Life and Teachings of the Prophet Muhammad
9. Human Rights in Islam
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“Communities of old came to grief and destruction
because of the disparity and leniency shown to those in
high positions when they committed such an offence.
On the contrary, any offender of humble origin or lowly
status in society had harsh punishment meted out to
him. By God, if my own daughter Fatimah were to
steal, I would have her hand cut off.” (Al-Bukhari,
Muslim)
3. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND DISSENT:
The principle of non-coercion mentioned above has not been
confined to religious freedom alone. Rather, it has been extensively
elaborated upon and widely applied to all social, cultural, and
political spheres of society. This has led to the development of a
new culture in which individuals enjoy freedom of expression,
dissent and criticism without any fear or restriction. Two examples
may suffice to explain to what extent this essential human right was
observed in earlier Muslim societies.
Once the Caliph Umar came to a well of the Banu Harithah
where he met an outspoken person named Muhammad ibn
Maslama. “How do you find me?” he asked Muhammad, “By God,
I find you just as I would like you to be and just as it would please
any well-wisher to see you. You are good at accumulating money, I
see, but you keep your hands clean of it yourself, distributing it
equitably to others.” “But,” went on Muhammad ibn Maslama, “If
you adopt a crooked course, we will straighten you, just as we
