Examining the Conflicts Between the Foundations of Human Rights in Islamic Teachings and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Abstract

Various perspectives exist regarding human rights in the Qur'an and other Islamic sources. The issue of human rights is considered one of the most important and prominent topics in human life, particularly in the Holy Qur'an and Islamic Sharia. The present paper aims, through a library-based and analytical method, to compare and examine the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in light of Islamic teachings, identifying and analyzing points of conflict. The findings revealed that the rights outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are not comprehensive. Human rights in Islamic teachings are superior due to their holistic nature and the dominance of divine law in their formulation. Despite the numerous commonalities between the legal foundations in Islamic teachings and those in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the differing perspectives on the origin of rights and the nature of humanity have led to significant divergence. The drafters of the Declaration generally adopt a one-dimensional approach in the context of civil society and do not pay adequate attention to the divine, spiritual, and eschatological aspects of human existence. In other words, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is largely anthropocentric, whereas human rights in Islamic teachings are fundamentally theocentric.