Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD
I was very happy to see the rescue of the 33 miners in Chile, in October of 2010, after an ordeal of more than two months. I noted all the international media focused on this and I wondered how wonderful our human community will become if we valued every human life regardless of race, religion or creed, with a similar zeal. I also wondered where do the human rights come from and what is the worth of an individual human life. This reminded me of a verse of the Holy Quran that declares the worth of human life to be priceless, it equates the saving of one life to the saving of the whole humanity:
"We (Allah) prescribed for the children of Israel that whosoever killed a person — unless it be for killing a person or for creating disorder in the land — it shall be as if he had killed all mankind; and whoso gave life to one, it shall be as if he had given life to all mankind." (Al Quran 5:33)
In what may be considered by others a self-indulgent thought, I rejoiced that the human rights and the dignity of human life, in its most pristine form, comes from the Holy Quran. It seems self evident to me that followers of other religions will not agree, some may even violently disagree, but, here I suggest a peaceful solution. I will demonstrate the roots of the human rights and the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in my holy scripture, in my comments and the links that I offer here and I would plead that the Christians, the Jews, the Hindus and the Buddhists will reciprocate the favor and make their case from their respective scriptures.
The Holy Quran not only encourages rights of others and justice but prescribes unilateral goodness even in the face of evil:
"And who is better in speech than he who invites men to Allah and does good works and says, 'I am surely of those who submit?' And good and evil are not alike. Repel evil with that which is best. And lo, he between whom and thyself was enmity will become as though he were a warm friend." (Al Quran 41:34-35)
I suggest the 30 articles as a matrix or yard stick against which we choose to measure our respective scriptures. Let this Knol be a purist's pursuit to demonstrate the elegance of his or her own scripture without maligning others. Let the race begin, and do not focus on just one article of the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights, rather show how your scripture is in line with or better than all the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration!
Fourteen hundred years before USA elected her first African-American President Barack Obama who jokingly described himself a 'mutt' and a similar number of years before Nelson Mandela could be free and the leader of South Africa the Prophet Muhammad, may peace be on him said, addressing a historic crowd of a hundred thousand people in the sparsely populated desert peninsula of Arabia, at the time of Hajj, "O men, all of you are equal. All men, whatever nation or tribe they may belong to, and whatever station in life they may hold, are equal. Allah has made you brethren one to another, so be not divided. An Arab has no preference over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab over an Arab; nor is a white one to be preferred to a dark one, nor a dark one to a white one." It has been noted by the Muslim theologians, the Prophet never made any big or tall claims that did not have their foundation in the holy scripture, the Quran.
As the Holy Quran is the final revelation by God to the whole of mankind, it addresses humanity as a whole. There are at least 65 mentions of 'mankind,' in the Holy Quran. The Quran intends to unify Homo sapiens into 'Universal Brotherhood.' Many verses in the Holy Quran start with a term, which means, 'O mankind.'
A couple of examples of the use of the expression, O mankind:
"O mankind! be mindful of your duty to your Lord, Who created you from a single soul and created therefrom its mate, and from them twain spread many men and women; and fear Allah, in Whose name you appeal to one another, and fear Him particularly respecting ties of relationship. Indeed, Allah watches over you." (Al Quran 4:2)
In this verse, Allah is defining the unity of mankind and highlighting that the whole of humanity is coming from one source and as such are related to each other, and should fear God in regards to their responsibilities to each other. Incidentally, the verse also talks of evolution of life on the planet earth and how all life forms are related and the initial biological reproduction was asexual.
"O mankind, We have created you from a male and a female; and We have made you into tribes and sub-tribes that you may recognize one another. Indeed, the most honourable among you, in the sight of Allah, is he who is the most righteous among you. Surely, Allah is All-knowing, All-Aware." (Al Quran 49:14)
"O mankind, the Messenger has indeed come to you with Truth from your Lord; believe therefore, it will be better for you. But if you disbelieve, indeed, to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and in the earth. And Allah is All-Knowing, Wise." (Al Quran 4:171)
"Say, 'O mankind! truly I am a Messenger to you all from Allah to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. There is no God but He. He gives life, and He causes death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Prophet, the Immaculate one, who believes in Allah and His words; and follow him that you may be rightly guided.'" (Al Quran 7:159)
"O mankind! there has indeed come to you an exhortation from your Lord and a cure for whatever disease there is in the hearts, and a guidance and a mercy to the believers." (Al Quran 10:58)
"The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding moral achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue." (Famous historian: Arnold Joseph Toynbee)
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