UNIT TWO: THE RIGHTS AND

RESPOSIBILITIES OF
INDIVIDUALS IN ISLAMIC
Introduction
SOCIETY
The individual is, without doubt, a part of society and an
essential aspect of the Islamic way of life. . Fulfilling these
responsibilities can lead to the formation of a well-established
individual, family, and eventually a society where peace and
tranquility prevail and where the utmost purpose (the
pleasure of Allah) is obtained.
The Holy Qur'an, in many verses, addresses man as an individual
and makes it clear that everyone will be responsible for his own
deeds and will be blamed or credited for what he did.
 The codes of Shari'ah (Islamic Law) give the Muslim
essential character traits in order that he may obtain a
general, correct notion of himself and everything around
him, and a proper conduct and behavior. The process of
establishing an upright society begins with the individual.
 Once the individual attains the quality of righteousness, the
family will undoubtedly follow suit, which eventually affects
the society as a whole.
 Everyone is responsible for his role in this unifying effort.
And each person must act in accordance to his position.
 Shari'ah covers every aspect of life: moral, physical,
psychiatric, economic, etc. - nothing is left out.
 It covers every detail concerning the existence of man, from
the time when he is in his mother's womb until after his
death. The Muslim has several responsibilities and duties to
fulfill in his life.
 These responsibilities are directed towards The Creator, one's
own self, people in general, nature and other creatures.
 Responsibilities:
 1. Responsibilities towards Allah, All-Mighty: Allah is the Creator of all
that exists, the Sustainer of everything, the Giver of every favor, the
Only True God, Worthy of worship and praise, the Unique.
 He has no equal or partner, Is Free from any fault, He begets not, nor was
He begotten, He Has no beginning nor ending and He Is All-Powerful. His
mercy is immense, and likewise His torment is extreme.
 We, as His creatures, are obligated to worship and believe in Him
based on the teachings of Islam; otherwise it (our belief or
worship) will be not accepted and will be of no avail.
 It's forbidden to try to imagine God (i.e. to give him a specific
appearance), He is like no one, and nothing resembles Him.
 We know Him by contemplating in His signs and creatures, and by
information revealed in the Qur'an and the Sunnah [sayings of
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)].
 Our understanding of Allah is to be derived from no other sources
beyond these two (i.e. The Qur'an and Sunnah).
 Allah, All-Mighty says in the Holy Qur'an, "Say: He is Allah, the
One and Only! Allah, the eternal, Absolute! He begetteth not nor
is He begotten, and there is none like unto Him." (Holy Qur'an,
112)
 We believe in Him and whatever He commanded us to
believe in: His Names and Attributes, His angels, His books
revealed to prophets, His prophets and messengers, the
Day of Resurrection and everything concerning it, and
faith in Qada and Qadar (decree and predestination by
Allah). This is the least that could be said concerning this
issue.
 2. Responsibilities towards Oneself: Every person is
responsible for himself. He is responsible to keep himself
pure, cultivate good manners, reform his faults, do well,
and refrain from evil.
 Man is created in his mother's womb without knowledge, not
free to choose his own shape and attributes. He is born
without knowledge about himself or the world that
surrounds him, and (during first years of his life) is raised
wholly unable to do anything.
 It is the Creator Who decides, man has no say in this matter -
whatever he possesses is from the favors of Allah. Had it been from
his ability, the blind would choose to see, the deaf to hear and so on.
 Man didn't create himself, nor was he able to do. So, man is the
property of Allah, thus he should accept his self as it is, honor it,
recognize it as a great and esteemed creation of Allah, take care of
it, give it its rights in full (in every aspect) and make a vigorous effort
to protect himself against the Fire prepared for disbelievers in the
Hereafter.
 Allah, All-Mighty, says “…Enguard yourselves against the fire prepared for
disbelievers, whose fuel is of men and stones." (Holy Qur'an, 2:24)

 Allah has forbidden whatever is harmful to man. The
intentional killing or harming of oneself is strictly forbidden
in Islam, as Allah says: #"…and be not cast by your own
hands to ruin…" (Holy Qur'an, 2:195)
 3. Responsibilities towards Other People:
 Man has social character. Life is based on interaction and
communication between people; they share many things, and
together they form the family and society. Man is born alone to
live with others in harmony.
 Allah, All-Mighty, established rules and laws (in every aspect of
life) to facilitate people in their relations with each other. These
rules precisely determine the rights of the individual according
to his position, status and totality of his traits.
 In Islam, the individual is honored with special rights as a child,
parent, brother, sister, young, old, relative, neighbor, etc. All
people are equal in the sight of Allah; the most honored one is the
best one in behavior (i.e. his conduct in pleasing Allah). Thus,
there's no discrimination between people in general.
 The only distinction is based on belief and righteous deeds. In Islam,
man is esteemed and respected just because he is a human being.
 The true Muslim is distinguished by loving his friends and brothers
for the sake of Allah, a love that is unpolluted by any worldly
interests or motives.
 Allah, All-Mighty, said in a Hadith Qudsi (a saying of Allah not
revealed in the Qur'an): "My love is due to those who love one
another in My cause, who spend in My cause and those who visit
each other in My cause." (Imam Malik)
 4. Responsibilities towards Other Creations:
 Allah, The Glorified, says in Qur'an, "There is not a moving (living) creature on
earth, nor a bird that flies with its two wings, but are communities like you. We
have neglected nothing in the Book, then unto their Lord they (all) shall be
gathered." (Holy Qur'an, 6:38)
 This includes every living creation besides human beings such as
animals, birds, etc. They are creations of Allah brought under the
control of man.
 They have a great status in Islam. Most of them are considered
respectable creatures.
 Islam recognizes their rights and has set up a specified etiquette
regarding them. We have to show mercy to them and should not
torture them such as by burning, beating, grieving, distressing,
loading on them more than they can bear, etc. When they are
hungry or thirsty we have to feed and give them water.
 The Prophet said: "A woman entered the Hell-fire because of a
cat that she tied down. She neither fed it nor let it free to eat
the insects of the earth until it died." (Al-Bukhari).
 Also, the Prophet cursed the one who uses a live
animal for target. There are many other hadiths
with respect to animals.
 5. Responsibilities towards nature and environment:
 We mean by nature, the features of the world surrounding us. It's
the place where man lives.
 Everything we see around us has been designed for a purpose by
the Designer, Allah.
 Everything in the universe is remarkably homogenous and
balanced. Since man is given power and control in some spheres
to some extent, he should manage them fairly and justly.
 Islam fights environment degradation, pollution, destruction,
clearing of trees and plants, misusage, depletion of resources,
and every kind of corruption on earth.
 Allah, The Exalted, says: "The only reward of those who make war
upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the
land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their
hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out
of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the
Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom." (Holy Qur'an, 5: 33)
 6. Responsibility towards Society:
 “Surely Allah commands justice and the doing of good (to others),
and giving to the kindred, and He forbids indecency and evil and
rebellion. He admonishes you that you may be mindful. And fulfill
the covenant of Allah, when you have made a covenant, and
break not your oaths after confirming them; and you have indeed
made Allah your surety. Surely Allah knows what you do.” Holy
Qur'an (16:90-91
 These verses certainly train a Muslim in the best behavior, and
order them to form a strong Islamic society.
 They also order justice among the people.
 For example, they order man to be just among his children
when giving them money or when buying them clothes or
dealing with them at home. He should not differentiate
between them (i.e. to prefer one above the other).
 Further, they order the judge to pass judgment with justice and
not to be unjust over the rights of others. Allah is Just and loves
justice.
 The Holy Qur'an explains that it is obligatory for Muslims to
practice justice in both their deeds and their speech so no one
will be oppressed or lose his right.
 The Qur'an also warns Muslims to do good and charitable deeds
voluntarily. Whoever helps the poor or removes enmity between
two persons or visits his neighbor or teaches others the way of
guidance and belief is indeed the doer of good and beneficence.
The Qur'an also forbids Muslims against committing indecency,
evil and rebellion including those harmful deeds that cause the
halt of progress in society, misery to mankind and the collapse
of nations.
 The Holy Qur'an also orders Muslims to fulfill their promises
and forbids them from giving promises without fulfilling them.
These verses teach Muslims the best social behaviour that
reforms human society, strengthens relations among people and
encourages goodness and happiness.
 Basic Rights of a Muslim in a Muslim Society:
 Islam is not just a religion that contains commandments
pertaining to religious obligations, rather it is a code of life and
all the instructions and guidelines that it brings can help in laying
the foundation of a healthy and civilized society.
 Therefore, it is quite common among Muslims to adopt Islam as
the law or the framework for ethical values of the society
 The lines below discuss the five basic human rights of the
members of an Islamic society.
 Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said in a hadith: “The rights of one
Muslim over another are five: returning the greeting of Salaam, visiting
the sick, attending funerals, accepting invitations, and saying yarhamuk
Allah (may Allah have mercy on you) to one who sneezes.” (Bukhari)
 1) Returning Greeting of Salam:
 The returning of Salam greeting to a fellow Muslim might seem
trivial but it is one of the most important rights that people in a
Muslim society have towards each other.
 In the Muslim world Salam is a greeting that every Muslim
passes or tries to pass whenever he or she comes across a
fellow Muslim for the first time. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
said in a hadith: “You will not enter Paradise until you believe,
and you will not believe until you love one another.
 Shall I not tell you about something which, if you do it, you will
love one another? Spread Salaam amongs yourselves.” (Muslim)
 2) Visiting the Sick:
 The second right that Muslims have over other Muslims is for them to be
visited whenever they are sick. It is an obligation upon Muslims to visit
someone if he or she is sick.
 This shows the Islamic bond of brotherhood, where one feels for the pain
and suffering of the other and as a means of moral support visits him or
her in their plight.
 Pertaining to visiting the sick, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said in one of
His hadiths: “There is no Muslim who visits a (sick) Muslim early in the
morning but seventy thousand angels send blessings upon him until evening
comes, and if he visits him in the evening, seventy thousand angels send
blessings upon him until morning comes, and he will have a garden in
Paradise.” (Tirmidhi)
 From this hadith the reward and bounties of visiting a
sick Muslim are clear. There is no denying the fact that
visiting a sick person is a gesture of civilized people and
society, however, if one does not find it as a motivation,
then the element of reward definitely helps motivate a
person in visiting a sick person.
 3) Attending a Funeral: Attending the funeral of a Muslim brother
is another obligation that rests upon the Muslims in a society.
Funeral is the saddest time in the life of a the people who are
closer to the deceased , therefore, visiting them at the funeral
consoling them in addition to praying for the deceased is one of
the important occasions where a Muslim should make his or her
presence sure for another Muslim. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
said in a hadith pertaining to this in the following way:
 “A believer who accompanies the funeral procession of a Muslim
out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah’s reward and
remains with it till the funeral prayer is offered and the burial
ceremonies are over, he will return with a reward of tow Qirats.
Each Qirat is like the size of the Mount Uhud. He who offers the
funeral prayer only and returns before the burial, will return with
the reward of one Qirat only.” (Bukhari)
 From this hadith one can easily assess the reward associated
with participating in the funeral processions. Going to the
funeral, taking part in the funeral prayer and then
participating in the burial ceremony each carry reward and
therefore, a Muslim must try to be a part of as much process
as possible in order to fulfill the obligation in the best manner
and earn greater reward.
 4) Accepting Invitation: A Muslim might call another Muslim for
dinner or any kind of legitimate hangout where they could share
and spend quality time with each other, then it is mandatory upon
the other Muslim to comply to the invitation and respond to it in
the best manner. The accepting of invitation shows that a Muslim
values spending time with the other Muslim and whatever reason
of hangout he or she has for the other, the latter accepts it and
acknowledges its importance for the one who is requesting
invitation.
 5) Say YarhamukAllah: Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said in a
hadith: “Allah likes the act of sneezing and dislikes the act of
yawning, so if anyone of you sneezes and praises Allah (says
Alhamdulillah), it is a duty on every Muslim who hears him to
say to him YarhamukAllah.” (Bukhari).
 From this hadith the importance and significance of saying
YarhamukAllah. As imperative it is for the sneezer to say
Alhamdulillah, it is equally important for the one who witnesses
the sneeze and the praise to respond to it with YarhamukAllah.
Therefore, when Muslims are in the company of each other and
sneezing takes place, then both should perform their duty of
praising Allah.