Imam Mustafa Zade, author of “The Lies About Muhammad,” joined The Deen Show to discuss the human rights and civil rights that Islam established over 1,400 years ago, long before the French Revolution, the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, or the American Constitution. From the right to liberty and equality before the law to the protection of minorities and fair judicial process, Islam’s track record on human rights is both comprehensive and historically verifiable.
The First Declaration of Human Rights in History
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) delivered the first declaration of human rights in recorded history during his farewell pilgrimage, stating that all men are equal and that no white person is superior to a black person nor a black person superior to a white person except in their consciousness of God. This was proclaimed at a time when the rest of the world treated dark-skinned people as property. Unlike the American Constitution, which originally only applied to white landowning men, Islam’s declaration of equality was universal from the very beginning.
“The first declaration of human rights in the history of mankind came from Prophet Muhammad: all men are equal, no white better than a black or a black better than a white, except by fearing God. And who can measure that? Only God.”
Equal Justice for All, Including Minorities
The episode presented the remarkable historical example of Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), the most powerful man in the Muslim world at the time, who found his stolen shield in the possession of a Jewish man. Rather than seizing it by force, Ali took the case to an Islamic court where the judge ruled against Ali because he could not produce sufficient witnesses. Ali accepted the ruling, and the Jewish man, so astonished by this justice, embraced Islam on the spot.
“A non-Muslim who lives in a Muslim country has exactly the same rights before the law. The most powerful man in the world lost his case against a Jewish minority in an Islamic court because he couldn’t produce enough witnesses.”
- The number one fundamental right in Islam is liberty: the freedom to worship the Creator directly with no middleman, yielding to no human authority in matters of faith
- No person in Islam has the right to question another’s faith or sincerity, as only Allah can see what is in the heart
- The book “The Lies About Muhammad” addresses all 155 false allegations against the Prophet in the first English-language volume of its kind
- Muslim Americans have been part of America since before Christopher Columbus, as historical and cartographic evidence demonstrates
