Huquq al-Insan fi al-Islam li Jaml al-Layl
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- Huquq al-Insan fi al-Islam li Jaml al-Layl
Huquq al-Insan fi al-Islam ("Human Rights in Islam") is a legal and theological research paper authored by Tahir Ahmad Mawlana Jamal al-Layl, a member of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy representing the Comoros, which examines the status, purpose, and protections of human rights within Islamic jurisprudence .
Foundations and Scope
The treatise opens with the premise that God uniquely honored humanity by granting them intellect and speech, appointing humankind as vicegerents upon the earth, and commanding the angels to prostrate before Adam . Citing Quranic verses such as وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً ("And when your Lord said to the angels, 'Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority'") and إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا الْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَنْ يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنْسَانُ ("Indeed, We offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared it; but man bore it"), Jamal al-Layl argues that alongside human moral duties and divine obligations, God established inviolable, preserved rights . These rights are designed to ensure that religious obligations can be executed properly, to ground social welfare, and to prevent human societies from descending into predatory conflict .
Institutional Role and Contemporary Discourse
In addressing modern criticisms and polemics regarding Islam and human rights, Jamal al-Layl emphasizes that the International Islamic Fiqh Academy has a vital responsibility to articulate the higher objectives and intents of Islamic law (maqasid al-shari'ah) . He calls for clarifying contentious issues, moving beyond unproductive internal disagreements, and presenting Islam's legal framework to the wider world as a viable resolution to contemporary human problems .
The study draws upon several contemporary works on Islamic and international human rights law, citing studies by scholars including Muhammad al-Ghazali, Muhammad al-Zuhayli, Ali Abd al-Wahid Wafi, Faysal Shatnawi, Abd al-Salam al-Termanini, and Murad Hofmann .
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