Philosophers such as Thomas Paine, John Stuart Mill and Hegel expanded on the theme of universality during the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1831 William Lloyd Garrison wrote in a newspaper called The Liberator that he was trying to enlist his readers in "the great cause of human rights" so the term human rights probably came into use sometime between Paine's The Rights of Man and Garrison's publication. In 1849 a contemporary, Henry David Thoreau, wrote about human rights in his treatise On the Duty of Civil Disobedience which was later influential on human rights and civil rights thinkers. United States Supreme Court Justice Davis Davis, in his 1867 opinion for Ex Parte Milligan, wrote "By the protection of the law, human rights are secured; withdraw that protection and they are at the mercy of wicked rulers or the clamor of an excited people.
Many groups and movements have managed to achieve profound social changes over the course of the 20th century in the name of human rights. In Western Europe and North America, labour unions brought about laws granting workers the right to strike, establishing minimum work conditions and forbidding or regulating child labour. The women's rights movement succeeded in gaining for many women the right to vote. National liberation movements in many countries succeeded in driving out colonial powers. One of the most influential was Mahatma Gandhi's movement to free his native India from British rule. Movements by long-oppressed racial and religious minorities succeeded in many parts of the world, among them the civil rights movement, and more recent diverse identity politics movements, on behalf of women and minorities in the United States.

Human Rights in Islam
The concept of human rights in Islam is based on two important principles: dignity of human beings and justice. Islam emphasizes that all human beings are honored by Allah. Allah wants all human beings to live in peace and harmony and for this reason He wants us to establish justice in this world. Without justice there is no dignity and without dignity and justice there cannot be any peace.
Three Qur’anic verses, which are crucial to determining a Muslim’s identity, summarise the concept of human dignity:
1- Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: “I will create a vicegerent on earth.” (2: 30)
2.
وَلَقَدْ کَرَّمْنَا بَنِی ءَادَمَ وَحَمَلْنَاهُمْ فِی الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَاهُمْ مِنَ الطَّیِّبَاتِ وَفَضَّلْنَاهُمْ عَلَى کَثِیرٍ مِمَّن خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِیلاً
We have honoured the children of Adam; provided them with transport on land and sea; given them for sustenance things good and pure; and conferred on them special favours, above a great part of Our Creation. (17:70)
3-
لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِالْبَیِّنَاتِ وَأَنْزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ الْکِتَابَ وَالْمِیزَانَ لِیَقُومَ النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْطِ وَأَنْزَلْنَا الْحَدِیدَ فِیهِ بَأْسٌ شَدِیدٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلِیَعْلَمَ اللَّهُ مَنْ یَنْصُرُهُ وَرُسُلَهُ بِالْغَیْبِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِیٌّ عَزِیزٌ
We sent aforetime our Messengers with clear signs and sent down with them the Book and the balance (of Right and Wrong), that humankind may stand forth in justice; and We sent down Iron, in which is (material for) mighty war, as well as many benefits for humankind, that Allah may test who it is that will help, unseen, Him and His Messengers: for Allah is Full of Strength, Exalted in Might (and able to enforce His Will). (al-Hadid 57:25)
There are four important principles that we must keep in our mind when talking about human rights in Islam:
1. Rights are given by Allah:
The rights in Islam are not just human conventions, or so-called “natural rights” or “social contracts”. They are Allah’s orders. They should be considered as “permanent values” “universal and eternal standards”. They should not be given only to those who shout most or who lobby most, but they should be given even to those who are not yet empowered to speak for themselves, or who are not even aware due to social circumstances to know what rights they should have. The rights are rights even when no one asks for them. 2. Rights are governed by duties:
The Shari’ah is the network of rights and responsibilities. There are Huquq (rights) and there are Wajibat (duties). Muslim scholars have debated this issue whether the Huquq come first or the Wajibat come first. Some have emphasized duties and some have emphasized rights. However, both of them are important. It is not possible to have rights without duties. Also there is mutuality between rights and duties. Someone’s right is another person’s duty and someone’s duty is another person’s right.
3. Hierarchy in rights
The Shari’ah has special objectives (maqasid). Imam Ghazali, and many other scholars have mentioned five basic objectives of the Shari’ah. The Shari’ ah came to preserve: 1. Din (Religion), 2. Life,3. Progeny, 4. Intellect, 5. Wealth. But within the Shari’ah there are certain rules that are called Zaruryat (necessities) and some that are called Niazat (needs). Preservation of Din is at the top. Life is second most important thing and so on and so forth.
4. Priorities in relations:
Islam has a detailed scheme in its priorities. All people have rights but no one has a right above Allah’s rights. Among the people there are rights of parents, rights of spouses, rights of children, rights of other relatives. There are rights of neighbors. There are rights of employers and employees. There are rights of Muslims and there are rights of other human beings. There are rights of animals, resources and objects. Sometimes there are conflicts between one right and another right and so the question comes what is my first duty. It is for this reason the issue of rights becomes very complex and difficult. The most important thing is to have the fear of Allah in all relations.
Following are some of the rights emphasized in Islam:
1. The Right to Life
The first and foremost basic right is the right to life. The Holy Qur’an lays down:
"Whosoever kills a human being (without any reason like) man-slaughter, or corruption on earth, it is thought he had killed all mankind." (5:32)
The propriety of taking life in retaliation for murder or for spreading corruption can be decided only by a competent court of law. During a war it can be decided only by a properly established government. In any event, Qur’an makes clear:
"Do not kill a soul which Allah has made sacred except through the due process of law." (6:151)
Homicide is thus distinguished from destruction of life carried out in the pursuit of justice. The Prophet, blessings of Allah and peace be upon him, has declared homicide as the greatest sin after polytheism. A Tradition of the Prophet reads: "The greatest sins are to associate something with Allah and to kill human beings."
In all these verses of the Qur’an and the traditions of the Prophet the word 'soul' (nafs) has been used in general terms without any indication that citizens belonging to one's own nation or the people of a particular race or religion should not be killed. The injunction applies to all human beings.
The 'Right to Life' has been given to man as a whole only by Islam. You will observe that reference to human rights in constitutions or declarations in many countries clearly implies that these rights are applicable only to the citizens of that country or to the white race. For example, human beings were hunted down like animals in Australia and the land was cleared of the aborigines for the white man. Similarly, the aboriginal population of America was systematically destroyed and the Red Indians who somehow survived this genocide were confined to reservations. In Africa human beings were also hunted down like wild animals. Contrary to this partial concept of human rights, Islam recognizes such rights for all human beings.
2. The Right to the Safety of Life
Immediately after the verse in the Holy Qur’an which has been mentioned in connection with the right to life, Allah says:
"And whoever saves a life it is as though he had saved the lives of all mankind." (5:32)
There can be several forms of saving man from death. If a man is ill or wounded it is your duty to get him medical help. If he is dying starvation, it is your duty to feed him. If he is drowning, it is your duty to rescue him. We regard it as our duty to save every human life, because it is thus that we have been enjoined in the Holy Qur’an.
3. Respect for the Chastity of Women
The third important element in the Charter of Human Rights granted by Islam is that a woman's chastity must be respected and protected at all times, whether she belongs to one's own nation or to the nation of an enemy, whether we find her in a remote forest or in a conquered city, whether she is our co-religionist or belongs to some other religion or has no religion at all. A Muslim may not physically abuse her under any circumstances. All promiscuous relationships are forbidden to him, irrespective of the status or position of the woman or of whether she is a willing partner to the act.
The words of the Holy Qur’an in this respect are: "Do not approach (the bounds) of adultery" (17:32). Heavy punishment has been prescribed for this crime, and no mitigating circumstances are indicated. Since the violation of the chastity of a woman is forbidden in Islam, a Muslim who perpetrates this crime cannot escape punishment-whether he receives it in this world or in the Hereafter.