General Islamic Topics- Lesson (9): Human Rights- The Right to Life
- Ramadan Lectures / ٠05رمضان 1419 هـ - موضوعات مختلفة
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- 2- رمضان 1419 - موضوعات إسلامية عامة
In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings to our Master Muhammad, the Faithful and the Honest. O Allah, we know nothing but what You teach us, You are the All- Knower, the Wise. O Allah our Lord, teach us what is useful for us, let us make use of what You have taught us and advance us in knowledge. O Allah, show us the righteous things as righteous and help us do them, and show us the bad things as bad and help us keep away from them. O Allah our Lord, make us amongst those who listen to the Word and follow the best meaning of It, and admit us, by Your Grace, to the ranks of Your righteous servants.
The right to life is the most important right:
Dear noble brothers, some Muslims are influenced by the westerners' speech about the human rights in media, making a comparison between the west and the Muslim World which in their views has violated the human rights. These Muslims are oblivious to the fact that Islam is concerned about the human rights more than any creeds.
After WWII, which took the lives of about 63 million people, the universal declaration of the human rights was in 1948. At top of these rights is the right to life.
It is unbelievable that if a believer is killed the punishment of his killer according to Shari'ah rulings is to be admitted to Hell-fire for good.
(( (Man is a construct from Allah, cursed is the one who demolishes it.) ))
According to Islam, the great scientist will be sentenced to death if he kills an illiterate man, the man from the upper-class will be sentenced to death if he kills a poor man, the sane will be sentenced to death if he kills an insane man, the old man will be sentenced to death if he kills a young man, and the man will be sentenced to death if he kills a woman. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ (And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell to abide therein, and the Wrath and the Curse of Allah are upon him, and a great punishment is prepared for him.) ﴿
Allah the Almighty also says:
﴾ (And We ordained therein for them: "Life for life, eye for eye, nose for nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal.") ﴿
Jabalah Ibn al-Ayham, one of the Ghassanies kings, came to our Master Umar bin al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, telling him that he had embraced Islam, so Umar welcomed him warmly.
Once, he went to perform Hajj, and while he was circumambulating the Ka'bah, a Bedouin from Fazarah tribe trod upon his garment, so it fell from his shoulders. Jabalah got angry, and he boxed the Bedouin and broke his nose although the man said that he did it unintentionally. The man hastened to the Khalifah Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, to complain against Jabalah, so Umar requested that Jabalah be summoned to trial. A contemporary poet narrated the story in verse saying:
- When Jabalah arrived, our Master Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "O Ibn al-Ayham, a man came to me this morning in a miserable situation, having his face covered with blood as his nose was broken and his eye was hurt. I asked him who had done that to him and he replied it was you who committed such a grave deed. Did the man tell me the truth?"
- Jabalah said, "I will never be like those who conceal the truth or deny it. I disciplined the guy and retained my right with my own hand.
- Umar said, "The guy's right has to be redeemed! Your nail is still stained with his blood! Or else he will break your nose as you did to him."
- Jabalah said, "How come, O Commander of Believers?! He is an ordinary man, and I am a king! How can you be pleased to see a star falling down?!"
- Umar said, "Desires of ignorance and insolent arrogance of Jahilliyah have no place to dwell with us after we have established a new civilization of human equality and justice. Salves are now equal to free men; the poor are equal to the rich."
- Jabalah said, "It was a mere illusion when I thought that I would be with you stronger and more honorable! I will apostatize if you force me!"
- Umar said, "The neck of an apostate is to be chopped off by sword. It is a new world that we are now building – a world wherein wrong things are set right and differences between slaves and free men are eliminated!"
This is Islam which has come up with these rights for 1400 years. Bear in mind that those who claim to be defending human rights are the ones who violate these rights the most, and the ones who never protest if these rights are violated before them.
There are certain Shari'ah rulings on whoever kills someone unintentionally. If a person causes the death of someone in a car accident, he should pay financial compensation to his family, which is the personal right, the public right of the Islamic society has missed an important punishment which is freeing a servant, and if he does not have a one he should fast for two months (60 days). These are the ruling on unintentional killing, such as in a car accident.
Man should know his religion:
Do not be deluded by the west's excellence. I mentioned an incident a year ago, and let me mention it one more time today. A German scientist visited the Middle East once, and he made fun of Miswak thinking out of ignorance that it is just a piece of wood. Before I go on with this scientist, do you know that the European people used to rinse their mouth with urine to clean their teeth!
That man intended to bring with him a stick of Miswak from the Middle East to Germany. He asked his friend from Sudan to bring it for him. He took the stick and ground it, and then he added some water to it in order for germs to grow in it. He was stunned when he noticed that it has the same effect of penicillin. This means that Miswak is both a tooth brush and a tooth paste.
Dear noble brothers, I would like for a Muslim to know his religion well before he gets himself immersed in the western culture and admire the speeches of the westerners the about human rights.
Remember, they raped 35.000 women in Bosnia, and the whole world remained silent towards such a crime. There is a morally deviated woman had an interview on a satellite channel that was watched by more than 500 million people. She was a princess in Britain, and during that interview she admitted that she had many illegal affairs with many men. Oddly enough, when she died in a car accident, six million people walked in her funeral, and the elite all over the world wept after her death.
If Muslim does not deny the deeds of the Kuffar and rejects them, he does not know Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He. Whoever admires the Kuffar will be gathered with them in the Hereafter, and none of his good deeds will benefit him then.
Requirements of the right to life:
1- Maintaining livelihood:
Some of the requirements of the right to life are to maintain livelihood, to protect products, and to punish the monopolists. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
(( (Whoever revives a barren land, he will be rewarded for it, and whatever is eaten from it will be considered a Sadaqah paid by him.) ))
There was the "Land" project according to which each person is given a piece of land that is watered by rainwater. If he takes care of this piece of land and makes it green, he will be given a house and a tractor as a reward. Regarding this point, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
(( (Whoever revives a barren land, then it is for him.) ))
It will be given to him since he revives it by plating it, drilling a well to water it and keeping it green and fruitful.
One of the requirements of the right to life is to maintain livelihood for people by protecting products and punishing monopolists. There are dozens of Noble Ahadeeth that encourage agriculture, and these Ahadeeth indicate that whoever grows a plant, and a creature eats from it, it is considered a Sadaqah for him.
Our Matster Abu Dharr, said, "If a Muslim gets hungry, then all Muslims will be deprived of their money." Food should be distributed among Muslims. In the same context, our Master Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, tested one of his governors. He asked him, "What will you do if one of your people steals something?" He said, "I will cut off his hand." Then Umar said, "If one of your people comes to me hungry or unemployed, I will cut off yours. Allah the Almighty appointed us leaders to cover the Awrat (the intimate parts) of people, to provide them with crafts and to meet their needs. If we guarantee them all these things, they will be grateful to us. These hands were created to work. Therefore, if they do not find jobs through which they obey Allah, they will look for jobs that lead them to disobey Allah. Make yourownself busy with obeying Allah, lest it makes you busy with sins."
2- Calling others to work:
One of the requirements of the right to life is calling others to work. In this context, the Noble Prophet PBUH once held the hand of Ibn Mas'oud, which was rough because of hard work, raised it up in front of his Companions and said:
(( (Verily, Allah and His Messenger love this hand.) ))
In the same context, Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I might admire a man, but once I know that he is jobless, I stop admiring him."
3- Defending one's own life, family and wealth:
One of the requirements of the right to life is defending one's own life. Islam has given man the right to defend himself, his household, and his money against any danger. Regarding this point, pay attention to the following Hadith, please:
(( (Sa'id bin Zaid bin 'Amr bin Nufail (may Allah be pleased with him) reported, one of the ten Companions who were given the glad tidings of entering Jannah reported:I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saying: "He who dies while defending his property is a martyr; he who dies in defense of his own life is a martyr; and he who dies on defense of his faith is a martyr, he who dies in defense of his family is a martyr.") ))
4- Prohibiting wrestling:
There is one more requirement of the right to life which is prohibiting wrestling. Islam prohibits it, because it causes the death of someone without any logical reason. Our Master Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, prohibited the use of torture tactics against people of Basrah to obtain the Kharaj tax after his official therein, Udayy bin Arta'ah, wrote to him "If you accept, some form of punishment should be carried out on the people who choose not to cooperate when it comes to paying obligatory Kharaj." Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, replied, "Glory be to Allah! How strange it is that you should seek my permission to torture human beings as if I were some kind of safe haven for you from the punishment of Allah, or as if my pleasure can rescue you of Allah's displeasure! Therefore, once you have received this letter, approach those who pay it with compassion, otherwise administer an oath from them. By Allah, it is better for them to face Allah having committed their treachery than for you to face Him after having torture them. Peace." He said, "If we apply this rule at present time, all the accused of theft will swear by Allah falsely, for the liar finds a way out if he is asked to give an oath."
Do you think there is any party on earth that establishes justice and democracy like this? This is Islam. Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said to Amr bin Al-'Aas, "O 'Amr! When did you begin to enslave and subjugate people, while their mothers have given birth to them as free people?"
5- Treating one's own self:
One more requirement of the human rights is: If man is afflicted with a disease, but he does not treat himself, and he dies because of that disease, he will be considered disobedient to Allah, because he will have assaulted his own life. You should treat yourself, and if you are sure that the disease you suffer from can be cured by taking a certain medication, then you are obliged according to Islam to take it.
It is prohibited to cause your death, so you are not permitted to sleep on the roof of your house if it is not safe, because you may fall down and die. The same goes for driving a car whose brakes do not work well. If you drive such a car although you know that its brakes do not work properly, you are considered disobedient to Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, if you die in a car accident.
Much in the same line, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
(( (He whose she-camel is angry should not fight with us in the battle.) ))
A companion did not obey such a command, and he rode his angry she-camel. She caused him to fall from her back and got his neck broken, so he died at once. The prophet, peace be upon him, refused to pray funeral Salah for him, because that Companion did not respect the right to life.
Whoever quits food and water, and he dies out of starvation is considered disobedient to Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ (And spend in the Cause of Allah (i.e. Jihad of all kinds, etc.) and do not throw yourselves into destruction (by not spending your wealth in the Cause of Allah), and do good. Truly, Allah loves Al-Muhsinun (the good-doers).) ﴿
Abortion is prohibited in Islam due to the right to life. The embryo has the right to life. Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, says:
﴾ (And indeed We have honoured the Children of Adam, and We have carried them on land and sea, and have provided them with At-Taiyibat (lawful good things), and have preferred them above many of those whom We have created with a marked preference.) ﴿
The right to life is the foremost right in Islam:
The main point of this meeting is the fact that the most ignorant people about human rights are Muslims. Islam cherishes the right to life to the highest degree, but when a person is astonished about others' culture and principles, while he neglects his religion, and this is a widespread problem among Muslims, he has no idea about his religion. How come that he listens to what is in the media about human rights although the right to life is the foremost defended right in Islam? Actually, Islam has preserved this right to the greatest extent for 1.400 years.
Dear noble brothers, there is the right of dignity which is referred to in the Noble Quran and Sunnah along with other rights. So, before admiring the west and be affected by their culture, the Muslim should know the great values and principles his religion embraces.
In the upcoming lectures, we will go on with other human rights Insha' Allah (Allah wills). We have done with the right to life today.
