Human Rights and Guiding Principles of an Islamic State

Human Rights

&

Guiding Principles of an Islamic State

Man is a social animal who is unique in Allah’s realm of creation by virtue of having been given the freedom to exercise his own free will. However, history is witness to the fact that this free will has often been misused by man to usurp the rights of other men causing untold disorder and misery. There thus arose a need to specify what rights man has and what is the scope of his freedom.

The Indian Constitution, in the year 1950, laid down certain Fundamental Rights for every citizen of India. A year earlier, shocked by the enormous number of casualties in World War II, the Geneva Convention enlisted the rights of Prisoners of War and rules of Warfare to be followed by all signatory countries. Going still back, we have the French Revolution from 1789-1799 and the resultant ‘Declaration of Rights of Man’ which speaks of Sovereignty of Man, Liberty, Equality, Right to Vote, Trial by Jury etc. We may also add the Magna Carta of 1215 here which essentially was a truce between the British Emperor and his Barons but is also widely counted as a Human Rights Declaration.

And long before these self-proclaimed ‘noble declarations’ were written down or even thought of, Islam gave to man all the Fundamental, Civil and Moral Rights he ought to be entitled to, in order to lead a dignified and peaceful life on earth. The Constitution of the Islamic State is derived from the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of His messenger, Prophet Muhammad (May peace and blessings of Allah be to him). Its President is the Caliph (Allah’s vicegerent on earth) who is entrusted with the responsibility of executing Allah’s commands in the State after due consultation with the shoora (advisory council). This concept is amply reflected and elucidated in the first speech that the first Caliph, Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (May Allah be pleased with him) delivered upon being nominated head of the Islamic State. He said, “O People! I have been chosen to lead you, despite not being the best among you. If I do well, help me; and if I do wrong, correct me. Truth is a trust and lying is a breach of trust. The weak among you are strong in my sight, until I have ensured that they have their rights. The strong among you are weak in my sight, until I have ensured right and justice. Obey me as long as I obey Allah and His messenger. If I disobey them, I forfeit every claim to your obedience.”

Let us now discuss some of the rights an Islamic state offers, and indeed guarantees, all people under its jurisdiction. For ease of understanding, allow me to classify them as under:

A.   Justice.

Irrespective of one’s social, economical or political position, every person is treated equally before the law and every person is entitled to seek justice form the court of law. The judges are instructed to deliver justice without favour or prejudice as mentioned in Surah anNisa ayat 135 and Surah alMaidah ayat 8. So we have the Messenger of Allah (May peace and blessings of Allah be to him) telling a gathering that even the hands of his beloved daughter Fatima (May Allah be pleased with her) would be severed if she were to commit a theft and we have Caliph Hazrat Ali (May Allah be pleased with him), who had to appear before a judge in the capacity of an ordinary petitioner to claim back his stolen armour from an ordinary citizen who happened to be a Jew!

Some basic rights under this heading are:

1.     The Right to Life.

Following the narration of Abel’s murder by his brother Cain in Surah alMaidah, the Qur’an avers that the murder of one innocent person is equivalent to the murder of the entire humanity and saving the life of one person is equivalent to saving the life of all mankind. Life of every person has been declared sacred and the Islamic state can reward capital punishment only under two circumstances- as a punishment for murder or for spreading fasaad (corruption) in the land. (Surah AlMaidah ayat 32)

2.     The Right to Appeal and the right to Habeas Corpus.

3.     Protection from Prosecution for someone else’s crime.

Surah alAn’am ayat 164 says, ‘And every soul earns not (blame) except against itself, and no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another….’ In Surah alBaqarah ayat 178 it is clearly said that a free man would be punished for his sins, a slave for his and a woman for her alone.

4.     The right to be treated as innocent, unless proven guilty.

Caliph Hazrat Umar’s (May Allah be pleased with him) golden statement would always be remembered in the history of jurisprudence that ‘A 100 criminals may be erroneously acquitted, but not even a single innocent should be convicted.’ In the above example of Hazrat Ali, the judge ruled in favour of the Jew because the Caliph could not prove his case with sufficient evidence. Hazrat Ali accepted the verdict and the Jew, overwhelmed with what he had just seen, returned the armour and accepted Islam.

5.     Right to refrain from Sin/Crime.

The Prophet had proclaimed that there is no obedience to the created if it implies disobedience to the Creator. This gives each person the right to deny any order which involves a sin or a crime and the state would support it in this decision of his.

B.    Equality.

The thirteenth ayat of Surah AlHujurat and the Final Address of the Prophet on the plains of Arafat are equivocal in laying down the principle that all men are equal before their Lord and distinction between them would be based only on his/her level of piety.

Thus, in an Islamic State, there is no bias on the basis of nationality, colour, race, creed, profession or gender. Everyone is entitled to equal opportunity and has the liberty to choose one’s profession, regardless of the profession of his father.

Women’s rights

At a time when the European clergy was immersed in a debate on whether a woman even has a soul or not, Islam had already given equal rights to women and firm steps have been taken towards its realization. For example:

·        Men have been asked to live with women in kindness. (Surah anNisa ayat 19 and Surah alBaqarah ayat 231)

·        They have been given the right to initiate divorce in the form of khula.

·        They have been given a fixed share in the inheritance of their husbands, parents, children and siblings. (Surah anNisa)

·        They have the right to accept or deny a matrimonial proposal.

·        They are entitled to receive a gracious meher upon being married. (Surah anNisa ayat 4)

·        Right to remarry upon being divorced or widowed.

·        They are not to be compelled to share their earnings with anyone.

Status of Slaves

The status of slaves was raised to such a level that there was hardly difference between the level of a slave and his master. Slavery, as such, no longer remained a personification of oppression and subjugation.

·        39000 slaves were freed during the Khilafat-e-Rashida.

·        Stipend of slaves became equal to the stipend of their masters.

·        Only prisoners of war were made slaves.

·        Slaves went on to become Emperors in India (Qutubuddin Aibak, Altamash, Gayasuddin Balban) and Egypt (Mamlook Sultanate)

Political equality is also a gem of Islam. The head of the state is neither chosen on the basis of family hierarchy nor from any elite priestly class. The general rule is that the best person available should be democratically chosen the Caliph by common consensus. Caliph Hazrat Umar used to recollect his earlier days and remark that ‘There was a time when I could not even tend camels properly and today Allah has elevated me to such a high position that there is no one in authority between me and my Lord.’

C.    Secularism.

Secularism can be vaguely defined as Equal Treatment of All Religions by the State. This can mean different things to different countries. In the USA, there is separation of Religion and State and all men come under the ambit of a common civil law. In France, any overt expression of religious symbols is banned by law, whereas in Communist countries, religion itself is banned altogether. In India, all religions are equally respected by the state and the individuals are allowed to follow their personal religious laws.

Although based on religious ideology, the Islamic state is secular in the sense that it does not interfere with the personal religious choice of any individual.

1.     Right to practice one’s faith

Every individual is free to follow his/her religion under the Qur’anic injunctions of ‘There shall be no compulsion in religion’ and ‘To you your religion, and to me mine’ (Surah alBaqarah ayat 256 and Surah alKafiroon ayat 6 respectively)

2.     Right to Protection from religious insult

It is explicitly mentioned in Surah AlAn’am ayat 108 that, ‘And do not insult those they invoke other than Allah….’ This injunction provides the non-Muslims complete protection against religious insult.

3.     Rights of Zimmis

The non-Muslim residents of an Islamic state are entitled to the same civil rights and liberties as their Muslim countrymen. They are only required to pay a small tax called jizya in lieu of which they are exempted from military duty and the state takes the ‘zimma/zimmedari’ or responsibility of their welfare. This tax is not an ‘additional’ tax because the Islamic state is essentially a welfare state and no other taxes are levied. This jizya is often far less than the zakat and ushra paid by the Muslims and even that is forgiven if the zimmi is unable to afford it!

D.   Freedom of Speech and Expression

Contrary to the Western concept of ‘Freedom to Say Anything about Anyone’, the Islamic concept of Freedom of Speech and Expression is far more responsible and productive. It entails:

1.     The Freedom to Speak up for the right and against evil

The famous Qur’anic injunctions of Amr bil ma’aruf and nahi anil munkar are self explanatory. Islam gives each person the right, or should I say encourages every person to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. (Surah AleImran ayaat 104 and 110)

2.     Right to protest against injustice

The Prophet has instructed us that if we happen to witness some wrongdoing, we should stop it with our hands, or with our speech or at least detest it in our hearts, this being the lowest level of faith.

3.     Right to organize and gather, albeit unarmed

4.     Protection from vilification and defamation

Freedom of Speech and Expression is not the freedom to defame and libel. It should not be exercised at the expense of someone’s honour. Surah AlHujurat ayaat 11 and 12 strictly prohibit ridiculing someone, insulting, calling nicknames, unwarranted suspicion, spying and backbiting. Slandering chaste women has been emphatically prohibited in the 23^rd ayat of Surah AnNoor.

5.     Right to hold divergent views/ Tolerance

Caliph Hazrat Ali had allowed his enemies, the Khawarij to propagate their views publicly despite being opposed to them. The only condition was that they should not forcefully compel anyone to subscribe to their views. We know that it was this very group that was responsible for his assassination a few months later. This tolerance showed by Hazrat Ali is a guiding light for all of us in all such cases till the end of time. May Allah be pleased with him.

E.     Principles of War

In Islam, wars are not fought to annex kingdoms or to plunder wealth, but to establish justice. The Geneva Convention is merely a piece of paper which is hardly enforced. In sharp contrast, Islamic war principles were scrupulously adhered to during the reign of the rightly guided Caliphs.

·        Non-combatants including women, children, the elderly, the sick and the injured were not to be harmed.

·        Those who were engaged in worship in their churches and synagogues or temples were not to be harmed.

·        Those inclined towards peace were not to be harmed.

·        Prisoners of War were to be treated with dignity. Surah AdDahr ayat 8 even speaks of the virtues of feeding the captives from one’s own food!

·        Lady prisoners of war were distributed among the soldiers by the state authority for their welfare and upkeep and were not considered to be a part of war booty.

·        Trees, fields and animals were accorded protection except for food.

The general amnesty declared by Prophet Muhammad (May peace and blessings of Allah be to him) after the fall of Makkah in the year 8 AH is unparalleled in human history and even his staunchest enemies have wholeheartedly appreciated this magnanimous gesture of his.

F.     General Civil Rights

·        The Islamic State is essentially a Welfare State and it assumes the responsibility of providing each resident with food, clothing and medicines. So principled was this system that once when the city of Madinah was gripped with famine, Caliph Hazrat Umar had suspended the punishment for theft because the state could no longer provide food to the citizens and consequentially, if anyone was compelled to steal out of hunger, he was forgiven!

·        The state would support a good cause and not support a bad cause.

·        The state is also required to arrange for the education of all children.

·        The general well being of the citizens is looked into. Ban on alcohol and gambling and disaster management come under the ambit of the state.

G.   Moral Rights

The Islamic state is responsible for the moral health of the society. Hence, rights of Parents, Children, Siblings, Spouse, Relatives, Fellow travelers, Neighbours and mutual rights of fellow citizens have also been constituted in the light of numerous injunctions mentioned in the Qur’an and Hadith and the state encourages their implementation.

H.  Rights of Other forms of Creation

1.     Animal rights

Even animals have their rights in an Islamic State. It is stated in a Hadees that an otherwise pious lady was sentenced to hell just because she kept her cat locked up without giving her food and water and a fornicator woman was presented with paradise only because she offered water to a thirsty dog. Beasts of burden are not to be overburdened. Fighting animals like pigeons for fun is prohibited.

            2. Environmental laws

Wasting natural resources like water is strictly prohibited. As mentioned above, cutting down trees and spoiling fields is prohibited even in a state of war. Defecating in a running stream or under shaded trees is also prohibited.

Conclusion:

All these rights are guaranteed to each and every human soul residing under the jurisdiction of an Islamic state, whether he is a Muslim or a non-Muslim and whether he is a friend or a foe. We need to realize that these rights were declared and enforced by the erstwhile Islamic state 1400 years back when the very concept of Human Rights was elusive. Even today, while a lot has been written about Human Rights in various State Constitutions around the world, they are hardly heeded to. In sharp contrast, the era of the rightly guided Caliphs was a personification and epitome of Justice, Equality, Secularism, Democracy, Freedom and Fraternity in the truest sense of the terms and these are the very Guiding Principles which are required to be followed by every Islamic State in any part of the world.

-Dr. Parvez Mandviwala