Concept of Human Dignity: Its Implications and Applications

وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ وَحَمَلْنَاهُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَاهُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَفَضَّلْنَاهُمْ عَلَى كَثِيرٍ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلاً{الإسراء 70}

We have honored the children of Adam and carried them by land and sea. We have provided them good sustenance; and favored them especially above many of those We created.
(Al-Isra' 17:70)
I was invited this week to attend a three day (June 16-18, 2008) international conference in Oslo, Norway. The topic of the conference was ‘Human Dignity in Abrahamic Faiths: Its Social and Political Implications.’  About forty Jewish, Christian and Muslim Scholars from various countries participated in this conference.  I presented two papers to the conference: one on ‘The Theological Foundations of Human Dignity in Islam’ and the other on ‘Islamic Perspectives on Human Diversity.’
During the conference I also had the opportunity to visit some Islamic centers and mosques in Oslo and met some members of the Muslim community and their leaders. Norway is a beautiful country.  It has mostly cold weather, but during summer it becomes very pleasant, although the days become very long. In some areas the sun remains shining until midnight.  In Oslo this week the sun was setting around 11:00 p.m. Horizon used to remain bright almost the whole night. Times of ‘Isha and Fajr were almost the same. But Muslims there prayed ‘Isha at midnight and Fajr around 2:00 a.m. I was told that there are about 120,000 Muslims in Norway from many countries. Almost 30,000 are from Pakistan and then others from Turkey, Bosnia, Palestine, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, etc. There are about 50 Masajid in the country. In Oslo itself there are 27 Masajid and Musallas. The Islamic Cultural Center is building a very large masjid in the center of Oslo city. One of the advantages they have is that the government of Norway gives back part of the taxes it collects from its people to the places of worship of their choice. Thus Masajid also receive a substantial amount of funding from the state for their daily expenses. 
In our discussion on human dignity we emphasized that all the three faiths speak about human dignity. The Jewish and Christian traditions talk about human being created ‘in the image of God.’ The Qur’an does not use this expression but there are also some authentic Ahadith in which our Prophet –peace be upon him – is reported to have said that “Allah created Adam in His image.” (al-Bukhari, Hadith 5759) The word ‘image’ however is not understood by Muslim scholars in its physical sense. It is taken to mean certain characters.  Thus human beings are granted by Allah some noble characters such as knowledge and authority. There are, however, at least twelve other special ways, according to Islam, in which Allah has honored human beings. He honored human being:  1. By creating first human being by His own hands (38:75), 2. Giving him the best form (95:4), 3. Breathing into him His spirit (32:9; 15:29; 38:72), 4. Making human being His Khalifah (2:30), 5. Giving him good nature (fitrah) (30:30), 6.  Teaching him all the names (2:31), 7. Making the angels to bow to him (2:34), 8. Giving him freedom of the will (91:7-8), 9. Creating everything in the universe for the service of human being (14:32-34), 10. Honoring human being with speech and intellect (16:78; 22:46;23:78), 11. Making human being His trustee by giving him the Amanah (33:72), 12. Choosing His Prophets and Messengers from among the human beings and especially choosing from among the human beings His Last Prophet Muhammad and sending him to all human beings and as ‘Mercy to the worlds.’ (3:33; 27:59; 21:107)
There were some interesting questions raised about human dignity whether it is God given (wahbi) or acquired (kasbi). We mentioned that human dignity is inherent in every human being; but it must be maintained by knowledge, virtues and righteousness.  According to the Qur’an, ‘The noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.’ (al-Hujurat 49:13)
Another interesting question was raised about slavery that used to be practiced by Jews, Christians and Muslims and both the Bible and the Qur’an seem to allow human slavery. The general agreement was that it was a custom that existed, but all three religions emphasized treating the slaves with respect and dignity. We mentioned that Islam also emphasized freeing the slaves and did not allow making any free person a slave. It was, however, recognized that we all failed in our history and committed serious errors by keeping slavery too long. We thank Allah that we realized this and it was certainly in the spirit of our faiths and our values that it was abolished forever.  Some people also argued that the concept of human dignity and equality has also evolved in human societies. For example it was said that Thomas Jefferson in his famous Declaration of Independence wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal…” However, Thomas Jefferson himself owned many slaves. It took more than one hundred years after this declaration to abolish slavery in United States.
Another important question was raised about harsh punishments such as cutting of the hands of thieves and stoning to death those who commit adultery. These laws, it was said, were very humiliating, and undignified. Some scholars said that those who commit such acts disgrace themselves and subject themselves to the loss of their own dignity and the dignity of their society. It was also mentioned that such laws were not peculiar to Islam they also existed in the Bible. The Bible even prescribes the punishment of burning people to death for some crimes. This is not allowed in Islam and Islam teaches extreme caution and care in the implementation of punishment. Prophet Muhammad –peace be upon him- said, “Avoid punishments by finding excuses.” In another version he is reported to have said, “Avoid punishments are much as you can.” This shows that the spirit of Islam is to avoid punishments as much as possible. It is also important that even those who violate the laws should not be humiliated beyond what is just and fair punishment. 
            There was some discussion about justice and how it is related to human dignity. The rights of women, rights of minorities, concept of freedom, equality and human rights in general were also discussed. In all these areas a great deal of research and work are needed. Each community has to continuously study and we must converse with each other to see how the injustice can be removed and honor and dignity of all humanity are preserved and promoted.
Economic and political injustices, denial of civil rights and liberties, torture of prisoners as well as wars, violence and terrorism were also discussed. We emphasized peaceful resolutions of conflicts and justice towards all people. In my talk on human diversity I emphasized the importance of treating people of all cultures and religions with respect and dignity. We must eliminate cultural domination, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, wars, violence, terrorism, weapons of mass destruction from every place on this earth. We must work to protect the environment and natural resources as well moral and traditional family values in order to preserve human dignity and honor of all human beings. 
(Khutbah at ISOC – Jumada al-Thani 16, 1429/ June 20, 2008)

 

 

 

 

Editor: Akhtar M. Faruqui
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