Friday 20 February 2015

JUSTICE, HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOM – ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE



The meeting point between sacred and secular in Islam is the principle of the Justice. It is an essential foundation for the Islamic doctrine, a matter of theology. Justice is both the attribute of God and theological base for true Muslims.
 
The Holy Quran describes justice as the word of God (Q 6:115), His attribute  (Q 3:18), His order to people (Q 16:90), the mission of the prophets (Q 42:15; Q 57:25), the method of creation (Q 82:7), the way for friendship with God (Q 49:9), and the closest thing to the Islamic desired piety “Taqwa” (Q 5:8). Then it encourages his followers’ adherence to justice and applies justice in their social life including toward who had did violence against you and in dealing with non-Muslims. This verse of the Quran  clearly orders the Prophet to judge according to Justice in case of nonbelievers: “So, if they (who hurry to fall into disbelief) come to you (O Muhammad), either judge between them, or turn away from them. If you turn away from them, they cannot hurt you in the least. And if you judge, judge with justice between them. Verily, God loves those who act justly.” (Q 5:42)

This verse addresses the Muslims to deal justly with non-Muslims emphasizing on kindliness, insists on good behaviors and exhorts staying away from any negative interpretation of the justice.  “Allah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not against you on account of religion nor drove you out of your homes. Verily, Allah loves the fair-minded.”(Q 60:8).

Again, Harvard Law School, one of the most prestigious institutions of its kind in the world, posted a verse of the Holy Quran at the entrance of its faculty library in early 2013, describing the verse as one of the greatest expressions of justice in history. Verse 135 of Surah Al Nisa (The Women) was posted at a wall facing the faculty’s main entrance, dedicated to the best phrases articulating justice: “O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allah is more worthy of both. So follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just. And if you distort [your testimony] or refuse [to give it], then indeed Allah is ever, with what you do, Acquainted”

As explained on the wall “According to Islamic tradition, this surah (chapter), was revealed in Medina after the Prophet’s hijra (migration) from Mecca in 622 CE. As the name of this surah implies, An-Nisa’ mainly deals with the obligations and responsibilities of women in Islamic society, but it also touches on inheritance and family law along with slavery and temporary marriage. In this verse, the Qur’an is addressing the importance of truthfulness in testimony.”

Quotations were selected from a pool of over 150 contributions from law school faculty, staff and students. Librarians at the Law School Library researched the historical context and authenticity of each quotation and developed a website to share this research with visitors to the art installation. It is clear that the human values like freedom, justice, human rights, women rights, philanthropy, and so on are very important in Islamic Tradition, although we are not familiar with.


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