Declaration of 'human rights' in 632 AD

On March 6, 632 AD (1392 yrs. ago), a man stood on the foothills of what is today known as Mount Arafat (21°21′17″N, 39°59′2″E) and gave a very short speech to about 100K people in attendance. It's one of the oldest speeches recorded verbatim in human history by chroniclers. I reproduce major parts of that speech here.

“O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I do not know whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore, listen to what I am saying to you very carefully.

1. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Do not oppress and do not be, oppressed.
2. Your Lord has forbidden you to take interest over money. Your capital, however, is yours to keep.
3. O People, it is true that you have certain rights about your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under your Lord’s trust and with His permission. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and helpers.
4. All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab also, a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good actions.
5. Remember, soon you will appear before your Lord and will have to answer all your deeds. So beware, do not stray away from the path of righteousness after I am gone.
6. O people, no prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born.

He concluded by saying:

“All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly.”

This speech may not have lasted more than 20-25 minutes but it summed up an ocean of wisdom within, having touched upon all five aspects of universal & timeless, human quest.

? Equality and Brotherhood: All humans are equal, regardless of nationality, race, caste or social status, emphasizing that an Arab is not superior to a non-Arab, and vice versa, except in piety and good action.

? Sanctity of Life and Property: The lives, properties, and honor of all individuals are sacred and must not be violated.

? Rights of Women: Rights and responsibilities of women, duty of men to treat their wives with kindness and respect.

? Economic Justice: Prohibition on interest over money being lent and exploitation that finds its root within this practice and hinders economic fairness.

?The Ultimate Judge for criminal cases: This world isn't a place of absolute justice, often not even of partial justice. Billions have gone scot-free and will continue to enjoy lives post perpetrating some serious and heinous crimes. They escaped justice because of their affiliations to certain nationality, tribe, religion, net-worth??, network?? or diplomatic immunities??. That, each one of us will be called to account for our actions soon after this short span of 50-60 accountable years of exercising freedom of choice, is indeed humbling.

1300 years past, on 10 December 1948, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the UN General Assembly that recognized;

‘All humans as being born free and equal in dignity and rights. Men and women have the right to marry and to found a family, and they are entitled to equal rights as to marriage'.        

These closely resemble parts of what this man had spoken.

This speech has since gone down in history and is known as the Prophet’s farewell sermon (because he died 15 months later). The day he gave this sermon is annually marked as the Day of Hajj followed by celebration of Eid Al Adha the next day. Today, June of 16th, 2024 is the day of Eid.

Though I take pride in being counted amongst the recipients of this message flowing down from those 100K in attendance that day, I am also disillusioned ?? by the fact that certain ethos of those words is being lost to the subsequent generations.

The only solace remains in the individual responsibility of each one of us when the prophet ? stated that ‘soon you will appear before your Lord and will have to answer all your deeds’.

Let’s change whatever we can in our individual capacity and make this world a better place for coming generations to inherit.

The Message (1976 Epic film) depicts this event towards its ending at 2:50:00 onwards. Watch it!