veiled4allah: what the Quran says about some fundamental rights

The following excerpts are taken from Fundamental Rights of the Individual: An Analysis of Haqq (Right) in Islamic Law by Mohammad Hashim Kamali.

The right to privacy:

[T]he ruling on the right to privacy consists of a definitive injunction: "O believers! Enter not houses other than your own until you have asked leave and saluted the inmates. If you find no one therein, do not enter until you are given permission" (Qur'an 24:27). Here a negative right is created in favor of the occupants of the house not to be disturbed by strangers. As favor of the occupants of the house not to be disturbed by strangers. As they have exclusive right (i.e., ownership) to the house they occupy, they can refuse permission to those seeking to enter. This right is known as an exclusive appropriation (ikhtisas hajiz). The text thus creates a basic right to privacy within the framework of a prohibitive ruling. This ruling is also addressed to the community of believers, which might signify a certain orientation of the Islamic concept of right in that direction. This Qur'anic ruling is further substantiated by its provisions concerning suspicion and espionage, which entail accessories or accessory rights, to the principal right of privacy: "O believers, avoid most of suspicion, for suspicion in some cases is sin . . . and spy not, nor backbite one another. . . surely Allah is Merciful (49:12)." The text conveys a decisive ruling on the illegality of espionage and gives a clear indication that only some forms of suspicion may be justified and tolerated. Espionage is a concrete activity that can be proven by evidence and is therefore a proper subject for a ruling, but suspicion is not. This is why the Qur'anic language leaves room for flexibility. Moreover, a reasonable suspicion based not on malice but on the prevention of criminal activity or evil may be permitted on a restrictive basis. The fact that the Qur'anic ruling on privacy and espionage occurs in the form of prohibition could be because it creates a negative right and also in order to add emphasis, for a prohibitive ruling is generally more emphatic than an affirmative command.

The rights to dignity and to life:

Furthermore, the Qur'anic proclamations that "We bestowed dignity on the progeny of Adam" (17:70) and "Kill not a soul which God has made sacrosanct save in the cause of justice" (17:33) embody the fundamental rights of an individual to life and personal dignity. We read further: "Whosoever killed a person ... it shall be as if he had killed all mankind, and who so gave life to one, it shall be as if he had given life to all mankind" (5:30). The right to personal dignity is further substantiated by the Qur'anic prohibition of slanderous accusation (qadhf) (24:3) and let not one people deride another people ... and defame not your own people, nor call one another by (insulting) nick-names" (49:11).

The right to work and lawful earning:

On the right to work and lawful earning, the Qur'an says: "Men have a right to what they have earned and women are entitled to what they have earned" (4:32) and "O believers spend of the lawful and pure substances you have earned and of the resources we have in store for you in the earth" (2:267). On the same subject, one reads: "and when the prayer is finished, disperse in the land and seek of God's bounty" (62:10). Worshipers are not to spend any more time in the mosque than required by the specified prayer; they are encouraged to work and earn a living.

(aside: notice the explicit equality of men and women in 4:32)

The right to private property:

The Qur'an and the Sunnah support the concept of private property: "And devour not each others' property wrongfully unless it be through lawful trade and your mutual consent (4:29; see 2:188). Lawful trade, work, and transactions of mutual consent are thus recognized as principal means of acquiring wealth. Wealth obtained through lawful means is not reprehensible. On the contrary, it maintains just the opposite: "Say! Who has forbidden the adornment of life which God has provided for His servants? Say they are for the believers in this life" (7:32).

Right to freedom of movement and religion:

The Qur'an validates freedom of movement especially when used to preserve the integrity of one's faith and conscience (4:97; 8:72). Migration (hijrah) and travel in the cause of righteousness forms the theme of many Qur'anic passages and its merit is generally emphasized. In fact, all freedom of movement, regardless of its ultimate objective, is allowed: "He it is who has made the earth subservient to you, so travel in its tracts and benefit from its bounty" (67:15). The Qur'anic declaration that "there shall be no compulsion in religion" (2:256) is equally unequivocal on the normative validity of religious freedom in Islam.

This is not a comprehensive list of rights of the individual in Islam but is intended as a sample of some fundamental rights and their basis.