HUMAN RIGHTS IN ISLAM, BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS, RIGHTS OF MINORITIES AND OTHER RELIGION, WOMEN'S RIGHTS, RIGHT TO OWEN AND PROTECT PROPERTY, RIGHT TO LIFE AND PEACEFUL LIVING

 

HUMAN RIGHTS IN ISLAM

BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS

DEFINITION

“Islam has laid down some universal fundamental rights for humanity as a whole,” said Abul A'la Mawdudi, an important figure in the Islamist movement in the middle of the 20th century. According to Mawdudi, the right to life, security, freedom, and justice are basic Islamic rights.

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

 These rights are as follows:

 (1) The Right to Life

 (2) The Right to Live in Dignity

(3) The Right to Justice

 (4) The Right to Equal Protection of the Law 

(5) The Right of Choice

 (6) The Right of Free Expression

 (7) The Right to Privacy

 (8) The Right of Property

 (9) The Right to Basic Necessities of Life

Right to life and peaceful living  

  [5:32] 

Whosoever kills a  human being without (any reason like) manslaughter or corruption on earth, it is as though he had killed all mankind

                                                [17:33] You shall not kill any person - for God has made life sacred -   except in the course of justice. If one is killed unjustly, then we give his heir authority to enforce justice. Thus, he shall not exceed the limits in avenging the murder, he will be helped

According to the Quran, life is a divine bestowal on humanity that should be secured and defended by all means. It is the individual and universal duty of Muslims, according to the Quran, to protect the human merits and virtues of others. Life in the Quran is attributed tremendous value, in fact, the Quran says that " whoever slays a soul, it is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men;" The Quran forbids the taking of life without due process of the law, and it also obligates Muslims to provide for those who cannot provide for themselves. The right to life is conferred by the Quran even on one's enemy during the war as Muslims are forbidden from using force except in self-defense. Also protected by the Quran are the Elderly, women, and children of the enemy and to these, there are no exceptions

Right to own and protect property[2:205]

 As soon as he leaves, he roams the earth corruptingly, destroying properties and lives. GOD does not love corruption.

[4:29] O you who believe, do not consume each others' properties illicitly - only mutually acceptable transactions are permitted. You shall not kill yourselves. GOD is Merciful towards you. The Quran bestows upon humans the right to property as well as, the freedom to deal and trade as they please in what they own provided they do so fairly. Moreover, throughout the Quran, the feeding of orphans, the poor, and the needy are an article of faith that signals one's true devotion to the teachings of the Quran. The message is made clearly and unambiguously in the following verse " Those, who Should We establish them in the law, will keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate and enjoin good and forbid evil, and Allah's is the end of affairs". The principles of justly protecting the rights and property of those in need of such protection, such as orphans, are brought together effortlessly in the Quran when it says " And give to the orphans their property, and do not substitute worthless (thing) for (their) good (ones), and do not devour their property (as an addition) to you own property; this is surely a great crime

Rights of minorities and other religious groups

[18:29] Proclaim: "This is the truth from your Lord," then whoever will let him believe, and whoever will let him disbelieve.

[107:1-7] Do you know who really rejects the faith? That is the one who mistreats the orphans. And does not advocate the feeding of the poor. And woe to those who observe the contact prayers (Salat) - who are totally heedless of their prayers. They only show off. And they forbid charity.

Although the Quran is the religious scripture of Islam, it prohibits Muslims from using any method of compulsion to influence religious practices, and beliefs. The Quran goes even further in protecting the rights of the followers of other faiths by obligating Muslims to protect all "cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques in which God's name is remembered". In relation to different ethnic, cultural, and religious groups the Quran tells Muslims "for every one of you did We appoint a law and a way, and if Allah had pleased He would have made you (all) a single people, but that He might try you in what He gave you, therefore strive with one another to hasten to virtuous deeds". The Quran advocates equality between all and says that the only good deeds may raise the status of one human over another

Women's rights 

[2:241] The divorcees also shall be provided for, equitably. This is a duty upon the righteous. (17:32) Do not approach (the bounds of) adultery.

With regards to women's rights, the Quran dedicates one chapter of its one-hundred and fourteen chapters to women which is evident from the very name of the chapter, Women (AN-NISA). The Quran in that chapter states that whoever does good deeds, whether they are male or female, shall enter Paradise, and not the least bit of injustice shall be dealt with them. The same message is repeated in chapter sixteen" Whoever does good whether male or female and he is a believer, we will most certainly make him live a happy life, and We will most certainly give them their reward for the best of what they did". The ability of women to bear children is a significant attribute used by the Quran in a number of verses to uplift the status of women. One such chapter states " And We have enjoined man in respect of his parents--his mother bears him with fainting upon fainting and his weaning takes two years--saying: Be grateful to Me and to both your parents; to Me is the eventual coming". in terms of the economic rights of women, the Quran demands "And give women their dowries as a free gift, but if they of themselves be pleased to give up to you a  portion of it, then eat it with enjoyment and with the wholesome result". Women have also been given the right to inherit in the Quran. The Quran in one particular verse creates an additional obligation on men to provide, protect, and generally take care of women as their guardians and not as superiors. Perhaps the most valued status, with regard to women, is that of a mother in the Quran as it illustrates this point by binding the reward of paradise to those who satisfy the needs of their parents.