Freedom in the Islamic Framework of Human Rights, With Special Reference to the Nahj
al-Balaghah
Freedom
In the Nahj al-Balaghah Imam Ali
(a.s) has repeatedly emphasized that God created man as a free being with
sound senses and reason, and led him with His grace to the right path, but it
was man who chained himself with false desires and misguided ambitions. He
stresses this point with regard to man's natural makeup and his ability to
exercise his freedom in the right path. Rousseau's famous dictum "Man was
born free, but everywhere he is in chains" echoes the utterance of Imam Ali
(a.s), repeated time and again during his indefatigable struggle for human
freedom at a time when it was threatened by the slaves of worldly desires and
encroached upon by those who wanted to reduce a free Muslim society to a
tyrannical monarchy.
Freedom, a yearning of many s inner being,
has been expressed in various forms throughout human history. Adam and Eve, as
Iqbal puts it, were compelled by this urge to leave Heaven. It is presumed
that action is grounded in freedom. Islam does not accept the Christian notion
of original sin, as a punishment for which man was exiled from Heaven. What is
called the fall of man' in pre-Islamic Semitic tradition may he interpreted
from the Islamic viewpoint as man S ascension to a life of freedom. Man's
coming to Earth was an act of his free choice, and he has to earn eternal
freedom and conquer time through his continuous free acts in this world, which
tests his urge for freedom at every step of his life.
The history of mankind is a ceaseless quest
for freedom. It is a multipronged quest: freedom from want, from fear, from
the forces of nature, from the tyranny of fellow beings, from injustice, from
superstition, from prejudice, from tribal and racial loyalties, and,
ultimately, from his own egocentric existence. Man passed gradually through
the various stages of realizing all these freedoms, each of which had a
material as well as a spiritual aspect. Sheer material freedom means nothing
unless it brings in its wake spiritual freedom also. Rather, both of them are
complementary to each other and are inseparable. The quest for freedom
suffered setbacks and reverses whenever any one of the two was neglected. The
modern civilization suffers from the malady of overemphasizing the material
dimension of freedom, totally or partially neglecting the relevance of
spiritual freedom to human existence. Religion has been striving for man's
spiritual freedom, while philosophy has been concerned with intellectual
freedom. Art and literature have been interested in realizing both of them at
a different plane. The quest of science and technology has been always
directed towards attaining material freedom. All human activity is a quest for
freedom, and all human evolution represents a course of gradual realization of
various freedoms. Human evolution is creative in the sense that at its every
stage a higher form of freedom emerges as a result of man's creativity. Human
evolution is different from biological evolution, for the latter is mechanical
and deterministic as compared to the former in which man's aspiration for
freedom plays a vital and decisive role. In the course of man's creative
evolution, Islam emerged as an embodiment of all kinds of freedom at a stage
when humanity was in need of a balanced synthesis of material and spiritual
freedoms. At a stage when man's material advancement was still embryonic,
Islam anticipated rapid future developments in the material sphere, which
required Divine guidance in pursuing the right path for future development of
human society and polity. It is in this sense also that Islam ensures eternal
guidance, for it took in its stride all past freedoms attained by man and laid
down a plan for future evolution. At that stage the human mind was incapable
of embracing the infinite future possibilities of human creativity, because it
had not yet developed the intellectual and empirical tools of the unseen
future. The Qur'an, the last of Divine revelations, contained the guiding
principles of scientific induction as well as a moral code that could suffice
for man's socio-political and economic advancement, ensuring maximum freedom
of human action in all the spheres of man's multi-pronged quest for freedom.
The Qur'an's declaration that God has completed the din (religion, as the
totality of Divine guidance) and has conferred upon man the best of His
rewards, points to the fact that through Islam man attained the utmost
potential to realize his freedom. In order to have a comprehensive view of
freedom granted to man by Islam one has to understand the Islamic conception
of freedom along with all its implications and practical consequences bearing
upon human society, State, and economic activity, at both individual and
collective levels.
Freedom can be understood in two ways:
theoretically from the ontological point of view, and practically from the
social angle. This division is for the sake of study, for in reality the
latter aspect logically follows from the former. As pointed out above with
reference to Iqbal, the urge for freedom is inherent in man s nature. It may
be called a Divine gift or spark. But I would prefer to refer to dictum of Ibn
Arabi in this context, who said that nothing was imposed upon man from
without: what one's ayn (essence) demanded from God was given him. Thus
freedom was bestowed upon man not as a gift, but he received it through his
own capacity. To borrow a contemporary philosophical phrase, freedom is man's
essence and his existence is grounded in freedom. This view can be interpreted
as being in conformity with the Qur'an, in which a number of verses refer to
human freedom in both willing and acting. The Qur'an also admits the existence
of various grades of freedom in human beings; that is, all men are not equally
capable of possessing or exercising freedom. It means that every man is given
freedom in proportion to his ability to receive it. Mulla Hadi Sabzawari's
doctrine of graded being can be interpreted in the following manner. Every
grade of being has its corresponding ability to freedom. Men differ from one
another with regard to their ability for freedom. The weaker beings have a
weaker urge for freedom, while the stronger ones have a greater urge for it.
It is because of this difference that what is obligatory for higher
individuals such as the prophets, Imams, the awliya' and the urafa' is not
expected from ordinary men.
"God does
not saddle a soul with obligations beyond its capability"
(al-Baqarah: 286).
This
principle is applied to different individuals in different degrees. Obligation
(taklif) implies the ability to fulfill it, provided a man is willing to
shoulder it. All Divine commands and prohibitions presume that men have
ability to follow them and that some of them might obey, while others might
not. The possibility of obedience and disobedience arises out of human
freedom. As everyone acts according to his own will without any compulsion
from outside, he is liable to reward and punishment according to his deeds. We
have to accept that God never imposed a fixed, predetermined nature upon any
individual, and it is man himself who chooses and moulds his own character
and, accordingly, his destiny in full freedom. The Qur'an is quite explicit in
this regard. Without the freedom of choice and action for man there could
never arise the question of reward and punishment, for otherwise that would
have amounted to arbitrariness, that is, injustice on the part of God.
In this context all the controversies in kalam seem to be pointless and
irrelevant. The Qadarite and the Mu'tazilite doctrine of complete freedom also
ignores the relativity of freedom in relation to different individuals. The
Jabrite notion of determinism goes against Islamic teachings and can be
understood in the light of socio-political expediencies of the age. Iqbal has
correctly analyzed and explained the reasons behind the denials of human
freedom:
The practical
materialism of the opportunist Omayyad rulers of Damascus needed a peg on
which to hang their misdeeds at Karbala, and to secure the fruits of Amir
Mu'awiya's revolt against the possibilities of a popular rebellion. Ma'bad is
reported to have said to Hasan of Basrah that the Omayyads killed Muslims, and
attributed their acts to the decrees of God. "These enemies of God, replied
Hasan, 'are liars'." Thus arose, in spite of open protests by Muslim
divines a morally degrading fatalism, and the constitutional theory known as
the accomplished fact' in order to support vested interests.
(1)
It would be out of place here to go into
the details of the issue of jabr and qadar (determinism and freedom). Absolute
freedom belongs to God only, and He has given this power to man in various
degrees according to individual human abilities. It is in this sense that
freedom is termed by Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a.s) and Imam Ali al-Rida (a.s) as
tafwid, that is, delegated freedom. When Imam Ali (a.s) was asked to explain
the difference between qada` and qadar, he said: "
The
first means obedience to the Commandments of God and avoidance of sin; the
latter, the ability to live a holy life and to do that which brings one nearer
to God .... Say not that man is compelled, for that is attribution of tyranny
to God".
(2)
Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a.s) made the observation:
"The
doctrine of jabr (determinism) converts God into an unjust Master".
(3) However, these traditions cannot be
interpreted as advocating absolute freedom for man. The latest scientific
studies of the problem of freedom, both in metaphysical and political or
social terms, arrive at the conclusion that freedom is always relative. No
society or State can give absolute freedom to man in order to secure harmony
and mutual respect of all the members. This mutual respect lays certain duties
on man, which are for the sake of granting equal freedom to everybody. The
saying of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a.s)
"There
is neither jabr nor qadar or tafwid",
but the matter is a via media between the two can be interpreted both
metaphysically and socially. Metaphysically, or rather theologically, it means
that absolute freedom is for God only; man has been given limited freedom.
Socially and politically freedom is
delimited by duties, and is not complete or absolute. Imam Ali ibn Musa
al-Rida sums up the issue in the following words:
"You
are at liberty to take one or the other path, . . . but man has not the
capacity of turning evil into good, or sin into virtue".
(4) Thus we may conclude that man is free,
but his own freedom demands of him to fulfill certain obligations towards
himself, towards other fellow beings, and, ultimately, towards God. Freedom is
meaningless if one does not fulfill these obligations. All human rights become
due to man when he exercises his freedom to shoulder the duties he is expected
to perform by his Creator, his fellow beings, and his own nature.
However, whatsoever may be the degree and
extent of freedom accorded to man, he is free and, consequently, responsible
for his acts. The Umayyads' attempt to justify fatalism, as described by
Iqbal, was an atrocity against Islam and Qur'anic teaching. All forms of
government and society which deny freedom to individuals represent a gross
violation of Islam. How far a State or society is prepared to allow its
members freedom determines its Islamic character.
The following are corollaries of human
freedom:
1. Every man is able to perform an act he
wills and chooses to do.
2. Every man who performs an act is able to
perform its opposite also.
3. Every man who is obliged to do a certain
act is awarded the power to do it.
4. Even those who do not obey Divine
command are given the power to do it, and they are also free to do or not to
do what they are commanded.
(5) The practical
side of freedom is related to man's individual as well as social duties. Every
duty requires as its prerequisite condition freedom and the power to fulfill
it, which is called right' in legal terms. As the right to have the freedom
and power to perform desired acts is termed a natural right, the freedom and
power to perform social duties is termed civil rights, the freedom to act in
relation to the State is called political right, and freedom to defend one's
rights in courts is termed legal right. Right is based on freedom, for it
calls on men to fulfill certain duties. Rights are meaningless without freedom
and freedom remains an empty concept without the right to act within a
particular framework. Freedom assumes a definite meaning in each ideology
according to its conception and practice of human rights.
Human
Rights: A Comparison of the Western and Islamic Views and Practices:
The declaration of human rights, a result
of the French Revolution, was completed on 26 August 1789. The two fundamental
doctrines which gave the declaration its force as the gospel of the Revolution
were those of the natural rights of man and national sovereignty. The natural
rights stated in the preamble were held as inalienable and sacred, because
they were considered to be inherent to human nature. These rights were defined
in the article II as those to liberty, property, security, and the right to
resist oppression. Liberty included two aspects, individual liberty and the
freedom of opinion. Freedom of speech, liberty of press and expression of
religious opinions were secured in articles X and XI. Though article I
proclaimed all men to he equal in rights, it did not assert their political or
social equality. As the French Revolution was mainly led by the business class
which had grievances against the feudal class, the authors of the declaration
were perhaps not ready to grant equal political rights to all classes.
However, clauses VII-IX secured the principle of equality before law, while
clauses VI and XIII established the principles of civic and fiscal equality.
(6)
In order to understand the loopholes in
this declaration, we have to discuss at some length how the various types of
rights are distinguished from one another. In general, a right is defined as a
claim or title to anything that can be enforced, or a claim to act, possess or
enjoy anything, or the use thereof; it may exist in the nature of a privilege
or power. A right in the legal sense is "that which one has a legal claim to
do; legal authority, immunity granted by authority". The existence of a
legal right implies the existence of legal remedy; for one does not exist
without the other.
(7) Civil rights are those
which appertain to citizenship and which may be enforced or redressed by a
civil action. These are divided into absolute and relative rights. Absolute
rights are supposed to be inherent to humanity, under which are placed rights
of personal security, mobility, honour, health, and enjoyment. Relative civil
rights include those which subsist between the people and the government, such
as the people's right to protection at the hands of the government; the right
of allegiance, which is due to the government at the hands of the people; the
rights of husband and wife, parent and child, guardian and ward, master and
servant, reciprocally. Right is co-existent with authority or government, and
both are inherent to man. According to Bouveir rights precede government, or
the establishment of States. Johnson holds that a civil right is accorded to
every member of a distinct community or nation, while a political right is
exercisable in the administration of government, such as the right to vote in
elections. Bouvier says that certain apparently natural rights may not be
actual, such as rights of privacy.
(8)
Another step towards declaration of human
rights was taken by the United Nations on 10 December 1948. The General
Assembly passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, also known as an
international Magna Carta. It enumerates the specific rights to life, liberty,
and security of person; freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention, and exile;
fair and public trial by an independent impartial tribunal; freedom of
thought, religion, and conscience; freedom of peaceful assembly and
association; and the rights to social security, work, education and
participation in the life of an artistic and scientific community were added
to them later.
(9)
The civilized Western world had to go a
long way to reach a universal declaration of human rights. Despite a lapse of
one and a half centuries after the French declaration of human rights, the
U.N. declaration falls short of ensuring equal rights of people of different
race and colour as well as ideological and religious freedom for all the
nations of the world, particularly those of the Third World, which have no
safeguard against their economic, cultural and political exploitation by the
so-called advanced nations. Interpretation of terms like freedom, human rights
and sovereignty is considered to he a monopoly of the industrially advanced
powers. Freedom-fighters are dubbed as terrorists, while inhuman acts of
aggression, suppression, subversion, interference in the affairs of sovereign
nations of the Third World by the imperialists are termed as means of
safeguarding the freedom and human rights of the people of the victim
countries. What is inconvenient to the champions of open society and human
rights is labeled violation of human rights and is condemned by international
forums and mass media. Contrarily, the countries openly practising policies of
Apartheid and racial discrimination, such as South Africa's white minority
government and the Zionist regime, receive all kinds of assistance and support
from the civilized West. Military dictatorships and anti-people regimes which
serve their Western masters and crush democratic movements of their people,
are justified on the pretext of fighting against obscurantism and religious
fanaticism. How human rights and freedoms are interpreted is a matter of
convenience for the guardians of Western civilization and supremacy. The
movements of Islamic resurgence particularly invite the wrath of the
standard-bearers of human rights. Socialist countries criticize capitalist
nations for denying ideological and economic freedom to their people, while
Western democracies accuse socialist States of totalitarianism and violation
of fundamental rights. Both are right so far as the other camp is concerned,
and both are wrong with regard to their claim of granting all the freedoms and
rights to their people. Capitalist democracies and socialist republics
represent two faces of one and the same coin in the modern world for
transacting the business of human rights.
Islam, if studied and judged without any
bias, can be justifiably acclaimed to have launched and practiced a universal
message of human rights and freedom fourteen centuries ago, in which all the
above-mentioned contradictions and inconsistencies were resolved at both the
theoretical and practical levels. Islam being a religion consists of a set of
beliefs. And beliefs, as defined by C. S. Pierce, the founder of Pragmatism,
are distinct from ideas, for those who hold them, while ideas often remain
unpractised necessarily act them upon. Hence whatever Islam preached was also
practiced by true Muslims. As in Islam all dichotomies of theory and practice
are resolved, wherever we see disparity between professing and practicing, we
can say that in such cases the essential condition of Islam is not fulfilled.
Islam literally means submission to God. The submission of various selves
struggling to achieve supremacy to an Absolute Self brings harmony in the
world of unceasing struggle. Harmony in the human collective existence can be
maintained and ensured through a balanced and just award of equal rights to
all individuals along with the freedom to shoulder corresponding obligations,
so that human rights are accorded to all. Islam brought into existence such a
harmonious society for the first time in the annals of human history at a time
when the advanced West of today lived in a total darkness and without any
conception of freedom and human rights. Before the advent of Islam, the great
Greek civilization had introduced a rudimentary form of democracy in the
city-states, and later the Romans also put up a semblance of democracy for a
short time. But in Greek democracies only free men, not women, had a right to
vote, and slaves were considered unworthy of having any rights. The vast Roman
Empire was virtually a slave State, in which only the free ruling class
enjoyed certain rights. The Byzantine Empire that succeeded the Roman empire
never practiced the teachings of Christ and denied freedom of thought and
enquiry to Christians themselves. The Popes were equally intolerant of free
enquiry. In the Christian theocracies and monarchies, religious minorities
were persecuted and discriminated against. The socio-political structure of
the Persian Empire was equally oppressive, in which only the priests and
noblemen enjoyed some rights. In this caste-ridden set-up the common people
could not even think of freedom. The Indian society was also caste-bound,
where the lower castes constituting the vast majority of people were treated
as subhuman beings. In such an epoch, Islam emerged with a universal message
of human freedom that guaranteed equal rights for all human beings
irrespective of their race, colour, nationality, faith, and sex. Despite
deviating from the path of the Prophet (s.a.w) and his true successors, Muslim
rulers generally observed the Islamic principle of human equality and granted
much more freedoms and rights to their subjects than any other past or
contemporary State. Not only Muslims, but also non-Muslims enjoyed full
freedom in the States ruled by Muslims. Sayyid Amir Ali, in The Spirit of
Islam, stating that Islam never interfered with the dogmas of any faith,
writes:
- Whilst
orthodox Christianity persecuted with equal ferocity the Jews and Nestorians,
. . . Islam afforded them both shelter and protection. Whilst Christian Europe
was burning witches and heretics, and massacring Jews and infidels, the Moslem
sovereigns were treating their non-Moslem subjects with consideration and
tolerance. They were the trusted subjects of the State, councilors of the
empire. Every secular office was open to them along with the Moslems. The
teacher himself had declared it lawful for a Moslem to intermarry with a
Christian, Hebrew, or Zoroastrian.
(10)
The rights accorded by Islam to
non-Muslims, women, and slaves were not only unprecedented in those days, they
also distinguish Islam from modern ideologies.
A detailed discussion on the subject of
human rights granted and practiced by Islam is beyond the scope of the present
article. I would confine my discourse to certain rights granted to women,
slaves, and non-Muslims, in order to show to what extent Islam respected human
freedom. This study would enable us to understand how far the Islamic
conception of freedom had been translated into action and practice. Besides
the Qur'an, our other main source of reference is Nahi al-balaghah of al-'Imam
Ali (a.s), which is in total conformity with the tradition of the Prophet
(s.a.w).
The
Qur'anic Conception of Freedom and Rights:
The relation between rights and freedom is
twofold. On the one hand no right can be conceived without freedom; on the
other, rights ensure certain freedoms for human beings. In the same way,
rights and duties are also related to each other reciprocally. Every right
granted to man saddles him with some duties. Duty, in a broader sense, means
respecting the rights of other, which in its own turn results in securing a
safer ground for enjoying and exercising rights. Freedom of man implies that
all men have equal right to freedom, which leads to a logical corollary that
every individual's freedom is delimited by other's freedom. But this
limitation does not deprive one of his freedom; rather, it safeguards the
freedom of all. If one is allowed to exercise his individual freedom to an
extent, which results in usurping, or curtailing other's freedom, nobody shall
remain free, and freedom itself will become meaningless. Thus freedom in
itself is a right as well as a duty. Sometimes duty precedes right, for
instance, when a person knows and obeys God (both of which are primary duties
of a human being according to Islam), he is entitled to certain rights. In
this case, fulfilling one's obligation towards God bestows upon one greater
freedom also. Of course, man is free to disobey his Creator, but disobedience
lands him in the worst type of slaveries, of the world and other men. On the
contrary, obedience to God emancipates the human being from all kinds freedom
and rights. Usually rights are supposed to precede of dependence and
obedience, and entitles him to greater duties. It is really very difficult to
solve the riddle as to which is prior between these two. In actuality,
freedom, right and duty (or obligation) are three sides of a triangle, in
which all three sides are equal. In this triangle, I personally prefer to
regard freedom as the base. However, all three sides are equally essential to
form a triangle. If any one of the three is removed, the triangle disappears.
Islam has given equal importance to all the three, which together form the
moral, social and political conduct of a Muslim. I do not mention religious or
theological behaviour intentionally and consciously, because religious
behaviour is nothing hut the sum total of the various dimensions of human
behaviour. Realization of God and obedience to Him is the basis of man's moral
as well as social and political conduct. In reality, these patterns of
behaviour that are named differently are intertwined and are indistinguishable
from one another. Islam regards all different modes of human behaviour as
modes of an integrated activity. The world outlook of tawhid approaches human
behaviour also from a monistic and unitary viewpoint. The purpose of all human
activity is the establishment of justice at all levels.
Starting from the base, I would reemphasize
my belief as a Muslim that man's existence is grounded in freedom, which is
inherent to man's nature. He is born free in the world which calls upon him to
choose and act freely in order to determine his destiny.
Freedom is ensured in the Qur`an, both
inborn and acquired. There is no distinction between a believer and a
non-believer in this respect. What is prohibited is evil and what is lawful is
good for all men. It is good and evil that is the criterion of lawful and
unlawful, not vice versa. Those who follow the rational commands of God
revealed through the Prophet (s.a.w) are emancipated:
(The Prophet)
enjoins them good and forbids them evil, and removes from them their burden
and the shackles which were upon them .
. . (al- A'raf: 157)
This general principle based upon the
inherent good and evil of things and acts is universally applicable, and it is
in this sense that Islam is "the religion of (human) nature (it is Divine
nature in the sense that it is ordained by God). As we have pointed out, no
fixed nature is imposed upon man, but he was created in the way he deserved to
be. In this way, we can understand the true meaning of
"there
is no compulsion in religion"
(al-Baqarah: 256). This principle is further elaborated in another verse:
"And strive
hard in (the way of) Allah, such a striving as is due to Him; He has chosen
you and has not laid upon you any hardship in religion".
(al-Hajj: 78)
Men are free to make use of and enjoy all
the things not declared as unlawful (al-Ma'idah: 87-88). The prohibited things
are overt and covert indecencies, aggression and injustice (al-'A'raf: 28).
Justice and equity, which are the ends of freedom, are enjoined (al-Ma`idah:
29). In the matter of doing justice, God does not desire hardship for men but
ease: (al-Baqarah: 185). All the Qur'anic verses laying down the laws of just
action are addressed to and are applicable to all human beings irrespective of
their faith. God is the Lord of all the worlds, and the Prophet (s.a.w) of
Islam is sent as a blessing for all the worlds. Neither His Lordship nor the
blessings of the Prophet's prophethood is confined only to Muslims. Hence
freedom, the greatest of all blessings, is granted to all men.
Freedom,
Human Destiny, and the World in the Nahj al-balaghah:
The theme of freedom is repeatedly
emphasized and elaborated in the Nahj al-balaghah. We shall quote a few
relevant passages to substantiate the points made so far.
"….(God)
has given inborn disposition to human minds to shape themselves either towards
good or towards evil".
(11) (Khutbah: 75)
"They were
given complete liberty in this world, of thought and deed, to think as they
like and to do as they desire, so that they may develop their minds, and with
the help of such developed minds, free will, and the span of life allotted to
them, find the purpose for which they were created...."
(12) (Khutbah: 86).
In Khutbah 86, Imam Ali (a.s) further says
that human beings are given sound bodies and limbs with perfect senses to
acquire the knowledge of the external world and the light of reason and
wisdom, so that they are able to exercise their freedom of thought and action.
(13) This point forms a recurring theme of
the Nahj al-Balaghah, for a sound body, sound senses, and reason are necessary
conditions for exercising freedom. Those who are deficient in these respects
are not held responsible for their acts, such as insane persons and infants.
Solely those endowed with these things are responsible for their acts:
"Lives of
men who were enjoying themselves to their hearts' content and had perfect
freedom of action have such useful lessons in them to teach ...."
(Khutbah: 86)
(14)
From the above-quoted passages, certain
points can be inferred: man is given complete freedom with the ability to
exercise it; freedom has a purpose: to realize and obey Allah and act in a
just manner. Justice can be defined as maintaining an equilibrium among
various obligations and rights. One has to be just to oneself. There are many
verses in the Qur'an and innumerable passages in the Nahj al-balaghah
restraining men from indulging in excesses even in desirable deeds, such as
generosity, excess of which is israf and is prohibited. Doing justice to
others, which ensures social and political morality, and just behaviour in
relation to God, requires abstaining from overindulgence in ritual worship. By
maintaining justice in all the three aspects--that is in relation to oneself,
others and God--man is free to determine his destiny. In contemporary Western
philosophy existentialism is credited with introducing the notion of man's
freedom in shaping and moulding his own destiny, but a glance at the Nahj
al-Balaghah is sufficient to arrive at the conclusion that it was Imam Ali
(a.s) who advanced this idea for the first time:
If by
destiny you mean compulsion (physical or otherwise) whereby we are forced (by
nature) to do a thing, then it is not so. Had it been an obligation of that
kind, then there would have been no question of reward for doing it and
punishment for not doing it (such as breathing, sleeping and eating are
physical necessities entailing no reward or punishment), and the promised
blessings and punishments in afterlife will have no meanings. The Merciful
Lord has given His creatures complete freedom to do as they like, and they are
prohibited from certain actions and warned of the consequences of such
actions. These commands carry in them the least trouble and lead us towards
the most convenient way of life .... He sees people disobeying Him and
tolerates them, not because He can be overruled or be compelled to accept
human supremacy over Him. 1-Ie did not send His prophets to amuse Himself or
provide amusement for them. He did not reveal His orders without any reason
and purpose. Neither has He created the galaxies and the earth without any
design, purpose, and programme. A universe without plan, purpose, and
programme is the idea of the infidels and heathens; sorry will be their plight
in the fires and the hell... (Sayings: 78)
(Destiny) was an order of God to do it, like the order he has given in
His Holy Book
"You
are destined to worship him and nobody else".
Here destined means "ordered", it does not mean physical compulsion.
(15)
From this brief saying, many points
relevant to philosophical and moral issues can be derived: determining one's
destiny is an act of man's free will, different from physical compulsion;
Divine commands are rationally designed and have a purpose; the universe
itself has a design and a purpose; in this purposive scheme of creation man is
free to act or not to act in accordance with the Divine purpose; voluntary
acts of men deserve reward or punishment according to their nature; and that
freedom brings in its wake responsibility. Kant, who could not bring himself
to accept the existence of God on the strength of ontological, causal, and
teleological arguments, had to evolve a moral proof for the existence of God,
in which God, freedom of human will, and life after death served as the
essential postulates of morality. If we compare Imam Ali's approach to the
problems of freedom, morality, purposiveness of creation, and the existence of
God, we may come to a more convincing philosophy. Imam Ali does not require
any proof for the existence of God, but believes in Him on the ground of
revelation and his own inner experience. This is the same stand which was
taken in the West by Kierkegaard in the 19th century after realizing the
inadequacy of reason in proving or disproving God. Recent theology in the West
accepts the inner yearning of man to have faith in a Supreme Being as the only
criterion of belief in God. Starting from the same position Ali (a.s) proves
the purposiveness of creation, arguing that it is created by an intelligent,
knowing, and just God with a design and a purpose, and all His commands are
just and reasonable, for He does not command man to do something that is
beyond his capacity. Human freedom is an essential constituent of this
purposive world, without which man would not have been able to pursue certain
goals. It is also necessary for morality, which comprises voluntary actions.
Thus freedom is not a postulate in Imam Ali's world-outlook, hut an organic
part of a just and purposive order. His firm faith in a just God makes him
believe in the Hereafter. In this way, the Islamic world-outlook he presents
is more coherent and consistent than that of Kant or any other Western
philosopher. In this system, human reason does not give rise to antimonies,
because it is not required to trespass the region of faith or inner
experience. All the three axioms of morality which Kant derived from his moral
philosophy follow in Ali's Islamic system of thought from faith in God and
freedom of human will. In the world conceived by him all individuals are free
and they form a "kingdom of ends that is the beings sovereign in this
world and only subordinate to Divine commandments. They are not subservient to
other human beings and are masters of their own destiny. In this sense Imam
Ali (a.s) considers this world of ours better than any conceivable worlds.
There is a saying of his that refutes the commonly believed notion that the
Imam (a.s) despised the world and his approach to it was ascetic and
pessimistic. He heard someone abusing the world and said to him that it was
not the world which deceived man but it was man who was allured and enchanted
by it, and subsequently debased himself and polluted the world. He said:
Verily
this world is a house of truth for those who look into it carefully, an abode
of peace and rest for those who understand its ways and moods, and it is the
best working ground for those who want to procure rewards for their life in
the Hereafter. It is a place of acquiring knowledge and wisdom for those who
want to acquire them, a place of worship for the friends of God and for
angels. It is the place where prophets receive revelations of the Lord. It is
the place for virtuous people and the Saints to do good deeds and to be
assigned with rewards for the same; only in this world they could trade with
God's favours and blessings, and only while living here they could barter
their good deeds with His blessings and rewards. Where else could all this be
done? (16)
(Sayings: 130)
This passage may remind one of Leibnitz's
saying: "Ours is the best of all possible worlds", which reflects an
optimistic view of the physical world. Ali (a.s) regards it so because it is
here and here alone that man's freedom is tested as to how far he acts justly.
In the light of this passage we can justify Iqbal's view that man chose freely
to leave Heaven and come to this world.
Right
to Acquire Knowledge: Nahj al-balaghah's Approach
Knowledge of the creation in general,
and of this world in particular, is emphasized by Imam Ali (a.s) in the Nahj
al-balaghah as a prerequisite for making use of freedom in the right direction
and for the purpose willed by God. Knowledge, if used properly, helps man in
winning God's favour and bartering his deeds with Divine Will, as the Qur'an
declares:
"And
among men is he who sells his self for seeking the pleasures of Allah...."
(al-Baqarah: 207)
Those who attain such a stage are
few, and as many mufassirun point out Ali (a.s) as one of those chosen few who
bartered his self with Divine Will, according to the interpretation of this
Qur'anic verse. When human will becomes one with Divine Will, man attains the
highest stage of freedom: now there is no compulsion, and whatever a man wills
or does is in conformity with what God wills and wants man to do. Rightly
guided knowledge helps in attaining this stage. After expressing his view on
human freedom, Imam Ali (a.s) proceeds to highlight the value and importance
of knowledge. We find after the saying 78 about freedom, his views about
knowledge and wisdom in the saying 79, or in his saying 130 we come across his
views on the significance of acquiring knowledge and contemplating the signs
observable in the world after his description of the world as the best place
for making proper use of human freedom. Knowledge is held by Ali (a.s) to be
the light of reason, a treasure, the root of all good, and that which
emancipates man; it is a power (saying:
146),
(17) and one's supremacy is in proportion to
the extent of one's knowledge and wisdom (Sayings: 175)
(18)
From his many sayings about knowledge it
may be rightly inferred that knowledge is itself freedom, for it saves man
from ignorance, which is the cause of man's slavery to false beliefs,
unfounded fear of nature and his superiors. It is at the same time a key to
attain and safeguard freedom accorded to human beings. The Qur'an is unique
among the scriptures in encouraging the believers to acquire knowledge and to
verify the fundamentals of faith rationally. There are 704 verses in the
Qur`an where the word 'ilm or its derivations are used. Book, an essential
aid of 'ilm occurs in the Qur'an 230 times, while the total number of verses
in which words related to kitab and kataba have occurred is 319. The Qur'an
itself is mentioned as kitab on 81 occasions in its text. It is not possible
in this brief article to quote even a few of the relevant Qur'anic verses and
the sayings of Ali (a.s). However, it would not be out of place to point out
that the right to acquire knowledge and freedom of enquiry forms an essential
part of the laws and guiding principles governing human rights in Islam. In
this matter, no distinction is made between Islamic and non-Islamic sources
and Muslim and non-Muslim teachers. Ali (a.s) says:
"Acquire
knowledge and truth from whomever you can, because even an apostate can have
them, hut unless they are passed over to a faithful Muslim and become part of
wisdom and truth that he possesses, they have a confused existence in the
minds of apostates". (Sayings: 79).
(19)
Another saying of Ali (a.s) is an
elaboration of the Prophet's famous tradition, according to which knowledge is
the lost property of Muslims:
"A
wise saying is a lost and long-sought article of the believer. Therefore,
acquire it even if it is to be found with hypocrites".
(Sayings: 80).
(20)
The right to acquire knowledge has
been always accorded to non-Muslims also in Muslim States. An important point
made by Ali (a.s) is as to how an infidel uses knowledge, which remains in a
confused state in his mind. The truth of this view is evident in our age, for
modern knowledge, as pointed out by modern thinkers, is devoid of human
considerations and has dehumanized its retainers and creators. All the uses of
scientific discoveries and advancements for inventing and selling the weapons
of mass destruction indicate the absence of a right worldview. Islam, on the
other hand, humanizes all knowledge in the light of Divine guidance, which
leads to a humanized world outlook. Being fully aware of the dangers of the
abuse of knowledge, Ali (a.s) claims that God will always appoint some Imam as
the guardian of Divine revelation and he, openly or hidden from the eyes of
the world, will guide men till the end of this world. (Saying 146 addressed to
Kumayl)
(21) Thus the right to receive
unceasing Divine guidance, along with the right to knowledge and enjoy freedom
of thought and expression forms the foundation-stone of the Islamic universal
declaration of human rights. The constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran
ensures the right to knowledge and freedom of learning through various
articles. Article 2, clause 6, declares that the Islamic Republic is based on
faith in Allah, belief in the exalted dignity of man and his freedom coupled
with responsibility before God, and that equity, justice, political, economic,
social, and cultural independence are secured by recourse to:
(a)
continuous ijtihad of the fuqaha'.
(b) and sciences and arts and the most advanced results of human
experience, together with the effort to advance them further. An article of
the first chapter states that the Islamic Republic has the duty of directing
all its resources to raising the level of public awareness and the spirit of
inquiry, investigation, and innovation in all areas of science.
(22)
These rights are not confined to Muslims only, hut are accorded to non-Muslim
citizens as well in the light of Article 19 (Chapter III), which states that:
"All people of Iran, whatever the ethnic group and tribe they belong to,
enjoy equal rights; and colour, race, language, and the like, do not bestow
any privilege.
(23) These articles are in
conformity with the Islamic view of human rights.
Underprivileged
Sections of the People and Their Rights:
Islam paid special attention to weaker
sections of society, for stronger sections not only get what is rightfully
their due, but also grab what belongs to weaker sections. Christ had pleaded
and fought for the oppressed, but when his followers came to power they
adopted the same system which was based on according privileges to the ruling
class and the priests. On the contrary, Islam granted special rights to the
underprivileged, so that their rights are not denied to them and any
violations of them were redressed. Woman as a whole had been suppressed by all
pre-Islamic societies both in the East and the West. The social status and
legal position of slaves had been even worse. With the establishment of
Islamic rule, a new class of weaker people came into existence, that is
non-believers living under Muslim rule. Besides slaves, there had been always
in existence a class of have-nots consisting of small peasants, landless
labourers, poor artisans, orphans, widows, mentally and physically
handicapped, the sick and the old, prisoners and travellers (ibn al-sabil).
The Qur'an makes special mention of all these classes while laying down the
principles of justice and framing laws according rights to the people. To help
the deprived the Qur`an commands emphatically and repeatedly to give zakat,
and also recommends the disbursement of sadaqat among the needy.
Zakat and sadaqh are usually translated as
alms and charity, but in the Qur'an they are defined in much better terms.
Zakat has two meanings: purification, and the cause of blessing and abundance.
Both the meanings are derived from the following Qur'anic verses: al-Nur: 21,
al-Kahf: 74, al-'A'la: 14 & 15, and Fatir: 19. In interpreting the verses
from the surahs al-'A'la and Fatir, some exegetes have interpreted tazakka in
the sense of zakat. sadaqah also has the same meaning according to verses 103
and 104 of al-Tawbah.
(24) Both zakat
and
sadaqah are means of purifying one's riches, with the difference that
zakat is
obligatory and sadaqah is recommendatory. Muslims are distinguished
from
mushrikun, that is polytheists and idolaters, on the ground that the
latter do
not give zakat (Ha' Mz
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but righteousness is this that one should believe in Allah and the
Last Day
and the angels and the Book and the prophets and give away wealth out
of love
for Hun to near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarers
and the
beggars and for (the emancipation of) the captives; and keep up prayer
and pay
the zakat...." (al-Baqarah: 177).
As the special categories of people
deserving to receive zakst are enumerated, similarly dadaqah also, as
specifically mentioned, is to he given to the poor and the needy, the
officials in charge of collecting the zakat, those whose hearts are made to
incline' (to Islam) (al-mu'allafal al-qulub), the (ransoming of) captives,
those in debt, and in the way of Allah and the way-farer (al-Tawbah: 60).
(25)
Thus zakat is due to seven categories: the
needy, the poor, the collectors of zakat ,the mu'allafat al-qulub, ransoming
of captives and emancipating slaves, the indebted, and the wayfarers; an
eighth category is added to it, that is public funds for the construction and
administration of the mosques, educational institutions, water works, and for
meeting the expenses of jihad.
(26) Special
mention is made of paying devote their entire time and energy to worship, and
self-respecting people who never go to ask for help despite extreme poverty
(al-Baqarah: 273).
(27)
The needy and poor of the lineage of the
Prophet (s.a.w), who are prohibited from accepting zakat and sadaqah, are
taken care of by allocating to them one half of khums; the first half of which
is reserved for God and the Prophet (s.a.w) and the Imam (a.s) of his Family.
Abu Hanifah is of the view that the part
reserved for the Prophet (s.a.w) is invalidated after the Prophet's demise,
(28) but the Imamiyyah Shi'ah reserve it for the maraji', in the
absence of the Imam (a.s). The remaining part of khums is reserved for the
orphans, the needy and the way-farers. Regarding this also the Shi'ah differ
from Ahl al-Sunnah. While the former say that these three parts are also
reserved for the Banü Hashim, and particularly the Talibiyyun, the later hold
that this three-fifth of khums money is specified for the needy among Muslims
in general. So far as the definition of dhawi al-qurba is concerned, Shi'i
and Sunni fuqaha' again differ. Shi'i fuqaha' hold that this term includes
all the relations of the Prophet (s.a.w) without any specification, but Sunnis
say that only needy in the Prophet's family come under this category. Shi'i
fuqaha' reject this interpretation for the absence of any evidence in the
Qur'anic text to support it.
(29)
Despite these minor differences among
various schools of fiqh, the Qur`anic injunctions concerning zakat and khums
are generally followed by all Muslims. It is also accepted that zakat is over
and above the obligatory payments to be made towards meeting the essential
needs of parents and other dependants, and these payments (nafaqah) are not to
he covered under the head of zakat, which is only for the eight categories
enumerated above. Thus Islamic law has taken care of all the weaker sections
of society, and has entitled them to claim their rights from the rulers and
upper classes. In a way Islam does not recognize any upper classes and is
opposed to the amassing of huge property and hoarding of riches
unproportionate to one s work and labour.
"O you who
believe! most surely many of the doctors of law and the monks eat away the
property of men falsely, and turn (them) from Allah's way; and (as for) those
who hoard up gold and silver and do not spend it in Allah's way, announce to
them a painful chastisement. On the day when these shall be heated in the fire
of Hell, then their foreheads and their sides and their backs shall be branded
with it; this is what you hoarded up for yourselves, therefore taste what you
hoarded". (al-Tawbah: 34-35).
The conditions for the appointment of
judges are very strict and rigorous and the responsibility of rulers is so
great that any true Muslim will shudder to accept them due to fear of Allah
and the Law of Islam. Imam Ail (a.s) warned Qadi Shurayh that he occupied a
seat which was assigned to prophets or their vicegerents, or occupied by a
tyrant. The main objective of the Islamic government is to estahlish the rule
of justice and equity (al-Nahl: 19), which demands that the weak and the
deprived (including slaves) should he provided their basic needs (al-Nahl:
71). To do justice to the underprivileged seems to he the most difficult of
the jobs of a government, as Imam Ali (a.s) said,
"One
who comes to power often oppresses and tyrannizes, and that "oppression
and tyranny are the worst companions in the Hereafte"r.
(Sayings: 198 & 202).
(30) As the weaker
sections of people fall easy prey to oppression and tyranny, Islam has taken
particular care to guard their rights and redress whatever their legitimate
grievances may he. In this way Islamic law ensures freedom of the oppressed.
The Qur'an contains a number of verses
which lay down the guiding principles of justice:
1. Never refer to a misled and tyrannical ruler for seeking justice
(al-Nisa': 63, Hud: 113).
2. The prophets and their deputies are made the vicegerents of God for
establishing the rule of justice and equity (Sad: 38). 3.
Divinely appointed personages and judges have to follow the commands of God
(al-Ma'idah: 48, 49 & 51).
4. Judges are obliged to see every citizen get his due (al-Nisa': 61).
5. One has to abide by the order of a judge and an arbitrator (al-Nur:
48-49, al-Nisa': 68).
6. Judges should be impartial and meticulous (al-Nisa':106).
7. Judges are bound to admit writs of non-Muslims and to dispose them
at the earliest (al-Ma'idah: 46).
8. Accepting bribes is strictly prohibited (al-Ba qarah: 180).
The Qur'anic text also lays down the
conditions for the appointment of a qadhi: he ought to be mature, possessing
sound reason, of firm faith, just, expert in fiqh with the ability to do
ijtihad, of legitimate birth, free from mental lapses, and a male.
(31)
Imam Ali (a.s), in his letter to Malik al-'Ashtar which is a
comprehensive code of conduct for rulers and a document laying down the
Islamic principles of governance and justice, elaborates the Qur'anic code of
conduct by adding that a qadhi has to he intelligent, patient, of stable
temperament, honest, man of integrity, meticulous, and humble.
(32)
If a judge is prone to vicissitudes of mood, he cannot judge objectively. Leo
Tolstoy, in the Resurrection, one of his best novels, criticizes and ridicules
judges for being whimsical and moody in delivering judgments, thus committing
injustice and spoiling the lives of innocent people who are at their mercy. He
also seems to confirm the Qur'anic view of not referring to an unjust judge by
condemning the entire legal system based upon vested interests of tyrannical
rulers. Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a.s) advised his followers not to appeal to
the courts of unjust and tyrannical rulers who usurped power illegitimately
from the rightful claimants of rulership and directed them to refer among
themselves to him who is an expert on the Qur'anic injunctions and can judge
justly.
(33) This advice implies that
judgments of an unjust government are not binding on Muslims, and, implicitly,
they are expected to overthrow such a regime. The first and foremost condition
of justice in human social, political, economic, and legal issues is that the
entire socio-political system is to be based on justice. The rulers usurping
power illegitimately and undemocratically in our age cannot establish the rule
of justice. It further implies that the Islamic code of justice can be
implemented in a truly Islamic society and State only. We may logically infer
from this that the States whose rulers are not elected in accordance with the
Islamic criteria have no right to implement the Islamic laws of retribution
(qisas) only, for these laws form an integral part of the whole Islamic
superstructure. The principle of justice demands that it is the first duty of
a ruler claiming to follow the Islamic polity to build a truly Islamic society
conducive to the implementation of Islamic justice.
Another significant point made by Imam Ali
(a.s) in his letter to Malik al-'Ashtar anticipates a modern principle of
democratic rule, which was realized in the West in the present century only:
"Pay them
(qadhis) handsomely so that their needs are fully satisfied and they are not
required to beg or borrow or resort to corruption. Give them such a prestige
and position in your province that none of your officers or courtiers can
overlord them or bring harm to them. Let judiciary be above every kind of
executive pressure or influence, above fear or favour, intrigue or
corruption". (34)
Most probably, the importance of
independence of the judiciary was realized for the first time by Imam Ali
(a.s) in the annals of human history. He regarded it to be an essential
condition of the administration of justice. His great concern for the weaker
and oppressed sections of society is evident throughout his sermons, letters,
admonitions, and directives issued to his military and administrative
officers, and judges.
His concern was the honesty and integrity
of persons as the basic condition in the appointment of all officers from the
lowest rank up to the highest. If officers, particularly judges, are corrupt
or prone to temptations, the stronger sections will be able to deprive the
weak of their rights. Advising his governors to hold regular public audiences,
he commands them not to let guards and police officers be present on such
occasions, so that those who have grievances against the government may speak
to the Amir freely, unreservedly, and without fear.
(35)
At the same time he reminds them that in such audience mostly the common
people will gather:
Therefore,
if you find them misbehaving, or acting in an unmannerly fashion, or if you
feel that their talk is irrelevant, tolerate them; do not be rude and
insulting to them ... (36)
He adds that he often heard the Prophet
(s.a.w) saying:
"
A
nation or government in which the rights of the depressed, the destitute, and
the suppressed are not guarded and where the mighty and the powerful persons
are not forced to accede these rights, cannot succeed".
(37)
With a view to preventing any
possibility of oppression and exploitation, he prohibits giving of lands on
permanent lease with all property and ownership rights and water supply and
other sources of public utility to anybody, because such possessions will
enable privileged persons to oppress others and derive undue advantage.
(38)
Amir al-Mu'minin's regard for the
judiciary and proper legal procedure made him to appear in the court of Qadhi
Shurayh as a complainant. When the qadhi offered him a seat of honour, he
reproached him for being discriminate. He accepted the judgment against
himself, though his claim was right. The opposite party was a Christian, who
was so impressed by Ali's submission to the court of law that he confessed
that he had no claim on the disputed property; he also volunteered to embrace
Islam. Here another aspect of Amir al-Mumini's adherence to Islamic
teachings comes to light. He repeatedly enquired if he was forced by somebody
to give up his old faith. When he was convinced that there was no compulsion
by any authority and the Christian wished to embrace Islam willingly and
freely, only then he taught him the kalimah.
(39)
It was under such rulers that Muslims
learnt to respect freedom and rights of all human beings including those of
non-Muslims.
(A)
Non-Muslims' Rights:
As the Qur'an has taken special care of
non-Muslims in the matter of their legal rights, it accords them full freedom
in the matters of faith, economic activity, property, social security, and the
preservation of their culture and traditions.
1. Muslims are commanded to observe the conditions of their pacts and
treaties made with non-Muslims and never to violate them (al-Ma'idah. 1;
al-Nahl: 91; al-'Ahzab. 15; al-Tawbah: 4 and 7; Banu Isra'il. 34; al-Baqarah:
177; al-Ra'd: 20; al-Mu minun: 8 and 9; al-Ma`arij: 32). A general principle
is laid down that keeping of promises and fulfilling pacts is a sign of a
Muslim. This rule includes pacts with non-Muslims also. Ali (a.s) included
non-Muslims also among the common citizens paying taxes or tribute (jizyah).
Regarding pacts with an enemy, he advises Malik al-'Ashtar:
"If your
enemy invites you for a treaty that will be acceptable to the Lord, then never
refuse to accept such an offer. Be very careful, never break your promises
with your enemy, never forsake the protection or support that you have offered
to him, never go back on your words and never violate the terms of treaty~ You
must risk even your life to fulfill the promises given and the terms settled.
Because of all the obligations laid by the Mighty Lord upon man there is none
so important as the keeping of one's promises . . .. Even the heathens take
care to keep promises made among themselves.... Deception and fraud against
your enemy is deception against God. Let there he no ambiguity in them
(pacts); do not try to take advantage of any ambiguous word or phrase in an
agreement . . . Beware of the sin of shedding blood without religious
justification and sanction, because there is nothing quicker to bring the
wrath of the Lord ......" (40)
In the same letter, he writes:
"
Remember
Mailik that among your subjects there are two kinds of people: they are either
your brethren in the faith or likes of you in nature and creation. They may
have failings and faults and commit slips. They may act wrongfully either
willfully or by neglect. So extend to them your forgiveness in the same way as
you would like God to extend His forgiveness to you ...."
(41)
The rights of non-Muslims living in a
Muslim State are covered by the above instructions; their lives are to be
protected and their bloodshed is prohibited.
Verse 58 of al-'Anfal and verses 90-94 of al-Nisa' encourage Muslims to
accept any offer of peace by non-Muslims with the Divine promise that if they
intend to deceive, God will protect Muslims.
2. Muslims have to take care of the
dhimmis, i.e. non-Muslims under the protection of a Muslim State according to
a dhimmah pact. A dhimmi is free to abide by the dhimmah pact or to leave the
Muslim State. There is no compulsion. Al-'Allamah al-Hilli holds that this
pact is not binding on a non-Muslim for ever.
(42)
This is a bilateral pact. The Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians are covered by
this pact, but the Sunnis include all other non-Muslims also under the pact of
dhimmah. The pact made with the Christians of San'a' by the Prophet (s.a.w)
and written by Ali (a.s), declared that all the Christians living in the east
and the west, whether Arab or non-Arab, are covered by it; anybody who attacks
them will he regarded as attacking Muslims, and if a Muslim violates it,
whether he is an official or a commoner, he will he unfaithful to Islam.
According to it, Muslims were held responsible for securing the security of
the Christians and were hound to defend them with their own lives. Dhimmis
would not he liable to pay any other tax except the tribute they had willingly
agreed to pay; their priests and churches would he safe; the priests would be
exempted from paying jizyah; the rich among them and the traders would not be
asked to pay any additional tax; none among them would be forced to fight in
battle; they would be treated in the best manner; and anything that would
cause them harm would be prevented
. (43)
Similar treaties with the people of Ila
('Aqabah)
and Najran were also concluded.
(44)
3. The dhimmis have to pay jizyah only, and
are bound to abide by the Islamic laws pertaining to judicial matters and
penal issues, which are applicable to all citizens equally.
(45)
It means that the non-Muslims enjoy equality in legal affairs with Muslims. It
was because of this right to equality that a Christian could rebut the Caliph
in the court of justice, that too on false grounds, as described above.
Jizyah is a financial commitment on the
part of the dhimmis in accordance with the Qur'anic injunction (al-Tawbah:
29). According to al-Shaykh al-Tusi, the amount of jizyah is not fixed; it may
be fixed by Muslim rulers taking into consideration the yield of the lands of
the dhimmis, or determined with regard to each individual's capacity. Amir
al-Mu'minin (a.s) levied a tax of 48 dirhams on rich ones, 24 on middle class
people, and 12 on the poor.
(46)
Tribute is a term used for both jizyah and kharaj, which have been
confused with each other. Jizyah is per head capitation tax, while kharaj is a
collective land tax. If the one is levied, the other one is not collected. It
was the second Caliph only who levied both the taxes simultaneously, which
misled some Muslim fuqaha' and Orientalists into believing that both were
collected from non-Muslims.
(47) In case a
dhimmi embraced Islam, he was exempted from jizyah.Amir al-Mu'minin (a.s), in
his letter to Malik al-'Ashtar, directs him to be considerate in respect of
the circumstances of the farmers in collecting land revenue, always keeping in
view the welfare of the tax-payers. In his view more importance should be
attached to the fertility of land than the collection of taxes, because the
actual taxable capacity of people rests upon the condition of the land. He
warns that a ruler who does not pay attention to the prosperity of his
subjects and the fertility of land but concentrates only on the extraction of
revenue lays waste the land, ruins the State, and brings destruction to the
creatures of God, and his rule cannot last long. In case of natural calamities
and vagaries of rain, drought and destruction of crops, the tax is to be
reduced or, if conditions necessitate, totally exempted for the season. He
also recommends providing all facilities to the farmers, for the best
investment for a ruler is to help his subjects in times of difficulty. It may
be noted that it were mainly non-Muslims who were engaged in cultivation of
land in those days, for Muslims were mostly employed in the army and the
defense of the State. The lenience in collecting taxes is a means of winning
the dhimmis' confidence and love, which in case of a crisis would prove to be
an asset and source of strength for the ruler. Ali (a.s) wanted Muslim rulers
to behave differently from the kind of rulers described by the Qur'an as those
who bring devastation to the land and misery to the people (al-Naml: 34). The
poverty of the people, in his view, is the actual cause of a country's
devastation and ruin. Extraordinary conditions apart, in normal conditions
too, certain categories of non-Muslim subjects were exempted from jizyah or
kharمj, such as minors, the poor, old, disabled and insane persons.
(48)
Women are never required to pay jizyah. The married among them are
entitled to all the rights of citizenship on the basis of their husbands'
payment of the tax, while maidens are exempted due to their parents' and
guardians' citizenship rights. Every treaty that levies jizyah on women is
null and void from the Islamic viewpoint.
(49)
Besides natural or other calamities, in some other circumstances also
non-Muslims are exempted from the payment of jizyah. These are: whenever
Muslims feel they are unable to fulfill their obligations towards the dhimmis;
whenever Muslims consider the exemption to be instrumental in creating and
fostering better relations between the Muslim and non-Muslim communities;
whenever Muslims are in need of seeking their active participation in war; and
whenever any of them embraces Islam.
(50) In
most of the countries under Muslim rule jizyah was not collected at all; for
instance, in India the majority of rulers, with a few exceptions, did not levy
jizyah on non-Muslims. Awrangzeb Alamgir, the Moghal emperor, levied it in his
reign, but it proved to be against the interests of the Muslim empire and
counter-productive.
The dhimmis and other non-Muslims loyal to
the Muslim State enjoy freedom of faith and worship. Their places of worship
are protected.
(51) They have usually
received liberal grants from Muslim rulers. Though they have equal legal
rights, they are free to refer their disputes to their own religious
authorities.
(52) They are accorded all the
rights granted to Muslim citizens, that is, the right to education and
dissemination of knowledge, freedom of thought, the right to property, the
right to engage in business, agriculture, industry, and any honourable
activity. They are treated equally in social matters and are respected.
(53)
Al-Sharif al-Radi composed elegies paying tribute to his friend and teacher,
al-Sabi', an eminent Christian poet and scholar. Non-Muslims have been serving
Muslim courts as ministers, administrators, accountants, secretaries, and
ambassadors. They also excelled during Muslim regimes as scientists,
physicians, teachers, men of letters, artists, businessmen, industrialists,
bankers and soon. Even the secular democracies of today are unable to ensure
all these rights and freedoms to their minorities. Since the Muslim States
could ensure these rights to their non-Muslim subjects, we seldom find in
their history incidents of communal clashes and riots. The Constitution of the
Islamic Republic of Iran states in article 23 of Chapter III: "The
investigation of individuals' beliefs is forbidden, and no one may be molested
or taken to task for holding a certain belief".
(54)
(B)
The Rights of Slaves:
All medieval societies allowed
slavery to continue in the interest of the ruling classes, but Islam
discouraged it. As the historical conditions did not permit its outright
abolishment at that time, Islam granted slaves human rights which had been
denied to them from time immemorial. The Qur`an encouraged Muslims to
emancipate slaves in such verses as: al-Baqarah: 177; al-Ma'idah: 89;
al-Nisa': 93; al-Mujadilah: 3. The Prophet (s.a.w) also entreated all the
Muslims to let slaves free, and himself did it. He appointed slaves to
important positions and treated them equally. Though the institution of
slavery continued in the Muslim world, but due to enjoying benefits of good
education and respectable status many slaves rose to high posts and sometimes
ruled over their past masters. The Turk slaves of the Banu Abbas could dictate
their terms to the caliphs also. The founders of Ghaznawi and Ghawri empires
were slaves. Similarly the Khawمrazmi rulers were descendants of slaves.
In India, the first Muslim empire was built up by a slave of Shihab al-Din
Ghawri, Qutb al-Din Aybak, who in his turn was succeeded by his slave,
Iltitmush, and subsequently his slave Balhan was made the emperor when
Iltitmush's family came to an end. In South India (Deccan), the first
independent dynasty was founded by a slave of Muhammad Tughlaq, Ala' al-Din
Hasan Gangu Bahmani. Slaves were often married their master's daughters. No
other religion or law has treated slaves so respectfully. Practically, slavery
was almost abolished in the Muslim world when the newly civilized West was
making the Africans slaves and deporting them to America, where the Black
Americans are still fighting for equal rights and human treatment. South
Africa is another example of the treatment of the Blacks, who despite being
the legitimate masters of the country and forming the majority are being
treated and persecuted in a manner worse than slaves. All such atrocities
against free human beings are committed by the authors of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Islam bestowed freedom on slaves of the world
fourteen centuries ago. Slaves were the greatest beneficiaries of the Islamic
declaration of human rights. It is because of Islamic equality that peoples
who were discriminated against on racial or other grounds came to the fold of
Islam.
(C) Women's
Rights:
If one compares the status of women in the
pre-Islamic societies of Greece, Rome, Persia, Syria, India, and Arabia, one
will acknowledge that Islam raised their position to a level that they could
claim equal rights with men in all spheres of life. Christianity regarded
woman as the source and cause of Adam's sin and his Consequent fall, and Arab
paganism buried daughters alive considering them to be the cause of shame.
Islam not only advocated equality of the sexes, but also the Prophet (s.a.w)
set an example of how to respect women by paying great respect to Khadijah
(a.s) and Fatimah (a.s) in particular and women folk in general. Polygamy and
the Hijab are the butts of the West's and the so-called enlightened East's
criticism of Islam's treatment of women. The former, on the one hand, was
necessitated by social conditions, and, on the other, by the physiological
make-up of the two sexes. Promiscuity and free love in modern Societies point
to this natural need. The Islamic Hijab does not imprison woman, but rather
emancipates her in many ways. Confining woman to the four walls of the house
and keeping her deprived of the fruits of education was never approved by
Islam. Jawahirlal Nehru, in The Discovery of India, rightly points out that
this type of female confinement is a result of
women
were deprived of their freedom under non-Islamic influences. The West, which
poses as the champion of women's equal rights, has granted them the rights to
property, separation and vote only recently. Syed Amir Ali, an eminent Indian
jurist, wrote in The Spirit of Islam in the first decades of this century:
"
Until
very recently, even in England, a married woman possessed no rights
independently of her husband . . .. But the Teacher, who in an age when no
country, no system, no community gave any right to woman, maiden or married,
mother or wife, who, in a country where the birth of a daughter was considered
a calamity, secured to the female sex rights which are only unwillingly and
under pressure being conceded to them by the civilized nations of the
twentieth century, deserves the gratitude of humanity".
(55)
If the Muslim woman seeks to imitate
the social role of her European sister, it will be nothing but a misconceived
emancipation which shall land her in the evil mire of the capitalist system,
which has reduced woman to a commodity and a sex-object for exhibition in the
windows of supermarkets and reception rooms of high offices. On the contrary,
Islam gave her the rights and freedoms which no system could grant her.
In Islam all the rights granted to men,
with few exceptions, are also given to women. One exception is with respect to
jihمd, but women are expected to help men behind the war front by taking
care of the wounded and doing similar important jobs. In the matter of
marriage, women have the right to express their consent to marry a person and
they are free to dissent. In divorce the right is given to man, but under
certain provisions woman can initiate the legal proceeding to secure divorce.
Woman's rights in Islam can be summarized as follows: Women are treated at an
equal footing with men in all affairs: religious, educational, legal, moral
and economic.
(a) In religious matters, obligations and
rewards of women are the same as those of men (al-Nisa': 1; al-'A'raf: 189;al-
Ahzah: 35).
(b) In ethical matters, also, equality of the two sexes is maintained
(al-Nisa': 124; al-Nahl: 97).
(c) Regarding education, the Qur'an implicitly gives the same rights to
women as are granted to men. Similarly, the Hadith of the Prophet (s.a.w)
making acquisition of knowledge obligatory upon all Muslims does not mention
any sex; in fact, the Prophet commanded that even the slave girls be educated.
As women are responsible for taking care of infants, they are supposed to have
some knowledge of medicine and also of the art of helping in childbirth. The
Prophet (s.a.w) asked a lady to instruct his wife Hafsah hint Umar. Women also
used to attend the Prophet's lectures. Because of this practice, a number of
ladies from the Household of the Prophet (s.a.w) excelled in hadith and fiqh.
In the history of Islam, we find the names of a number of women who equaled
most educated men in the religious sciences, arts, and literature.
(d) The legal and economic rights of women are also at a par with those
of men. Islam ensured economic independence of women by giving them a share in
parent's property (al-Nisa':7 and 11), and warning against depriving them of
their inheritance (al-Nisa': 19). A woman is entitled to hold and manage her
property. She enjoys the right to spend what she possesses and her husband
cannot deprive her of her dower (mahr) (al-Baqarah: 229, al-Nisa': 19-2 1 and
25), unless she voluntarily forgoes it as a gift (al-Nisa': 24). If wronged,
she is entitled to compensation just like a man, and if she commits a civil
offence, the Qur'an says, her penalty is no less or no more than that of a man
in a similar case (al-M'idah: 41; al-Nur: 2).
(e) In the marital contract, except in the case of divorce, she is
given the same rights that are granted to her husband. The Qur'an explicitly
commands men not to give women in marriage without seeking their consent
(al-Nisa': 19). Even the right of an infidel woman is respected by the Qur'an,
whichcommands Muslims not to violate the modesty and honour of the women
of mushrikün (al-Mumtahanah: 10-11). In our highly advanced age, the troops
of most civilized nations of the West deem it to be their legitimate right to
violate the honour of women of the enemy, for chastity and dignity of woman
have no value according to modern standards of culture and morality.
A Muslim woman also enjoys the right to choose her spouse of her free
will. She is entitled to dower (mahr) in accordance with the marriage
contract. Though polygamy is permissible in Islam, the conditions of being
fair and just to all the wives are so strict that practically it is
discouraged. The third verse of al-Nisa' says that if you fear that you will
not be able to do justice to more than one wife, he content with one wife
only. . . . The conditions of justice to wives are laid down in verse 33 of
al-Nisa'. There are many verses in the Qur'an which emphasize the sanctity of
the home and the family and state the mutual duties and rights of husband and
wife for the sake of safeguarding the family's welfare. Both of them are held
responsible for the harmony of the family. In case of differences, the husband
and wife are advised to settle them with the help of two arbitrators, one from
each of the parties (al-Nisa': 35). If it is not possible to live together,
the provision to separation is open, but according to a tradition of the
Prophet (y) divorce is the worst of permissible things in the eyes of God. A
woman is entitled to receive her expenses from her husband during the period
of iddah, and a child horn in this period belongs to the husband who is
responsible for its expenses. Even the much fussed about institution of
temporary marriage (mut'ah) is now being appreciated by some modern
sociologists who consider it the best safeguard against promiscuity.(f) Islam
has also given political rights to women, as stated in the twelfth verse of
al-Mumtahanah in the Qur'an. The women of Quraysh were given a right to take
the oath of allegiance after satisfying them fully of the conditions of
submitting to it.56 By implication this verse gives women the right to vote, a
right for which women had to struggle and wait till the twentieth century in
the West.
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