Islam stands for freedom and freedom of speech.
The Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace) fought strenuously for these values, and nothing hurts a Muslim more than these very values being violated – rather hijacked.
For over 5 decades, Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace) witnessed the abuse of liberties in Makkah until he (Allah bless him and grant him peace) migrated to Madinah to guarantee those who accepted the free way of life.
The life of Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace) was full of mercy; to himself and his family (Holy Qur’an, 66:6), to his friends, his enemies, even to those who made attempts on his life.
Once a man tried to kill the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace) when he was resting under a tree. When the sword fell from the hands of the enemy combatant and Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace) picked it up, now in a reversed position and able to exact revenge, he (Allah bless him and grant him peace) forgave the enemy combatant, telling him that the God who had saved Muhammad was the same God who shall save him.
Likewise when Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace) was attacked in Ta’if, and was bleeding profusely from head to toe, he was requested by the angel Jibra’il (Gabriel) to allow for the destruction of the Ta’ifans, he (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
‘I have been sent as mercy and not as punishment.’ (at-Tabarani, al-Bayaqi, as-Suyuti, etc.)
Punishment, as we all know, is a social method of maintaining balance in the society. Had the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) allowed for such punishment in Makkah, Ta’if, and every other place where he could have exacted revenge, it would have only been just, but, however, he (Allah bless him and grant him peace) proved the world again and again that mercy overwhelms everything, and the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace) was an embodiment of divine mercy. In the Noble Qur’an, Allah (Most High) says:
‘My mercy overwhelms every thing.’ (Holy Qur’an, 7:156)
It was these noble traits of the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace) that won love for him everywhere. Had he not been merciful, his mission of freedom might not have been received as passionately as it has been accepted worldwide and in every age.
He (Allah bless him and grant him peace) was merciful in Makkah and he (Allah bless him and grant him peace) was merciful in Madinah, his place of migration, where his presence gave hope and subsequently freedom to the downtrodden and the oppressed.
Primordial rights of different classes of people were ‘reinstated’ and the people could for once ‘speak their minds.’ Slaves could stand side-by-side with their masters in prayer, women could speak out – file complaints and even rectify the leader (as was the case when the Caliph ‘Umar – Allah be pleased with him, was corrected by a woman when he was delivering a sermon in public), and even animals could plea with the Holy Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) for mistreatment by their owners. Such was the atmosphere of Madinah when the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace) freed it of feudalism and servitude. He thus reinstated the liberties due to the creation of Allah (Most High).
However, all liberties come with instructions; nothing is unhinged from responsible execution of authority, and freedom of speech also comes with its set of responsibilities.
Allah (Most High) says:
‘Speak good to people.’ (Holy Qur’an, 2:83)
The Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
‘Whoever believes in God and the Last day should speak good or remain silent.’ (al-Bukhari, Muslim)
The aforementioned 2 statements, though permit any kind or form of speech, they are, nevertheless, instructions for us all to be mindful of other people’s sentiments, and not to hurt their feelings, either by our speaking – which includes our words, tones and context, and also by all other means of expression – which includes physical movements, gestures, indications, writing, depicting in drawings, motion pictures, etc. In fact, it is sinful for those who follow Islam if they hurt the feelings of any other person, Muslim and non-Muslim alike. Speak, but speak good; depict, but do so responsibly; express your mind, but remain within limits.
Though Muslims have been insulted by drawings and caricatures of their religious personalities, they have not retaliated by drawings and caricatures against other religions. This only proves that Muslims respect and honour all religions and religious figures. Any violent and insulting retaliation has only been made by those who are either ignorant of Islamic teachings or they are not Muslims but only actors who have been placed there to portray negatively the noble religion of Islam.
The Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
‘A Muslim is who from whose tongue and hand other people are safe.’ (an-Nasa’i)
Are these instructions not sufficient enough for us to be merciful to ourselves, our families, our friends, those who are strangers, and also to our enemies?
When responsibilities are abused, punishment becomes due, and such punishment is only permitted to be awarded by those who are legally authorised to do so. Non-government and extra-judicial entities are not empowered to carry out any kind of punishment whatsoever, be it for dropping a sweet wrapper on the road or for carrying out a massacre of millions. There is no vigilantism in Islam.
In other words, where nobody supports unbridled satire where religious and sacred entities are insulted, nothing can allow extra-judicial punishment either.
The killings of journalists including 2 policemen, of which one was a Muslim named Ahmed Murabet, that took place in Paris yesterday (7th January, 2015) by the killers shouting words in Arabic, posing to be Muslims, is not only an attack on the victims but on everyone and everything that freedom stands for. Islam was under attack yesterday, with the perpetrators violating the fundamental right that every religion and culture safeguards – freedom.
