HONOR AND DIGNITY OF HUMAN IN ISLAM
Islam is the religion that derives the source and origin of dignity from
Allah Almighty. Absolute honor and dignity belong to Allah Almighty and all
other dignities that exist are driven from Him. Islam depicts man as vicegerent
of Allah Almighty on earth. Every mundane component has been created to
facilitate the accomplishment of man's aristocratic mission of Vicegerency.
When Allah Almighty created Man (Adam), angels, the most exalted and impeccable
creatures, were asked to witness the divine act of creation and then after
completing this creation, Allah Almighty asked them to prostrate themselves
before Man (Adam), that was, to prostrate to Allah Almighty, for there is no
prostration except to Allah Almighty alone and to admit thereby the merit and
wisdom of Allah Almighty's creation, and to give respect to Man and his
empirical capabilities as the crown of Allah Almighty's invention.
In the Glorious Quran Allah Almighty mentioned this dramatic occurrence
as;
And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels,
"Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority." They
said, "Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds
blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?" Allah said,
"Indeed, I know that which you do not know." And He taught Adam the
names - all of them. Then He showed them to the angels and said, "Inform
Me of the names of these, if you are truthful." They said, "Exalted
are You; we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You
who is the Knowing, the Wise." He said, "O Adam, inform them of their
names." And when he had informed them of their names, He said, "Did I
not tell you that I know the unseen [aspects] of the heavens and the earth? And
I know what you reveal and what you have concealed." And [mention] when We
said to the angels, "Prostrate before Adam"; so they prostrated,
except for Iblees. He refused and was arrogant and became of the disbelievers.
(Surah Al-Baqarah, 30-34).
Hence, the main source of dignity is Allah Almighty and is the complete source of honor just as
He is the source of light:
وَمَن لَّمۡ يَجۡعَلِ ٱللَّهُ لَهُۥ نُورٗا فَمَا لَهُۥ مِن نُّورٍ
And he to whom Allah has not granted
light - for him, there is no light. (Surah An-Nur, 40).
And in another
verse, Allah Almighty mentioned that dignity only belongs to Him but it does
not mean no man can achieve it; rather, it means that all honor (izzaah)
belongs to Allah Almighty as the main source, and then He spread it to Man. It
is a precious gift to Man from Allah Almighty. Man does not own it but gains
from Allah Almighty. Then the verse describes it as;
مَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ ٱلۡعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ ٱلۡعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًاۚ إِلَيۡهِ
يَصۡعَدُ ٱلۡكَلِمُ ٱلطَّيِّبُ وَٱلۡعَمَلُ ٱلصَّٰلِحُ يَرۡفَعُهُۥۚ
Whoever desires honor [through power]
- then to Allah belongs all honor. To Him ascends good speech, and righteous
work raises it. (Surah Fatir, 10).
Islam is the
guidance for man; it is meant for him. Man in turn is a follower of Islam. As
man's entitlement, Islam through the Glorious Quran invites man to a righteous
path by discovering the laws of nature and the universe's existence. Though
every living or nonliving things creature from large mountains to the smallest
insect or plant is made by Allah Almighty, no one has the book of Guidance,
intellectual mindset except Man. We are all distinguished from birth. Allah
Almighty has provided us some extent of honor as our capital.
وَلَقَدۡ كَرَّمۡنَا بَنِيٓ ءَادَمَ وَحَمَلۡنَٰهُمۡ فِي ٱلۡبَرِّ وَٱلۡبَحۡرِ وَرَزَقۡنَٰهُم مِّنَ ٱلطَّيِّبَٰتِ وَفَضَّلۡنَٰهُمۡ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٖ
مِّمَّنۡ خَلَقۡنَا تَفۡضِيلٗا
And We have certainly honored the
children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of
the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with
[definite] preference. (Surah Al-Isra, 70)
The need is to make
use of our capital and add to it. If we lose it, then this would be a great
loss. We are to cherish, safeguard, and put to it. A majestic or dignified
person deals others with majestically, and never embarrasses them. Dignified
people never use abusive words and a strong believer comes down to dishonor.