The Concept of Equality
English Essay on "The Concept of Equality"
The concept of equality is central to the very existence of human society. The survival, development it and progress of human beings, whether as individuals or as a society, cannot be possible without firm belief in the fact that all human beings are basically equal and for that reason entitled to all such rights that could be basic to human dignity and needs within acceptable limits of fairness, decency and morality.
No other scripture nor any creed or ideology has magnified the fact of equality among the human beings and advocated its acceptance and respect to the extent to which the Quran has done. This is evident from the Quranic verse (49:13) and its explanation by the Prophet (peace be upon him) in his sermon on the occasion of his last pilgrimage when he said.
“People. Allah says “O mankind! we created you from a single male and female couple and, then divided you into nations so that you may recognise one another. Verily the most honourable among you in the sight of Allah is he who is the most righteous of you’.educationsight.blogspot.com In the light of this Quranic verse no Arab has any superiority ‘ver a non-Arab nor any non-Arab has any superiority over an Ar b. Neither black is superior to white nor white is superior to blank. Of course, if there is any criterion of superiority it is righteousness”.
The above verse of the Quran and extract from the sermon of the Prophet elaborating the same, categorically affirm that all human beings are equal. And they are equal because they have a common origin, descent and lineage. None of them can claim superiority over others by virtue of race, blood, ancestry or birth.
Their division into nations and tribes is meant only to facilitate their identification. The object is certainly not to create superior and inferior classes of people in relation to each other. It was this declaration that gave severe blow to the false notions and self made barriers of race, blood and colour besetting the human society since ages. This was also the main reason for the acceptability of Islam to people among all the nations and tribes of the world.
According to Toynbee, a well known British historian, there was hardly any race in the world from which people did not embrace Islam and in the process became one ummah.
He goes to the extent of saying that Christianity with all its preachings of universal brotherhood lagged far behind the Muslims in bringing about the int0ermingling and integration of different races particularly the white and black. According to Prof Gibb, “no other society has such a record of success in uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity and of endeavour, so many and so various races of humanity” (Whither Islam). Since all human beings are basically equal and have been endowed with the same kind and number of faculties such as the ability to think, to reason, to see, to hear, to talk, to feel, to create and to love, it is but natural that they should have the same opportunities to make use of these faculties. The above Quranic verse which declares that all human beings are equal also provides a clear pointer to the need for the provision of such opportunities. According to the verse the most honourable among the human beings in the sight of Allah could be the one who is the most righteous of them. It means that despite being basically’ equal, the human beings can yet excel each other in certain respects or directions with the aid of faculties they have been endowed with. The verse cites one such example in which the human beings can excel each other and that is honour or respectability in the sight of Allah for which the only criterion, according to the verse, could be righteousness. This is the criterion which is not only just and fair but is also pertinent to the object and is within the reach of every one.
Nothing can be more relevant and pertinent to the attainment of the position of honour in the sight of Allah than righteousness. Besides, any one, w}tether a rich or a poor, a black or a white and a male or a female can attain this standard i.e. can become righteous, if he or she sincerely strives for it. By all counts, there can be no better example’ of equal opportunities than the one spelled out by the above verse.
People may fix their own criteria of precedence or entitlement in respect of various matters or rights but if they want to observe the principle of equal opportunities in doing so, there can be no better pattern to follow than the one spelled out by the above verse.
The principle of equal opportunities is spelled out by yet another Quranic verse which sys “and do no vet what Allah has given some of you more than others the men shall have their due share according to what they have earned and the women shall have their share according to what they have “earned” (432). This verse tells us about three things. One, no one shall eagerly desire what belongs to others but shall instead rely on his or her own efforts to earn the same. Second, the recompense for an effort or contribution could only be a matching reward. And the third, both men and women shall have the same opportunities to learn, contribute and be accordingly rewarded. In two other Quranic verses, (16:97) and (33:35), ‘the same rewards have been promised both for men and women, who do righteous deeds which is reflective not only of equality of status but also of the provision of equal opportunities. In yet another Quranic verse (2:187), the wives have been termed as the garments of their husbands and the husbands as the garments of their wives which too is reflective of equality of status and provision of equal opportunities.
History. tells us that the first wife of the Prophet proved to be a source of great help, strength, solace and reassurance to him at the start of his mission. Commenting on the role of the Prophet in alleviating the sufferings of women and giving equal status to them Clarence K Streit observes: “He (Muhammad) freed the girl child from burial alive, and her mother from slavery, and through him tens of millions of women received rights that Christendom did not allow until modern time” (Union Now). Like women, the slaves too had no rights of their own and were rather treated more or less like animals before the advent of Islam. The Quran while prescribing the purposes for which the money paid as Zakat was to be spent, prescribed the release of slaves as one such purpose. Besides, in his sermon on the occasion of his last pilgrimage the Prophet specifically exhorted the believers; “take care of your slaves and let them eat what you yourself eat and let them wear what you yourself wear . This exhortation served as the last nail in the coffin of slavery which automatically got banished in a few years in all those places where the influence of Islam reached.
Professor Brifault in the “Making of Humanity” observes: “The ideal of freedom for all human beings, of human brotherhood, of the equality of all men before law, of democratic government by consultation and universal suffrage, the ideals that inspired the French revolution and the declaration of rights, that guided the framing of the American constitution and inflamed the struggle for independence in the Latin-American states were nit the invention of the West. They find their ultimate inspiration and source in the Holy Quran”.
No other scripture nor any creed or ideology has magnified the fact of equality among the human beings and advocated its acceptance and respect to the extent to which the Quran has done. This is evident from the Quranic verse (49:13) and its explanation by the Prophet (peace be upon him) in his sermon on the occasion of his last pilgrimage when he said.
“People. Allah says “O mankind! we created you from a single male and female couple and, then divided you into nations so that you may recognise one another. Verily the most honourable among you in the sight of Allah is he who is the most righteous of you’.educationsight.blogspot.com In the light of this Quranic verse no Arab has any superiority ‘ver a non-Arab nor any non-Arab has any superiority over an Ar b. Neither black is superior to white nor white is superior to blank. Of course, if there is any criterion of superiority it is righteousness”.
The above verse of the Quran and extract from the sermon of the Prophet elaborating the same, categorically affirm that all human beings are equal. And they are equal because they have a common origin, descent and lineage. None of them can claim superiority over others by virtue of race, blood, ancestry or birth.
Their division into nations and tribes is meant only to facilitate their identification. The object is certainly not to create superior and inferior classes of people in relation to each other. It was this declaration that gave severe blow to the false notions and self made barriers of race, blood and colour besetting the human society since ages. This was also the main reason for the acceptability of Islam to people among all the nations and tribes of the world.
According to Toynbee, a well known British historian, there was hardly any race in the world from which people did not embrace Islam and in the process became one ummah.
He goes to the extent of saying that Christianity with all its preachings of universal brotherhood lagged far behind the Muslims in bringing about the int0ermingling and integration of different races particularly the white and black. According to Prof Gibb, “no other society has such a record of success in uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity and of endeavour, so many and so various races of humanity” (Whither Islam). Since all human beings are basically equal and have been endowed with the same kind and number of faculties such as the ability to think, to reason, to see, to hear, to talk, to feel, to create and to love, it is but natural that they should have the same opportunities to make use of these faculties. The above Quranic verse which declares that all human beings are equal also provides a clear pointer to the need for the provision of such opportunities. According to the verse the most honourable among the human beings in the sight of Allah could be the one who is the most righteous of them. It means that despite being basically’ equal, the human beings can yet excel each other in certain respects or directions with the aid of faculties they have been endowed with. The verse cites one such example in which the human beings can excel each other and that is honour or respectability in the sight of Allah for which the only criterion, according to the verse, could be righteousness. This is the criterion which is not only just and fair but is also pertinent to the object and is within the reach of every one.
Nothing can be more relevant and pertinent to the attainment of the position of honour in the sight of Allah than righteousness. Besides, any one, w}tether a rich or a poor, a black or a white and a male or a female can attain this standard i.e. can become righteous, if he or she sincerely strives for it. By all counts, there can be no better example’ of equal opportunities than the one spelled out by the above verse.
People may fix their own criteria of precedence or entitlement in respect of various matters or rights but if they want to observe the principle of equal opportunities in doing so, there can be no better pattern to follow than the one spelled out by the above verse.
The principle of equal opportunities is spelled out by yet another Quranic verse which sys “and do no vet what Allah has given some of you more than others the men shall have their due share according to what they have earned and the women shall have their share according to what they have “earned” (432). This verse tells us about three things. One, no one shall eagerly desire what belongs to others but shall instead rely on his or her own efforts to earn the same. Second, the recompense for an effort or contribution could only be a matching reward. And the third, both men and women shall have the same opportunities to learn, contribute and be accordingly rewarded. In two other Quranic verses, (16:97) and (33:35), ‘the same rewards have been promised both for men and women, who do righteous deeds which is reflective not only of equality of status but also of the provision of equal opportunities. In yet another Quranic verse (2:187), the wives have been termed as the garments of their husbands and the husbands as the garments of their wives which too is reflective of equality of status and provision of equal opportunities.
History. tells us that the first wife of the Prophet proved to be a source of great help, strength, solace and reassurance to him at the start of his mission. Commenting on the role of the Prophet in alleviating the sufferings of women and giving equal status to them Clarence K Streit observes: “He (Muhammad) freed the girl child from burial alive, and her mother from slavery, and through him tens of millions of women received rights that Christendom did not allow until modern time” (Union Now). Like women, the slaves too had no rights of their own and were rather treated more or less like animals before the advent of Islam. The Quran while prescribing the purposes for which the money paid as Zakat was to be spent, prescribed the release of slaves as one such purpose. Besides, in his sermon on the occasion of his last pilgrimage the Prophet specifically exhorted the believers; “take care of your slaves and let them eat what you yourself eat and let them wear what you yourself wear . This exhortation served as the last nail in the coffin of slavery which automatically got banished in a few years in all those places where the influence of Islam reached.
Professor Brifault in the “Making of Humanity” observes: “The ideal of freedom for all human beings, of human brotherhood, of the equality of all men before law, of democratic government by consultation and universal suffrage, the ideals that inspired the French revolution and the declaration of rights, that guided the framing of the American constitution and inflamed the struggle for independence in the Latin-American states were nit the invention of the West. They find their ultimate inspiration and source in the Holy Quran”.
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