‘Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is pioneer in establishing human rights’

City Desk:

Religious Affairs Adviser Dr AFM Khalid Hossain on Sunday said that Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) was the pioneer in establishing human rights, who spoke of these principles nearly 1,500 years ago.

He said this while addressing a discussion and prize giving ceremony organised on the occasion of Eid-e-Miladunnabi (PBUH) on the Jagannath University (JnU) campus in the city.

JnU Vice-Chancellor Professor Md Rezaul Karim delivered the welcome speech at the event, said a press release.

The Adviser said that what the modern world today calls human rights- such as the rights of men, women, children, and freedom of expression- were all proclaimed by the Prophet (PBUH) one and a half millennia ago.

“He (PBUH) not only provided the theory but also implemented it in practice,” Dr Khalid noted. Citing a Hadith of the Prophet (PBUH), he said, “No Arab has superiority over neither a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab over an Arab; no white person has superiority over a black person, nor a black person over a white person.” The adviser said that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had abolished racial discrimination and ethnic arrogance. Noting that the Charter of Medina is the first written constitution in world history, he said, “States are governed by constitutions. The very idea of the constitution was first introduced by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).” Highlighting the Prophet’s (PBUH) unparalleled contributions in establishing the women’s rights, Dr Khalid said that in ancient Rome, Persia, and the Indian subcontinent, women were maligned as ‘the gateway to hell’ or ‘agents of evil.’

In contrast, he said, the Prophet (PBUH) declared that “Paradise lies beneath the feet of mothers.” This noble declaration, the adviser said, elevated women to the highest status of dignity, something unprecedented in human history.