CLARET COLLEGE OF ISABELA

P.O. Box 8692 Roxas Avenue, Isabela City, Basilan Province, 7300 Philippines
GRADE 12 - Islamic Religion

Name :_____________________________ Date: ________________

Strand/Section:_____________________________ Output No.: (8)

I- Objectives:

The learners will be able to…

a. Know and understand the teachings and example of the prophet on social and economic
justice.
b. Understand the teachings and example of the prophet on Human Rights.
c. Describe how the teachings of Prophet Muhammad influenced the early society.

Values Integration:
Truth and Unity
II- Preliminary Activities

A.Prayer
Write your own prayer on the space provided below.
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B. Review
What can you say about the leadership of Prophet Muhammad? Write on the space provided
below.
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III-Exposition of the subject matter

Teachings and example of the Prophet

on specific issues of justice and equality
Title

Prophet Muhammad: The Social Reformer

All great civilizations, such as the Greeks, Romans, Persians and today in the
form of West, have arisen mainly by advancing human rights and the rule of law. The rise of the
Islamic civilization between the 7th and 13th centuries also owes itself to this principle. Few
individuals in any civilization have been able to accomplish religious, gender, educational, racial
and conflict-resolution reforms all at once. Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam,
reformed his society in all five respects which laid the foundation of the Arab and Muslim
civilization. Their later decline and today's extremism from some Muslims has unfortunately
obscured the historical contributions by the Prophet for humanity. The following points intend to
provide a better sense of his efforts and to show where today things have gone wrong:

1. Religious Freedom

 Some intolerant Muslims today persecute non-Muslims for proselytizing or blasphemy.

In contrast, the Islamic Holy scripture Quran states that "there is no compulsion in
religion" (2:256). However, few know of its context. Before the migration of Prophet
Muhammad to Madina, some polytheists in the town had dedicated their children to be
raised in the monotheistic Jewish tradition. After converting to Islam, the parents
objected to this when the Jewish guardians took the children with them. However, the
Prophet refused them permission to forcibly take back their children or to convert them to
Islam in the light of this Quranic verse.

 Moreover, the Prophet permitted Najrani Christian priests to offer their prayers in his
mosque and to have an open religious dialogue before an audience. Moreover, he later
wrote them a decree that declared "No compulsion is to be on them; No one is to destroy
a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims'
houses; they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate."

2. Racial Equality

 Pre-Islamic Arab society had racial biases against non-Arabs just as American society
had up till the 1960's. The Prophet managed to purify these primitive sentiments by his
personal example. His closest companions Bilal bin Riba (an Abyssinian) and Salman
Farsi (a Persian) were both former slaves who went on to command enormous respect in
the first Muslim society. In his famous last sermon, the Prophet declared "a white has no
superiority over black, nor does a black over a white, except by piety and good action".

3. Education

 The Prophet famously declared that "learning is obligatory upon every Muslim man and
woman" and that "he who gives the best upbringing and education to his daughters shall
enter paradise." In his unlettered and oral society, he encouraged his followers learn
writing so to be able to transmit Quran's message far and wide. In sharp contrast to
today's Taliban who blow up girls' schools, he reminded his people that they needed to
"learn half of faith" from his wife Ayesha and that one should seek "knowledge even if
one needs to go to China."Not surprisingly, it was this initial encouragement which
ultimately led to the Islamic golden age of science which advanced medicine, astronomy,
algebra and philosophy and also contributed to the Western Renaissance.

4. Women's Rights

 In the pre-Islamic society, some proud pagans practiced 'honor' killings and female
infanticide to offset their 'shame.' The numerous reforms which the Prophet instituted in
the 7th century included the end of 'honor' killings, the right of a woman's approval in her
marriage, her right to ownership of private property, to seek unilateral divorce if the
husband was abusive and to re-marry as a widow or divorcee. Some of these rights did
not exist even in the West until the early 20th century. Moreover, as the Prophet taught,
 while a husband was supposed to provide for his wife, the wife was under no obligation
to share her wealth or property with the husband.

 Critics point out cruelties in Muslim societies today where women are forced to veil or to
marry abusive husbands. Ironically, the violence against women today is exactly the same
as the one which the Prophet ended in his society. While many Islamic injunctions on
female modesty are voluntary or personal, when they are enforced by law as in Saudi
Arabia or Afghanistan, they become a violation of "there is no compulsion in religion"
(2:256). Moreover, the Quranic injunction in 2:283 that when a woman testifies in
financial matters, she should have a female aide at her side (for any help in recalling) is
misinterpreted to imply that a woman's testimony is half of a man in all cases. Often
women have no recourse to justice in cases of rape where they are usually punished for
'adultery.' This is itself contrary to Quranic commandment (24: 5) which prescribes a
corporal punishment for those who try to destroy the reputation of women by false
accusations.

5. Islam's "Geneva Convention"

 Quran permitted war only in the interest of establishing religious freedom or for self-
defense (22:40). The Prophet was himself driven out of his city for preaching his religion,
his followers were persecuted or killed and their bodies were mutilated. Yet, he himself
forbade retaliation in kind or the holding of slaves except as prisoners captured in such
conflicts. His instructions for humane treatment of prisoners during a conflict were
exemplary: no women, children, hermits or other non-combatants were to be harmed and
that prisoners or slaves were to be fed the same food and clothed the same clothes as the
Muslims themselves. It is not surprising that his humane teachings quickly won the hearts
of his former enemies which rapidly led to the conversion of Arabia to Islam.

 Islam's global spread and appeal owed itself to Prophet Muhammad's social reforms.
Unfortunately, over the centuries his teachings have been obfuscated and violated much
as any other faith or movement. Thus, the misconduct of some Muslim extremists today
often makes it difficult to put the historic struggle of Prophet Muhammad for
humanitarian causes in context.

History of Islamic economics

 Between the 9th and 14th centuries, the Muslim world developed many advanced
concepts, techniques and use in production, investment, finance, economic development,
taxation, property use such as Hawala, an early informal value transfer system, Islamic
trusts are known as waqf, systems of contract relied upon by merchants, a widely
circulated common currency, cheques, promissory notes, early contracts, bills of
exchange, and mufawada.

Specific Islamic concepts involving money, property, taxation, charity and the Five Pillars
include:
 zakat (the "taxing of certain goods, such as harvest, to allocate these taxes to expand that,
are also explicitly defined, such as aid to the needy")
 Gharar ("the interdiction of chance ... that is, of the presence of any element of
uncertainty, in a contract (which excludes not only insurance but also the lending of
money without participation in the risks); and
 riba ("every kind of excess or unjustified disparity between the exchanged objects or
counter values)'
These concepts, like others in Islamic law and jurisprudence, came from the "prescriptions,
anecdotes, examples, and words of the Prophet, all gathered together and systematized by
commentators according to an inductive, casuistic method. Sometimes other sources such as al-
urf, (the custom), al-'aql (reason) or al-ijma (consensus of the jurists) were employed. In
addition, Islamic law has developed areas of law that correspond to secular laws of contracts and
torts.

Contemporary Islamic scholars draw heavily on classical opinions.Modern Islamic economics

emerged in the 1945s, and as of 2004 Islamic Banks have been established in over 8 countries,
and interest has been banned in three: Pakistan, Iran and the Sudan.

Social Justice

 Society’s wellbeing was paramount to Muhammad who taught that all humans were
entitled to the same rights and privileges. "People are as equal as the teeth of a comb,"
he said, and he practised what he preached.
 Muhammad was a social activist of his time. He shook the underpinnings of the unjust
society he lived in by bringing about social reforms: he forbade exploitation of the
vulnerable, protected the poor by establishing regular charity; and crippled an arrogant
class and race-based system by upholding equality.
 Welfare and social solidarity are the basis for the progress of a nation. The Islamic
civilisation pioneered the implementation of social welfare by establishing institutions to
provide support to individuals in all levels of society in a trust system known as waqf.
There were institutions for the disabled, the blind, and those in need who would find
shelter, food, and education. There were also institutions for mothers of young children –
one of Salahuddin’s (Saladin) greatest acts of philanthropy was the establishment of two
reservoirs by the gate of his fort in Damascus – one of milk and one of fresh drinking
water for the mothers to take freely.
 Muhammad said: "The best people are those who are most useful to others" and today
Muslims still aspire to that maxim through participating in social and community
projects. From supporting the homeless in London to working with children with learning
disabilities, British Muslims are actively involved in making their communities better for
everyone.
http://www.inspiredbymuhammad.com/social_justice.php

Prophet Muhammad on Human Rights

 Abuse of human rights continues to this day and Muhammad witnessed similar
injustices in seventh century Arabia. Racism, oppression, female infanticide,
exploitation of the weak – Muhammad denounced them all and fought against
inhumane practices that had become part of a decaying system. In their place he
championed freedom, equality, and justice for everyone. “Assist any person who is
oppressed, whether he is Muslim or not,” he instructed. He made formal agreements
with the Christians of Najran and the Jews of Medina promising full protection. The
contract with the latter stated they had ‘support and the same equal rights as any one
of us’. His commitment to justice was such that the Medina Jews asked Muhammad
to deal with their cases, which he did according to Jewish law.
 Muhammad’s principles of safeguarding human rights were applied throughout
Muslim lands. Those of other faiths enjoyed protection and control over their places
of worship and the freedom to perform their religious ceremonies in peace. The
English author historian HG Wells writes in ‘A Short History of the World’ that the
Islamic teachings “brought into existence a society in which hard-heartedness and
 collective oppression were at the lowest level when compared with all other societies
preceding it...Islam is replete with gentleness, tolerance and fraternity”.
 Muslims today work as human rights lawyers and towards protecting civil liberties
and equal opportunities in various organisations. “All mankind is from Adam and
Eve” said Muhammad, emphasising the equality between people. Now, 1,430 years
later, the duty to protect the rights of every human is as vital as ever.

Summary

 Muslims believe in the sanctity of life and therefore they do not think anybody has the
right to disrespect human life.Justice is an important teaching in Islam. The Qur'an
teaches Muslims to:
"Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even as against yourselves or
your parents, or your kin, and whether it be against rich or poor.
Qur'an 4:135
 Islamic law sets out how Muslims should behave in order to live the life that
Allah intends them to live, in harmony with others and their environment. If a
person breaks a law it is seen as going against the principles and rulings set by
the Qur'an and Sunnah.
 Most Muslims believe that if a person commits a crime they should be punished
by law, but they will also have to answer to Allah on the Day of Judgement.
 Muslims believe in justice and therefore believe that criminals should be treated
justly and be given the chance to reform. One of the Five Pillars of Islam is zakah,
which requires all Muslims to give away a percentage of their wealth to help the
poor, to ensure a level of justice and equality. This principle should be applied to
the treatment of criminals.

IV- Activity

I- True or False.

Write the letter "T" if the statement is True and write the letter "F" if the statement is false.
Write your answer before the number.

____________1. All great civilizations, such as the Greeks, Romans, Persians and today in the
form of West, have arisen mainly by advancing human rights and the rule of law.

____________2. Prophet Isa, reformed his society in all five respects which laid the foundation
of the Arab and Muslim civilization.

____________ 3. The Islamic Holy scripture Quran states that "there is no compulsion in
religion".

____________ 4. Bilal bin Riba (an Abyssinian) and Salman Farsi (a Persian) were both former
slaves who went on to command enormous respect in the first Muslim society.

____________ 5. Learning is not obligatory upon every Muslim man and woman" and that "he
who gives the best upbringing and education to his daughters shall enter paradise.

____________ 6. The wife was under no obligation to share her wealth or property with the
husband.
____________ 7. Riba (the "taxing of certain goods, such as harvest, to allocate these taxes to
expand that, are also explicitly defined, such as aid to the needy")

____________ 8. Muhammad was a social activist of his time.

____________ 9. Nuh said: "The best people are those who are most useful to others"

____________ 10. All mankind is from Adam and Eve” said Muhammad.

II- Essay.

Why justice is important in Islam?

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V- Closing Prayer

Write your closing prayer on the space provided below:

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________________________Reminders: If you have clarifications, suggestions, comments or
questions please do not forget to write it.

Clarifications

Suggestions

Comments

Questions

References:

Theteachhttps://www.huffpost.com/entry/prophet-muhammad-the-social-
reformer_b_3187443.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Islamic_economics
http://www.inspiredbymuhammad.com/social_justice.php

Consultation:
 Consultation can be done through e-mail (nasibaamilin@gmail.com)mobile
number( TM 09754756517 ), ( TNT, 09518789714 ) Facebook/Messenger (Nasiba A. Amilin)

Blessed Day!