Text Box: In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful FRIDAY SERMON HAZRAT AMIR’UL MOMENEEN MUHYI-UD-DIN AL KHALIFATULLAH MUNIR AHMAD AZIM 30 January 2009 (Summary of the Sermon) After having greeted everybody with the Salutations of Peace, the Khalifatullah read the Tashahhud, Taouz and Surah Al Fatiha and afterwards he said: Today I will talk a little about the abolition of slavery which is commemorated every 1st February and which is a public holiday in Mauritius. Politicians and people talk about the abolition of slavery. Slavery has existed among peoples long before the advent of Islam in Arabia. At the time of the preaching of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), no legislation in the world had planned to mitigate the harshness of this tragedy. If Islam has not formally banned it from the start is because it could not overshadow the objective realities of a primitive Arabia. Islam wanted to state a legal regulation without destroying or destabilizing brutally the customary institutions of the social structure. Suppose that the Holy Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon him) had said: “From this day on, no more slaves!” What would have been the consequences assuming that the barbarians of his time had listened docilely his prohibitions? Thousands of people who had been forced to come to Arabia by leaving their far away country of origin would have found themselves in the street and agricultural or craft enterprises would have declined due to lack of manpower. Indeed, given that Muslims were lost in the mass of the infidels, the freed slaves would have been immediately captured and sold by slave traders who would have jumped on that flock without master and homeland. Rather than replace a painful trouble by a deadly evil, the best medicine for it is to reduce it gradually, to limit it and by a treatment of substance and alteration of land, to let disappear by itself or without causing serious infection or migration of evil to vital organs which are still more sensitive. Islam did not however wait for the progress of industrialization to set up laws to ensure humane treatment of slaves and to start a process leading inevitably to their release. The Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon him) ordered the believers: “And your slaves, feed them with the same food you are taking, and dress them with the same kind of clothes you wear yourself, and if they commit a mistake that you cannot forgive, then let them go because they are the servants of God and as such, should not be treated brutally.” The Quran, for its part, puts much emphasis on the liberation of slaves. “What is spiritual elevation?” asks the Quran which itself gives the answer: “The freeing of Slaves.” (Ch 90 V. 14) The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) of Islam has never ceased to recommend the same gentleness toward animals and even forbade to humiliate servants by calling them by the word domestic or boy. And in another Hadith the Prophet (peace be upon him) for his part said: “Nothing pleases more Allah than the act of freeing a slave.” (Bukhari) In the Islamic State, slaves were never treated as a commodity. In contrast to Rome, Islam restored their dignity and proclaimed that “He who kills his slave, we shall kill him, the one who mutilates his (the slave) nose we shall mutilate his nose (in return) and those who castrate a slave (by removing his reproductive organ) we shall castrate him too.” (Bukhari & Muslim) “Whoever corrects (punishes) excessively his slave,” said the Prophet (peace be upon him), or slap him, must atone for his misconduct by manumitting (freeing) him.” Not only slaves enjoyed a status similar to that of their masters, but also their eventual release was secured by two laws set by Islam: the voluntary manumission given by the master, and the askance of freedom in writing – by the slave. (Mukatabah) Today there is modern slavery: illegal immigrants. There are about 170 millions legal migrants around the world and no doubt 20 or 30 million of illegal immigrants, including 4 million in the Europe of fifteen. Human trafficking estimated at some 15 billion dollars a year, organized by skilled smugglers and cynical criminals or dons. Behind these figures, there is the tragedy of these illegal immigrants drowned or suffocated in trucks, the drama of the Filipino workers beaten in Malaysia and even the strength of those deported from South Africa who escape from the train... Immigrant; a profession? Indeed a profession of faith in a better future. Modern slavery: children at work. The harvest of shame, in four Americans states, 800,000 children Mexicans, some under 10 years - working in the agricultural sector. In the Central Valley in California, every morning these children start the day of ten hours amidst vineyards filled with dew; with the sun, the earth is warming and the dew evaporates, replaced by clouds of dust. From 7 o'clock in the morning their eyes will begin to cry, irritated by sulphuric pesticides infiltrated in the soil. As the sulphur goes into their lungs, they are more susceptible to feel dizziness. Even for an adult, it would also be both an inhuman and cruel trial. These children, among the 800,000 children working on farms in the United States, more than half of them are under 15 years. In California, Arizona, in the State of Washington and Texas, children under 10 years or even 12 years are employed as cheap labour in the agricultural sector, which weighs several billion dollars and these children work illegally. They are illegal immigrants, who came from Oaxaca, Mexico. But at 12 years, a child can legally work on a farm, while in all other sectors; he must wait till the age of 14 before being employed. An Indian in India tells us what is happening in India; he said: “I am fighting for the cause of the Dalits since I witnessed atrocities and discrimination in my village when I was a child.” He is also a Dalit, therefore “untouchable” for being regarded as impure by other castes, who force the Dalits to drink in different glasses, to remove their shoes in some streets, or to marry within their own caste, under threat of retaliation, such as fires in the villages, murder or rape. Dalits are not less than 17% of India’s population, or about 170 million people who continue to be victims of a “hidden apartheid”. Therefore they join the non-Hindu minorities, especially Muslims, victims of discrimination and segregation. India is the only country in the world where forms of discrimination are so extreme (like in Mauritius today the political parties talk about the abolition of slavery, but it is totally false)! Indeed, the Dalits face daily, ostracism and humiliation. Reduced to situations similar to slavery, they perform the most degrading work as renderers, tanners, sweepers, dischargers etc. As farm workers, the houses, the use of public goods (roads, wells, schools ...) access to water, and electricity is prohibited, while access to natural resources, common to the village, should be negotiated on an ongoing basis. The only jobs that are readily conceded today in cities are those of street sweepers, and also that of women who are doubly victims of oppression by caste and sexual abuse,” says the young Indian of India. Eventually, it is the abolition of the caste system that the Dalits want, and they have benefited from the world conference on racism to make their plight be heard. But the bulk of Indian society prefers to maintain its silence on a system that benefits it fully. HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE QURAN The goal of Islam is to free man and elevate him in a position of dignity and honour to which he is entitled as a human being. See the Quran V.71 Ch 17: “We have honoured the children of Adam, and provided them with rides on land and in the sea. We provided for them good provisions, and we gave them greater advantages than many of our creatures.” Thus, the first element that must be taken into account in addressing human rights in Islam is that these rights are conferred by Allah Himself and they do not emanate from the good will of a king, or a government or the Prime Minister or the deliberations of any human institution. As a result, these rights are inalienable and immutable and cannot be amended or removed by anybody or any authority. Another important fact, these rights take uniquely into consideration the human factor; no man, whatever his religion, nationality or race, can be deprived of it because Allah has granted him all that due to his adherence to the human family. The right to the protection of life, according to the Quran, human life is sacrosanct – verses that attest to the human inviolability, except for a just cause, we can note the following verses Ch. 17 V. 34 & Ch.5 V.33: “You shall not kill any person - for Allah has made life sacred - except in the course of justice. If one is killed unjustly, then we give his heir authority to enforce justice. Thus, he shall not exceed the limits in avenging the murder; he will be helped.” (Ch. 17 V. 34) “Because of this, we decreed for the Children of Israel that anyone who murders any person who had not committed murder or horrendous crimes, it shall be as if he murdered all the people. And anyone who spares a life, it shall be as if he spared the lives of all the people.  Our messengers went to them with clear proofs and revelations, but most of them, after all this, are still transgressing.” (Ch.5 V.33) The right to justice, first and foremost duty of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was to establish justice and this continues to be the duty of every individual. Not only public authorities are required to bring justice, but each individual has the right to speak out against injustice. In this respect we can cite, among others, the following verse: “O you who believe, you shall be absolutely equitable, and observe Allah, when you serve as witnesses. Do not be provoked by your conflicts with some people into committing injustice. You shall be absolutely equitable, for it is more righteous. You shall observe Allah. Allah is fully Cognizant of everything you do.” (Ch.5 V.9) The right to equality between men, the Quran recognizes only one criterion of superiority: piety. Any distinction made on the degree of kinship, tribal relations, skin colour and the country where you live is irrelevant. The next verses are the Magna Charta of this: Ch. 49 V.14, Ch. 46 V.20, and Ch. 3 V.196. “O people, we created you from the same male and female, and rendered you distinct peoples and tribes, that you may recognize one another. The best among you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous. Allah is Omniscient, Cognizant.” (Ch.49 V.14) “They all attain the ranks they have deserved, in accordance with their works. He will pay them for their works, without the least injustice.” (Ch.46 V.20) “Their Lord responded to them: ‘I never fail to reward any worker among you for any work you do, be you male or female - you are equal to one another. Thus, those who immigrate, and get evicted from their homes, and are persecuted because of Me, and fight and get killed, I will surely remit their sins and admit them into gardens with flowing streams.’ Such is the reward from Allah. Allah possesses the ultimate reward.” (Ch.3 V.196) Duty of obedience to what is legal and disobedience to what is illegal, the clear implication of the rule of Shariah is that a person is obliged to obey only what is legal and should dissociate and disobey from what is illegal, and even to correct it as long as it is in his capacity to correct it. (See Ch.5 V.3): “O you who believe, do not violate the rites instituted by Allah, nor the Sacred Months, nor the animals to be offered, nor the garlands marking them, nor the people who head for the Sacred Shrine (Ka’bah) seeking blessings from their Lord and approval; Once you complete the pilgrimage, you may hunt. Do not be provoked into aggression by your hatred of people who once prevented you from going to the Sacred Masjid (Mosque). You shall cooperate in matters of righteousness and piety; do not cooperate in matters that are sinful and evil. You shall observe Allah. Allah is strict in enforcing retribution.” The right to liberty, the Quran says in a comprehensible way that no person of authority, even a prophet, has the right to practise human slavery. Allah says: “Never would a human being whom Allah blessed with the scripture and prophethood say to the people, ‘Idolize me beside Allah.’ Instead, (he would say), ‘Devote yourselves absolutely to your Lord alone,’ according to the scripture you preach and the teachings you learn.” (Ch.3 V.80) We must, however clearly understand that the word slave in the above context is used not in the technical sense of slavery but in the general sense of being completely dependent on other human beings. The right to freedom of belief, according to the Quran, man is rightly entitled to spiritual honours when he voluntarily chooses the right path. We cannot force anyone to follow the right path. Allah says in the Quran Ch. 2 V. 257 and Ch.10 V.109: “There shall be no compulsion in religion: the right way is now distinct from the wrong way. Anyone who denounces the devil and believes in Allah has grasped the strongest bond; one that never breaks. Allah is Hearer, Omniscient.” (Ch.2 V.257) “Proclaim: ‘O people, the truth has come to you herein from your Lord. Whoever is guided is guided for his own good. And whoever goes astray goes astray to his own detriment. I am not a guardian over you’.” (Ch.10 V.109) The right to freedom of expression, believers are under the obligation to tell the truth without fear. The following commands enable us to understand this: “O you who believe, you shall be absolutely equitable, and observe Allah, when you serve as witnesses, even against yourselves, or your parents, or your relatives. Whether the accused is rich or poor, Allah takes care of both.  Therefore, do not be biased by your personal wishes.  If you deviate or disregard (this commandment), then Allah is fully Cognizant of everything you do.” (Ch.4 V.136) The right to protection of honour, according to the Quran, the protection of the reputation and honour of men comes in priority in the scale of social values and must be safeguarded. Allah seriously guard against useless talks - gossips, allegations made lightly, and rumours. Allah says: “Surely, those who falsely accuse married women who are pious believers have incurred condemnation in this life and in the Hereafter; they have incurred a horrendous retribution.” (Ch. 24 V.24)     “O you who believe, no people shall ridicule other people, for they may be better than they. Nor shall any women ridicule other women, for they may be better than they.  Nor shall you mock one another, or make fun of your names. Evil indeed is the reversion to wickedness after attaining faith. Anyone who does not repent after this, these are the transgressors.” “O you who believe, you shall avoid any suspicion, for even a little bit of suspicion is sinful. You shall not spy on one another, nor shall you backbite one another; this is as abominable as eating the flesh of your dead brother. You certainly abhor this. You shall observe Allah.  Allah is Redeemer, Most Merciful.” (Ch.49 V.12 & 13) Pray to Allah for all people of all religions so that they may know the greatness of the Quran, because that is Allah the Almighty and His Prophet (peace be upon him) who taught us human rights in the Quran , and it is thanks to the religion of Islam that the slavery has disappeared. There is nobody else who is behind such a feat. These people who take themselves to be heroes who have abolished slavery, but they are absolutely wrong in their speeches. Despite the fact that they speak of this, but people are still persecuted in many aspects; categorically pure and simple slavery! I address myself to all the leaders of all communities and the heads of state, consider the words of God in the Quran to eliminate slavery in all its aspects. Insha-Allah, may Allah guide us to the success of such an undertaking! Ameen.