Marcel  A. Boisard

A contemporary French thinker and lawyer, he gave much care to international relations and human rights and wrote much research for the conferences and periodicals interested in these issues. His Humanism in Islam, which emanated from the same concerns, is an enlightening sign in the western studies of Islam with its characteristic objectivity and depth and eagerness to rely on references far from prejudice and inclination in addition to other Islamic writings.

From Humanism in Islam:

They could never produce the like of it

“Two elements are necessary to define the sacred text in Islam. First, it is a divinely revealed, eternal and uncreated book. Second, it is the Qur’an (i.e. a living speech in the heart of the community). Between God and mankind, it is the medium with which any ecclesiastical organization is useless because it is widely accepted as an original reference and fundamental source of inspiration and, till these days of ours, it is a highly inimitable pattern of Arabic literature. It is not only the ideal of the best literary work, but also the source of Arabic and Islamic literature created by it. The religion presented by it constitutes the basis for the various intellectual methodologies for which writers would be famous.”[1]

Unshakable confirmation

“The more tolerant Islam seems to be, the stronger it becomes internally and externally. The Qur’anic verse which states that there should be no coercion on the adoption of a religion[2] highlights an unshakable confirmation. The nation’s power makes Muslims not in need of frightening the Jews or the Christians and consequently causes him to respect their persons, religions and institutions.”[3]

A distinguished entity

“The religion was always an effective motive to compose a distinguished entity which had not been broken by time vicissitudes or the contacts with different civilizations along the centuries. The Islamic community based on the religion was able to withstand political disunity and the religious connections were not affected in the least by the borders between countries.”[4]

Invitation to coexistence

“Islam opened the gates to social and ethnic coexistence when it recognized the truth of the divine messages previously revealed upon some peoples. The strong logic of its teachings, simplicity of its creed and accompanying toleration made available to the conquered peoples a religious freedom which far excelled what had been made available by Christianity itself.”[5]

“Men’s female twins”

“Islam addresses men and women equally and deals with them almost alike. Protection is the distinguished aim of Islamic Sharî‘ah in general. Legislation presents to the woman accurate definitions about her rights and tends to ensure them. The Qur’an and Sunnah encourage the treatment of a woman with justice, kindness and sympathy. It also encourages seeking to elevate the position of the believing woman by opening to her the way of ambition within law, personal private ownership and inheritance.”[6]

The protector of the woman

“The precepts of the Qur’an and Muhammad prove to be the protectors of woman’s rights.”[7]

Unequaled method

“By no means could the character of the protection treaty be comparable or similar to the common ideas of western law. Furthermore, the institution developed by the development of the Islamic Empire. It is sufficient to extract the general and main outlines of the system from the much disorderly heap of historical events, legal opinions and relations between events, in order to clarify how Islam, beginning from the 7th century, attempted to introduce a unique solution for the problem of minorities. However, the legal comparisons here are of great risk because the older institutions were the products of concepts mostly far from our modern expectations and achievements. It is of great significance to analyze and study the non-Muslim community in the land of Islam because it proved to be an unmatched method. Meanwhile, the West was about to come out of the medieval ages and perceive the necessity of applying the systems that would determine relations with foreigners.”[8]

Essentially progressive

“The message of the Qur’an and the precepts of Muhammad prove essentially progressive and this characteristic explains the extraordinarily quick spread of Islam during the early centuries of its history.”[9]

Concerning minorities

“A special condition should be maintained for the non-believers living in a society mainly based on religion. But even as so, the state of the foreigner is not that of the enemy in the old city. The novelty of the Islamic system, compared with what was common in the Greek and Roman eras, lies in the comprehensiveness of the divine revelation and the instructiveness of the religion. It does not only excel in this area Judaism and Christianity by accepting the previous monotheistic religions confirmed by Islam, but also goes beyond them by laying stress on the essential unity of divine religions. Relativity is an accepted rule in legislation except when it exceeds the principal confirmation of the general divine law. Here lies one of the most important contributions of Islam in creating a modern universal concept of toleration. It is a religious duty and legal command to which the Qur’an refers clearly: {And We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it. So judge between them by what Allâh has revealed and do not follow their inclinations away from what has come to you of the truth. To each of you We prescribed a law and a method. Had Allâh willed, He would have made you one nation [united in religion], but [He intended] to test you in what He has given you; so race to [all that is] good.} [al-Mâ’idah 48]

In this general framework, there are three types of non-Muslims. The first is the polytheist who is invited to enter the new religion and there is no measure to send him away. If he shows enmity to Islam and the Muslims, then, theoretically, he has to choose between embracing the religion or fighting till death. The second is the follower of a monotheistic religion living outside the Islamic world and he could stay there temporarily if he agrees on a very simple measure. This pattern is closer to the idea of foreigners according to the modern approach. The third includes the monotheists living under the protection of the Islamic community. Western writings more often make extremely simplified generalizations in this respect, considering those living under protection as second-class citizens. But those living under protection were foreigners subject to their own laws and actually protected, in full sense of the word, because they geographically stayed in a region under political and cultural control of Islam. They formed harmonious religious minorities whose conditions were ensured by legal systems strongly binding on the Muslim majority, being a part of the revelation.”[10]

His effect is eternal

“Muhammad was a Prophet and not a social reformer and his message made, in the Arab society at that time, drastic changes whose effects are still working in the contemporary Islamic community.”[11]

Fit for that time

“The instruments provided by the Qur’anic revelation are, without doubt, able to build a modern society.”[12]

In all times

“The Qur’an was destined not only to mend the manners of the pre-Islamic Arabs but also to bear the eternally perfect Sharî‘ah that is compatible to human realities and social needs at all times.”[13]

The Qur’an rather than policies or ideologies

“The spirit of the Qur’an, more than political modalities or ideological characters attributed to some countries may do, creates an atmosphere of living which ultimately leads to the harmony of mental expressions, equality of intellects and social systems. It is not sufficient to refer only to the great effect of the Qur’an on contemporary Islamic intellects because it is still the main source of individual as well as congregational inspiration and a Muslims’ final refuge.”[14]

Religion and social system altogether

“The divine revelation, by rejecting to separate between the spiritual and timed, proved to be a religion and social system simultaneously. … A fortiori, the divine revelation and the way in which it is thought to be utilized have left their strong impact on society.”[15]

Flexibility of Islamic Sharî‘ah

“Islamic law in our days is a major legal system, not only because it organizes the relations between about 700 million[16] and is the inspiration behind the founding of constitutional laws in many countries, but also because this religious satisfaction curbs the unruliness of the entire social environment. The notion imposed by the divine revelation sees itself especially in the public, whose political importance lies in supporting the development of some democratic modes. The more each movement is tinged with religion, the more it has access to the public. It is this public which interacts with and embodies the social system, as well as sometimes provides its subsistence. The religion is an influential and vital element in the relations between individuals, groups and peoples. Its efficiency seemingly increases gradually, confirms the phenomenon, and makes Islamic law more applicable and, at the same time, more flexible and bendable.”[17]

The genius moderation

“Islam, in general, returns to appear in the contemporary world as a solution for the problems of the destiny of mankind and society. The internal political development of the states creates particular solutions and changes. It is a well-established fact that all uprisings – which have befallen Islamic countries in the last decades – were really Islamic, whatever color they dressed themselves in. These movements continue to be seriously inspired by the societal past.

The basic novelty of the Islamic system lies in its conception of the social human being which opposes both Communism that dissipates the individual in the community, and Liberalism that fosters enmity between the individual and society. The solidarity between the individuals of a society ensures respect for human rights inside and outside the community because Islam is regarded one of the main sponsors of international law. Islam also holds its spirituality opposed to positive materialism which strips man off his humanism, preventing a state from becoming one day a machinery god which the West has known and the allegedly Socialist countries do their best to impose. Furthermore, the decisive meaning of individual responsibility, being one of the important factors of liberation, makes man too strong to concede his personality to the extraordinarily capable community and, before anything else, be sincere  to the higher ideals of the religion rather than governmental institutions. The consolidation of man’s ultimate ends which abstain from this world tends to subjugate the state to the law instead of subjugating the individual to political devices. In a similar intellectual system, Islam internationally calls for cooperation between peoples more than for the self-sufficiency of the nations. Its legal approach calls for uprightness, peaceful universality, realism and moderateness. All these virtues agree with man’s spiritual nature.”[18]

Political-religious link

“The idea of the Islamic ummah has no equivalent in western thought or historical experience. The Islamic community is a gathering of believers joined by a political and religious link and centered around God’s holy speech. … In Islam, any individual is equally integrated in the believing community by virtue of his personal testimony and established will and characteristics as a believer. The announced intent and testimony of the words of faith are essential conditions for belonging to the society. Associatively, the submission to God’s will determines social structure. In this way, the foundational systems of a community are conditioned by the obligatory worship of God.”[19]

Sharî‘ah … A Divine essence and developed human methodology

“That the religious satisfaction is permanent allows for placing emphasis on Islam’s being fit for the current time through examples taken from the present and the past. From Islamic law, we kept what we considered to be constantly unchangeable, not as rules innovated or deduced by juristic scholars, but as an expression of a spiritual measure of a specific civilization. The essence of law is granted by the divine well and, from this point, generally speaking, it is ideal and firm. Islamic legal thinking gave more care to the preservation of a societal system than to building a society. It developed with the growth of society and its national aspect made it more competent. At the same time, the legal aspect did not act in opposition to reality, meaning to be compatible with events. To the contrary, it was supposed to direct them as a theoretical science related and subject to the essence of law (i.e. the divine revelation) just like branches being parts of a tree. In short, it seems to us that the spirit of Islamic law is more fit for our study than the way it is applied.”[20]

The man and the leader

“The noble Hadîths and Prophetic conduct do not cease to depict in minds the Messenger’s generosity, modesty, uprightness, clarity, niceness and forbearance. History presents him as a great leader full of compassion as well as a candid, strong and democratic statesman.”[21]

The act and effect

“Since the Prophet Muhammad established himself in Madînah, his life had become an inseparable part of Islamic history. His acts and behaviors in detail were reported to us. As orderly and vital he might be, he was belligerent in defense of the newborn Islamic society and dissemination of invitation. In spite of his fighting and struggling spirit, he pardoned whenever he was capable of punishing. But, at the same time, he never softened to or tolerated the enemies of the religion. It seems that the three traits of the Prophet: piety, fighting spirit and pardoning when able to punish, characterized Islamic society in its early beginnings and embodied the spiritual atmosphere of Islam.”[22]

Changed the course of history

“Historically, Muhammad was not only the barer of glad tidings of a new religion but also a founder of a policy which changed the course of history and influenced the development of the later extensive spread of Islam.”[23]

A superman

“Finally, if we remember how psychologically fragile was the authority given to an Arab leader and the merits required from him by members of society, we could conclude to the fact that Muhammad, who knew how to gain the good pleasure of the greatest number among the public with him, should have been a superman and a real Prophet of God.”[24]