The Postulates of Human Rights and the Place of Justice in Islam

M. Cherif Bassiouni

doi:10.1017/CBO9781139629249.004

2 - The Postulates of Human Rights and the Place of Justice in Islam

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2014

M. Cherif Bassiouni

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M. Cherif Bassiouni: Affiliation:
DePaul University School of Law

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Summary

Introduction

Islam is founded on the belief that there is but one God, who is the beginning and the end of everything, the Creator of the universe and all that lives on it, within it and around it. Thus, human creation is one, whether arising out of an Adam and Eve created by God through a single divine stroke, or as a result of a scientific evolutionary scheme established by God, and that human beings are infused with some of God's qualities and attributes. It thus follows that among the basic postulates of Islam are the sanctity of human life, the protection of human integrity and human dignity, the equality of all human beings (though not as understood in the contemporary meaning), and the inalienable right of every human being to justice.

Life and human dignity are bestowed by God on all persons by virtue of their creation by God. This concept is stated in the Qur’ān as follows:

Sūrat al-Isrā’: Indeed, [Lo] We have honored [conferred dignity] on the descendants [progeny] of Adam, and we have carried [borne] them over land and sea, and provided for them sustenance out of the good things of life, and favored them far above most of Our creation. 17:70 [Author’s Translation] (emphasis added)

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Type: Chapter
Information: The Shari'a and Islamic Criminal Justice in Time of War and Peace , pp. 88 - 117

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139629249.004 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2013

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