Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
One of the most cherished dreams of philosophers and thinkers has always been the brotherhood of equality. The Prophet of Islam, however, was the first person to bring about a revolution, which, for the first time in history, actually established equality in practice. This has been generally acknowledged by serious scholars. For instance, in his letter No. 175, Swami Vivekanand wrote that in his experience, “if ever any religion approached to this equality in an appreciable manner, it is Islam and Islam alone.”
If, throughout history, equality in practice had been the exception to the rule, it was because of the general acceptance of polytheism, which had proved a stumbling block to many other kinds of progress throughout the ages. Whereas the domination of polytheism had perpetuated inequality among human beings, the domination of monotheism now established human equality.
The truth is that, in temperament and physique, human beings display many differences, be they inherited or acquired. For instance, one is black, another white, one is rich, another poor, one rules, another is ruled. These differences exist, according to the Quran, as a matter of identification (49:13) and for the sake of differentiating one from another and not for the purpose of discrimination. One might put it that these differences are a matter of classification, so that the world may be properly organized. This does not mean then that some are of high, while others are of low status. These differences exist only to facilitate the structuring of the activities of a world, which exhibits so great a diversity.
Just as man had formed unrealistic concepts regarding physical phenomena under the influence of superstitions born of polytheistic beliefs, similarly, unrealistic concepts about human beings also gained universal currency. Over the centuries, these concepts came to form part of the traditions of the peoples of the world. For instance, it was this concept of inequality, which led to the formation of the caste system in certain societies. It was believed that some people were born of the head of God, whilst others sprang from His feet. As such, they were divided into high and low castes. In a similar way, the concept was formed of the kings being the offspring of the gods, with the common people there only to serve them. In many societies, the concept was formed of some being superior, and others being inferior, by birth, or by race.
Discriminatory practices, based on the concept of inequality, had become prevalent under the influence of polytheism and, over the centuries, had come to be a permanent feature of human history. It even came to be believed that just as the night is destined to be dark and the day to be bright, similarly the division of human beings on the above-mentioned bases could never ever be brought to an end. It was something, which had existed and always would exist eternally—that being the will of the gods.
The domination of polytheism and superstition had to be overcome in order to usher in the age of equality. But even with the advent of thousands of prophets, it could not be brought into existence. For Prophet Muhammad, being the last of the prophets, it became absolutely imperative to terminate, once and for all, the domination of superstitious beliefs. In theory, each of the prophets in turn had demolished such beliefs, but, in practice, people’s personal interests had kept them alive, so that superstition had not in fact been overthrown. God had, therefore, to send His special succour to the Prophet Muhammad who, along with his companions, then brought about the intellectual revolution which universally uprooted such dogmas. It was at that stage that the concept of inequality was rooted out forever.
In the address the Prophet made on the occasion of his last pilgrimage, he had this to say on the subject of ending polytheistic beliefs:
No Arab has superiority over a non-Arab and no non-Arab has superiority over an Arab. No black man has superiority over a red and no red over a black. All are born of Adam and Adam was born of the earth.
This declaration made by the Prophet was not just a sermon, unenforced by authority. It had the force of an official decree issued by the government of that time. It was not just a verbal injunction about ‘what should be done’ but was actual information about an already existing state of affairs. Its promulgation was meant not only to alert the ignorant but to reinforce a social condition. All the artificial walls dividing humanity had crumbled. A new age had been ushered in in which there was no high or low status, and no discrimination. It was an age in which one’s status in society would be determined by character and achievement, and not by accidents of birth, or membership of a particular race.
