Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | Teachings of Islam

"O people! Behold, we have created you from a male and a female; and we have made you into tribes and sub-tribes, so that you may recognize one another. The most honourable among you, in the sight of God, is he who is the most righteous among you. God is All-Knowing, All-Aware. (49:13)

Rights in Islam are divided into two categories. One concerns divine rights (Huququllah) and the other, human rights (Huququl Ibad). Though divine rights are superior to human rights, this difference is a matter of belief or doctrine and not a matter of action or practice.

In the practical sense, both the rights: divine and human are so interrelated that sometimes it becomes impossible to separate one from the other.

In fact, it is the observance of divine right that paves the way for the observance of human rights in the true sense of the word. For instance, the first and foremost divine right is Tawhid, that is, to declare the oneness of God, without associating anything with Him, as the Quran says:

Say, "He is God, the One.

He is self-sufficient

He begets not, nor was He begotten." (112:1-3)

This belief of Tawhid helps man realize the fact that there is nothing superior to or greater than God. All creatures, including human beings, irrespective of their external differences, are equal in dignity as well as in responsibility before the one and only God. Anyone who abuses or humiliates or ridicules others abuses the Creator indirectly. Such commandments abound in the Quran and Hadith and show that divine rights and human rights are so interdependent that they become complementary to one another.

It is as if God will not accept our obeisance to Him if we do not fulfill the human rights prescribed in the Quran and Hadith.

For instance, the Prophet is reported to have said:

"By God, he is not a believer,

By God, he is not a believer,

By God, he is not a believer."

When asked by the companions,

'Who is he?',

The Prophet replied,

"He whose neighbour is not safe from his mischievous deeds." (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 27162)

The differences between human beings seen as justifications for discrimination resulting in the violation of basic human rights are considered in the Quran as signs of God:

"And among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the diversity of your tongues and colours. In that surely are signs for those who possess knowledge. (30:22)

All the differences of race, community or tribe (49:13) are just for mutual introduction (Ta'aruf) and not for discrimination. The differences of race, community or tribe are not meant for discrimination against one another. They exist rather for the purpose of knowing and appreciating one another.

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It is astonishing to note that the Quran had declared fifteen hundred years ago the biological unity of human beings, a fact which was scientifically established only during the sixties of the 20th century (Domenique Perri, Building Peace)

The fifth chapter of the Quran begins with this proclamation:

'O mankind, be conscious of your Sustainer, who has created you out of a single living soul and out of it created its mate. And out of the two spread on the earth a multitude of men and women... (4:1)

It was the realization of this biological unity of the whole of mankind that made the Prophet say in his night prayers:

"O God, I bear witness that all human beings are brothers." (Abu Dawud, Hadith No. 1510)

In illustration of this fact, it was recorded that one day the Prophet saw a funeral procession passing through a street in Madinah. He stood up in deference. When his companions told him that the deceased person was a Jew, not a Muslim, the Prophet said: Was he not a human being? (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 2269)

Human life in Islam is held in such high esteem that the killing of a single human being is considered equivalent to the assassination of the whole of mankind. And the protection of a single human life is equivalent to the protection of the whole of mankind. It is so stated in the Quran with reference to the murder of Abel by his elder brother Cain, this being the first violation of human rights in human history. (5:27-32)

Some scholars claim that Islam does not have any provision for human rights in the modern sense, since it is theocentric, and therefore God is regarded as the starting point of all thought and action. On the contrary, the modern concept of human rights is anthropocentric, wherein man forms the centre of everything. However, a thorough analysis shows that this view is based on a misconception. Man's primary duty in Islam consists of obeying God wholeheartedly and unconditionally. All other rights, including human rights, automatically stem from this primary duty towards God.

We can say that, without this theocentric perspective, neither can the fulfillment of human rights be ensured nor their violation be avoided. The preamble of the UN Charter of Human Rights (UDHR) calls on all member nations to strive to construct a new world order, on a sounder basis, 'one in which the recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal inalienable rights of all the members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. (See for the full text of UDHR: EB X/1049)

It would be difficult to say that the UN or any other national or international body or authority has actually established the required world order on a sound basis. But in Islam as stated earlier, the doctrine of Tawhid and unconditional obedience to God provide the most powerful incentive for the observance of human rights and the strongest deterrence as such against their violation.