Anwar Shaikh, in his commentary "Islam and Human Rights -
I" (India Post, Aug. 21st, 1998), tries unsuccessfully to prove "the
concept of Human Rights is a very big thorn in the flesh of Islam...", yet fails to
provide a single quotation from the Islamic sources of The Qur'an, or the Hadith (Saying
of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him). His statements are so pathetically fallacious
that any grade school Muslim child can provide ample Islamic references to refute Anwar
Shaikh's claims.
Anwar Shaikh writes, "Non-Muslims have no rights because they are considered 'the
worst beast' by Islam". Non-Muslims who live in an Islamic State are called 'Dhimmis'.
Couple of statements from Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) concerning non-Muslims:
1. "Whosoever persecuted a non-Muslim (Dhimmi) usurp his right or took work from him beyond his capacity, or took something from him with evil intentions, I shall be a complainant against him on the Day of Resurrection". (Abu Daud and Baihaqi).
2. "One who hurts a non-Muslim (Dhimmi), he hurts me; and one who hurts me, hurts Allah" (al-Tabarani).
Thus, in giving rights to non-Muslim subjects, Islam is far
advance than the 'modern' nations of the world.
The next major deceptive statement by Anwar reflects his nescience about Islam even more,
"...the Koranic God feels delighted when He is worshipped but feels blighted when He
is neglected".
Allah repeatedly mentions in the Qur'an, the Last Revelation, that He doesn't need the
praise or worship from His creation. The worship discharged by the creation is for their
own benefit and does not increase or decrease the Majesty of our Creator, Allah.
"O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything". (Hadith Qudsi 17)
"And if any strive (with might and main) they do so for their own souls: for Allah is free of all needs from all creation". (Qur'an 29:6)
'Smelling' the above 'roses' of Islam, many non-Muslims,
including Hindus, are making Islam – The fastest growing religion in the world.
Thus the readers see the true status of non-Muslims and Human Rights in Islam. The only
thorns I see are in the mind of Anwar Shaikh and his like. They are the ones who are
twisting the twigs of Islam, but to no avail, either to sincere seekers of truth or our
Creator, Allah. I would advice our beloved readers to independently investigate each and
every statement, be it from scholars or lay men like Anwar Shaikh. To understand Islam,
read the Qur'an and the statements of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) with your own
eyes and then make your judgement.
Sabeel Ahmed
August 1998.
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[Currently, he is the co-chairman of the Da'wa Committee and Board of Director at the
Muslim Community Center, Illinois. A student of Ahmed Deedat and now works for the
1-800-662-islam hotline of ICNA. His main interest is in comparative religion.]
