Since God is the absolute and
the sole master of men and the universe, He is the sovereign Lord, the Sustainer
and Nourisher, the Merciful, Whose mercy enshrines all beings; and since He has
given each man human dignity and honor, and breathed into him of His own spirit,
it follows that, united in Him and through Him, and apart from their other human
attributes, men are substantially the same and no tangible and actual
distinction can be made among them, on account of their accidental differences
such as nationality, color or race. Every human being is thereby related to all
others and all become one community of brotherhood in their honorable and
pleasant servitude to the most compassionate Lord of the Universe. In such a
heavenly atmosphere the Islamic confession of the oneness of God stands dominant
and central, and necessarily entails the concept of the oneness of humanity and
the brotherhood of mankind.
Although an Islamic state may be set up in any part of the earth, Islam does not
seek to restrict human rights or privileges to the geographical limits of its
own state. Islam has laid down some universal fundamental rights for humanity as
a whole, which are to be observed and respected under all circumstances whether
such a person is resident within the territory of the Islamic state or outside
it, whether he is at peace or at war. The Quran very clearly states:
"O believers, be you securers of justice, witness for God. Let not detestation
for a people move you not to be equitable; be equitable - that is nearer to
God-fearing." (5:8)
Human blood is sacred in any case and cannot be spilled without justification.
And if anyone violates this sanctity of human blood by killing a soul without
justification, the Quran equates it to the killing of entire mankind.
"...Whoso slays a soul not to retaliate for a soul slain, nor for corruption
done in the land, should be as if he had slain mankind altogether." (5:32)
It is not permissible to oppress women, children, old people, the sick or the
wounded. Women's honor and chastity are to be respected under all circumstances.
The hungry person must be fed, the naked clothed and the wounded or diseased
treated medically irrespective of whether they belong to the Islamic community
or are from among its enemies.
When we speak of human rights in Islam we really mean that these rights have
been granted by God; they have not been granted by any king or by any
legislative assembly. The rights granted by the kings or the legislative
assemblies, can also be withdrawn in the same manner in which they are
conferred. The same is the case with the rights accepted and recognized by the
dictators. They can confer them when they please and withdraw them when they
wish; and they can openly violate them when they like. But since in Islam human
rights have been conferred by God, no legislative assembly in the world or any
government on earth has the right or authority to make any amendment or change
in the rights conferred by God. No one has the right to abrogate them or
withdraw them. Nor are they basic human rights which are conferred on paper for
the sake of show and exhibition and denied in actual life when the show is over.
Nor are they like philosophical concepts which have no sanctions behind them.
The charter and the proclamations and the resolutions of the United Nations
cannot be compared with the rights sanctioned by God; because the former are not
applicable on anybody while the latter are applicable on every believer. They
are a part and parcel of the Islamic Faith. Every Muslim or administrator who
claims himself to be Muslim, will have to accept, recognize and enforce them. If
they fail to enforce them, and start denying the rights that have been
guaranteed by God or make amendments and changes in them, or practically violate
them while paying lip service to them, the verdict of the Holy Quran for such
government is clear and unequivocal:
"Those who do not judge by what God has sent down are the disbelievers." (5:44)