Islam’s Gifts to Human Beings

Equality of All Human Beings

We will focus on some unique concepts introduced to mankind by
Islam. The one most striking to the modern mindset is the concept
of equality of all human beings. This was stated explicitly and clearly
by Prophet Muhammad sallallaho alaihe wasallam:
O people, your Lord is One and your first ancestor is one. You all
derive from Adam and Adam was made from dust. The most honorable
among you in the eyes of Allah is the one who is most pious. The
Arabs have no superiority over non-Arabs but by piety.
The same concept of equality among all human beings is explicit in
the Quran:
O mankind, We created you from a single (pair) of a male
and a female and made you into nations and tribes that
you may know each other (and not that you may despise
each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of
Allah is (he who is) most righteous among you.Surah Al-
Hujurat, 49/13.
The Quran and Hadeeth bring out clearly the idea that all human
beings have a common ancestor and hence are brothers and sisters.
Divisions into nations and tribes are for purposes of identification,
and not so people will take pride in their ancestry — the reference
to creation from dust is to reinforce the humility which is essential
for brotherhood and love.
Because the idea of equality of human beings is now widespread and
widely accepted, we do not fully appreciate the radical and
revolutionary nature of this teaching of Islam. To get a better
understanding of it, it is important to note that there is NO
philosopher or thinker prior to Islam or after it for at least a thousand
years, who has expressed this idea of equality among all human beings
in his writings!! However the opposite idea, namely that some races
are superior to others (and especially the race/class of the writer is
the best) is commonly found in writings and thought all over the
world at all time periods. Every advanced culture before and after
Islam considered itself as the best, and all others as inferior. The word
for ‘foreigner’ in most languages is insulting, meaning barbarian, savage,
etc. The Arabs were no exception to this rule, and the word ‘Ajam’
used for non- Arabs means a person who cannot speak (the Arabs
were especially proud of their eloquence). Furthermore, racism and
the idea that some humans are (by birth or otherwise) superior to
others is still quite common. The supposition that the German race
is superior to others was responsible for atrocities and tragedies in
World War II, a recent event. The idea that the White race is superior
to the Browns/Black is firmly planted in European consciousness, and
even the greatest thinkers of Europe could not escape its effects.
Thus Darwin, Freud, Martin Luther, Keynes and many other
revolutionary European thinkers who invented and gave bold new
concepts to the world idea of equality has become widely accepted,
so open expressions of racism have been much reduced. However,
Professors Herrstein and Shockley at Harvard University and their
students and followers continue to research the ‘currently unpopular’
idea that whites are genetically superior to blacks. These examples
have been given to show that even though most of us take the idea
of equality among all human beings as natural and obvious, it is not
at all natural and obvious. Most men outside the Islamic tradition,
including extremely intelligent ones, have failed to understand it. As
far as I know, the first one among European intellectuals to clearly
express the idea that all human beings are equal was the French
thinker Jean-Jacque Rousseau in the 19th century, thirteen hundred
years after our Prophet Muhammad sallallaho alaihe wasallam. He was
acquainted with Islam and very likely derived his inspiration from the
Islamic philosophy, since no such idea exists in European thought prior
to him.
Doubters might think that Prophet Muhammad sallallaho alaihe wasal-
lam derived his inspiration in this idea from the Christian or Jewish
tradi- tions. There is no doubt that since both Moses and Jesus
aleyhimussalam were true prophets of Allah, they had brought the
correct teachings to their people. However, both groups had
completely distorted these teachings so that at the time of the birth
of our prophet this fundamental idea of equality was not available in
either religion. The Jews had distorted the ‘Chosen Peo- ple’ concept
into a racist philosophy which considered their race as superior to
others. The Christians had evidently lost the original message as is
obvi- ous in Church debates regarding whether or not Negros have
souls, as well as the separation of black and white churches until late
20th century. When Christians apologize for the open racism in the
writings of many prominent Christian thinkers, both Protestant and
Catholic, they say that it was just the prevailing view in earlier ages.
They do not realize that since equality was built into the foundations
of Islam, there are no instances of racism among the writings of any
of the men of religion throughout the centuries in Islam.
Brotherhood of All Human Beings
The teachings of our prophet and the words of the Quran stress
both equal- ity and brotherhood of all human beings. While equality
is now widely accepted, the world is still desperately in need of
understanding the Islamic concept of brotherhood. As demonstrated
in the earlier quotes from Qura and Hadeeth, Allah and his prophet
have encouraged us to love as brothers and sisters all human beings,
since we have a common ancestor. This love has a variety of aspects
as we will see. Among the large number of Islamic teachings on this
subject, we give a few as illustrative:
All of creation is the family of Allah, and among His Creations
Allah loves most whoever treats His family the best.
Sunan Baihaqi

On the day of Judgment, Allah T’aala will ask, ‘I was sick, and
you did not come to visit me?’ Man will say, ‘O Allah, you
are the creator of Heavens and Earth, How could you be
sick?’ So Allah will say that ‘So and so was sick, and had you
come to visit him, you would have found me with him.’ Again
Allah T’aala will ask, ‘I asked you for food, and you did not
feed me.’ Man will respond, ‘How could I feed You, You who
are the feeder of the entire creation?’. Allah will say, ‘Don’t
you remember so-and-so who was hungry and asked you for
food? If you had fed him, you would have found me near
him.’ Sahih Muslim.
These and similar teachings show that our fellow human beings
have rights upon us. If they are in need, it is our responsibility to
help them, since they belong to our family. This is strong contrast
with contemporary philosophy and teachings, widely prevalent in
Europe and America, accord- ing to which we need not even
help our real mother and father in time of need. The growing
numbers of retirement villas, and Old-Folk Homes testify to the
increasing isolation. Unfortunately, this poisonous philosophy of in-
dividualism (which translates to selfishness and loneliness) is also
spreading throughout the Islamic countries, as they attempt to
emulate Europe and America.
Another aspect of the Islamic teaching is that we should not
identify with racial groups, language groups, or groups living in the
same area. These lo- cal allegiances get in the way of our allegiance
to human beings as a whole. In several incidents, our prophet
strongly discouraged people from appeal- ing to others on the
basis of tribal loyalties prevalent in Arabia. That this fundamental
principle has not been understood/accepted is clearly visible in
the great damage to human race that has been inflicted (and
continues) in the name of the prevalent philosophy of nationalism.
By encouraging the English, French, Germans, Spaniards etc. to be
faithful with their lives to the piece of earth they live on, this
philosophy has been responsible for a nearly continuous state of
warfare in Europe until recent times. To this day, even though it
seems quite petty and irrational from the global perspective given
to us by Islam, the British dislike the French (and vice versa), the
Germans are proud of their race, and in general people identify
with and consider themselves as belonging to a very small fragment
of humanity. Fur- thermore, nationalism or love for ones nation
also has the dark side of hate for other nations. American soldiers
in Vietnam used to talk of the Vietnamese as ‘Geeks’ – a
dehumanizing name use to rationalize killings. Similarly an Israeli
soldier reported surprise at finding Tolstoy, Shakespeare and other
literature in the camps of Palestinians that the Israeli troops had
destroyed they were trained to think of Palestinians as savages.
Similarly, American secretary of state Madeleine Albright said when
asked by Leslie Stah in a ’Sixty Minutes’ broadcast on 12 May
1996 (whilst she was US ambassador at the UN): ”We have heard
that a half million children have died (as a result of sanctions
against Iraq). I mean, that is more children than died in Hiroshima.
And, you know, is the price worth it?” Albright responded: ”I
think this is a very hard choice, but the price, we think the price
is worth it”.
Many historians have acknowledged the striking achievements of
Islam in uniting people of different races, languages, and colors,
and considered this issue as the most significant failing of the
Western Civilization. One illustrative quote from A.Toynbee,
‘Civilization on Trial’:

One of the great achievements of Islam has been the

ending of racial distinctions, and in the present times
this aspect of Islam is sorely needed... Even though in
other aspects, the success of the English speaking nations
has been a blessing to mankind, it cannot be denied that
it has failed in the dangerous matter of racial distinctions.

Yet another aspect of brotherhood is the lack of distinction

between rich and poor, aristocrat and common. Many European
travellers to Islamic lands in the past have remarked with
amazement at the relatively easy access to kings/governors enjoyed
by common people. Every day in the Masjid (and once a year in
Hajj) the poor and rich stand shoulder-to-shoulder, equal as
servants of Allah. In contrast, until the French revolution, Europe
was strictly bound by class distinctions, and the tremendous
superiority of aris- tocracy to the common people was taken for
granted by all of the society.
Equality is a matter of law, and in the USA for example, there
is le- gal equality between Whites and Blacks (achieved only after
substantial and bloody struggles in the recent past). Brotherhood
is a matter of the heart, and simply cannot be achieved by
legislation. Despite legal equality, nu- merous racial incidents of all
sorts continue to occur in the USA, showing that brotherhood
has not been achieved — indeed it is doubtful whether
brotherhood is thought of as a goal even. Many Muslims and non-
Muslims have testified to the brotherhood which exists in the
hearts of Muslims to this day, uniting people without regard to
race, language, social strata, or regional affiliation. One
representative quotation from the autobiography of Malcolm-X
will suffice as an illustration:
In the Muslim countries in the past eleven days, I have
eaten from same plate and drunk from the same glass
and slept on the same carpet with the rest... I found in
them the same sincerity that I found in Nigeria, Sudan,
and Ghana with the Black African Muslims. We are all
brothers, because the belief in Allah has removed stains
of color from our minds, behavior and conduct. I
understood that if people in America come to believe in
the oneness of God, then perhaps they will also accept
the oneness of human beings and not make comparisons,
opposition, or enmities on the basis of race. I became
 determined to tell the people of America that here (in
Islamic countries) all colors of people are truly brothers
to each other, no-one feels himself separated from the
rest, no one feels superior or inferior on the basis of his
race.
This testimony of someone brought up in America (and similar
evidence can be obtained by anyone entering into a frank
conversation with American Blacks) shows how far Western
Civilization is from achieving brotherhood, something which
Muslims enjoy almost as a birthright.
A Radical Concept of Justice
Modern societies lack the radical and far-reaching concept of justice
that Islam gave the world. One among many ayat of the Quran
stressing justice is the following
O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to
Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and
whether it be (against) rich or poor. For Allah can best protect
both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and
if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-
acquainted with all that ye do. Surah Nisa 4/135
The demand for justice made by Allah is for everyone, and strict. We
must stand for justice even if it goes against ourselves or our near
and dear ones, or the rich or the poor, or the strong or the weak.
A similar Ayat (5/2) warns us not to let the enmity of an Enemy or
former injustices inflicted upon us prevent us from the doing justice.
There are many shining examples of justice among Muslims responding
to the requirements of the Quran which contain no parallels in human
history. The way that our prophet forgave his bitter enemies, who
had inflicted severe damage to Muslims, on his conquest
of Mecca, has served as a model to Muslim conquerors throughout
history.
When the Crusaders took Jerusalem from the Muslims, the Christian
nar- rators write that conquerors were knee-deep in blood – women
and children were not spared. When Salahuddin Ayubi retook the city
from the Chris- tians, he spared the lives of all the Christians and
even provided them with transport back to their country.
When the siege of Adrianople was prolonged, the Osmanli army
collected food and supplies from all the townpeople. However, the
Qadi gave the ruling that the non-Muslim inhabitants had already paid
taxes for their protection, and taking more was unjust. The army
therefore returned the material taken from the Christians and Jews,
in the middle of the siege!
Islamic history contains many examples of rulings against the rich and
powerful in favor of the poor. There are many recorded instances of
the Osmanli kings and Qadi’s defending the rights of the peasants
against their landlords. In contrast, the contemporary Feudal system
in Europe gave no rights at all the peasants; the landlord had ultimate
authority.
It is seems clear that our world is greatly in need of higher standards
of humanity and justice. The currently prevailing concept of justice
and the le- gal system in Europe and USA derive from Roman Laws,
according to which the opposing parties hired gladiators to fight each
other. Whichever party hired the successful gladiator won the case.
Nowadays, the gladiators and physical combat have been replaced by
lawyers and legal combat. Although it is not widely known outside
the legal profession, lawyers themselves un- derstand perfectly well
that their goal in the adversarial system is NOT to obtain justice, but
to do the best possible within legal bounds for their client, even if
this conflicts with the demands of justice. To illustrate this point, a
panel of prominent lawyers at Stanford (which included two women)
was asked the following question:
“Your client is a man whom you know to be guilty of rape. The
best line of legal defence is to sully the reputation of the victim
(whom you know to be an innocent woman). What should you
do? ” The lawyers were unanimous that it was the duty and
responsibility of the defence lawyer to attack the reputation of
the woman victim, even if he/she knew his/her client was guilty
and the woman was innocent! Stanford Alumni Magazine-1983
Exactly as in the gladiator system, justice may arise as a chance
by- product; it is NOT the goal to be pursued. Study after study
of justice in the USA has shown that since the rich can afford
better lawyers, the chances of acquittal for the rich in essentially
identical circumstances are substantially
higher than those for the poor.
Service and Responsibility of the State
Prior to Islam, Kings ruled by divine right, and the rich and powerful
consid- ered it their right to exploit the weak. Islam introduced the
radical concept that the job of the ruler is not to accumulate wealth
and live luxuriously by exploiting the people, but to serve the people.
This was not just a philosophy, but translated into practice by the
luminaries of Islam. When a visitor seek- ing the prophet (saw) arrived
in Medina, he found the prophet (saw) serving water to the
companions. The prophet explained to him that the best of the
nation are those who serve the nation. Umer Farooq (ra),
ruler/conqueror of one of the largest empires, used to obtain a minimal
pay from the Bait- ul-Mal (Treasury). He wore patched clothing and
ate coarse food. When his companions urged him to increase his
standard of living to suit his high position, he reproached them saying
that he could not live and eat well when all of the Muslims were
not able to do so. He used to tremble and cry before Allah in the
fear that if injustice was done to anyone within his authority, he
would be questioned about this. Because of the Islamic concept of
state responsibility toward the people, orphanages, state hospitals, and
pensions for the poor and needy were all introduced to the world by
Islamic states. Also, the idea that the state should be ruled by the
one who is most capable of fulfilling this responsibility (and is not the
birthright of any person) was introduced to history by Islam. The
rightly guided khalifs turned the state over to other unrelated people
in presence of living and mature sons. The fact that in later Islamic
history many of these principles were honored only in theory but not
in practice does not alter the fact that they are part of Islam, the
true religion of Allah, the creator of Heavens and Earth, and all that
is in between.
What is the Measure of Man?
Perhaps the most precious and valuable teaching of Islam is how to
measure the value of men and women. The Quran teaches us that:
We have indeed created man in the best of forms. Then do
We abase him to the lowest of the low.

Surah Al-Teen 95/4,5

Man has the potential to be the best of the creation, as well as the
potential to be the worst of the creation. By striving to be obedient
to Allah, we can reach heights which are simply not accessible by any
other route. During a time of poverty and hunger in Medina, one of
the sahaba received a gift of food. Preferring to feed his neighbor
over himself, he sent the food to his neighbor. This process continued,
with each family willing to sacrifice for the others, until the food
reached back to where it had started from. Islam teaches us to
measure men by their humility, compassion, love of Allah and his
creation, self-sacrifice, purity of intention, respect for elders, fairness
in dealings, and other qualities which were taught by our prophet
(saw). Islam teaches us to strive to look for good qualities of other
people and try to learn from them. We should strive to look for our
own bad qualities and try to remove them.
According to the Quran, ‘the most honorable man is the one who is
most pious/righteous.’ That is, men are to be judged by their
characters. One of the most damaging aspects of the rise of the
West has been the replacement of these measures of quality of men
by a rather crude and false measure: Gold. When Adam Smith wrote
The Wealth of Nations, he formalized the accepted principle that the
measure of greatness for a nation was the amount of wealth it
possesses. In the West, the same is true on an individual level: The
value of an individual directly depends on how much gold he/she has.
The object of statesmanship and politics is not the service of people,
but the acquisition of wealth and power – it does not matter if this
acquisition is done at the expense of other nations. It is this
replacement of human values by inhuman ones that leads to
calculations according to which the lives of half a million children
becomes a suitable price to pay to achieve political goals. In modern
economics, we are taught that it is rational for men to behave selfishly.
Implicitly it is taught that the collection of gold is a worthwhile
objective of life. Modern biology teaches us that man is just another
kind of animal – a point which is drilled into minds with insistence in
Western education. According to the Quranic teachings these modes
of behavior are possible for human beings, when they choose to
become the worst of creation; Those who choose to make collection
of gold the object of their lives are described as:
Woe to every (kind of) scandal-monger and backbiter, who pileth up
wealth and counts it (repeatedly) Surah Al-Hamza 104/1-2 But Allah
has also revealed to us higher modes of behavior and given us a free
choice in this matter:
And shown him the two highways (of good and evil)
Surah Al-Balad 90/10
And by the Soul, and the proportion and order given to it; and
its inspiration as to its wrong, and its right; Truly he succeeds
that purifies it, and he fails that corrupts it! Surah Al-Shams 91/7-10.
Although reason and logic do not support self-sacrificing behavior, and
our egos prefer pride and show to humility and poverty, our hearts
recognize the nobility and preferability of Islamic modes of behavior.
This is what is meant by the statement that Allah has inspired us as
to (that is, revealed tous) what is right and what is wrong.
 Islam and moderation
Of all the religions, Islam is the only one that does not only emphasize
spirituality, not only materialism, but also commands man to fulfill the
rights of both soul and matter, and shows the way to reform both this
world and the hereafter. Is. The Holy Qur'an praises those who seek
the welfare of both religion and the world. Since such comprehensiveness
and moderation is one of the basic virtues of Islam, the Holy Qur'an
has addressed the nation of Islam as a moderate Ummah. That is, a
nation that walks on the path of moderation. A Muslim cannot be a
materialist at all if money is the only purpose of his life, nor can he
leave the world because the body does not need anything.
says in the Holy Quran:
"And thus we have made you a just community that you will be
witnesses over the people and the Messenger will be a witness over
you. And We did not make the qiblah which you used to face except
that We might make evident who would follow the Messenger from
who would turn back on mo And inMerciful." [Quran, 2: 143]
In the above mentioned Ayah, the Almighty Lord has characterized us
as the just community, which means that moderation should be seen in
all of our acts.
Moderation in belongings
There is a common misconception that Islam is a strict religion and is
against modernity. While in fact, it never opposes having possessions
which benefit a man and the whole society. Had it been against the
usage of such property, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) would not use a
horse for travelling. As, a horse used to be the best mode of journey
in that time, same way a person can use the one of supreme object
for its ease in this day and age. The verity of the subject is to keep
the right level of equilibrium between one`s needs and wants. Quran
says:
But seek, through that which Allah has given you, the home of the
Hereafter; and [yet], do not forget your share of the world. And do
good as Allah has done good to you. And desire not corruption in the
land. Indeed, Allah does not like corrupters.” [Quran, 28: 77]
One must not become too much indulged in the materialistic world
that it forgets the remembrance of God and its other religious and
moral responsibilities. That is why Zakah (charity) has been made
obligatory to perform so that the love of worldly possessions could be
moderated through it.
Moderation in worship
Although one must strictly fulfill its spiritual duties like offering prayers
five times a day to get closer to the Almighty, fasting for sake of
pleasing the Lord, performing Hajj etc. but one is also excused not to
complete such acts being in a state of some difficulty. Allah SWT tells
us in Furqan e Hameed:
“O you, who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash
your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads
and wash your feet to the ankles. And if you are in a state of janabah,
then purify yourselves. But if you are ill or on a journey or one of you
comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women
and do not find water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces
and hands with it. Allah does not intend to make difficulty for you,
but He intends to purify you and complete His favor upon you that
you may be grateful.” [Quran, 5: 6]
It means that if someone has some problem and cannot accomplish the
actually required level of cleanliness due to some unavoidable
circumstances, there is no compulsion in this matter, and one can do
as much as it can, as intentions decide the outcome of the deeds.
Moreover, God, the Exalted says that He does not want to create any
kind of complexity for us, rather He wishes only what is good for us.
Ibn Mas`ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet
(sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said:
“Ruined are those who insist on hardship in matters of the Faith.” He
repeated this three times. (Muslim)
This Hadith could be taken as a criticism over so called Sufis and Mullas
of the present time, who portray the religion of peace as austere model
to pursue, and misguide many of the Muslims, by wrong interpretation
of the religious teachings. In short, the fact of the matter is that in
Islam, there is no room for strictness in matters, and one can adopt as
much moderation in carrying out religious action as required by it.
Moderation in dealing with others
The idea of temperance is so wide spread that it could be applied in
almost every matter concerning one`s life. But, in Islam, there is even
more emphasis on one`s obligations towards others by adopting pleasant
and modest behavior with them. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) acted as a
role model in every aspect of life, and was always at the top of good
manners while dealing with others. Allah SWT describes His (PBUH)
mannerism in the Holy Quran as:
“So by mercy from Allah, [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them.
And if you had been rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would
have disbanded from about you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness
for them and consult them in the matter. And when you have decided,
then rely upon Allah. Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him].”
[Quran, 3: 159]
This verse rightly explains the great importance of one`s judicious
conduct with people, as it has been quoted in the form of inspirational
behavior of the Messenger (PBUH) of God with others, due to which
they were drawn towards the word of righteousness. A`ishah (R.A)
narrated Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) having said:
 “Gentleness does not enter anything except that it beautifies it
and harshness does not enter anything except that it disfigures it.” (Muslim)
It means that no matter how much a person feels disgust towards
other person, it should always keep a sensible posture and never talk
any kind of extreme words of harshness.
In short, the concept of moderation in Islam binds one to adopt sense
of balance in every action, whether it is pure worship or social, individual
or collective. May Allah SWT give us the will and desire to understand
and take up this golden principle, which is the key to success in this
world and hereafter.