If you are one of the millions who love to watch Breaking Pad, you must remember the exciting dialogue between Walter and Hank when Walter said: ‘If we were drinking this in the nineteenth century we would be breaking the law. Another year we would be OK. Who knows what will be legal next year!’ Hank replied: ‘Freaggin Meth used to be legal. Used to be sold over every counter at every pharmacy in America’.
I have always been interested in the fact that laws get changed with a change of public mood. When methane fidamine was produced, it remained legal for a long time. Today, marijuana is legal in some countries and illegal in others. The same applies to alcoholic drinks, various drugs and many substances that affect the mind.
Here we note the great wisdom behind divine law. God prohibited everything that influences the human mind and weakens its power. The prohibition has stood across time and throughout the world. For many thousands of years, divine law remained valid and perfectly suited for human nature.
The same applies to all aspects of life. Relations between the two sexes were always subject to regulation and control, moving from one extreme to another. Women were at times subjugated, and at others made common property available to all men of the tribe. Then humanity came up with the system that made marriage a permanent bond that could not be dissolved. In our present time, casual relations are accepted as normal, even fleeting relations of the type of one-night stand. Yet all these have been proved to be unsound and the cause of much grief and misery.
Here again we see the absolute wisdom of divine law: it legislates for a marital relationship which is publicly confirmed. It also provides for its termination when things go wrong and the two parties find it impossible to continue life together. This is what distinguishes divine law: ease of operation and perfect harmony with human nature.
In its attempts to define the meaning of life and its goal, humanity endured much suffering. Some people claimed that we are merely an episode in the series of evolution and alleged that we are an organic matter that will ultimately die out. That vision has resulted in millions of deaths. Others suggested that we are just another animal species that seeks pleasure. Again this vision led to thousands of deaths by causes such as AIDS and drug overdose.
Once more we note the superior wisdom of divine law that assigns to man the role of being a servant of God, charged with the task of building a healthy human life on earth. When we succeed, we head to a heaven of eternal bliss.
We can cite countless examples of the superiority of divine law, starting with economy. God forbids all types of exploitation and injustice. It thus protects humanity against the dark form of capitalism that allows people to die because they do not have the means to buy their medicine when they fall ill. Likewise, it protects man against evil communism which led to more than one hundred million deaths in its search for social justice.
Even in international relations, Islam forbids aggression against civilians as well as all aspects of injustice. It advocates justice for all and urges Muslims to acquire the power to protect themselves and defend others against any aggression. It thus protects humanity from the tyranny of superior power that allows some countries to wage wars of extermination against other communities in order to take their natural resources. At the same time, Islam rejects that the Muslim community should remain in a state of weakness and helplessness as it watches massacres taking place in various areas, feeling unable to take any action to prevent such injustice.
As it combines a realistic and practical outlook with consistency with human nature, Islamic law is not merely suitable for all generations and all time; it also sets every generation on the right course and solves all problems that face humanity everywhere. Mankind remain the same and human nature will always remain consistent.
Some people may prefer to drink alcohol, milk or fruit juice, and others may not like any or all of these. But there is none who do not like to drink pure natural water.
The question is often asked: will what was suitable for people in the seventh century remain suitable in the twenty-first century? In answer we may say that before striking two stones to light a fire, the man in the cave did the same thing as Neil Armstrong did before he stepped on the surface of the moon. Both had a drink of water.
Human rights: a beautiful slogan. The question is: who?
Arabs? Europeans? Americans? Anglo-Saxons? Protestants? The Rich? The Powerful? Or simply those whom it is in our interests that they should have their rights?
I was always interested in the concept of human rights. I saw a man shooting civilians, aiming to kill them. He then returned to his country where he received a hero’s welcome. Yet his country took a high moral stand on human rights. [Suggestion for the producer: show the American sniper, Chris Kyle]
Some countries protect their citizens and also their animals. A cat stranded on a high tree, unable to come down may be helped by a number of firemen who rush to bring the cat down. Yet the country where this took place as a normal occurrence remains heedless of thousands of people working in factories at wages that do not exceed 15 cents per hour. Such contradiction did not make me angry but it surprised me and made me curious.
I now understand what they mean when they speak of human rights. They mean the rights of their own people: ‘our rights’.
This is the opposite of the Islamic attitude which respects everyone’s humanity. Whether you are white, black, Asian or red-Indian is of little significance. [succession of people appear: a white man, a black person, Chinese, red-Indian]. You may be poor or disabled, but this is of no effect. Indeed, whether you are a Muslim or a non-Muslim, you are entitled to your full rights and to indiscriminate justice.
Look at our world today: you will see at a glance the outcome of man-made theories and principles: you see communities torn apart, and entire villages and towns destroyed, with no one raising objection. Yet the world of moral principles and human rights sheds tears for far less important events. It is a world where principles are stretched and shrink according to the race and colour of the victim.
Islam advocates absolute justice between all people. God says in the Qur'an: ‘God enjoins justice, kindness [to all], and generosity to one’s kindred; and He forbids all that is shameful, all reprehensible conduct and aggression.’ Justice is a central duty which God has made binding on all Muslims. Injustice is forbidden. God has made it so, even to himself as He says: ‘My servants, I have forbidden Myself injustice and made it forbidden among you. So do not be unjust to one another.’
Prophet Muhammad’s life shows a practical implementation of this principle. Let us take just one example: ‘Shortly before the Battle of Badr, the Prophet was marshalling his troops and he had a short stick to adjust their lines. He passed by Sawad ibn Ghuzayyah who stood with half his body protruding out of the line. The Prophet poked him with his small stick in his abdomen, saying: ‘Stand properly, Sawad’. The man said: ‘You have hurt me, Messenger of God, when God has sent you with a message of truth and justice. Give me my right.’ The Prophet lifted his clothes so that his tommy was visible and said to the man: ‘Take your revenge, Sawad.’
Under the best and most well implemented human rights convention today, can a soldier ask his commander for justice? Could he ask to be allowed to do to the commander what the commander had done to him? The Prophet gave his soldier that very right fourteen centuries ago.
The question that bothers me: Does Islam need a human rights convention? Or rather, do human rights conventions need Islamic law?
