Engaging the Muslims on Human Rights: The Concept of Maroof

Engaging the Muslims on Human Rights: The Concept of Maroof
There is no reason to end this work on a negative note. Human rights advocates and theorists seem to be sincere people who wish to bring good to their fellow humans. For that they are to be commended, even if a Muslim completely disagrees with their theory and ways.

It is an obligation upon the Muslim to stand for truth and righteousness, order good and eradicate evil wherever it may be. Allah says, “Help one another in righteousness and piety, but help not one another in sin and rancor: fear Allah for Allah is strict in punishment” (al-Maaidah 2). It is narrated in many of the books of seerah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), before being a prophet, had joined a pact known as hilf al-fadhool, which was dedicated to redressing the wrongs done to individuals in Makkah. After receiving his message, the Prophet said, “If they were to call me to respond to it today, I would respond to it.”

It must be made very clear here at the end that the conflict between Islam and the contemporary human rights movement has nothing to do with the support of numerous and various human rights. Many, if not most, of the human rights called for by the human rights paradigm are sanctioned by Islam. This means it is the obligation of Muslims to support them, as part of the overall ordering good and eradicating evil. As was noted earlier, even within the practice of Islam itself, there are many avenues by which mutual support could be given to ensure that women, children and the poor receive some of their due rights.

In the end, it must be recognized that the ideologies and the belief systems of the human rights paradigm and Islam are actually at odds with each other. That impasse cannot successfully be broken without one of the two sides suffering irreparable damage. However, if Islamicists and human rights advocates are sincerely interested in bringing good to people, there are many avenues in which they could cooperate to make this world a better place for its inhabitants.