Social Justice

Society’s wellbeing was paramount to Muhammad who taught that all humans were entitled to the same rights and privileges. "People are as equal as the teeth of a comb," he said, and he practised what he preached.

Muhammad was a social activist of his time. He shook the underpinnings of the unjust society he lived in by bringing about social reforms: he forbade exploitation of the vulnerable, protected the poor by establishing regular charity; and crippled an arrogant class and race-based system by upholding equality.

Welfare and social solidarity are the basis for the progress of a nation. The Islamic Civilisation pioneered the implementation of social welfare by establishing institutions to provide support to individuals in all levels of society in a trust system known as waqf. There were institutions for the disabled, the blind, and those in need who would find shelter, food, and education. There were also institutions for mothers of young children – one of Salahuddin’s (Saladin) greatest acts of philanthropy was the establishment of two reservoirs by the gate of his fort in Damascus – one of milk and one of fresh drinking water for the mothers to take freely.

Muhammad said: "The best people are those who are most useful to others" and today Muslims still aspire to that maxim through participating in social and community projects. From supporting the homeless in London to working with children with learning disabilities, British Muslims are actively involved in making their communities better for everyone.
Rupon Miah
“As a frontline worker in a homelessness charity, I come face to face with the raw problems vulnerable young people are confronted with every day.

My faith tells me it's impossible to ignore the suffering of a hungry person on the streets. Even when I was young, I was one of those kids who wanted to change the world. Changing the world for the better is definitely the most enduring lesson I have of Prophet Muhammad. We are told that he was sent as a "mercy to mankind". For millions, the man and his message were about hope and change – despite all of the hardship and suffering he endured, his life was lived with unflinching optimism. When I work with young people in London, I try and encourage them to see their lives with greater optimism, find hope where there was despair.

It is challenging to keep an ‘objective’ distance from the suffering and problems you experience. It's not always possible and in fact the human side of you has to get involved. The most rewarding part of my job is knowing that I've tried to do something that will bring hope to someone's life. One young boy I met was told all his life that he's not worth it. Now, he is about to enter Imperial College London to study Engineering. He told me "You inspired me". That was a heart melting moment that has never left me. It is said that God will not change a condition of a people until they change what is within themselves, and that’s the beginning of the path to justice for yourself and beyond that, for everyone.”

Charity

He grew up witnessing an indulgent society where the vulnerable suffered, a culture still with us fourteen centuries later when half the global population live in poverty.

Muhammad sought to restore the balance in society, to bring justice to the poor and needy, and dubbed charity a ‘proof of faith’. In his own house he scarcely had food to eat – whatever he received he would give away to those who needed it more. Alongside monetary donations, he expanded the meaning of charity to encompass every kind act: to protect others from harm, to listen to grievances, even to remove litter from the street.

Muhammad’s absolute commitment to charity gave rise to some of the most generous acts in history. Throughout Muslim cities and towns, including Damascus, Cairo and Baghdad, hundreds of institutions offered housing for the homeless, provisions for widows and orphans, care for the disabled. Soup kitchens were set up throughout the Ottoman Empire to feed hundreds of people each day. One 500 year old food centre still serves vegetables in the old city of Jerusalem today.

His legacy continues now as Muslims across the world set up and form part of aid agencies, support groups, counselling services, and a multitude of charities. With his instruction to be charitable “every single day the sun rises” Muslims join with people everywhere to be of benefit to our fellow humans.

Woman Rights

The Quran states that men and women were created to be equal parts of a pair. Muhammad said that the rights of women are sacred and that they are the “twin halves of men”. Considering women in Britain received the right to vote, inherit and own property thirteen centuries later, Muhammad’s campaigns were both radical and revolutionary.

Muslim women gained full ownership over their money, while husbands had the responsibility to provide for them even if their wives were wealthier than them. Women had the right to divorce instantly on returning the dowry, something other religions don't allow. One duty enjoined upon them was that of education. Early Islamic history saw the establishment of Muslim women as scholars, politicians, businesswomen, jurists and doctors. Fatima al Firhi founded the first university in 859 in Fez, Morocco; Razia al Din ruled the Delhi Sultanate in India in 1236; Umm Darda, a scholar from Syria, taught imams, jurists and even had the 5th Umayyad caliph who ruled from Spain to India as her student. In fact some eight thousand accounts of Muslim female scholars have been documented, many of whom in addition to theology and jurisprudence, were skilled in calligraphy and philosophy, women who not only contributed to their society but actively shaped it.

The fruits of Muhammad’s reforms are as visible now as they have been throughout history. Today, Muslim women in Britain are achieving positions of status and respect as police officers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, medics, social activists, MPs and peers in the House of Lords. Remaining true to the ideals cemented 1,430 years ago, Muslim women were and still are role models for future generations.
Sultana Tafadar
“Working as a barrister at a leading human rights firm, I often get asked the question: how are you able to reconcile your choice of profession with Islam’s views regarding the role of women? The question usually stems from the false presumption that Islam sees women as unequal to men. This could not be further from the truth. My answer is that there is no conflict to reconcile. Rather my choice of profession is entirely in sync with, and indeed promoted, by Islam.

If you study the rights and status of women in Islam, it is easy to conclude that the laws and practices put in place by Prophet Muhammad were, and still are, revolutionary. He brought recognition to their rights in both the private and public spheres in a society which inflicted the worst kinds of degradations on women. His reforms continue to be revolutionary in that they do not regard men as being the comparator or the benchmark by which equality is measured. Whilst Islam promotes the notion that men and women are spiritual and intellectual equals, it also gives value to the differences between the sexes as strengths rather than weaknesses.

From an Islamic perspective, women are regarded as being particularly suited to engaging in the legal arena. This is not only because we are intellectual equals to men, but also because we were more likely to introduce a level of empathy and thereby give recognition to the human dimensions of justice. I certainly try to adopt this approach in my work.

I believe that a return to the Prophetic legacy would further empower women. We will see the valuable roles we have to perform more clearly, and that to be equal is not to be ‘the same as a man’, but to be a woman.”

Healthcare

These were also the words of Prophet Muhammad whose commitment to healthcare was revolutionary at a time when Europe struggled with the notion.

Basic personal hygiene was incorporated into the daily life of a Muslim – performing ablution five times a day interlinked spirituality with good health. The many actions and sayings of Muhammad concerning health were meticulously recorded by his companions and form a compendium of knowledge known as Prophetic medicine. It contains a rich variety of treatments for all sorts of common ailments from headache and diarrhoea to wounds and abscesses. Muhammad also placed particular emphasis on dental hygiene and popularised the use of miswak – a twig from the Salvadora persica tree softened at one end to form a brush. Tooth sticks were introduced to Europe centuries later, with the first toothbrush created in 18th century Britain.

Muhammad’s example inspired future Muslim physicians to trigger a revolution in medical knowledge. This would eventually pave the way for the advent of conventional medicine that we take for granted today. The most famous Muslim physician was Ibn Sina (commonly known as Avicenna, 980-1036) whose greatest medical work was the Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb (The Law of Medicine). This encyclopaedia of medical knowledge was translated into Latin in the twelfth century and was used in Europe as an authoritative textbook until well into the eighteenth century.

Hundreds of years before the NHS, a free healthcare service was offered in the world’s first public hospitals in Muslim lands. Patients from all religions and races were treated, and staff often comprised of Jews and Christians alongside Muslims. Medical students today are marked on bedside manner, yet the idea of medical ethics was coined by Ishaq bin Ali Rahawi who wrote the Adab al-Tabib (Conduct of a Physician) in the ninth century.
Muhammad’s concern for the health and wellbeing of a community forged a legacy of medical research, learning and pioneering institutions. Today Muslims continue to make a valuable contribution in the medical field.

Education

At a time when China was not a twelve hour flight away, the sentiment was clear: don’t stop striving for knowledge.

In Medina, Muhammad appointed teachers whose sole occupation was to teach the community. His wife Aisha taught men and women for more than forty years at the mosque, becoming the first of thousands of female scholars to teach throughout history, following the Quranic and Prophetic decree.

Free education and student accommodation was a feature in the early Muslim community: soon thousands of primary and secondary schools formed across the Muslim world, with the world’s first university in Karaouine, founded in 859. At a time when learning in Europe was confined to the monasteries, the education system under Islamic civilisation was even more significant in its access to all. Indeed European models we see today were inspired by early Islamic templates, which were the first to form the notion of graduation and diplomas.

Muhammad’s commitment to education led to a burst of scientific and philosophical thought in the medieval Islamic world. Muslim scientists of this period, including Averroes and Avicenna, developed new theories in physics, physiology, chemistry, mathematics, geology and almost every branch of science today. Ibn Khaldun is thought to be the forerunner of several social sciences such as sociology, historiography and demographics. Philosophers, like Al-Farabi, not only responded to the works of Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle but also formed their own theories of psychology and politics. Their advances in education were a clear response to the encouragement of Muhammad: “Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave”.

Muslims today continue to advance Muhammad’s legacy by entering every field of education.

Human Rights

Abuse of human rights continues to this day and Muhammad witnessed similar injustices in seventh century Arabia. Racism, oppression, female infanticide, exploitation of the weak – Muhammad denounced them all and fought against inhumane practices that had become part of a decaying system. In their place he championed freedom, equality, and justice for everyone. “Assist any person who is oppressed, whether he is Muslim or not,” he instructed. He made formal agreements with the Christians of Najran and the Jews of Medina promising full protection. The contract with the latter stated they had ‘support and the same equal rights as any one of us’. His commitment to justice was such that the Medina Jews asked Muhammad to deal with their cases, which he did according to Jewish law.

Muhammad’s principles of safeguarding human rights were applied throughout Muslim lands. Those of other faiths enjoyed protection and control over their places of worship and the freedom to perform their religious ceremonies in peace. The English author historian HG Wells writes in ‘A Short History of the World’ that the Islamic teachings “brought into existence a society in which hard-heartedness and collective oppression were at the lowest level when compared with all other societies preceding it...Islam is replete with gentleness, tolerance and fraternity”.

Muslims today work as human rights lawyers and towards protecting civil liberties and equal opportunities in various organisations. “All mankind is from Adam and Eve” said Muhammad, emphasising the equality between people. Now, 1,430 years later, the duty to protect the rights of every human is as vital as ever.

Animal Welfare

“A good deed done to an animal is like a good deed done to a human being, while an act of cruelty to an animal is as bad as cruelty to a human being,” Muhammad said. His compassion for animals is mentioned in several sources. On discovering a companion had caused distress to a bird by taking her young, Muhammad ordered him to return them at once; whilst reading the Quran a cat fell asleep on his robe, but rather than disturb it, he cut off a portion and walked on. He even reprimanded those who sat idly on their camels and horses with the warning: “Do not treat the backs of animals as chairs”.

In medieval times, historian Gustave le Bon writes, animals enjoyed a ‘paradise’ in the Muslim world. Trusts were solely devoted to sick and vulnerable creatures. In eighteenth century Cairo, Muslims set up bread and water foundations for dogs. In Damascus, a municipal area was dedicated to ageing horses where they could pasture in dignity until the end of their lives, which continued until the twentieth century.

From the start of an animal’s life to its end, there were clear rules on maintaining its welfare. Muhammad advised people to take the life of an animal only for food, and to be as humane as possible urging that the creature should not see the blade and should not be killed in front of other animals.

Mercy to animals goes hand in hand with faith as Muhammad’s words articulate, “He who takes pity even on a sparrow and spares its life, God will be merciful to him on the Day of Judgement”. This ethic is still alive today. Animal welfare institutions thrive in Muslim countries like Qatar, Malaysia and Pakistan.