Islam and Human Rights
Islam and Human Rights
by Anwar Shaikh
EDITORIAL
Islam is the only religion that insists on God's rights. This is
certainly a strange concept because rights denote protection from
aggression and uncertainty. This is what "right to life,
property, justice, etc.," implies. It is clear that rights
are needed by the weak and the helpless, and they serve as a guard
against the mighty, the unjust and the aggressor. If Allah is
really the Creator, the All-powerful, the All-knowing, the
All-wise, as the Muslims claim, then how can He need rights? If He
really does, then it logically follows that He requires protection
and assurance. This is an absurd idea because it poses a direct
insult to Allah: His honour must be way above the notion of rights
if He is really the Greatest and totally Independent.
Again, according to the Islamic jurisprudence, it is God's
fundamental right that man must obey His laws and refrain from
making his own to suit his needs and circumstances. This is
theocracy, which is run ruthlessly by the Clergy in the name of
God, who cannot be seen or contacted. It is simply a ruse of the
tyrannical mind to destroy democratic values, which protect human
rights and dignity.
Yet the Muslim scholars talk of "Islamic human rights."
This is a farce to mislead people. The article: "Islam And
Human Rights" examines the issue in depth.
Islam and Human Rights
The concept of Human Rights is a very big thorn in the flesh of
Islam, yet the Muslim jurists ostentatiously talk about the rights
that Islam is supposed to have bestowed on man. This is the
biggest myth that human mind ever created. For the purpose of
exposing the fallacy of this assertion, I may divide the
discussion into the following categories:
1. Rights of God (Allah),
2. Rights of the *Muslim men,
3. Rights of infidels, and
4. Rights of women.
(* Non-Muslims have no rights because they are considered
"the worst beasts" by Islam).
1. Rights of God (Allah)
It is not possible to explain the notion of " God's
rights" without considering its philosophical connotations.
In view of the Muslim claims about the immeasurable pomp, prestige
and pre-eminence of Allah, it is fair to say that He does not need
any rights at all, because rights are required to protect one's
entity, interest and future, threatened by aggression and fear of
usurpation. Allah, who is projected as the Almighty, the Absolute,
the creator, the All-wise and Free of desires, does not need the
shield of rights to shelter, secure and screen Himself from man,
whom He is supposed to have created and whose every movement He is
said to control. If Allah does need rights, then He is neither
Almighty nor Creator: He is no more than a stunning myth of the
religious manipulators, who impose their own absolutism in the
guise of God's rights to avoid public accountability.
This seems to be a valid assumption because the Koranic God feels
delighted when He is worshipped but feels blighted when He is
neglected. To the existence of the Semitic God, worship or gross
obedience is, what colour is to a flower, heat to fire or cold to
ice. It is through the magic of this Semitic concept of Godhead
that the Jewish, Christian and Muslim rulers were able to avoid
democratic accountability and rob people of their liberties in the
name of Divine Rights.
The War of Human Rights against God's Rights can be assumed to
have formally started with Magna Carta ( 1215 ) when King John of
England was forced to grant the Charter (of public liberties).
Magna Carta reads:
"In the first place have (we) granted to God, and by this our
present Charter confirmed for us and our heirs for ever that the
English Church shall be free." (Clause 1)
"No free man shall be arrested or imprisoned or disseised or
outlawed or exiled or in any way victimised, neither will we
attack him or send anyone to attack him, except by the lawful
judgement of his peers or by the law of the land." (Clause
39)
For the first time in history, it is man who grants God's Church
the right to be free. God can no longer impose His will to be
worshipped without man's approval. Since God's despotism is
arrested, the King, His lieutenant on earth, is automatically
subjected to the Law of the land and cannot do as he pleases.
This flame of Human Rights, ignited in England during the early
part of the 13th Century, flared up in the United States of
America. The Declaration of Independence, 1776, (leading to the
world-famous Constitution of the United States (1787) stated:
"....all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain Unalienable Rights, that among these
are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
The American Declaration does talk about Creator but makes it
abundantly clear that man has unalienable rights to life, liberty
and pursuit of happiness, which cannot be interfered with even by
the Creator.
The French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
(1789) asserted categorically that "ignorance, forgetfulness
or contempt of the rights of man to be the only cause of public
misfortunes and the corruption of governments. "
First article lays down: "Men are born and remain free and
equal in rights .."
Article two states: " ......These rights are Liberty,
Property, Safety and Resistance to Oppression."
Article three declares: "The source of all sovereignty lies
essentially in the Nation. No corporate body, no individual may
exercise any authority that does not expressly emanate from
it."
Article four reveals: "Liberty consists in being able to do
anything that does not harm others; thus the exercise of the
natural rights of every man has no bounds other than those that
ensure to the other members of society the enjoyment of these same
rights. These bounds may be determined only by law (enacted by the
Nation).
One can see that the French Revolution demolished the idea of
Divine Rights, which the man-hating religious wolves had invented
to create absolute authority for themselves to drive, degrade and
despoil people at will.
The English, American and French achievements were, not only
marvellous, munificent and majestic in their own right, but their
collective effect also became the foundation-stone of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948 ), which recognised
"the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of
all members of the human family as the foundation of freedom,
justice and peace in the world. "
The Declaration of Human Rights (1948) also stressed: "Human
beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from
fear and want."
Some of the articles of the General Assembly ought to be noted:
Article 1 observes:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards
one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedom set forth in
the Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of
person.
4. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude: slavery and the
slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
6. Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person
before Law.
10. Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public
hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the
determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal
charge against him.
11. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be
presumed innocent until proved guilty according to Law in a public
trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his
defence.
16. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race,
nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a
family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during
marriage, and at its dissolution.
Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent
of the intending spouses.
18. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or
belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and
in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in
teaching, practice, worship and observance.
21.(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority
of government; this shall be expressed in periodic and genuine
elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall
be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
Having suffered torment, torture and tyranny of the most abject
sort since inception of life, people have been able to secure
universal recognition of human rights for the last fifty years
only. Thus human rights are highly precious, praiseworthy and
phenomenal, but unfortunately, it is Islam that happens to be the
worst predator of human liberties, yet claiming to be the greatest
patron of humanity!
After this short description of the historical development of
human rights, now I may explain the Islamic theory of God's or
Allah's rights:
The Koran claims that Allah is the Creator of this universe, and
therefore, He has proprietory rights over every thing that exists
(including man):
"To God belongs all that is in the heavens
and in the earth, and God encompasses everything." (Women IV:
125)
Thus, there is nothing that is not in the bondage of God, and
therefore, constrained to bow, bend and buckle before Him:
"To God bow all that is in the heavens and the earth
willingly or unwillingly." (Thunder XIII - 15)
If Allah is really the creator, does He have to hoast of His
proprietory rights? Ownership is asserted only when there is a
rival claimant. In that case, God is not necessarily the Master,
and someone else could hold this title. Whether or not Allah is
the Creator and Master of this universe, He wants to be considered
as such, and therefore, there is nothing that He loves more than
submission, slavery and servitude. It is this attitude of the Lord
that dictates man's purpose of creation. Therefore, Allah
addressing mankind, remarks:
"What did you (humans) think that We (Allah)
created you only for a sport ..?" (The Believers XXIII: 115)
According to the Koran man has not been created for fun; he has a
serious purpose. What is man's purpose of birth? Allah narrates it
in the Koran:
"I have not created ... mankind
except to worship me." (The Scatterers LI: 55)
A worshipper is someone who believes in his own utmost
inferiority, and to prove it, pleads, prays and prostrates before
his superior. Such a person, obviously, has no sense of
self-respect, which emanates from the awareness of personal
rights. This type of person is nothing but a slave, who loses his
own entity to become the property of his master. This is exactly
the station of man in Islam, and it is for this reason he is
referred to as "ABD," that is a drudge, villein or serf.
Slaves and serfs remain in bondage because they do not have any
rights. By declaring man "ABD" (slave), Allah has
allotted him the duty of worship, which is an extreme form of
self-humiliation. Therefore, it is man's purpose of life to have
no desire, dignity or destination of his own. To make sure that
man seeks no status other than servility, Allah has assigned the
lowest birth to man so that he should not feel proud and pompous
to seek prestige or priority:
"He (Allah) made his (man's) seed from a draught
of despised fluid." (The Prostration XXXII: 8)
Someone, who has been created from "despised fluid" is
despicable and therefore, naturally lacks the virtues of
self-development, moral uplift and consciousness of human rights.
This is God's plan to make man servile. The irony is, that God
dwells on the "intrinsic" lowness of man to convince him
of this fact:
"So let man consider of what he is created;
He is created from a gushing fluid
That issued from between the loins and ribs."
(The Night Star LXXXVI: 5-7)
Here, Allah deliberately insults man by alluding to the seminal
discharge, which brings a human to life. Further, Allah condemns
man for his nature (which He Himself allocated him as the
Creator!):
"Perish man! How unthankful he is!
Of what did He (Allah) create him?
Of a sperm drop .."
(He Frowned LXXX: 15-17)
Here Allah again taunts at man's "low" birth by
associating it with a sperm-drop i.e. the despised fluid. It is
because of this, the angels rebel against Allah when He declares
His intention of creating man:
"And when Thy Lord (Allah) said to the angels,
'I am setting in the earth a viceroy,'
They said, 'What will Thou set therein one
who will do corruption there, and shed blood?"'
(The Cow II: 25)
Since man has been declared "rebellious" by nature, he
is not allowed any rights by God, yet he is God's vicar or regent
on earth! How an insignificant creature like man can be the
lieutenant of God, the Almighty and the Perfect? He can improve
his lot through a constant show of submission, servitude and
slavery to his Master. Allah has laid down many procedures for man
to demonstrate his obedience. The observance of the Five Pillars
is a routine matter, which may or may not deprive man of his human
dignity, but the following methods have been devised by Allah with
the purpose of making man completely oblivious of his rights:
a. Prohibition to legislate,
b. Prohibition to think liberally, and change religion.
a.i Allah declares:
"This day have I (Allah) perfected your religion
for you and completed My favour unto you,
and have chosen for you as religion AL-ISLAM.
( The Table, V- 3 )
It means that Islam is the perfect code of life, which Allah has
prescribed for man. Moreover, it is for ever and cannot be
changed. Therefore, legislating for man is God's prerogative!
The net result of this verse is that Muslims are forbidden to make
laws for themselves. They must stick to what was laid down for
them 1400 years ago irrespective of the changed conditions and new
problems. He who breaks this rule, is an infidel and shall go to
hell. This is a big denial of human rights because legislating for
himself according to his needs, is a part of man's rights.
To uphold His right to enact for man, Allah declares:
"He (Allah) associates in His government no one."
( The Cave XVIII: 25 )
b.i Prohibition on thinking and religious change:
A person born as a Muslim is forbidden to be a free thinker. His
thoughts must be guided by the Koran. Study of any literature, no
matter how wise, pious and rational, is sinful to a Muslim if it
affects his faith.
Even more restricted is the scope of a Muslim's action. Since the
Prophet Muhammad is considered the Model of Behaviour, every
Muslim is obliged to act as the Prophet Muhammad did. In other
words, a Muslim must copy the Prophet the way he walked, talked,
slept, ate, drank, dressed and looked. Since Islam is "the
perfect and eternal code of life," no Muslim is allowed to
think and act in any other manner. If he renounces Islam, he is
held guilty of apostasy (irtidad) which carries death sentence.
Ordinarily, it is acknowledged that a baby is not born with a
particular faith: a person is a Hindu or a Christian because he
was born in one of the families holding these beliefs. Therefore,
he has the right to change his religious views with impunity, but
Islam does not recognise this human liberty. Once a person is born
into the Islamic faith, he must remain a Muslim. If he changes his
religion, though he did not adopt it deliberately, he becomes
liable to execution.
2. Rights of the Muslim Men
Rights of the Muslim Men is the next issue that we ought to
consider now. Having realised the nature of God's rights, one can
conclude safely that even a Muslim man has no substantive rights.
If he has any rights at all, they are the derived ones, and accrue
to him from his abject submission to Allah. Though we call them
''rights" for the sake of convenience, they are, in fact,
Allah's reward for servility. What are these rights?
What Allah may term as a benefit, bounty or bonus in fact, is a
payment for carrying out Divine commands, which are usually
against the moral conscience of man; he cannot refuse anything on
the ground of justice or decency. Allah has laid down the
following law to exhibit His relationship with man:
"God has bought from the believers their selves and their
possessions against the gift of Paradise; they fight in the way of
God; they kill, and are killed; that is a promise binding upon God
..... and who fulfills his covenant truer than God." (
Repentance IX: 110 )
Here the Koran has stated clearly that Allah has purchased lives
of the Muslims, in return for paradise, and therefore, they must
kill and get killed in His way without any qualm of conscience.
And what is the purpose of this murder spree?
It is simply degradation, death and destruction of the
unbelievers. Allah hates infidels to such an extent that He has
divided mankind into two camps: the believers are Allah's party
and the unbelievers are Satan's party. Allah has commanded eternal
strife between His and Satan's party, promising His people the
final victory. This fact has been clearly stated in the Koran (The
Disputer LVIII: 20).
This is why the Muslims consider themselves as the Divine
appointees on earth who, must act as Allah's managers. Thus, they
have all the rights of a warrior, a ruler, a judge and an elite
but unbelievers have all the obligations of a subject, a serf and
a slave.
However, it ought to be remembered that all rights belong to
Allah: a Muslim's rights are no different from those of a Roman
slave, who could rise to any commercial or political height but
still remained the property of his master, who owned him.
iii. Rights of the infidels, according to the Islamic Law are,
therefore, a sheer nonsense. If it appears an exaggeration, I may
quote the Koranic verses on the subject:
Say ( Muhammad ): 'O God, Master of the Kingdom,
Thou givest the Kingdom to whom Thou wilt,
and seizest the Kingdom from whom Thou wilt,
Thou exaltest whom Thou wilt, and Thou
abasest whom Thou wilt; in Thy Hand is the good;
Thou art powerful over everything."'
(The House of Imran III: 25)
Obviously, the allocation of honour and dishonour depends on the
discretion of Allah, who holds unbelievers as Satan's party.
Therefore, they are the people, who deserve dishonour. What can be
greater abasement than having no human rights? Allah feels
justified in His attitude to the infidels because He treats
unbelief as the worst animosity against Him. Does anyone allow
rights to his enemy? Why should Allah be any different? He makes
it abundantly clear:
a. Oh believers! the non-Muslims are unclean." ( Repentance
IX: 27 )
b. "Certainly, God is an enemy to unbelievers." ( The
Cow 11: 90 )
c. "Surely, the worst of beasts in God's sight are the
unbelievers." (The Spoil VIII: 57)
d. "O believers, do not treat your fathers and mothers as
your friends, if they prefer unbelief to belief; whosoever of you
takes them for friends, they are evil-doers." (Repentance IX:
20)
So great is detestation of God towards unbelievers that a Muslim
must treat his own parents as enemies if they do not embrace the
Islamic faith! Again, since God has decalred non-Muslims as
"the worst of beasts," they cannot have human rights.
Therefore, the duty of Muslims is to:
"Fight those who believe not in God and the Last Day and do
not forbid what God and His Messenger have forbidden - such men as
practise not the religion of truth, being of those who have been
given the Book - until they pay the tribute out of hand ani have
been humbled." (Repentance IX: 28)
To explain this verse I may add that, according to Islam, the
Koran is the only standard of vice and virtue, and therefore,
people have no right to follow any other code of law or morality.
Thus, the followers of non-Islamic practices are infidels and it
is the duty of the Muslims to fight them until they submit to the
Muslims and "pay the tribute out of hand" as a sign of
their humiliation! It is clear that a non-Muslim deserves
humiliation and not human rights. As contempt of the non-Islamic
faiths, their practitioners are not encouraged to stay in Muslim
countries. This is the reason that very few non-Muslims are found
in the Islamic states such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan,
Afghanistan, etc.
3. Rights of the Infidels
By now, it ought to be clear that a non-Muslim, or more properly a
Dhimmy cannot have human rights as understood and practised in the
Western world. It is because:
a. Allah is the enemy of the non-Muslims, known as unbelievers,
and
b. because, in Allah's sight, unbelievers are the worst beasts. It
is obvious neither people bestow equal rights on their enemies nor
beasts deserve to equal humans. This is the reason that Islam has
discriminated against the Dhimmies.
Freedom of expression is one of the major human rights, and this
is forbidden to a dhimmy (non-Muslim) in an Islamic state. He
cannot promulgate his doctrine openly, especially, if it has been
opposed or forbidden by the Koran. For example, it is the basic
tenet of Christianity that Jesus Christ was crucified, but the
Koran holds
"... For their saying 'we slew the Messiah, Jesus son
of Mary, the Messenger of God.
Yet they did not slay him, neither crucified him
only a likeness of that was shown them .....
God raised him up to Him." (Women IV: 155)
It means that Jesus did not die on the Cross; He was raised to
heaven before suffering death. To a simple mind, it may look just
an untrue statement but, in fact, it is a shrewd piece of
elocution because it seeks to belie, belittle and batter the very
foundation of Christianity, which holds that Christ, Son of God,
was used as the Sacrificial Lamb by the Father to carry away the
sins of mankind. By denying the crucifixion of Jesus, the Koran
has sought to destroy the very foundation of Christianity.
Since Islam does not allow anti-Koranic practices in its lands of
occupation, the Christians could not preach or even recite such
tenets openly. The fact that, in some so- called Muslim countries,
churches and synagogues may exist, does not prove that Islamic
jurisprudence approves of them. Truthfully, these countries have
reneged on Islam and become secular. Appearing to be Muslim is a
face-saving device, which carries good rewards.
It should also be noted that it is a crime to preach a non-Muslim
faith to a Muslim because, according to the Koran, Islam is the
only true religion. This is the reason that the Muslim, who gives
up his faith is liable to beheading. The missionary is held as the
enemy of Islam, and deserves a similar fate!
Of course, there is no room for democracy in Islam, yet we hear of
Islamic republics such as Pakistan, Iran, etc. Since a democratic
government represents the will of the people, an Islamic republic
is an exact antithesis of the Islamic Law, which clearly states
that the government belongs to Allah, who admits no participation
in His affairs. Thus non-Muslims are disfranchised in an Islamic
State and cannot vote.
It is also true that they cannot hold high offices in the
government because, by having authority, they may interfere in
Allah's affairs. However, this is quite another thing that the
non-Muslims have held high ranks in some Muslim governments, and
still do. This is simply an un-Islamic practice, which shows the
practical weakness of this faith.
It is a crime for a Muslim to marry a non-Muslim woman though
having her as a concubine (mistress) may be a matter of pride
because it signifies dominance of the Islamic spirit.
However, it ought to be noted that there is a verse in the Koran,
which allows marriage between a Muslim man and a "woman of
the Book" i.e. a Jewish or a Christian woman:
"(Permitted to you are) in wedlock women of them who were
given the Book (Bible) before you if .." (The Table IV: 5)
In fact, it is just a theory which forms no part of the Prophet's
practice: he married Safya, a Jewish girl, who converted to Islam
but kept Rehana, another Jewish girl, as a concubine because she
refused to give up her faith. Of course, there are sporadic
instances of Muslim men entering matrimonial contract with Jewish
and Christian women but that has nothing to do with the Islamic
traditions: it is a part of mundane necessity.
It is just a golden Koranic theory that a Muslim believes in the
previous Apostles of God and Books. The truth is that he only pays
them lip sympathy, and actually believes that Muhammad is the Last
Prophet and the Koran revokes authority of all the previous
Scriptures. Thus, all those Jews and Christians, known as
"People of the Book," are unbelievers and stand to share
the fate of the infidels such as the Hindus and Buddhists:
"The unbelievers of the People of the Book
and the idolaters shall be in the Fire; of Hell
therein dwelling for ever:
those are the worst of creatures,
But those who believe, and do righteous deeds,
those are the best of creatures."
( The Clear Sign XCVIII: 5 )
Here the Jews and Christians, who do not accept Muhammad, are
dubbed as unbelievers and called the "worst of
creatures." It is unambiguously stated that they will go to
hell! In view of the significance of this point, I may add
further:
"O believers, take not Jews and Christians
as friends; they are friends of each other.
Whoso of you makes them his friends
is one of them." (The Table V: 55)
It is quite obvious that a Muslim, just by befriending a Jew or a
Christian becomes one of them i.e. an unbelievers. How can a
Muslim man marry a Jewish or Christian woman? Marriage is surely a
greater and more sacred tie than friendship.
The non-Muslims suffer several other disabilities: a Muslim cannot
be executed for murdering a Jew or a Christian. He may receive
half of the prescribed punishment and may even be let off lightly.
A hadith (Muslim: 4138) states that when a Jew smashed the head of
an Ansar (Muslim) girl, the Prophet ordered to crush his head
between two stones, but in another case (Muslim: 4151 ) when the
perpetrator was a Muslim woman, who had broken someone's teeth,
was required to pay money-compensation despite the fact that the
case came under the Law of Retaliation, which prescribes: eye for
eye and tooth for tooth.
Further, in criminal cases, the evidence of a Jew, Christian,
Hindu, etc. is not accepted in an Islamic court of law.
In fact, in an Islamic country, an infidel is a necessary evil,
who is just about tolerated. The dignity of man signified by human
rights, and promoted by bloody revolutions over a period of
centuries, is a piece of sheer nonsense in Islam. It is because a
non-Muslim in an Islamic state is required to pay jaziya, which in
the Koranic language is a Humiliation Tax. In fact, the life of an
unbeliever is a series of humiliations in a Muslim country. He has
to wear distinctive clothes and mark his house to express the
unbelief of its dwellers. Muslims are forbidden to associate with
him and attend his matrimonial or funeral ceremonies. He must not
ride horses or bear arms. Since it is the Islamic way of life,
which requires an unbeliever to yield way to the Muslim when they
happen to be walking on the same path, it can be safely called the
forerunner of the South African apartheid.
According to the planned discussion of "Islam and Human
Rights" I have so far dealt with:
1. Rights of God (Allah),
2. Rights of the Muslim men and
3. Rights of the infidels.
Now, I may deal with the fourth category i.e. Rights of Women.
4. Rights of Women
Have women really got rights in Islam? To explain this point, I
ought to add that Adam, the progenitor of mankind, according to
Genesis, the First Book of Moses, defied God to please his woman
called "Eve." The significance of this event
demonstrates the natural grip of woman on man.
To fathom the significance of this act, one must realise that God
had kept Adam in the Garden of Eden, abounding in lush trees laden
with luscious fruits; its ground was emerald green, studded with
heavenly streams of milk, honey and wine; its valleys echoed with
melodies of the chirping birds that created a musical environment;
the more hilarious aspect of the Garden of Eden was that there was
no toil, pain, disease or death, and all provisions were abundant
and free. Yet Adam flouted the Divine Command to win favour of his
woman and preferred pain to pleasure, mortality to immortality and
drudgery to free living.
The act of rewarding man with such a delightful opulence made God
believe that Adam would not choose anything but Him. It is
baffling to note that Adam preferred Eve, his woman, to God and
all the fantastic luxuries. In this game of selection, God lost to
woman because of her sex-appeal to man.
Realising the significance of faminine charm, the Prophet Muhammad
treated woman as the final goal of existence; in this life woman
is to serve as the source of gratification for man, and salvation
i.e. achieving entry into paradise in the next world, means sexual
enjoyment of houris - the most beautiful virgins that await lucky
men to offer them their carnal delights.
This Islamic plan, which is executed through a legal code, also
serves as the bait for attracting followers. However, there is a
big paradox to be resolved if this scheme is to operate
successfully: woman has got to be reduced to the status of a slave
for neutralising all her resistance to man's will. For this
purpose, women must be stripped of all their human rights, because
a woman with rights, is bound to claim equality. But, unless this
process is conducted skillfully, women are bound to rebel against
Islam, and may thus cause its downfall. This is the reason that
Islam accords some spurious rights to women to fool, snool and
rule them.
Islam appears gentle, generous and genuine in this field, but its
veneer soon crumbles when we judge the Islamic law in the light of
practical life. Historically, there is no doubt that Islam is the
first religion that appears to have given women the following
rights:
1. The right to inherit property, and
2. The right to divorce man.
But in effect, these rights are spurious because they cannot be
exercised by women for the following reasons:
1 a. Allah has subjected women to the law of purdah, that is, they
must not participate in social life.
"And so to the believing women, that they
cast down their eyes and guard their private
parts, and reveal not their adornment
save such as is outward; and let them cast
their veils over their bosoms, and not reveal .."
(Light XXIV: 30)
Again, the Koran says:
"O Prophet, say to the wives and daughters
and the believing women, that they draw
their veils close to them .."
(The Confederates XXXIII: 55)
In addition to veiling, Allah confines women's activities within
the four-walls of their homes:
"Remain in your houses; and display not
your finery, as did the pagans of old."
(The Confederates XXXIII: 25)
With a view to depriving women of their rights, the Koran lays it
down:
"Men are the managers of the affairs of women
for that God has preferred in bounty
One of them over another .....
Righteous women are therefore obedient .....
And those you fear may be rebellious
admonish; banish them to their coaches
and beat them." (Women IV: 35)
Since a woman is obliged to wear a veil and restricted within her
home, and man is appointed her manager with the authority to beat
her if she does not obey him, her property rights are just an
attractive gimmick: they are a body without a soul, a locomotive
engine without steam and a bow without arrows.
2a. A woman's right to divorce is called "Khula." A man
can undo his matrimonial tie quite independently and at will,
whereas the wife has to achieve this goal through the process of
law, which is very cumbersome to say the least. Also, she is
subject to the wrath of God and curses of angels if she takes this
step without complete justification. Again, in a male chauvinistic
society, it is likely that her pleas will have no effect on the
ears of a male judge, who is used to deriding, depressing and
dominating women.
According to Ibn-e-Majah, vol. 1, page 571: A wife must not seek
divorce from her husband without a serious cause. If she does, she
will not enter paradise. If she can prove her case, she will be
awarded decree only if she returns all that her husband had
bestowed on her as an entitlement or outright gift. A woman who
seeks Khula, cannot expect settlement!
The laws of inheritance treat one male equal to two females (Women
IV 10). The law of evidence is even harsher: not only two women
equal one man but she may not be allowed to tender evidence where
male witnesses are available.
In view of the following limitations that Islam has imposed on
woman, one can honestly conclude that it has been done
deliberately to deprive her of human rights for converting her
into a sexual toy so that men should flock to Islam:
1. Woman has a religious duty to produce the maximum number of
children, Ibn-e-Majah reports in Vol. 1, page 518 and 523 in his
"SUNUN:" The Prophet said "Getting married is my
basic doctrine. Whoso does not follow my example, is not my
follower. Marry, so that I can claim preference over other
communities (Jews and Christians) owing to commanding a greater
number of followers . "
"MISHKAT" reports in Vol. 3 page 119, a similar hadith:
"On the Day of Judgement, I shall have the greater number of
followers than any other prophet ..."
Having the largest following was obviously the greatest passion of
the Prophet Muhammad, and could be realised only by subjecting
woman to the exclusive burden of motherhood. A woman who is the
mother of a dozen children, obviously does not have time to think
about her human rights. Her mind is likely to be tortured by the
fear of what happens if she is deserted by her husband. This is
powerful enough to keep her under his thumb.
2. The second condition that governs woman's status in Islam is
stated by the Koran in "Iron: 25:"
"And monasticism they invented - We
did not prescribe it for them - only
seeking the good pleasure of God; but
they observed it not as it should be observed."
Simply stated, these verses mean that the Christians flouted God's
will by practising monasticism because enjoyment of women by man
is "the good pleasure of God. "
Thus woman is nothing but the source of pleasure to man. However,
it implies that, in return for being the provider of delight, she
is entitled to love and reverence as her fundamental rights. In
fact, every woman is conscious of it and wants to be treated
respectfully, but Islam in line with the Semitic philosophy, which
states that man must have sexual pleasure by command, opposes this
attitude. In marriage, there is no Islamic concept of consent in
carnality: Woman in Islam is man's tillage and he is empowered to
use her as he wishes. This is the reason that Islamic law aims at
man's ascendancy, inflicting a corresponding humiliation on woman.
The reader can judge this truth from the following:
"Women have such honourable rights as obligations
but their men have a degree above them."
(The Cow: 225)
This is a highly debated verse, and Islamic zealots are always
stretching it to prove equality of sexes. Therefore, I may quote
from the hadith to demonstrate its truth:
"If women comply with your commands, do not
molest them ..Iisten carefully, they have a right
over you that you take care of their food and
wear."
(Ibn-e-Majh, Vol. 1, p. 519)
Woman's rights are limited to her maintenance provided she obeys
her man. Instead of indulging in further discussion of this point,
I may state the usually held Islamic belief that man is superior
to woman. In fact, the Koranic law supports this idea to the hilt.
Here is the explanation:
1. " ..marry such women
as seem good to you, two, three, four."
( Women: 1 )
Here man is given the lawful prerogative to have four wives of his
own choice at the same time. The Muslim scholars have been putting
various interpretations on this verse to avoid the shame of
polygamy. For example, they say, woman is not allowed polyandry
(having more than one husband at the same time) because it becomes
impossible to know the father of the child. This argument does not
hold good when we are talking about the basic rights of man and
woman, which constitute the principle of equality.
Again, this point of view is nullified by the scientific advances:
firstly, invention of the Pill has given woman control over her
body, and she does not have to have children unless she wants
them. Secondly, clinical tests today, can establish the fatherhood
of a child with certainty. Therefore, this type of argument proves
nothing but futility, frivolity and fictitiousness of the Islamic
law, which seeks to impose male dominance on woman in the name of
fairness, felicity and fruitfulness.
Add to the above, the Islamic law of concubinage which allows a
man as many unmarried women in his harem as he can afford. For
example, Akbar the Great of India had 5,000 concubines and his
son, Jehangir, had no fewer than 6,000! There is only one
description for them - private brothels. Yet the Muslim scholars
talk of morality and women's rights.
3. We are told, as men have rights over women so women have rights
over men. This is quoted as the proof of equality. In fact, this
is highly misleading because relationship of their mutual rights
makes man the master and woman the slave.
The only mentionable right that woman has over man is the right to
be fed and clothed. I have already quoted a hadith to this effect.
Now look at the other side of the coin:
"If I were to order someone to prostrate before other
than God, I would have commanded woman to
prostrate before her husband.
If a husband tells his wife to keep carrying a load of
stones from that red mountain to that black mountain,
she must obey him whole heartedly."
(Ibn-e-Majah, Vol. 1, ch. 592, p 520)
4. "By God, who controls the life of Muhammad, a woman cannot
discharge her duty towards God until she has discharged her duty
towards her husband: if she is riding a camel and her husband
expresses his desire, she must not refuse."
(Ibn-e-Maja, Vol. 1, ch. 592, p 520)
Again, if a man is in a mood to have sexual intercourse, the wife
must come immediately even if she is baking bread at a communal
oven.
(Tirmzi, Vol. 1, p 428)
5. One should also bear in mind that Islam does everything to stop
a woman from divorcing her man, and this is especially true if she
happens to be a mother because it is father, who takes custody of
children. This cruelty is legitimised by Islam to establish man's
grip over woman.
6. So great is the Islamic discrimination against woman to favour
man that it starts right from the lowest rung of the social
ladder:
"Aisha said that she had a slave and a slave-girl who
were married. She told the Prophet that she wanted to
set them free. He said that she ought to free the slave
(man) first."
(Ibn-e-Majah,Vol. 2, ch. 130, p 100)
7. The same attitude asserts itself in the field of inheritance
and legal evidence. Though I have already stated Islamic views on
these subjects, I may add a word or two about the law of evidence
regarding women:
" ..And call in to witness,
two witnesses, men; or if the two be
not men, then one man and two women,
such witnesses as you approve of .."
(The Cow: 280)
Thus, legally, one man is equal to two women!
8. Nothing is more erroneous than the assumption that the Islamic
concept of polygamy is confined to four wives; its hidden meaning
is much deeper than what appears because it carries a sense of
built-in mirage:
"And if you desire to exchange a wife
in place of another ..take of her nothing .."
( Women: 20 )
It implies that a Muslim husband is entitled to keep substituting
one wife with another provided the number does not exceed the
prescribed limit of four at the same time. He can do so easily
because he has the power to divorce at will, without giving a
reason for his action. This is how Hassan, a grandson of the
Prophet multiplied the number of his wives, ranging over seventy.
It was his practice to marry during the day, and after a night or
two, he would divorce her to marry again.
9. Having intercourse with a concubine, who is a helpless woman,
is a first degree crime against humanity. The Roman Law made it
punishable by death but Islam encouraged this indecency to attract
followers. There is no law against the concubine-rapists but there
is swift retribution against an indecent woman, and her man can
inflict this punishment on her without fear of legal retribution.
"Such of you women as commit indecency
call four of you to witness against them;
and if they witness; then detain them
in their houses until death takes them
or God appoints for them a way." (Women: 20)
Since nobody has explained satisfactorily the meaning of: "Or
God appoints for them a way," the punishment for an indecent
woman cannot be anything but death by incarceration. And this is
in addition to other forms of punishment e.g. flogging and
stoning.
10. The true Islamic value of woman becomes evident when we
realise that her marriage is not substantive but precarious. If a
man does not like his daughter-in- law, and tells his son to
divorce her without giving a reason for it, he must do so.
(Tirmzi,Vol. 1 p 440)
a. There is also a famous tradition of the Prophet ascribed to
Katib al Waqidi and proudly recited by the mullahs to declare
brotherhood of the fellow-Muslims:
"Behold my two wives and select the one you like the
best."
This brotherly gesture was made by a Medinite Muslim (an Ansar) to
an immigrant Muslim, when the Prophet fled Mecca along with his
followers to seek refuge in Medina. The offer was accepted readily
and the offerer divorced the wife chosen by the offeree!
It shows that woman is just a souvenir in Islam. Look at the
following hadith as well:
b. In the battle fought against FAZARA under the command of Abu
Bakr, a very pretty Arab girl was given as share of booty to
Salama Bin Al-Akwa. He had not seduced her when the Prophet met
him in the street, and said, " O Salama, give me that girl,
may God bless your father." Salam said, "She is for you,
Messenger of Allah! By Allah I have not yet disrobed her. "
The Messenger of Allah sent her to the people of Mecca, and
surrendered her as a ransom for a number of Muslims, who had been
kept there as prisoners.
(Muslim: 4345)
The Prophet himself accepted women as a gift. The Coptic Mary, who
bore him a son, is an example in point.
11. The Prophet declared from the pulpit at Hajj, a wife must not
spend anything belonging to her husband without his permission,
and this prohibition equally applied to buying foodstuff.
(Tirmzi Vol. 1, p 265)
The Prophet himself accepted women as a gift. The Coptic Mary, who
bore him a son, is an example in point.
12. Even in religious matters of great importance, a wife is
subjected to her husband's command. There are several hadiths
which say that a wife may not observe fasting without her
husband's permission in case he wants to have sexual intercourse
with her.
( Tirmzi, Vol . 1, p 300 )
13. Islam treats woman as a devil owing to her erotic effect on
man:
The Prophet unintentionally looked at a woman and was aroused. He
went home and had intercourse with Zainab (one of his pretty
wives). He said, "Woman faces you as Devil. If you are
affected by her charm, have intercourse with your wife because she
has the same thing as the woman who affected you."
(Tirmzi, Vol. 1, p 428)
14. Woman is twisted by birth:
The Prophet said:
Woman has been created from a rib which is twisted.
If you try to straighten it, you will break it. It is
desirable to make the best use of it as it is.
(Tirmzi, Vol. 1 p 440)
15. Here is a surprising hadith:
The woman whose husband remains happy at night, and
every night, she will be admitted into paradise.
(Tirmzi, Vol. 1, p 428)
It obviously means that for a woman, gratification of man's lust
is an act of worshipping God!
a. This is the reason that another hadith says:
The woman who decorates herself for anyone other than her own
husband is like darkness of the Day of Judgement.
(Tirmzi, Vol. 1, p 430)
16. A woman is a calamity for man by her very nature:
The Prophet said that he had not left for man any calamity which
could hurt him except woman.
(Tirmzi, Vol. 2 p 286)
Add to the above, the following to realise woman's status in
Islam:
17. A woman is not a believer if she undertakes a journey which
may last three days or longer, unless she is accompanied by her
husband, son, father or brother.
(Tirmzi, p 431)
18. If a woman refuses to come to bed when invited by her husband,
she becomes a target of the curses of angels. Exactly the same
happens if she deserts her husband's bed.
(Bokhari, Vol. 7 p 93)
19. The women, who are ungrateful to their men, are the denizens
of hell; it is an act of ingratitude for a woman to say:
"I have never seen any good from you."
(Bokhari Vol. 7, p 96)
20. A woman in many ways is deprived of the possession of her own
body. Even her milk belongs to her husband.
(Bokhari Vol. 7, p 27)
She is not allowed to practise birth-control either.
21. The Prophet said: "When wife vexes her husband, then
houri of paradise utter curses on her saying, 'may God destroy you
because he is with you only for a short time; he will shortly
leave you to come to us.'
(Ibn-e-Majah, Vol. 1, p 560)
22. The Prophet said, "A woman's evidence carries half the
weight of that of a man .. it is owing to lack of wisdom on their
part. However, they are also injurious to the dignity of faith and
cannot be allowed to say prayer during the period of menstruation
or observe tasting."
(Mishkat, Vol. 1, p 19)
23. The Prophet said: "Beware of women because the calamity
that the Israelite suffered was caused by women."
(Mishkat, Vol. 2, p 70)
24. The Prophet said: "Misfortune is a part of womanhood,
residence and horse."
(Mishkat, Vol. 2, p 70)
25. The Prophet said: "No woman should perform a marriage
ceremony of another woman or her own because such a woman is the
true seducer."
(Mishkat, Vol. 2, p 78)
26. The Prophet said: "If Eve was not created, no woman would
have been dishonest towards her husband."
(Mishkat, Vol. 2, p 98)
27. The Prophet said: "When a man calls his wife to bed and
she refuses and he is angered, then angels keep cursing her all
night ..even the Master of Sky (God) is annoyed with her until
husband is reconciled with her."
(Mishkat, Vol. 2, p 100)
28. The Prophet said: "When a woman dies, if her husband was
pleased with her, she goes to paradise."
(Mishkat, Vol. 2, p 102)
29. The Prophet said: "On the Day of Judgement, a husband
shall not be questioned for beating his wife."
(Mishkat, Vol. 2, p 105)
a. Beating is a speciality of Islam for taming the "feminine
brutes." The Koran says: "And those you fear may be
rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them.
If they then obey you, look not for any way against them."
(Women: 35)
It has been said that, due to shortage of women, the Arab
practised a culture which was nearly matriarchal, that is, women
had high social positions in their clans, and were, therefore,
inclined to dominate men. The Prophet Muhammad was himself an
employee of Khadija whom he married, despite the fact that she was
fifteen years older than he was.
The Prophet was endowed with a masculine social approach and
wanted men to be dominant for creating a hardy, warrior Arab
nation, capable of conquering the world. This is the reason that
the Koran gave men an absolute authority to subdue women by
beating, if necessary. It was an essential part of subjugating
woman to man's sexual suzerainty. Men, certainly made the best use
of this prerogative. A hadith says:
" ..women had become bold with their men, and so the Prophet
authorised beating them. As a result, seventy women, during one
evening, gathered at the residence of the Prophet to complain
ruefully against their husbands, who they thought, were not good
people."
(Ibn-e-Majah, Vol. 1, p 553)
30. I ought to repeat that with wife-beating goes the Koranic
behest of purdah, which has been a major cause of destroying
female liberties:
"And say to the believing women, that they
cast down their eyes and guard their private
parts, and reveal not their adornment
save such as is outward; and let them cast
their veils over their bosoms, and not reveal
their adornment save to their husbands .."
(Light XXIV: 30)
Again:
"O Prophet, say to the wives and daughters
and the believing women, that they draw
their veils close to them:"
(The Confederates 33: 55)
31. Then came the further Koranic command for women:
"And stay in your houses .."
(The Confederates 33: 25)
Thus the Muslim woman was totally secluded from society and became
a source of sexual enjoyment and political pawn for man. One ought
to bear in mind that the Prophet himself concluded alliances with
powerful men through marriages: Abu Bakr and Umar were his
fathers-in-law, and Uthman and Ali were his sons-in- law. These
are the men who are considered next to the Prophet in rank and
dignity for the part they played in spreading Islam and
establishing the Arab Empire.
Recent rise of women as political heads in Pakistan, Bangladesh
and Turkey, does not represent the Islamic ethos but a rebellion
against it, showing its spiritual decline.
What I have said so far is about women in this world. They have
been turned into sexual toys for the gratification of man, who
seems to be Allah's darling. Women of the world-to-come, are
called HOURIS. So delicate, dainty and delightful they are that
they rank as the ultimate goal of man's existence; in fact, he
prays, panegyrises and pleads with Allah solely for the favour of
granting him houris, the providers of the most exquisite and
charming sexual pleasures. This is the Islamic salvation, which
motivates men to embrace, and stick to Islam. What a bewitching
bribe a houri is!
Houris are found in paradise which is their abode. Isiamic
salvation means gaining entry into the land of houris where carnal
delight is as plentiful as waves in the sea, flowers in a garden
or stars in the sky.
Woman is the weakness of man: Adam defied God to please his woman.
It is natural for sons to follow in the footprints of their
father. The Prophet Muhammad knew this deep-rooted psychological
mystery, which he successfully exploited through his idea of
houris. What is a houri?
The Koran says:
" .... for them (the Muslims) is reserved a definite
provision. fruit and a great honour in the Gardens of Bliss
reclining upon couches arranged face to face, a cup from a
fountain being passed round to them, white, a pleasure to the
drinkers ..... and with them wide-eyed maidens flexing their
glances as if they were slightly concealed pearls."
( The Rangers 40: 45 )
Whereas Chinese have preferred flat-chested women, the Arabs are
fond of rising bosoms. So, in keeping with the Arab taste, the
Koran declares:
"Surely for the God-fearing
awaits a place of security,
gardens and vineyards
and maidens with swelling bosoms."
(The Tidings 30)
The attraction of paradise is made more impelling when wine is
made a part of paradisiac living:
"Surely the pious shall be in bliss,
upon couches gazing:
You find in their faces the shining bliss
as they are offered to drink of wine sealed,
whose seal is musk ... and whose mixture
is Tasnim, a fountain at which to drink
those brought nigh."
(The Stinters 20: 25)
For better illustration of the point under discussion, I may refer
to Hadith Tirmzi, volume two (p. 35-40) which gives details of
houris, the ever-young virgins of paradise:
1. A houri is a most beautiful young woman with a transparent
body. The marrow of her bones is visible like the interior lines
of pearls and rubies. She looks like a red wine in a white glass.
2. She is of white colour, and free from the routine physical
disabilities of an ordinary woman such as menstruation, menopause,
urinal and offal discharge, child-bearing, and the related
pollution.
3. She is a woman characterised by modesty and flexing glances;
she never looks at any man except her husband, and feels grateful
for being the wife of her husband.
4. A houri is a young woman, free from odium and animosity.
Besides, she knows the meaning of love and has the ability to put
it into practice.
5. A houri is an immortal woman, who does not age. She speaks
softly and does not raise voice at her man; she is always
reconciled with him. Having been brought up in luxury, she is a
luxury herself.
6. A houri is a girl of tender age, having large upright breasts.
Houris dwell in palaces of splendid surrounding.
Now add to this description of houris, what Mishkat, volume three
says on pages 83-97:
7. If a houri looks down from her abode in heaven onto the earth,
the whole distance shall be filled with light and fragrance .....
8. A houri's face is more radiant than a mirror, and one can see
one's image in her cheek. The marrow of her shins is visible to
the eyes.
9. Every man who enters paradise shall be given seventy-two
houris; no matter at what age he had died, when he enters
paradise, he will become a thirty-year-old, and he will not age
any further.
10. Tirmzi, Vol. 2 states on page 138:
A man in paradise shall be given virility equal to that of one
hundred men!
It should be noted that men who are so potent, shall not be
inclined to do anything except love-making. This is the reason
that, according to Islam, sexual gratification is the ultimate
goal of life, and thus, the behaviour of a Muslim becomes sexually
oriented.
This discussion reflects the true Islamic view of human rights in
general, and the position of women, in particular.
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