Part One: SEERAH (Biographical Sketch) CHAPTER

C:\Users\Admin\Dropbox\The Message - Material of Maulana\16. Books and Review\Apa's Books\Life And 83 In illustration of this fact, it was recorded that one day the Prophet saw a funeral procession passing through a street in Madinah. He stood up in deference. When he was told by his companions that the deceased person was a Jew, not a Muslim, the Prophet said: Was he not a human being? (Sahih al-Bukhari) Human life in Islam is held in such high esteem that the killing of a single human being is considered equivalent to the assassination of the whole of mankind. And the protection of a single human life is equivalent to the protection of the whole of mankind. It is so stated in the Quran with reference to the murder of Abel by his elder brother Cain, this being the first violation of human rights in human history. (5:27-32) Some scholars claim that Islam does not have any provision for human rights in the modern sense, since it is theocentric, and therefore God is regarded as the starting point of all thought and action. On the contrary, the modern concept of human rights is anthropocentric, wherein man forms the centre of everything. However, a thorough analysis shows that this view is based on a misconception. Man’s primary duty in Islam consists of obeying God wholeheartedly and unconditionally. All other rights, including human rights, automatically stem from this primary duty towards God. We can say that, without this theocentric perspective, neither can the fulfilment of human rights be ensured nor their violation be avoided. The preamble of the UN Charter of Human Rights (UDHR) calls on all member nations to strive to construct a new world order, on a sounder basis, ‘one in which the recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal inalienable rights of all the members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. (See for the full text of UDHR: EB X/1049) It would be difficult to say that the UN or any other national or international body or authority has actually established the required world order on a sound basis. But in Islam as stated earlier, the doctrine of Tawhid and unconditional obedience to God provide the most powerful incentive for the observance of human rights and the strongest deterrence as such against their violation.