The Remarkable Merits of the Islamic Society (Part 3)

3. Right of Freedom

Freedom stands for man’s manumission from slavery and enjoyment of his legal rights. It is the most sacred right of humankind; therefore, Islam has declared and decided protecting and spreading this right in the Islamic society. Unlike the idea of the simple-minded, freedom does not mean release from all regulations that contribute in systematizing, reforming, and protecting the societies. This sort of freedom is the freedom of jungles. The true freedom is to enjoy all the legal rights that are not in violation of others’ rights:

 A. Freedom of Religion. It is a Muslim right to have full freedom in matters relating to his beliefs, rituals, and rulings of Sharia. It is illicit to coerce him to desert or act violently towards the constitution of Islam since such coercion is regarded as flagrant violence to the most sacred freedoms. Muslims, however, are required to be steadfast in matters relating to the belief and against the misleading campaigns aimed at deceiving them.

B. Civil Freedom. It is a Muslim right to enjoy latitude and practice all his civil affairs. Hence, it is right to reside in any country he chooses, do any job he prefers, study any field of science he likes, and make any contract he wants. Hence, he is free to do all these things in the light of the Islamic Sharia.

C. Freedom of Propagation of Islam. This freedom is dedicated to the well-qualified Muslims who are able to publicize the Islamic edification. Such efforts contribute in developing the Islamic society doctrinally, culturally, and socially, and help in purifying it from vices.

The Prophet (A.S) said: "People will live in perpetual goodness so long as they enjoin good, forbid evil, and cooperate on charity. If they stop acting these deeds, blessings will be taken away from them, some of them will rule the others tyrannically, and they will not find any supporter in the earth or in the heavens." (5:45)

4. Right of Equality

Selfishness and class privileges prevailed on the life of the past nations. Class differentiation was the most distinctive feature in the lives of the Arabs in the pre-Islamic era. They used to persecute the weak and treat them as slaves and used not to criticize the celebrities for offenses so as to make distinction between ordinary people and them. Omar ibn Hind; the Arab king, for instance, used to talk to people from behind a screen. Annu’man ibn al-Munthir was another example. He classified his days into days of pleasure and days of rage.

He used to endow anyone who meets him on a day of pleasure liberally, and kill every one who visits him on the days of rage. Until the French Revolution; 1789, which called to and aroused egalitarianism in the mentalities of the Western people, racial discrimination was a common feature in the Western nations. casteism, however, have lived in the mentalities of most of them. The German Nazi movement, for instance, has preferred the Aryan to others. In the American society, struggles between the white and the black are still current because of the selfishness of the white who disdain associating with the black. Britain, likewise, sowed the seeds of casteism in South Africa where the white are masters and the black are acting as slaves. In the shadows of communism that claims eradication of casteism, the distinction between social classes is clearly noticed.

Source: alhassanain.com