EXPERIENCING THE PRESENCE OF GOD

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. (THE QURAN 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. It is the observance of divine rights that paves the way for the observance of human rights. We can say that, without this theocentric perspective, neither can the fulfilment of human rights be ensured nor their violation 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’.1 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 Tawheed 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. Some Comparative Examples Muslim scholars have thoroughly studied the topic of human rights. For details the readers may refer to the following books: Human Rights in Islam by Muhammad Zafarullah Khan Islam and Human Rights by A.E. Mayer Human Rights in Islam by Dr. Parveen Shaukat 1. For the full text of UDHR see: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/