Islam and Human Rights — Page 39
Man and the Universe 39 without dis tinction or discrimination. The message of Islam is directed towards and comprehends the whole of mankind. “Say: O mankind, truly I am a Messenger to you all from Allah to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. There is no god but He. He gives life and He causes death” (7:159). The Quran teaches that man’s nature is pure, “the nature made by Allah; the nature in which He has created mankind” (30:31) and that evil enters from outside. The Prophet said: “Every child is born in accord with divine nature, it is his parents who make him a Jew a Zoroastrian or a Christian”. 3 1n other words a child is influenced by heredity and environment. It has no natural propensity towards evil. Should man fall into evil by error or design, he can win back to purity and righteousness through prayer and repentance. “O My servants who have committed excesses against your own souls, despair not of the mercy of Allah; surely Allah forgives all sins, verily He is Most Forgiving, Merciful. Turn ye to your Lord and submit yourselves to Him before there comes unto you the chastisement” (39:54-55). And again: “Whoso believes in A1lah and acts righteously, He will remove 3 Bukhari I, Section: Funerals; Ch. :Children of non-Muslims.