Over the past two centuries, Islamic jurisprudence and thought have not kept pace with the human rights movement, in contrast to the significant developments witnessed in the Western experience in terms of ideas, institutions, and implementation. Additionally, the devaluation of human worth and rights in most Islamic societies has cast a dark shadow on the true contributions of Islam regarding the value and rights of humanity. This stark contradiction has led many to believe that there is a diminishing of the Islamic knowledge system's perspective on humanity.
The value of man within a knowledge system is linked to that system’s view of the human self and the rights guaranteed to it, such as the right to life, freedom, equality, justice, dignity, security, and access to means of living.
Stripping the human self of its value weakens human existence and negates the divine succession of humans on earth. One of the greatest affronts to human value is forcing individuals to abandon their spiritual dimensions and replacing them with material objects. Such efforts place man in a narrow pit, close his lofty heavenly worldview, and equate his value with his benefit. This confines man presence to the boundaries of pleasure and benefit, both of which "objectify" man, reducing him to mere material entities.
Stripping the Human Self of Its Value: A Weakening of Human Existence and a Negation of Divine Succession
Value is closely related to the concept of essence; it is what gives something its importance and status. In the human domain, it often associates with what is non-material and intangible, transcending mere physical matter. On the other hand, material things are typically associated with consumption, temporality, sensory experience, and are focused on satisfaction, pleasure, and benefit.
This is perhaps what the psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl referred to in his book "Man's Search for Meaning," where he emphasized that materialism views man from the perspective of utility rather than dignity-based value. He stated, "Today's society is characterized by an achievement orientation, thus it idolizes the successful and the happy, especially the young, and practically ignores the value of all those who are different. This obliterates the crucial difference between being valuable in terms of dignity and being valuable in terms of utility. Confusing human dignity with mere utility stems from conceptual confusion, which can, in turn, be traced back to contemporary nihilism (1)."
This essential point highlighted by Frankl is what has led the Western knowledge system to understand and justify what it called "euthanasia," as practiced by Nazi Germany (2). This is not much different in essence from the euthanasia permitted by some countries for those with chronic illnesses to end their lives.
Technology and Humanity
The value of the human being under the influence of technology, especially digital technology, has seen a significant decline. This technology has become a philosophical question as it has reshaped humanity, but according to a different logic that does not regard the human being as valuable in itself. Instead, it views the human being from a single dimension, as philosopher Herbert Marcuse pointed out in his book "One-Dimensional Man." This perspective diminishes the value of the human being, as technology has encroached upon the internal aspects of human life, confronting the spiritual dimension and infiltrating various activities and facets of life. Consequently, technology has come to appear as an independent entity over humans, even as a dominating entity over them.
Technology's Significant Role in Undermining the Value of Contemporary Human Beings and Their Alienation in This World
Technology has transformed into a prison for humans, one from which they cannot escape or break free. Humans have shifted from being masters of the universe to being subjugated to the logic of the iron-hearted machine. Technology has bestowed no value upon humans; according to philosopher Martin Heidegger, technology has ceased to be a mere tool but has become a means of understanding the world. It has evolved beyond human control, and now humans see the world only through its lens. Consequently, technology has obscured humans from themselves and the world, leading to a devaluation of human worth.
Western thinkers argue that technology plays a significant role in diminishing the value of contemporary humans and is responsible for their "objectification" and alienation in this world. This objectification nullifies the dignity bestowed upon humans by God, while their alienation negates their role as stewards of the earth. Hence, human presence in the world has contracted in favour of machines, and human autonomy has declined due to increasing dependence on technology. These changes have altered human status and their relationship with the universe and nature. The human of the past has vanished, signifying a retreat of the unique value humans once enjoyed as independent beings and masters of the universe.
Dr. Abdelwahab Elmessiri discussed how materialistic thinking views nature as preceding humans, thus imposing human subjection to natural laws and determinism. However, the religious faith perspective asserts that although nature may precede in creation, humans hold superiority through divine honour. Therefore, materialist philosophy is hostile to humans by equating them with nature, reducing them to mere objects and material entities.
Divine Honour
The Islamic perspective asserts that humans are masters of the universe, honoured by the divine breath of the Creator. Humans are inherently dignified, as many Quranic verses and prophetic traditions affirm. In the interpretation of "The Shades of the Quran" regarding the verse (And We have certainly honoured the children of Adam) (Quran 17:70), it is stated that God has honoured this human creature over many of His creations. He honoured them by creating them in this particular form and nature, combining clay and the divine breath, thus uniting earth and heaven within this being.
Humanity in the Islamic Vision: Masters of the Universe Honoured by the Divine Breath
God honoured humans with faculties deposited within them by their nature, deserving them to be successors on Earth. Humans change and innovate, produce and create, combine and analyze, and attain the designated perfection of life.
God also honoured humans by harnessing cosmic forces for them on Earth and providing them with the aid of cosmic forces in the planets and celestial bodies. This honour was manifested in the magnificent reception given to human existence, the procession in which angels prostrated, and the proclamation of the Creator's glory. All this was a demonstration of the honour bestowed upon humans, declared entirely in His book, the Quran.
In the Prophet Muhammad's application of individual value, he halted when a Jewish funeral procession passed by. When his companions expressed surprise, he said to them, "Is it not a soul?" (3) (Hadith)
Ibn Khaldun, in his "Muqaddimah," discusses the value accorded to humans: "By nature, humans are leaders, by virtue of the viceregency for which they were created."
In his book "From the Flawed Human to the Abundant Human," philosopher Taha Abderrahman criticizes the fragmentation of human faculties, considering it a weakening of human worth. According to Abderrahman, reducing human value to that of a machine, commodity, or information undermines the essence of human spirituality, which harbours secrets and existence. Lowering human value by turning them into something resembling a machine, commodity, or data diminishes the essence of human existence and constrains it.
Islam presents another perspective on human worth. Abderrahman states, "Human renewal occurs by transitioning from the state of a machine to the state of a sign, from being a commodity to being a gift, and from being information to being an inspiration - that is, innate intuition." In this way, the elements and meanings of existence integrate within humans, and they are honoured and valued.
-------------------------------------------------------------
- Nihilism: A philosophy that asserts that existence, particularly human existence, whether in the past or present, has no meaning, purpose, comprehensible truth, or inherent value.
- Euthanasia in Nazi Germany: This refers to the killing of disabled individuals, chronic patients, and mentally ill persons, a policy implemented by the Nazis under the pretext that these individuals were useless. It was a program involving doctors, leading to the deaths of over 200,000 disabled people between 1941 and 1945. The slogan used was "These do not deserve to live."
- Sahih al-Bukhar
Read the Article in Arabic
