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How can the contemporary world regain its lost humanity? How can it recover the divine knowledge it once received in the heavens? How can equality and dignity be revived among individuals, recognizing them all as the creation of Allah and His dependents?
The answer: I firmly believe that this can only happen by the world recognizing Allah's eternal message on earth, the message of the Noble Qur'an. This is the only message, which, if truly connected with, can restore to humanity everything it has lost under the influence of contemporary American Western civilization. A civilization that can be described as the most hostile to humanity, surpassing the civilizations of the past—like those of the people of Tubba', Pharaoh, and 'Iram—in violating human rights, including humanity, life, freedom, and dignity.
A Civilization Hostile to Humanity
The modern civilization was built on three fundamental pillars that laid the groundwork for human hostility and the enhancement of the evil-commanding self and conflicts among people. These pillars are: Racism, which glorified the white man at the expense of other humans, Darwinism, which established the principle of natural selection or survival of the fittest, asserting that the world is not suitable for all, given the differing abilities and preparedness of individuals, and Conflict, as a general state for the individual, societies, and international relations, designed to provide cover for the colonial project that underpinned its rise in the modern era, which continues to this day into the third decade of the 21st century.
As a result of this intellectual framework that restricted the movement of Western civilization in its modern formation, it took on the path of colonialism, plundering the world's resources as a systematic plan, assaulting weak colored peoples, and solidifying political dominance and economic monopolies. Then, this civilization proclaims that the model it offers to the world is the only and final one to which humanity can adhere. It declares that no other model should be allowed to exist in this world, which can only accommodate one model: that of the contemporary Western civilization, with all its defects, without modification or change!
The fact that Western civilization is built on these three pillars—racism, Darwinism, and conflict—explains clearly the logic of wars that Europe fought against itself, such as the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and other scattered wars, until Europe expanded its wars outside the continent through the era of Western colonialism, where it declared its new slogan: the right of power and survival of the fittest. This resulted in the world witnessing, between 1945 and 1989, approximately 138 wars, leading to the death of 23 million people. (1)
The Qur'an as Salvation for Humanity
The Qur'an preceded by establishing just principles for human life. These just principles are based on a set of fundamental origins, which eliminate the causes of hostility, manifestations of human conflict, injustice, and all biases and deviations in human relations.
The Qur'an establishes the first principle in these origins: the unity of the identity of all creation. Allah says: “O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women” (Surah An-Nisa, 4:1). There is no distinction among people based on color, race, or gender because their origin is the same soul that Allah created, and from it, all other humans emerged until the end of life on earth. Therefore, no one has the right to boast about lineage, color, gender, or any other superficial differences because the unity of the identity of creation negates all such distinctions.
The second principle, closely related to the first, is the inherent dignity of human beings. Allah says: “And We have certainly honored the children of Adam.” (Surah Al-Isra, 17:70)
This dignity is for all humans, not a privilege for a specific race, ethnicity, or religion.
The unity of the identity of humanity necessitates the unity of human dignity for all creation, without any deficiency or distortion of the full requirements of this dignity. This includes the right to individual recognition, the right to life, the right to choose, the right to freedom, the right to self-determination, and the right to equality.
The third principle concerns the nature of human movement on earth and human composition, which is reflected in the principle of the originality of human diversity. The unity of all human creation does not mean that they are molded into a single gender (such as only males or only females). Rather, there is diversity and difference based on harmony in roles and functions (male and female). Allah says: “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another” (Surah Al-Hujurat, 49:13), or He could have made them of one kind: “And if your Lord had willed, He could have made mankind one community, but they will not cease to differ.” (Surah Hud, 11:118)
The diversity in human nature, as explained by the Qur'an, is meant for mutual acquaintance, which leads to recognizing the value of human diversity. This diversity is the source of the civilizational richness of humanity because molding people into one pattern does not create civilization, nor does it contribute to the development of human life and meeting its needs, as sociologists clearly point out.
The Qur'an considers the diversity and difference in creation as a sign of Allah: “And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colors. Indeed, in that are signs for those of knowledge” (Surah Ar-Rum, 30:22).
In this, the Qur'an greatly honors all that stems from the first human creation, the "single soul," and acknowledges and exalts its status in the world and with Allah.
The fourth principle: freedom. The Qur'an declares that man is free, and the greatest expression of this freedom is in what one believes. There is no coercion in religion in general, or in entering Islam specifically. Allah says: “There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion.” (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:256), “And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed – all of them entirely. Then, [O Muhammad], would you compel the people in order that they become believers?” (Surah Yunus, 10:99), “And say, ‘The truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills – let him believe; and whoever wills – let him disbelieve.’” (Surah Al-Kahf, 18:29)
This means that human freedom is a right granted by Allah, and it should not be violated. This includes freedom of expression, freedom of thought, freedom of belief, and likewise the freedom to choose the civilizational model one wishes to live under in politics, economy, and society. There should be no compulsion in adopting any model or system of values.
The fifth principle is human cooperation. The Qur'an establishes the fundamental principle of cooperation among people. If human diversity does not believe in the principle of cooperation for the betterment of humanity, the alternative would be conflicts and hostilities—as adopted by contemporary Western civilization since its inception, which formed alliances for war. Thus, the Qur'an put forward the principle of cooperation in righteousness as the central meeting point for diverse people, and it explicitly forbade forming alliances or gatherings based on evil, aggression, and sin. Allah says: “And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression.” (Surah Al-Ma'idah, 5:2)
Thus, the Qur'an presents an independent and objective model, which does not rely on human whims, nor does it favor a specific group, race, tribe, or nation. Rather, it advocates for all of humanity, that honored creation, regardless of color, race, gender, or belief.
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