The Duties Incumbent on the Individual (2/4)

The Individual's Own Rights

We now discuss the second part of rights man owes himself. Man may afflict injustice upon himself more than afflicting it upon others, because everyone feels and believes that his own self is dearer to him than anyone else. There is no one who believes that he is his own enemy. But if you reflect upon this issue, the truth becomes clear to you.

One of the most distinctive, and innate point of weakness, is that when man is possessed by a desire, he would entirely succumb to it unmindful of whatever harm he may encounter, whether being aware of it or not. An alcoholic may suffer greatly jeopardizing his health, wealth, and reputation for the sake of satisfying his addiction. Another has been enslaved by his psychological desires, doing things that lead him into destruction. These are only samples of many demeritorious social facets denoting man's immoderation in this world that we encounter every now and then.

Since the Shari'ah is set for man's prosperity and happiness, it lays, therefore, a stress on the rule that is laid down by the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, that dictates: "Indeed, your own self has a right upon you." This rule restrains man from taking any harmful thing, i.e., liquor, drugs, and any other intoxicating matters. This rule also declares as unlawful the consumption of the flesh of dead animal, swine, and the flesh of the wild carnivorous or venomous animals. These animals are hazardous to man's health, mental faculty, manners, and spirit. In return, the Islamic laws have made lawful for him every good, pure and healthy thing, instructing him not to deprive himself of such good things, for you owe your body a right.

The Shari'ah forbids nudity, and commands man to enjoy the ornaments that Allah has granted in this world, but commands him too, to cover his body, and in particular, those parts of his body that are indecent to expose. The Shari'ah, on the other hand, commands man to exert his effort to earn his living, not to stay home jobless, or beg for food and other needs, Rather, the Shari'ah encourages man to utilize the faculties that Allah has granted him, to earn his living through the legitimate ways and means that Allah has created in the heavens and the earth for his happiness, comfort, and nourishment.

The Shari'ah does not demand man to suppress, his desire all the way, rather, it enjoins marriage on him, that he may satisfy his sexual needs. It makes it unlawful for him to degrade himself by shunning moderate pleasures. The Shari'ah suggests that if man seeks spiritual uplifting, nearness to Allah, and safety in the Hereafter, he does not need to neglect this world. Obeying Allah while enjoying His graces, refraining from the acts of disobedience, and following His laws is the most effective means of success and prosperity in this world, and in the world to come.

The Shari'ah prohibits man from committing suicide, because man's own life does not belong to him. It is Allah who owns it. Allah has entrusted man with it that he may use it for a limited period of time, not to abuse it, or terminate it with his own hand.

The Rights of human beings

Shari'ah has commanded man to fulfill his own rights, on one hand, while, on the other, it has commanded him to do so without encroaching on the rights of others. If a person fulfills his desires in this manner, he would defile and injure himself. It is for this reason the Shari'ah has made unlawful robbing, stealing, bribery, treachery, forgery, treason, usury, and the like. Any profit or interest accrued through such methods would be accrued on account of others. Shari'ah prohibits all games of chance, because whatever gain a gambler may make out of gambling, or lottery, it would be based on the losses of thousands of people. Prohibited too are all forms of bartering that involve cheating, or deceiving, and all other financial transactions that may entail injustice to one of the two parties. Homicide, promoting corruption on earth, and transgression are all prohibited. No one is allowed to kill or hurt another, or embezzle his property, for the sake of satisfying his thirst for revenge. Fornication is prohibited along with other evil deeds, that endanger the health and the conduct, and lead to promiscuity, flippancy, and recklessness in society. Such acts also cause fatal diseases, damage human relations, and rock the bases of civilization.

These are restrictions that the Islamic Shari'ah has imposed on man so that a person may not plunder the rights of others, or diminish them in the course of securing his own.

Encroaching on the rights of others does not help reaching the objective of the advancement of human civilization. It is rather important that human relations be based on mutual cooperation on issues of common social interests to reach that objective. The following synopsis include excerpts of the Shari'ah's laws for this purpose.

A. Human relations begin with the family which should be considered before anything else. The family, in fact, is the unit comprising two spouses and their children. The foundation upon which Islam bases the family is the fact that the husband's duty is to earn the family's living, meet its needs, and defend it. While the wife's duty is to manage the domestic affairs of the family, to provide all means of comfort for her husband and children, and to look after the children. The children's duty, on the other hand, is to obey their parents, respect them, and to be in their service when they reach old age.

In order to keep the family system on the right direction, Islam has opted two measures:

The first, the husband, or the father as the head of the family, and the manager of its affairs. It is impossible to render the family's system sound without having the father as its ruler and manager. Chaos and disorder would definitely prevail in a family of which each member imposes his own opinion, on the rest of the family members, being irresponsible about the consequences of his actions. Such family would definitely lack the sense of security, and happiness. In order to eliminate this corruptness, the family must have a head to run its affairs. It is only man who can be responsible for looking after the family and protecting it.

The second measure, having charged man with the duty of handling the external affairs of the family, the Shari'ah commands woman to stay home, not to go out unnecessarily. Woman, accordingly, is relieved of the exterior duties to enable her to fulfill the internal duties peacefully so that the home order may not be disturbed by her outing.

This of course, does not mean that it is not permissible for woman to go out. She may do so whenever there is a need for it. Thus to keep home as the natural environment of her duties utilizing her energy and intelligence in raising her children to become good Muslim, capable of enduring life's burdens.

B. The family circle grows wider by blood relations and intermarriages. In order that the members of this circle maintain cooperation and support among themselves, the Shari'ah has provided them with wise rules, of which are:

1- It is unlawful for the members of the same family to marry each other i.e., the siblings, the mother and her son, the father and his daughter, the step-father and the step-daughter, the step-mother and her step-son, and the brother and sister, and her milk-brother, and the uncle and his niece, and the aunt and her nephew, and the mother-in-law and her son-in-law, and the father-in-law and his daughter-in-law.

Among the other purposes of illegalising such matrimonial relations between siblings is helping the family members to retain pure, and natural relationship. Intermingling with each other, the siblings exchange mutual love and sincerity without suspicions or inconvenience.

2- Islam has legalized matrimonial relations between the other members of the family circles to strengthen their ties and love. Those who understand each other's preferences, and customs would usually have more successful marriages than those who do not. It is for this reason Islam recommends the guardians to give their daughters in marriage to competent men.

3- The family circle may comprise the rich and the poor. Hence, of all human rights, Islam considers as most outstanding the right of kinship. Such right is referred to in the Shari'ah as 'silat ar-rahm', that is maintaining good relations with one's own kin. This kinship is emphasized in many places in the Qur'an, and the Sunnah. Severing this relation is one of the gravest sins. If a poor member of the family suffers a misfortune, it becomes incumbent upon the well-off members of his family to help, and support him. One's own relatives, deserve his charity more than the outsiders.

4- Islam has organized the laws of inheritance division. When a person dies leaving behind an estate, the ownership of this estate transfers to the legal heirs of the deceased. The estate left behind by the deceased must not remain within the hand of a single heir. Rather each heir is entitled to a share of that estate, in accordance with the Qur'anic guideline of inheritance division. The estate, thus is distributed among many heirs of the deceased relatives.

(Continued)