Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Madina Charter The First Islamic Constitution For All

Medina Charter was created by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in the year 622 CE, it was the first written constitution in the Islāmic world. The Medina Charter contained every aspect of running a country from politic to the human rights administration. Do the Muslim majority country now really follow what the Prophet had laid down for mankind to follow?

The Medina Charter consists of 47 clauses. 23 clause governed the relationship between Muslims, between Ansar and Muhajirin, while the remaining 24 clauses governed  the relations of Muslims with non-Muslims, the Jews and others. In addition to the charter of Medina, it is also known by various names such as Medina agreement, Dustar al-Madinah and Al-Madinah Sahifah. The Medina Charter form the constitution for Medina which was based from the regulations of Islāmic law to establish a pure Islāmic state that puts people of different races or ethnic groups in one country living peacefully.

The main contents in the Charter were the declaration that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the head of state to all the people of Medina and any dispute shall be referred to him. All the people of Medina is forbidden to plant a hostile or envy among themselves, instead they should be united as one and be known as nation of Medina.
All residents are free to practice their customs and religious ceremonies respectively. All residents of Medina should coöperate in economic and if Medina to be attacked by outsiders all the citizen shall defend its. The Jews freedom are guaranteed as long as they obey the agreements listed in the charter.

The purposed of the Medina Charter was to face a plural society of Medina and was to establish rules that will be complied by all the people. The charter also provide elements to unite people of various races and to establish peace and eliminate any hostility that was occurring before the arrival of Prophet Muhammad to Medina.

The Medina Charter also determined the rights and duties of Prophet Muhammad and the local population. It's also provide guidelines for the Muhajirin (immigrants) recovery and providing help either material or non material to them after losing everything for leaving Mecca. Political union was also formed to defend Medina from any foreign enemy. The Charter give a clear guarantee for the right of the non muslim and the Jews.

Medina Charter was not only the first Islāmic constitution but it was also the first human right charter that provided the basic rights of every human living in Medina.

Medina Charter was created based on Holy Koran and Sunnah. Therefore the Holy Koran and Sunnah are the source of state law. The charter also was an instrument to unite the nation and a signed of a state sovereignty. Other principles that contain in the charter were; Freedom of movement and the right to live in Medina, rights and duties in terms of defending and maintaining the State. It also provide good relations and mutual help among all citizens and individual responsibility and government duty in upholding social justice. Some security laws such as penalties and so forth have been listed as Qisas. Religious freedom was also guarantee and the responsibility of states to non-Muslims. It also stated the duty of all parties toward bringing and upholding peace in the State.

It is justified to say the Medina Charter produced a form of government that adheres to the shura system (parliamentary system) where citizen can give opinions. The charter had a great impact toward the development of Islāmic civilization, especially in politics and the human rights of the ordinary citizen. The Medina Charter shows that Islam can be practiced in creating an efficient and just government.

However the Muslim majority countries all over the world now are facing with all kind of problems from their own making and its has nothing to do with the western power. The western countries succeed in developing their countries because they are implementing the rules and regulations that are suitable to them. But the Islāmic countries either copying from the west and failed because does not conform to the norms of the majority or created a new form of system that only suitable to the iron claws of the power hungry politician. In the end the people suffered and Islam which should be the way of living is only used during birth of a child, marriage and death!

The Muslim leaders does not even respect the human rights that the Prophet had lay down 1400 years ago. The rights of the people either muslim or non-muslim has been discriminate for years as if the Medina Charter been kept and locked in the dusty shelves. From Gamal Nasir to Muamar Kahdafi none has ever used or implemented the true Islāmic law in administering their countries. An Islāmic scholar and politician from Malaysia, who was disappointed with his country freedom of expression restriction once commented, "Sometime the european are more Islāmic than the Muslim!". 

It is safe to say that not a single country of the Muslim majority countries or even the terrorist group such as Al-Qaeda are practising the true Islāmic governance that the Prophet taught and lived by. Maybe it is time for every leader to start reading the Medina Charter and give the people their rights as what Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) taught.

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