The family unit is the basis of a healthy society and this can only be maintained by upholding the sanctity of marriage. For the preservation of moral purity among all men, women and children in the society Islam strictly prohibits adultery, fornication and homosexuality. Islam concurs with previous divine religions in this prohibition but goes further by banning many acts that may lead to committing this sin, like immodest dress and free mixing of the sexes in public or private quarters.

These manners and precautions cut the avenues towards temptations. Allah the Almighty says in the Glorious Qur’an: Nor come near to unlawful sex. Verily it is a great sin, and an evil way. :

And He, the Exalted says:

 

Say: “Come, I will rehearse what Allah has prohibited you from”: join not anything as equal with Him; be good to your parents; kill not your children on a plea of want We provide sustenance for you and for them – come not near to shameful deeds, whether open or secret; take not life, which Allah has made sacred, except by way of justice and law: thus does He command you, that you may learn wisdom.

Abdullah ibn Mas’ood  relates that he said: O Messenger of Allah, which sin is gravest to Allah? He said: .That you make others to be equal to Allah even though He alone has created you.. I then asked: And then what? He said: .To kill your child fearing that he will eat along with you.. I then said: And then what? He said: .To fornicate or have adultery with your neighbor.s wife.. Then the Messenger of Allah  Human Rights in Islam and Common Misconceptions recited the following verses of the Qur.an reaffirming what he just said:

And those who invoke not with Allah any other god, nor slay such life which Allah has made sacred, except for just cause, nor commit fornication – and whoever does this shall meet the due reward of his sin. The torment will be doubled to him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein in disgrace. Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for those Allah will change their sins into good deeds, and Allah is Often forgiving Most Merciful. :-

The punishment of flogging is legislated for a not previously married male or female who commit fornication. Allah, the Exalted, states in the Glorious Qur’an:

The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication, flog each of them with a hundred stripes: let not compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by Allah, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day: and let a party of the Believers witness their punishment.

As for the married male or female who commits adultery while being married or after divorcing one.s spouse, the penalty for such a criminal person is like in the Torah scriptures: stoning to death. To apply this punishment, the judge must either have the full confession, or the testimony of four trustworthy eyewitnesses who testify that they clearly saw penetration. Reported by Bukhari and Muslim

Human Rights in Islam and Common Misconceptions Confession means that the crime is confessed openly by the adulterer/fornicator before the Muslim Judge or ruler. The confession must be repeated four times to remove any doubt.

In the case of testimony, four trustworthy, honest and sound people must report to the Muslim judge or ruler seeing penetration of the fornicators or adulterers, a scenario that is very rare under normal circumstances.

The early history of Islam recorded a few instances of confession of the crime of adultery wherein the individuals openly confessed their crime because their strong faith in Allah  propelled them to the desire for sincere repentance and purification. As the traditions make clear, Allah will not punish someone twice for the same crime, and they wanted to be protected from having the punishment in the Hereafter. It should be noted that if penetration and intercourse does not fully take place – if a person, for instance only kisses, hugs or touches . then there is no application of the punishment.

The penalty of false accusation for those who do not produce evidence to support their claims and accusations is eighty lashes, and a further punishment is that their testimony is thereafter rejected. As Allah says in the Glorious Qur’an And those who launch a charge against chaste women, and produce not four witnesses, to support their allegations, flog them with eighty stripes; and reject their evidence ever after: for such men are wicked. :

Mockery and derogatory words and deeds that violate the honor, dignity and respect of others in the community are prohibited, as Allah says in the Glorious Qur’an: Human Rights in Islam and Common Misconceptions O you who believe! Let not some men among you laugh at others: it may be that the latter are better than the former: nor let some women laugh at others: it may be that the latter are better than the former: nor defame nor be sarcastic to each other, nor call each other by offensive nicknames: ill-seeming is a name connoting wickedness, to be used of one after he has believed: and those who do not desist are indeed doing wrong. O you who believe! Avoid suspicion as much as possible: for suspicion in some cases is a sin: and spy not on each other, nor speak ill of each other behind their backs.

Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, you would abhor it. However, fear Allah: for Allah is Oft-Returning, Most-Merciful. :- Another verse of the Glorious Qur’an sates:

But if any one earns a fault or a sin and throws it on to one that is innocent, he carries on himself both a falsehood and a flagrant sin. :

Islam safeguards the sanctity of reproduction for the maintenance of the human race on earth. The human race is entrusted with the guardianship of the entire earth and the representation of divine wisdom to serve as the vicegerent of the Almighty Allah on earth. Destroying the means for reproduction by any means or tampering with it in any way for no legitimate reason is an unlawful practice according to Islam. The Almighty Allah states in the Glorious Qur’an: When he turns away his aim is to spread mischief everywhere through the earth and destroy crops and cattle. But Allah loves not mischief. :0 Human Rights in Islam and Common Misconceptions Islam considers deliberate abortion a premeditated murder that entitles punishment for all who participate. Unintentional abortion may require blood-money substitution for the aborted fetus and fasting for two consecutive months in repentance to Allah, if caused by accident or manslaughter.

Many hadiths are reported in this regard concerning the urge to have a normal reproduction of the human race, the maintenance of the human race and to increase the rate of reproduction, if possible. Allah.s Messenger  said, .Marry the loving, kind and fertile female, for verily I will show off with my nation on the Day of Requital due to the large number of my followers.. 0

Islam places special value on strong family bonds and good relations among relatives. Since the family is the basis and the foundation of the society, many rules help protect this family against break up and disintegration. Relatives have obligations and rights. One must recognize the rights of kith and kin and consequently pay due rights to each relative in an appropriate fashion.

Mixing between the male and female members of the family -who are permitted to marry one another lawfully- may lead to many family social problems. To avoid any unwanted situation, Islam commands segregation between the male and female members of the family who are allowed to marry each other. A woman is allowed to appear without her outer garments only before her father, brothers, father.s brothers, mother.s brothers, grandfathers, father-in-law and sons.

In the pre-Islamic Jahiliyyah Ignorance the family system was corrupted through decadence. Islam initiated decisive 0 Reported by AbuDa‘ood, no. 00.

Human Rights in Islam and Common Misconceptions reformations and annihilated all existent malpractice. Some of the institutions banned by Islam will be mentioned as examples.

Islam prohibits the kind of legal adoption whereby a child, who is not a blood child of a male, will take the family name of the adopting father or parents and will be entitled to all rights and duties of a blood child. Of course taking care of orphans and neglected children is strongly encouraged, and this form of charity has special merit. The verse in the Glorious Qur’an says:

Allah has not made for any man two hearts in his one body: nor has He made your wives whom you divorce by Dhihar your mothers: nor has He made your adopted sons your sons. Such is only your manner of speech by your mouths. But Allah tells you the Truth, and He shows the right Way. Call them by the names of their fathers: that is more just in the Sight of Allah. However, if you know not their fathers. names, call them your Brothers in Faith, or your Maulas. However, there is no blame on you if you make a mistake therein: what counts is the intention of your hearts: and Allah is OftForgiving, Most Merciful. :-

Dhihar is the practice of saying to one.s wife, .You are declared unlawful to me like the back of my mother is.. This is an unlawful practice in Islam, which is banned from pre-Islamic Jahiliyyah society.

This is a known title in the pre-Islamic Jahiliyyah society given to the person, or a group of people who surrender themselves as loyal followers to a tribe or a clan, although they do not belong to them, for the sake of protection and seeking their support. Those individuals do not have the same class, category or rights as the original tribe or clan members.

Human Rights in Islam and Common Misconceptions Islam bans relating a child to a man as a son without the man.s admission to be the father because such a claim jeopardizes marital relationship as well as family life. A woman is to be protected from false accusations that blemish her honor and dignity with illegitimate sexual activities with a man other than her own lawful husband. Moreover, such a false claim of a man may create doubts and in turn rift between the rest of the children of the family, not knowing legitimate from illegitimate. Any child born who is a legitimate product of a marriage contract is attributed to the father with no need of any further proof or denial. A husband of a woman needs not to announce that child is his. This practice is based on the statement of Allah.s Messenger , .The child born as a result of a lawful marriage belongs to the bed of his father..

The only exception to this rule is when it is proved, beyond a doubt, that the wife has betrayed her husband and is pregnant or conceived from other than her husband. In such a case, specific rules of disowning the child will apply. After disowning, he will become a total stranger to them. This means that if the child who is disowned is a female, she must not appear before such a man at her leisure, travel with him, live with him or deal freely with him.

A Muslim woman, after marriage keeps her maiden name according to Islamic jurisprudence. According to Islamic teachings and law, it is unlawful for a woman to bear the family name of her husband after marriage. Looking at this closely one can comprehend the great honor, dignity and respect granted to the woman in Islam. This practice preserves the equality and equal right of a Muslim woman to the  Reported by Abu Da‘ood :.

Human Rights in Islam and Common Misconceptions Muslim man in the right of carrying her own independent name, especially in the event of divorce. Preserving and honoring the rights of the weak and disable persons: Islam honors the elderly members in the Islamic society and mandates their respect and assistance. The Messenger of Allah  said:

He is not considered among us Muslims, who does not show mercy to our youngsters and respect to our elders..

He  also said:

Never a young man respects and honors an elder at his old age, but Allah, the Almighty will recompense such a person at his old age. Allah  will avail people to respect such a young respectful man at the old age when he needs it most..

Islamic law obligates assistance to orphans, as Allah the Most Merciful says in the Glorious Qur’an: Therefore treat not the orphan with harshness. : And He, the Exalted, says:

Come not near to the orphan’s property except to improve it, until he attains the age of full strength; and fulfill every engagement, for every engagement will be inquired on the Day of Reckoning. : And He says:

Human Rights in Islam and Common Misconceptions Those who unjustly eat up the property of orphans, eat up a fire into their own bodies: they will soon be enduring a blazing fire!

Allah addressed the preservation of the rights of the innocent children whose parents might commit a crime against them due to poverty and total ignorance by killing them. Allah states in the Glorious Qur’an:

Say: “Come, I will rehearse what Allah has prohibited you from: join not anything as equal with Him; be good to your parents; kill not your children on a plea of want We provide sustenance for you and for them – come not near shameful sins, whether open or secret; take not life, which Allah has made sacred, except by way of justice and law: thus does He command you, that you may learn wisdom.

In this fashion we can see the utmost respect and preservation afforded to the weak, and less affluent and healthy people in the Islamic society.