Welcome to the 27th weekly episode of the series Islamic Human Rights. Today, we study the viewpoint of sacred religion of Islam toward freedom of thought.

As a reminder, last week we became familiar with the concept of freedom and Islam’s standpoint in this regard. In Islam’s perspective, freedom is the right and duty of mankind, because it is a means which enables man to attain perfection and to cover the path toward humanity. Hence, no one should deny freedom to mankind. Meanwhile, man should not be enslaved by superstitions or carnal desires. Thus, freedom maintains an innate nature for humans. Furthermore, others should not impede the freedom of individuals. Therefore, in addition to an innate dimension, freedom also maintains an outer aspect.

Man’s freedom is honored and respected as long as he covers the phases of humanity. Meanwhile, freedom is manifested in different forms and shapes. Today, we study freedom of thought.

One of the significant and vivid characteristic traits of mankind is his ability to contemplate, which grants him a spiritual life and distinguishes him from other creatures. Freedom of thought in different domains is one of man’s natural rights. Although humans are capable of contemplation on their own, the sociable nature of mankind leaves him impressionable to other members of the community and the governing atmosphere of the society. The fact of the matter is that the social structure, economic conditions, and cultural heritages widely dominate the thoughts of humans. In the contemporary world, novel technologies which have been shaped or are under the authority of governments or powerful groups maintain a dominating role, and guide human thoughts via a number of means such as papers, radio and TV stations, and other social and mass media.

Freedom of thought is defined as the ability of individuals to express their thoughts and beliefs, in a fearless manner. Human ability to ponder and contemplate should be developed. Hence, freedom of thought should not be obstructed.

The prelude to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights notes emergence of a world in which individuals would be able to express their opinion, fearlessly, has been announced as the most elevated ideal of mankind.

The 19^th article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights notes every one maintains the right of freedom of thought and expression.

Thus, the biggest aspiration of mankind is emergence of a world in which all would be able to freely express their thoughts; a world in which there would be no trace of fear and poverty; and security of members of the community would be maintained.

So, we mentioned that freedom of thought is one of the main aspects of freedom of man. Holy Qur’an has invited mankind to ponder and contemplate. Upon the study of ayahs of Holy Qur’an, we realize which subjects should be contemplated upon in the view of this Holy Book. Holy Qur’an has put emphasis on the elevated status of thinkers and has invited mankind to ponder over man’s creation by God.

Human mind should be free from the influence of social traditions and habits. Holy Qur’an criticizes those, who do not contemplate and are held captive by their ancestors. Holy Qur’an’s intention is to alert individuals and to dissuade them from blindly following the traditions of their forefathers. This Holy Book also underscores that contemplation should be the means of mankind for recognition of the truth.

The sacred religion of Islam pays especial attention to freedom of thought. In Islam, in addition to physical worships such as observing daily prayers and fasting, there are ideological worships, which also contribute to alertness of mankind.

Several hadiths cited from the Prophet of Islam, Mohammad (Blessings of God upon him and his progeny) show that countless spiritual rewards have been taken into consideration for man’s contemplation.

Prior to advent of Islam, some believed that religion was in contrast to human wisdom. This wrong view especially existed in the deviated teachings of Christianity. They believed that human contemplation has no place in religion.

Meanwhile, the sacred religion of Islam has put emphasis on contemplation of man, in all aspects. This is while other religions have frozen the ability of mankind to contemplate even in regard to minor issues.

The divine religion of Islam has obliged Muslims to ponder over their ideological principles. Islam notes a Muslim’s belief in monotheism is accepted if he attains belief in God via contemplation.

Meanwhile, if someone is doubtful over ideological principles, he maintains the right to discuss his doubts with the related Ulema and thinkers in order to solve them. Asking questions about the principles of religion is the right of mankind, in the view of divine religion of Islam.

Given that mankind is a wise creature, he is capable of contemplation in order to discover the facts, up to a certain extent. This human talent should be kept free; and the development of man is tied to freedom of thought.

God has bestowed wisdom to human beings to enable them to ponder and to discover the unknowns. The 78^th ayah of Surat al-Nahl in Holy Qur’an notes: “Allah has brought you forth from the bellies of your mothers while you did not know anything.”

According to this ayah, humans are born uninformed and are duty-bound to acquire knowledge. Now, how could they accomplish this task? They can fulfill this task upon contemplation and education. This means that man should ponder over all issues, in line with his talents, and should solve issues in a scientific manner. Scientific contemplation is a must for man’s growth and development.

Dear listeners, it was mentioned that freedom of thought is one of the fundamental rights of mankind, which has been emphasized in human rights documents. It was also pointed out that the sacred religion of Islam pays especial attention to human contemplation. Islam views freedom of thought from a delicate angle, which proves the divinity and Godly nature of this religion, making Islamic human rights unique. Next week, we will further study this topic of importance.

MR/SS