The Right to Life in Islam

Conclusion

Given what has been explained above, regarding mankind's right to life in the eyes of Islam, we conclude that: Islam's mentality pays attention to right to life comprehensive aimed at achieving perfection and transcendental life materially and spiritually.

Attention to right to life in Islamic school of thought is based on realism, far from irrational excessive and under-spending behavior, seen in the Western system's propaganda. when we try to compare the Islamic Human Rights (over 1400 years old) with the Western Human Rights (200 years old), we notice that Islam's mentality toward the Human Rights (including mankind's right to life) and also the compiled executive plans in the Islamic sources for its materialization has caused Islam to last for eternity during the history. On the contrary, the western the Human Rights has failed to prove beneficial in this regard.

Below we briefly point to such comparative study:

Islamic Human Rights system regards the right to life a gift from God. It sees life's value based on human's lofty dignity and decency (degree). In the eyes of divine schools of thought, whereas the western Human Rights system depreciates the right to life from the humanistic approach, while regarding it as low as a mere natural right for mankind. Consequently, in the Western legal system right to life as an "absolute" right is unlimited, whereas in the Islamic legal system the continuity and survival of this right depends on conditions determined by Islam.

The Interpretation of right to life by the Western legal system is material, without consideration for the spiritual aspect of man's existence, whereas the Islamic legal system is based on all the aspects of human existence (both material and spiritual). Actually the human spiritual life is attached more significance in the eyes of Islam to such an extent that (in case of a conflict) it has priority over the material one.

In the international Human Rights Documents, human's life is defined merely as a "natural right", whereas man's life in Islamic legal system is identified as both a "right" and a "duty". In the eyes of Islam not only a man has no right to terminate his life and is responsible for safeguarding it but also he must (feel responsibility to) protect other people's lives (be it threatened by natural disasters or causes or subject to a third party's intrusion, etc). He must rise up to resist and reject the threat and the intrusion. If he turns a blind eye to it he is a sinner.

Prohibition decree against abortion (except in urgent cases such as mother's life being at stake or emergencies determined by the Islamic Law): One of the privileges of the Islamic laws in regard to "comprehensive identification" of right to life for humans is paying attention to human dignity even prior to his birth, whereas in the Western Human Rights Declaration and documents, disregarding the sanctity of an embryo, abortion is not forbidden. In most western nations, deprivation of humans of their lives at the stage before birth (abortion) is permitted and hence lawful. Sometimes it is even encouraged.

In the Islamic Human Rights system, because of human dignity, provision of an appropriate and favorable life for a person is part of his right to life and is respected.[^1]

Strategies have been foreseen aimed at its materialization, such as financial sources and duties, inclusive of zakaat, khums, kaffarat and normal or general donations. But in the Western approach and its Human Rights system, only "human welfare" has been mentioned along with a very few other points. There is no mention of or consideration for human dignity.[^2]

The Islamic school of thought takes care of special classes in the society including senior citizens (the elderly), women, children, the sick and the wounded (or disabled) in armed clashes. Also special attention is paid to prisoners of war (POW's), banning mutilation of killed soldiers, how to treat POW's and their families. All such things are indicative of the magnitude and magnificence of Islam, and how Islam looks at Human Rights. Whereas the Declaration of the Human Rights fails to adequately cover the above rights.

[^1]: The Islamic Human Rights, Article 2.

[^2]: The Declaration of Human Rights, Article 25.