According to Islam when Prophet Adam (A.S) and Eve (A.S) came into being, Allah (God) drew forth from their loins all the children of Adam, from the first human being to the last, and called for their testimony. The first covenant obligates people to know Allah (God), to know one another as one people, and to build the friendly relations essential for peaceful coexistence on earth. The Qur’an repeatedly emphasizes on the unity of mankind, i.e., they come from the same parents. The Holy Our’an speaks about man, as a being who has both sacredness and holiness on this land through addressing him as a person who has both dignity and great importance. Allah, the Almighty says: Surely We have honoured the children of Adam, and carried them on land and sea…Holy Qur’an (17:70). Man is distinguished from other beings owing to his wisdom, will and being a vicegerent, who holds responsibility and deserves such distinction. His value and respect compared with other creatures indicates great honour and trust bestowed upon him. Indeed, man is not considered neither a neglected being nor a worthless one in life due to his possessing of wisdom, will and the ability and who takes his will and his capability to make a choice and take a decision. Islam fixes two responsibilities upon man, individual and collective ones. Concerning individual responsibility, he is responsible before Allah for his speech, behaviour and deeds and will be judged by Him on the Resurrection Day (the Day of Justice and Punishment).
The Qur’an teaches: O humanity! Be conscious of your Lord, who has created you out of one living entity, and out of it created its mate, and out of the two spread abroad a multitude of men and women. And remain conscious of God, in whose name you demand [your rights] from one another (and before Him you will be accountable), and of these ties of kinship. Verily, God is ever watchful over you. (4:1) O humanity! Behold, we have created you all out of a male and a female, and have created you into nations and tribes, so that you might come to know one another. Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most deeply conscious of Him. Behold, God is All-Knowing, All-Aware. (49:13) The only One who is above all humans is their Creator and Lord: and there is nothing that could be compared with Him. (112:4) At the inception of the belief in one God is the belief in the equality of all human beings, since those who believe in one God believe that all human beings are created by the one Creator. Thus, deeply rooted in the conscience of believers is the duty to maintain human rights and to practice equality in the process. Any discrimination against any individual or group about their basic rights as members of humanity is a challenge to the faith of believers, since for any human to claim superiority based on origin or power is contradictory to the belief in the One Ultimate Supreme Being: …the All-Highest, who creates [everything], and thereupon forms in accordance with what it is meant to be. He cannot be called to account for whatever He does, whereas they will be called to account. (21:23) A tyrant is against human rights and the One Ultimate Supreme Being as well: Behold, Pharaoh exalted himself in the land, and divided its people into castes. One group of them he deemed utterly low; he would slaughter their sons and spare [only] their women, for behold, he was one of those who spread malevolence [on earth]. (28:4) In the same chapter, the Qur’an states that those who will attain to happiness in the life to come, as it has been mentioned before, are those who don’t seek to exalt themselves on earth, nor yet to spread malevolence; for the future belongs to the God-conscious (7:157). Thus, the Qur’an repeatedly emphasizes human rights and justice, and condemns injustice, aggression and oppression. It highlights the message of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W): …enjoins upon them the doing of what is right and forbids the doing of what is wrong, and makes lawful to them the good things of life and forbids the bad things, and lifts from them their burdens and the shackles that were upon them. (7:157).
Islam teaches us that individual freedom may have to be sacrificed for the social good. He who does not judge him/ herself daily is not from us (muslim). Holy Quran says, You enjoin the good, forbid the evil, and believe in Allah (Qur’an Imran 3:110). Islam wants to bring up the power of conscience in man’s soul in precedence of the power of state and to develop the virtue of personal responsibility; to became a guardian to judge oneself and know that one is responsible an the Resurrection Day for what Allah has granted. Everyone is responsible for the property he owns. And from where did he gain it and how did he use it? Man is also responsible for the knowledge he acquires and the capabilities to which it is applied before Allah and how they are employed. Did he use them for his own personal benefit or for the general benefit of society? Did he exploit them for corrupt and destructive practices, and for boosting only himself and his worldly interests? Man is responsible for his mentality and intelligence which Allah gave him and how they are put to use. And if they were misdirected in deviated ways, deceiving others or corrected in the way of guidance and edification of soul and its reformation. He is also responsible for the strength that Allah gave him and to what purpose did it gain. Was it spent in wasteful disobedience and being aggressive? Or was it used towards goodness and following the right way? Man is also responsible for the power, position and social rank which Allah gave him and whether they were misused for suppression, creating terrorism, and seeking predominance to obtain personal gain over others? Or was it constructively put to use for social development in the way of Allah?
Consequently, man will be questioned for the tongue which Allah gave him and how did he use its talents. Did he use it for uttering the word of goodness, reformation and benefiting social progress? Or did he use it for cheating, backbiting, lying, and insulting others? Similarly, man will be questioned for the. eyes which Almighty Allah gave him and for what purpose were they put. Did he use them for reading knowledgeable books and respecting Allah’s greatness? Or did he use them for looking at what Allah has forbidden and prohibited? He will also be questioned on Allah’s gift of ears and was the sense of hearing used only for listening to gossip, empty words, indecency and wasteful entertainment? Or were they directed at hearing the word of guidance, educative and fruitful debates? As man is responsible before the legislative state, which has the right of governing over him, it has the right of presenting him before court and punishing him in the case of violating its laws and regulations. Therefore, an Islamic state has the right to interfere in the individual, social and economic affairs in order to achieve an equitable society. It also has the right to charge and restrict man’s actions which contradict the general interest. The individual has no right to behave or do anything without responsibility. He must feel that he is responsible both in front of Allah and the legislative state. Through carrying our responsibilities, based upon Islamic laws and values which organize personal duties to regulate behaviour, a society can be established to keep an equilibrium, where security, social peace and economic welfare are preserved. Without these responsibilities, life turns into chaos and anarchy, the role of justice and law disappears, and society becomes a tyrannical one. We as a muslim have a duty when a single Muslim suffers. And not even physically. If their reputation is in question and they are innocent, the Muslims have a collective duty to defend that Muslim’s honour and dignity and name, even though not a penny of their property has been forfeited from them, even though a drop of their blood has not been shed, even (though) a pore of their skin has not been touched, we still have a duty.
Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) said: The most complete of the believers in his belief is he who perfects his manners. At present people are becoming angry because of the lifestyle and the society we live in. When a person is under stress he or she becomes angry very easily. The causes which cause anger to grow are self-conceit, self-praise, jests and ridicule, argument, treachery, too much greed for too much wealth and name and fame. If these evils are united in a person definitely his conduct becomes bad and he cannot escape anger. It is necessary to remove these things by their opposites. Self-praise is to be removed by modesty. Pride is to be removed by one’s own origin and birth, greed is to be removed by remaining satisfied with necessary things, and miserliness by charity. Islam organizes responsibility by making every one responsible both for himself and others, therefore, a shepherd is responsible for his flocks, a father for his children and a governor for his subjects. Each have their responsibilities arranged according to their position in society as the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.) says: All are custodians and are responsible for their charges (Bukhari). Islam educates man through connecting him with Allah, the Creator of this existence in order to make him feel self-responsible and raise within himself the power of inner consciousness and sensibility. Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) are full of moral precepts that aim at the spiritual elevation of human soul discipline it to exercise self-control and observe the principles of justice and a respect for others such as one would himself expect from others. Islam does not prohibit Muslims from being kind and generous to people of other religions, even if they are idolaters and polytheists. Islam urges Muslims to make things easy for others and shun rigidity. Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) is also reported to have said: Judge yourselves before being judged by others. Every individual will be accountable from his or her actions on the day of judgement (Quran, 4:7, 36:71). He or she cannot hide anything from Almighty Allah. Every person on the Resurrection Day will be asked about : his years (age) and how he spent them, his youth and how he worn it out, his wealth and how he earned. To conclude, the message of Islam is universal liberation and establishment of justice and maintenance of human rights. We notice human rights violation throughout the world (e.g., Afganistan, Syria, Gaza, Iraq, Kashmir, Libya etc) and at present is a hot topic in the international community. Heart of every true Muslim bleeds on seeing human rights violation anywhere in the world. Islam is a peaceful religion witnessed by history and Muslim is not allowed to break the law of Islam whatever may be the situation. When the opportunity for peace arises Muslims are encouraged to be forgiving and seek reconciliation. May the blessings of Allah be upon all. (… Ameen)
(The authors are contributing more so on Islamic topics exclusively for “Kashmir Horizon”. Their views are personal)
