new
colonies. The treatment which they meted out to these unfortunate
people was worse than that given to animals. Accounts in Western books
themselves bear testimony to this fact.
The Slave Trade Of Western Nations
After the occupation of America and the West Indies, traffic in slave
trade continued for three hundred and fifty years. The African ports
where the Africans were brought from the interior and put on ships
came to be known as the Slave Coast. In the course of only one century
(from 1680 to 1786) the total number of free people who were captured
and enslaved for the British Colonies amounts, according to the
estimate of British authors, to 20 million. We are told that in the
year 1790, 75,000 human beings were captured and sent for slave labour
in the colonies. The ships which were used for transporting the slaves
were small and dirty. These unfortunate Africans were thrust into the
holds like cattle and many of them were chained, one on top of the
other, to wooden shelves on which they could hardly move because they
were only eighteen inches apart. They were not given proper food, and
if they fell ill or were injured, no attempt was made to provide them
with medical treatment.
Western writers themselves state that at least 20 per cent of the
total number of people who were captured for slavery and forced labour
perished while being transported from Africa to America. It has also
been estimated that the total number of people who were captured for
slavery by the various European nations during the heyday of the slave
trade was at least one hundred million. This is the record of the
people who denounce Muslims for recognizing the institution of
slavery. It is as if a criminal is pointing the finger of blame at an
innocent man.
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 }'isha was 67; Abbasliberated 70; }Abd Allahbin }Umar liberated one
thousand; and }Abd al-Rahmnpurchased 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 they 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 being 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
embraced Islam and their descendants produced great scholars, imams,
jurists, commentators, statesmen and generals. So much so that later
they became rulers of the Muslim world.
Today, prisoners of war throughout the world are exchanged on the
cessation of hostilities. This is a practice which has been learnt
from Islam. But treating well prisoners who cannot, for one reason or
another, be exchanged, has not been learnt. Can anyone tell us, for
example, the fate of the thousands of prisoners of war captured by
Russia from the defeated armies of Germany and Japan in the Second
World War? No one knows how many thousands of them are still alive and
how many thousands of them perished due to the hardships of the
Russian concentration and labour camps. It is doubtful if, even in the
times of the ancient Pharaohs of Egypt, such harsh labour was exacted
from the slaves who built the pyramids as was exacted from the
prisoners of war in Russia who developed Siberia and other backward
areas of the country.
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: . Stressing this point the
Qur’an again says: "You who believe stand steadfast before Allah 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 following 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 Allah 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 Allah are
the most heedful of you" (49:13). That is, the superiority of one man
over another is only on the basis of Allah-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, Allah 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.
Malcolm X, the leader of African Negroes in America, once launched a
bitter struggle against the white people of America in order to win
civil rights for his black compatriots. But when he went to perform
the pilgrimage, he saw how the Muslims of Asia, Africa, Europe and
America were all wearing the same dress and were all hurrying towards
the Ka'ba ¾ and were offering prayers standing in the same row. He
realized that this was the solution to the problem of colour and race,
and not what he had been trying to seek or achieve in America. Today,
a number of non-Muslim thinkers openly admit that no other religion or
way of life has solved this problem with the same degree of success as
Islam.
8. The Right To Co-operate And Not To Co-operate
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 practices 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
supports, or at least his well-wishers.
Conclusion
This is a brief sketch of those rights which 1400 years ago Islam gave
to man, to those who were at war with each other and to the citizens
of its state. It refreshes and strengthens our faith in Islam when we
realize that even in this modern age, which makes such loud claims of
progress and enlightenment, the world has not been able to produce
more just and equitable laws than those given 1400 years ago. On the
other hand, it is saddening to realize that Muslims nonetheless often
look for guidance to the West. Even more painful is the realization
that, throughout the world, rulers who claim to be Muslims have made
disobedience to their Allah and the Prophet the basis and foundation
of their government. May Allah have mercy on them and give them true
guidance. |
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John Fraser
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2008 7:57 am Post subject: Re: Basic Human Rights |
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Good morning Hamady;
"Hamady" <ahmd.mansy@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:56f72e4f-3f12-4283-a366-5a7d93b6a269@m74g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
http://www.jamaat.org/islam/HumanRightsBasic.html
We have already seen that every man, whether he belongs to this
country or that, whether he is a believer or unbeliever, whether he
lives in a forest or in a desert, has certain basic human rights
simply because he is a human being. We have seen, too, that it is the
duty of every Muslim to recognize these rights. They are:
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 thought 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, 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 Allah 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 to the white race.
For example, human beings were hunted down like animals in Australia
and the land was cleared of the aborigines for the white man.
Similarly, the aboriginal population of America was systematically
destroyed and the Red Indians who somehow survived this genocide were
confined to reservations. In Africa human beings were also hunted down
like wild animals. Contrary to this partial concept of human rights,
Islam recognizes such rights for all human beings.
The above may be true to those who value such a philosophy, but there
are always exceptions to the rule. One exception is secular rulers.
Another is those who give an outward appearance but inside are ravening
wolves.
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, Allah says:
"And whoever saves a life it is as though he had saved the lives of
all mankind." (5:32)
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 f
starvation, it is your duty for 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.
3. Respect For The Chastity Of Women
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, whether she is our co-religionist or belongs to some other
religion or has no religion at all. A Muslim may not physically abuse
her under any circumstances. All promiscuous relationships are
forbidden to him, irrespective of the status or position of the woman
or of whether she is a willing partner to the act.
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. The armies of the Western
powers need the daughters of their own nations to satisfy their carnal
appetites even in their own countries, and if they happen to occupy
another county, the fate of its womenfolk can better be imagined than
described.
But the history of the Muslim, apart from individual lapses, has been
free from this crime against womanhood. It has never happened that
after the conquest of a foreign country the Muslim army has gone about
raping the women of the conquered people, or, in their own country,
the government has arranged to provide prostitutes for them.*
Again, the exceptions to the above adultery are slavery and polgamy. I
say this because there is a certain amount of disagreement over how many
wives Muhammad had.
4. The Right To A Basic Standard Of Life
Speaking about economic rights, the Holy Qur’an enjoins its followers:
"And in their wealth there is acknowledge 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 Muslim 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
Judgment . 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 Europeans take great pride in claiming that
they abolished slavery from the world, though they had the decency to
do so only in the middle of the last century. Before this, the Western
powers had been raiding Africa on a very large scale, capturing free
men, putting them in bondage and transporting them to their new
colonies. The treatment which they meted out to these unfortunate
people was worse than that given to animals. Accounts in Western books
themselves bear testimony to this fact.
The Slave Trade Of Western Nations
After the occupation of America and the West Indies, traffic in slave
trade continued for three hundred and fifty years. The African ports
where the Africans were brought from the interior and put on ships
came to be known as the Slave Coast. In the course of only one century
(from 1680 to 1786) the total number of free people who were captured
and enslaved for the British Colonies amounts, according to the
estimate of British authors, to 20 million. We are told that in the
year 1790, 75,000 human beings were captured and sent for slave labour
in the colonies. The ships which were used for transporting the slaves
were small and dirty. These unfortunate Africans were thrust into the
holds like cattle and many of them were chained, one on top of the
other, to wooden shelves on which they could hardly move because they
were only eighteen inches apart. They were not given proper food, and
if they fell ill or were injured, no attempt was made to provide them
with medical treatment.
Western writers themselves state that at least 20 per cent of the
total number of people who were captured for slavery and forced labour
perished while being transported from Africa to America. It has also
been estimated that the total number of people who were captured for
slavery by the various European nations during the heyday of the slave
trade was at least one hundred million. This is the record of the
people who denounce Muslims for recognizing the institution of
slavery. It is as if a criminal is pointing the finger of blame at an
innocent man.
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 }'isha was 67; Abbasliberated 70; }Abd Allahbin }Umar liberated one
thousand; and }Abd al-Rahmnpurchased 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 they 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 being 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
embraced Islam and their descendants produced great scholars, imams,
jurists, commentators, statesmen and generals. So much so that later
they became rulers of the Muslim world.
Today, prisoners of war throughout the world are exchanged on the
cessation of hostilities. This is a practice which has been learnt
from Islam. But treating well prisoners who cannot, for one reason or
another, be exchanged, has not been learnt. Can anyone tell us, for
example, the fate of the thousands of prisoners of war captured by
Russia from the defeated armies of Germany and Japan in the Second
World War? No one knows how many thousands of them are still alive and
how many thousands of them perished due to the hardships of the
Russian concentration and labour camps. It is doubtful if, even in the
times of the ancient Pharaohs of Egypt, such harsh labour was exacted
from the slaves who built the pyramids as was exacted from the
prisoners of war in Russia who developed Siberia and other backward
areas of the country.
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:. Stressing this point the
Qur’an again says: "You who believe stand steadfast before Allah 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 following 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 Allah 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 Allah are
the most heedful of you" (49:13). That is, the superiority of one man
over another is only on the basis of Allah-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, Allah 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.
Malcolm X, the leader of African Negroes in America, once launched a
bitter struggle against the white people of America in order to win
civil rights for his black compatriots. But when he went to perform
the pilgrimage, he saw how the Muslims of Asia, Africa, Europe and
America were all wearing the same dress and were all hurrying towards
the Ka'ba ¾ and were offering prayers standing in the same row. He
realized that this was the solution to the problem of colour and race,
and not what he had been trying to seek or achieve in America. Today,
a number of non-Muslim thinkers openly admit that no other religion or
way of life has solved this problem with the same degree of success as
Islam.
8. The Right To Co-operate And Not To Co-operate
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 practices 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
supports, or at least his well-wishers.
Conclusion
This is a brief sketch of those rights which 1400 years ago Islam gave
to man, to those who were at war with each other and to the citizens
of its state. It refreshes and strengthens our faith in Islam when we
realize that even in this modern age, which makes such loud claims of
progress and enlightenment, the world has not been able to produce
more just and equitable laws than those given 1400 years ago. On the
other hand, it is saddening to realize that Muslims nonetheless often
look for guidance to the West. Even more painful is the realization
that, throughout the world, rulers who claim to be Muslims have made
disobedience to their Allah and the Prophet the basis and foundation
of their government. May Allah have mercy on them and give them true
guidance.
Again, it depends on who is in power and their attitude. Every religion
and nation has both good and bad examples. There use to be a video clip on
You Tube of an Arab fornicating with a donkey while his friend held it in
place.
Cheers,
John |
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