The doctrine that all persons,
regardless of wealth, social status, or the political power wielded by them, are
to be treated the same before the law. Since God is the absolute and the sole
master the universe, and since He has given each human being dignity and honor,
and breathed into him of His own spirit, it follows that human beings are
essentially the same. In fact, the only differences between them are such
artificial ones as nationality, color, or race. Islam gives its citizens the
right to absolute and complete equality in the eyes of the law.
According to the Islamic concept of equality, absolutely no one is above the
law, for all men are equal. This point was made in a very dramatic fashion by
the Prophet himself. One day, a woman belonging to a high and noble family was
arrested in connection with a theft. The case was brought to the Prophet with
the recommendation that she be spared the mandated punishment for theft
(amputation of the hand). The Prophet replied: "The nations that lived before
you were destroyed by God because they punished the common man for their
offenses and let their dignitaries go unpunished for their crimes. I swear by
Him who holds my life in His hand that even if Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad,
had committed this crime, I would have amputated her hand.".
It is also an essential ingredient of justice and equality that all people must
enjoy equal rights without discrimination on any count in all fields and
departments of life. In the enjoyment of social, political and religious rights,
there must not be any discrimination between ruler and ruled, employer and
employee, rich and poor and man and woman: all should enjoy these rights freely,
equally and without any check or restriction. Denial of any of these rights to
any member would, in fact, be a denial of the doctrine of equality.”
“The second Caliph Hazrat Umer Farooq (RA) had a shirt (chogha) on his body. He
was asked to explain regarding the cloth of that shirt because the cloth of
shirt according to his share — was much less than the body of Caliph. The Caliph
replied that he had used the share of his son for making his own shirt,”
The equality which obtains in Islamic law courts should be taken as a world
model. Haroun-al-Rasheed, the Abbasid Caliph, had to testify on oath in a court
before a judge, and his servant Fazl bin Rabee' witnessed in his favour. The
judge refused to accept Fazl's testimony. The Caliph demanded to know why. The
judge replied: "Fazl himself says he is your servant. If he is telling the
truth, the Islamic court does not accept a servant's testimony to the advantage
of his master. If he was lying, his testimony is void on that account."
The next Abbasid Caliph, Mansour, hired numbers of camels to make the Hajj. On
his return he made a series of excuses as pretexts for not repaying the hire.
The camel drivers took the Caliph into the courts. The judge summoned him and
sat him alongside the camel drivers. When he had heard the evidence he judged
against the Caliph, who was compelled to pay the camel drivers what he owed them
before he was allowed to leave the court.
It added, “Besides’ all human beings are servants (ibid) of ALLAH and therefore
equal. They are all created by ALLAH and all are His servants alone. As such
they are all equal and enjoy equal rights in all areas of life. In His service
and obedience, all humans are equal and stand on the same level without any
discrimination, all as one race and one people before Him, no one claiming any
special privileges and honours.”
The Quran and the Sunnah, which are the primary sources of Islamic law, put
great emphasis on equality. Consequently, in Islamic legal system there cannot
be one law for the ruler and one for the subject; one for the powerful and one
for the weak; one for the rich and one for the poor. Government authorities
enjoy no special privileges or immunities from the application of law. Even the
Prophet of Islam did not consider himself or his family above the law. Instead
of claiming any immunity from the law, he laid down the rule that even the head
of the state may be challenged, in both official and private capacity, in the
court.
The following statement of the Prophet (PBUH) which he made while deciding the
case of a noble woman who had committed theft, demonstrates it all: “Verily
those who were before you were destroyed because when a noble man from among
them committed theft, they passed no sentence on him. By ALLAH, had Fatima, the
daughter of Muhammad, committed theft, I would have cut off her hand.”
Also, during the course of his last sermon, the Prophet publicly offered to the
community that if he owed anything to anyone, or had done any harm to anyone’s
life or property, he was available to answer for it.
In Islam, the concept of equality is more comprehensive, vital, and sacred than
in any other system of life. It is one of the fundamental objectives of the
Islamic state to provide the concept of equality in every sphere of life
regardless any difference between common citizen and ruler, no one is above the
law, no one has special immunities under the Islamic concept of equality
Concept of equality means that all people must enjoy equal rights without
discrimination on any count in all fields and departments of life. In the
enjoyment of social, political and religious rights, there must not be any
discrimination between ruler and ruled, employer and employee, rich and poor and
man and woman: all should enjoy these rights freely, equally and without any
check or restriction.