Human rights in an Islamic state
I bear witness that there is no deity worthy to be worshipped but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.
Islam, as represented in the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad
sallallaahu �alayhi wa sallam , laid down human rights centuries before they
were known to the modern world. The following are some of these rights:
1. The security of Life and Property:
In the address which the Prophet sallallaahu �alayhi wa sallam delivered on
the occasion of the Farewell Hajj, he said: �Your lives and properties are
forbidden to one another till you meet your Lord on the Day of
Resurrection.� The Prophet sallallaahu �alayhi wa sallam has also said
about the Thimmis (the non-Muslim citizens of the Muslim state): �One who
kills a man under covenant (i.e., Thimmi) will not even smell the fragrance
of Paradise.�
2. The Protection of Honour:
The Holy Quran lays down this right, stating: �O you who have believed! Let
not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than
them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than
them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by
[offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the name [i.e. mention] of disobedience
after [one�s] faith. And whoever does not repent - then it is those who are
the wrongdoers. O you who have believed! Avoid much [negative] assumption.
Indeed, some assumption is sin. And do not spy or backbite each other. Would
one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead? You would detest
it. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is Accepting of repentance and Merciful.�
[Quran: 49:11-12]
3. Sanctity and Security of Private Life:
The Quran has laid down the injunction stating: ��And do not spy or backbite
each other�� [Quran: 49:12] �O you who have believed! Do not enter houses
other than your own houses until you ascertain welcome and greet their
inhabitants�� [Quran: 24:27]
4. The Security of Personal Freedom:
Islam has laid down the principle that no citizen can be imprisoned unless
his guilt has been proven in an open court. To arrest a man only on the
basis of suspicion and to throw him into a prison without proper court
proceedings and without providing him a reasonable opportunity to produce
his defence is not permissible in Islam.
5. The Right to Protest against Tyranny:
Amongst the rights that Islam has conferred on human beings is the right to
protest against a government's tyranny. Referring to it Allaah, He says:
�Allaah does not like the public mention of evil except by one who has been
wronged...� [Quran: 4:148]
In Islam, all power and authority belongs to Allaah Alone; man is only
delegated a part of that power which becomes a trust. Everyone who becomes
the recipient of such a power has to be accountable before his people, for
whose sake he will be called upon to use these powers. This was acknowledged
by Abu Bakr who said in his very first address: �Cooperate with me when I
am right but correct me when I commit error. Obey me so long as I follow the
commandments of Allaah and His Prophet sallallaahu �alayhi wa sallam, but
turn away from me when I deviate.�
6. Freedom of Expression:
Islam gives the right of freedom of thought and expression to all citizens
of the Islamic state on the condition that it should be used for the
propagation of virtue and truth, and not for spreading evil and wickedness.
The Islamic concept of freedom of expression is much superior to the one
prevalent in the West. Under no circumstances would Islam allow the
propagation of evil and wickedness. It also does not give anybody the right
to use abusive or offensive language in the name of criticism. It was the
practice of the Muslims to enquire from the noble Prophet sallallaahu
�alayhi wa sallam whether a certain matter or a divine injunction had been
revealed to him. If he said that he had received no divine injunction, the
Muslims freely expressed their opinion on the matter.
7. Freedom of Association:
Islam has also given people the right to freedom of association and
formation of parties or organisations. This right is also subject to certain
general rules.
8. Freedom of Conscience and Conviction:
Islam has laid down the injunction; Allaah says: �There shall be no
compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion...� [Quran: 2:256] On the
contrary, totalitarian societies absolutely deprive the individuals of their
freedom. Indeed this undue exaltation of the State authority postulates a
sort of slave-like servitude on the part of man. At one time slavery meant
total control of man over man - now that type of slavery has been legally
abolished, but in its place totalitarian societies impose a similar sort of
control over individuals.
9. Protection of Religious Sentiments:
Along with the freedoms of conviction and conscience, Islam has given the
right to the individual that his religious sentiments will be given due
respect, and nothing will be said or done which may encroach upon his right.
10. Protection from Arbitrary Imprisonment:
Islam also recognises the right of the individual that he will not be
arrested or imprisoned for the offences of others. The Quran has laid down
this principle clearly as in the saying of Allaah: ��And no bearer of
burdens will bear the burden of another...� [Quran: 6:164]
11. The Right to Basic Necessities of Life:
Islam recognised the right of the needy people, that help and assistance be
provided to them. Allaah says: �And in their wealth there is acknowledged
right for the needy and the destitute.� [Quran: 70:24-25]
12. Equality Before Law:
Islam gives its citizens the right to absolute and complete equality in the
eyes of the law.
13. Rulers are not Above the Law:
A woman belonging to a noble family was arrested in connection with theft.
The case was brought to the Prophet sallallaahu �alayhi wa sallam and it was
recommended that she might be spared the punishment for theft. The Prophet
sallallaahu �alayhi wa sallam replied: �The nations that lived before you
were destroyed by Allaah because they punished the common man for his
offences and let their dignitaries go unpunished for their crimes; I swear
by Him Who holds my life in His hand that even if Faatimah, the daughter of
Muhammad, had committed this crime, I would have amputated her hand.�
14. The Right to Participate in Affairs of the State:
Allaah says: ��And their affair is [conducted] through consultation among
themselves�� [Quran: 42:38] The chapter or the legislative assembly has no
other meaning, except that the executive head of the government and the
members of the assembly should be elected by free and independent choice of
the people.
Lastly, it is to be made clear that Islam tries to achieve the
above-mentioned human rights and many others, not only by providing certain
legal safeguards, but also by inviting humankind to transcend the lower
level of animal-like existence to be able to go beyond the ties fostered by
the kinship of blood, racial superiority, linguistic arrogance and economic
privileges. It invites humankind to move on to a plane of existence where,
because of his inner excellence, man can realise the ideal of the universal
brotherhood.
http://www.islamweb.net/ver2/archive/article.php?lang=E&id=117372