We looked briefly last week on the activities undertaken by various quarters in the field of organized defense of human rights. The question that we will try to answer now is how far is such organized activity acceptable within the framework of the Islamic rules on human rights on the one hand, and its acceptability within a general social framework on the other.
We begin by saying that such organization is not merely acceptable; it is a duty. Our view is based on three duties clearly and expressly outlined in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. The first is the duty of enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong. The second is the duty of cooperation in furthering righteousness and piety; and preventing injustice is the third of these duties. Our view is also based on the juristic formulation of collective, or community duties which include most aspects of social work.
We can only speak very briefly here on the concept that it is a duty to organize the defense work of human rights, without going into how such defense should be undertaken, or what practical mechanisms we should put in place to promote it. Such details and mechanisms require a special study. Moreover, they differ from one country to another and may develop and change from time to time.
Perhaps the basic difference between the Islamic and the Western concepts of human rights lies in the fact that Islam gives these rights a divine status. By contrast, the highest achievement of Western civilization in this regard has been in the form of making these rights a political goal, not merely natural rights. To clarify, Islamic law considers human rights a divine obligation establishing religious duties, while Western civilization gives them the status of rights only. A fundamental distinction between a right and an obligation is that a “right” may be waived or surrendered. There is no obligation to put it into practice. An obligation or a duty, on the other hand, is something that cannot be given up or surrendered. It is sinful to drop it or give it up.
This distinction gives us a natural link between the duty of enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong on the one hand and the organization of defending human right on the other. According to Islamic law, “what is right” includes everything that should be said or done in accordance with its rulings. “Wrong”, on the other hand, is everything that must not be done according to the same rulings. It is the same whether what should be enjoined or forbidden is expressly stated or implied in Islamic texts.
Clear Qur’anic and Hadith texts make it obligatory, both to the community and individuals, to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. The Qur’an says: “Let there become of you a nation that invites to all that is good, enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong. Such are they who shall prosper.” (3: 104) Moreover, the Muslim nation is praised in God’s own book on this account: “You are the best community that has ever been raised for mankind: You enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong and you believe in God.” (3: 110)
Moreover, we read in the Qur’an: “God enjoins justice, kindness, and generosity to one’s kindred; and He forbids what is shameful, and reprehensible conduct, and all transgression. He admonishes you so that you may take heed.” (16: 90) This order to enjoin justice and kindness provides a general heading under which every right may be enjoined and every wrong forbidden.
The Prophet’s statements concerning the enjoining of what is right and forbidding the doing of what is wrong are numerous and authentic. They are related in the two authentic collections by Al-Bukhari and Muslim, as well as in other collections. It is sufficient to mention here the Hadith saying: “Whoever of you sees something wrong should change it with his hand. If he is unable to do so, then with his tongue; and if not, then in his heart. This is the least degree of faith.” (Related by Muslim).
Imam Muhammad Abdou has a splendid idea concerning the collective organization of enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong which ensures their continuity. In commenting on the verse, “Let there become of you a nation that invites to all that is good, enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong,” (3: 104) he says: “This verse makes it obligatory that there should be a united, strong group that undertakes the duty of inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong. This applies equally to rulers and subjects. There is nothing more right than justice and nothing more wrong than injustice and oppression.”
Imam Al-Ghazali describes the obligation of enjoining right and forbidding wrong as “the most important of all religious duties. It is the task for which God has sent all prophets.” This makes it clear that at least some Muslims must organize themselves to defend human rights, as Imam Muhammad Abdou says.
The second principle confirming our view that such organized defense of human rights is obligatory is the principle of cooperating to promote righteousness and piety, stated in the verse that may be rendered in translation as follows: “Help one another in furthering righteousness and piety, and do not help one another in furthering evil and aggression. Have fear of God, for God is severe in retribution.” (5: 2) This verse and similar ones in the Qur’an make it obligatory to cooperate in furthering righteousness which includes every good thing. Ibn Abbas defines the four Arabic words included here as follows: Righteousness, or birr, means doing what you are ordered to do; piety, or taqwa, is to refrain from what you have been ordered to avoid; evil, or ithm, includes all acts of disobedience to God; and aggression, or udwan, includes every transgression beyond the limits set by God Almighty. Cooperation as stated in this verse gives an order for believers to help one another. Such help may be offered by the community to the individual and by the individual to the community.
Since human rights, as we have explained, are clear obligations, then cooperation to ensure their protection is part of cooperation in promoting righteousness. Similarly, helping one another in preventing their violation is cooperation in the prevention of evil and aggression.
The third principle we cite in support of our view that such organized defense of human rights is a duty is the essential Islamic principle of preventing injustice. God does not only command us to ensure justice and kindness; He also threatens those guilty of injustice with painful punishment and promises to support the victims of such injustice. He says: “Blame attaches only to those who oppress people and behave outrageously on earth, offending against all right. For them there is grievous suffering in store.” (42: 42) He promises the oppressed a happy outcome: “As for those who forsake their homes for the sake of God after enduring injustice (on account of their faith), We shall most certainly grant them a good abode in this life. Surely the reward of the hereafter is much greater, if they but knew it.” (16: 41)
He warns communities where injustice is common with total destruction: “How many a township have We destroyed because it had been immersed in injustice. Now they all lie deserted, with their roofs caved in!” (22: 45) “Other communities We destroyed when they persisted in wrongdoing. Indeed We had appointed a time for their destruction.” (18: 59)
Authentic Sunnah gives a similar message. The Prophet says: “Steer away from injustice, for injustice puts you in layers of darkness on the Day of Judgment.” (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim). He is also quoted as saying: “If people encounter an oppressor and do not stop him, God could easily overwhelm them with a general punishment.” (Related by Abu Dawood)
We will add further clarification to this issue next week, God willing.