Quran and UDHR Stand on Human Rights Law
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is regarded as a milestone document in human rights history. UDHR is a major source of modern-day international human rights. Although, it is non-binding under international law. It has influenced the international community in developing international instruments, such as conventions, and treaties on Human Rights. One such Convention is the European Convention on Human Rights (UN, 2022).
Additionally, UDHR and Quran enumerate similar rights concerning rights important for Human beings. The outline of the paper first introduces the Quran and UDHR and its stand on human rights law. The paper focuses on the similar rights guaranteed by the UDHR, and Quran. The paper majorly discusses the fundamentals of human rights, such as equality, access to justice, right to life and dignity, right to freedom and liberty, right to no discrimination, and the like. The paper concludes with a summary of human rights guaranteed under the UDHR and Quran.
The paper aims to draw a comparison between the principles of UDHR and the Quran. And to ascertain the compatibility between the two.
UDHR is a symbolic and fundamental document representing universal rights essential for humans. It is not a treaty that states sign up and ratify to implement, rather it is a major source of reference for adopting human rights laws and entering treaties and conventions of human rights. The majority of human rights treaties and conventions have already been signed by Arabic countries which follow Quran (Mayer, 2018).
In the Islamic community, for Muslims, the Quran is the prime source of authority. It is the fundamental religious text in Islam. The followers, Muslims, believe Quran to be “a revelation from God”. The Quran is a book that is divided into 114 chapters, called Suras. The book emphasizes the significance of good deeds, and their reward in the afterlife. It enumerates boundaries to prohibit its followers from committing sins. The Quran treats all humans equally and does not discriminate on any ground. It guarantees “equality and dignity” which complies with Article 1 of the UDHR, which states “all humans are born free and equal”. Additionally, Quran has given higher status to the women stating “Jannah” lies below the feet of mothers. It has endowed every human being with certain valuable rights which are necessary to live a dignified life, hence the Human Rights. This is cited in the verse Al-Isra of the Quran (Rahman, 2021).
The human rights bestowed by the Quran include the right to life and peaceful living, which is equivalent to Article 3 of the UDHR, advocating for the Right to life, security, and liberty. Additionally, suicide and slavery of any kind are considered sins under the Quran, the latter comply with Article 4 of the UDHR i.e., No Slavery (Balkis, 2018).
Furthermore, the right to own, and protect property is enumerated in Islamic jurisprudence, which complies with Article 17 of the UDHR. The principle of non-discrimination enumerated in Article 2 of the UDHR is similar to the principle of the Quran which believes in equality for all and no discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, or place of birth.
Similar Rights Guaranteed by Quran and UDHR
Article 7 and 9 of UDHR has similarity with the Quran’s principles stating “everyone is considered equal under Quran with equal access to rights and justice”. Women are entitled to approve or disapprove of marriages under Islam, thus giving them the right to marry as enshrined under Article 16, UDHR. Additionally, the Quran advocates for education, especially for women with the rationale that educating a woman is like educating an entire family, both before and after marriage. The right to education is also contained in UDHR’s Article 26 which advocates for the right to education (Oraegbunam, 2021).
Moreover, The Quran values “Life” tremendously, and prohibits killings. One of the verses states, “whoever slays a soul, it is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men”. It forbids the taking of life. Quran confers the right to life even to one’s enemy in the war. Quran dictates to treat prisoners of war with kindness and dignity, and never kill the person unless it is self-defense. It also forbids the killing of an enemy in the war if he is going to surrender. Also, the killing of old, children, and women is considered a Sin, and there is no exception to it (Nasr, 2015). This is similar to the principles of International Humanitarian Law (IHL).
The Quran has also mentioned certain rights for its minority groups and women. It imposes obligations on Muslims to take care of the vulnerable groups who cannot provide for themselves. It aims to protect vulnerable groups (Bendjoudi, 2020).
The Quran preaches equality and justice for all. It believes that entire humankind has descended from a single man, Adam, therefore promoting solidarity in the society. Additionally, the texts of the Quran indicate an emphasis on human rights (Andrabi, 2016).
Quran states that those who fulfill the duty of being truthful, and just shall enjoy a high status in Jannah. It is quoted as “O you who believe! be maintainers of justice, bearers of the witness of Allah’s sake”. Additionally, it requires its followers to control their evils and serve good deeds to become successful in their afterlife. It asks its followers to treat each other with kindness, dignity, and compassion since all are descended from Adam. It promotes brotherhood and prohibits deception or ill-motivated acts. It mentions humans must control their feelings of envy, and hatred to have a peaceful, and good life. Most importantly, it asks its followers to do a good deed even if it goes against their selves, family, or relatives. It preaches to its followers to help others in doing good deeds and stop them from committing sins. The followers of the Quran are also taught to treat followers of other religions with kindness, and compassion (Bhat, 2014).
Moreover, Quran states one’s true devotion to faith is reflected when one serves others, such as helping the needy and feeding the orphans or poor. It is given under the Surah Al-Hajj “Those, who will keep up prayer and pay for the poor (Zakat) and enjoin good and forbid evil; and Allah’s is the end of affairs”. The concept of Zakat is religiously followed by Muslims all around the globe. Quran protects the rights and property of orphans by forbidding followers from deceiving orphans, it is regarded as a great crime. This is cited under the Surah An-Nisa “And give to the orphans their property, and do not substitute worthless (thing) for (their) good (ones), and do not devour their property (as an addition) to you own property; this is surely a great crime” (Ibrahim, 2016).
Fundamentals of Human Rights Discussed in Paper
The Quran is a religious book of Islam; however, the Surah Al-Ma’idah obligates Muslims to protect followers of other faiths. Also, Muslims are forbidden from using any sort of method of compulsion to influence their religious beliefs, and practices, its quoted in the Surah Al-Hajj which states, “cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques in which God’s name is remembered” (Ahmad, 2014).
Quran advocates for just, fair, and equal treatment for people belonging to distinct cultural, ethnic, and religious clusters. It talks about living in solidarity and promoting fraternity. Quran in Surah Al-Ma’idah tells Muslims to strive with one another while doing virtuous deeds (Ibnouf, 2019).
Quran has dedicated an entire chapter exclusively discussing the rights guaranteed to women, which is Surah An-Nisa. It states that whoever does good deeds irrespective of their Gender shall enter Paradise, and not be subjected to even a bit of injustice. The very same words are repeated in the sixteenth chapter stating, irrespective of the gender, whoever is a believer and does a good deed, will certainly live a happy life, and will be rewarded generously by Allah. The presence of gender equality is evident. Women are immensely praised for their childbearing attributes (Aral, 2017).
In several verses/surah, the Quran emphasizes the upliftment of women. In economic terms, women are entitled to Maher, and it belongs to the woman herself unless she gives them away. In addition to this, women are endowed with the right to inherit. Quran obligates men to protect, and shelter women as their equals. Most importantly, mothers are given a special status by the Quran by the verse stating that a child shall enter Paradise and leap rewards if satisfies the needs of their parents.
Quran also enumerates several child rights and social rights to aid them in development and protect them from injustices. Some of the verses of the Quran recognize refugee rights of displaced people, such as the right to humane treatment. It obligates Muslims to help those in need. Actions of people which leads to mass migration are condemned by Quran. That person is referred to as someone who lacks faith in Allah (Volkmann &Salazar, 2013).
In Quran, rights relating to equality, justice, security, safety, and human dignity are considered of utmost importance and hence, deemed indispensable. To supplement the fundamental human rights, Quran lays down other significant rights, such as the right to education, social solidarity, freedom from slavery, the right to marry, the and right to the ownership of property (Yazdani, 2020).
Many scholars have argued that the rights enumerated in the UDHR have been already guaranteed by Quran 14 centuries earliMoststly importantly, the Quran advocates for an egalitarian society and when UDHR was adopted in 1948, seven Islamic countries favored it due to the similarity of rights guaranteed under the instrument (Waltz, 2014).
Conclusion
The holy Quran is the primary and religious source of Islam. Its followers religiously follow Quran. It is divided into 114 chapters that prescribe certain boundaries which must be not transgressed by its followers. It endowed various human rights to all equally. Quran preaches peace, interaction, friendship, and tolerance. It prohibits war, except for self-defense. Simply put, Quran permits war only when it is defensive and not offensive. Quran tremendously values life It forbids killings and considers it a Sin. The Quran believes in equality for all and states only good deeds can raise the status of humans amongst each other. Quran believes in “equality” in all aspects. The Quran emphasizes the upliftment of women evidently in several verses. The presence of gender equality is evident in Quran. All the significant human rights are attributed in both the Quran and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). It is concluded, Quran is compatible with the UDHR.
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