In the last two centuries, Islamic jurisprudence and thought have not kept pace with the human rights movement compared to the significant development witnessed in Western ideas, institutions, and applications. The disregard for human value and rights in most Muslim societies has cast a dark shadow over the reality of Islam's contributions to humanity as a value and as rights. This stark contradiction has led many to believe that the Islamic epistemological framework is dwarfed in its approach to humanity.
Human value within any epistemological framework is tied to how that framework views the human self and the rights guaranteed to it, such as the right to life, freedom, equality, justice, dignity, security, and access to livelihood.
What has been defined as human independence is prominently distinguished as actual existence, marking the elimination of divine exception for the first time on Earth. However, one of the greatest violations of human value is forcing humanity into a position far removed from its spiritual radiance and allowing material things to take its place. Such endeavors ground humanity on Earth and restrict its universal essence, reducing its attributes to mere partiality. They associate belonging with its utility and limit presence to being materialistic.
Stripping Human Selfhood of Its Value: A Weakening of Human Existence and the Erasure of Divine Stewardship
Value closely relates to the concept of essence—it gives importance and status to something. In the human domain, it often aligns with the non-material and transcendent. On the other hand, material value is tied to what is consumable, temporary, sensory, and oriented toward satisfaction and utility.
This concept was pointed out by psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl in his book Man's Search for Meaning, where he emphasized that materialism views humans from the lens of utility rather than value grounded in dignity. He states, “Today’s society is marked by an achievement orientation, thus idolizing the successful and the happy, particularly the young, while effectively ignoring the value of all who do not fit this mold. This obscures the critical distinction between being valuable in terms of dignity and being valuable in terms of utility. The confusion between human dignity and mere utility arises from conceptual disarray, which can be traced to contemporary nihilism. (1)”
Frankl’s insights highlight a critical issue that led the Western epistemological framework to justify practices like "euthanasia," first implemented by Nazi Germany (2), and later permitted by some countries for patients with chronic illnesses as a means of ending their lives.
Technology and Humanity
The value of humans has significantly declined in the age of technology, particularly the digital age. Technology has become a philosophical question as it reshapes humanity through a lens that does not see humans as valuable in themselves. Instead, as Herbert Marcuse pointed out in his book One-Dimensional Man, it views humanity from a singular dimension, undermining its value. Technology has encroached on human inner dimensions, opposing spiritual aspects and infiltrating life’s various facets. Consequently, technology has become an independent entity dominating humanity.
Technology's Significant Role in Undermining the Value of Modern Humanity and Its Alienation in the World
Technology has thus become a prison for humans, preventing them from separating themselves from it. Humans have shifted from being masters of the universe to subjugated by the iron-hearted logic of machines. According to philosopher Martin Heidegger, technology is no longer a tool but a means of understanding the world. It has evolved beyond human control, restricting human perception of the world to its framework, thus alienating humans from themselves and the universe, diminishing their value.
Technology, as some Western thinkers suggest, plays a significant role in diminishing the value of modern humanity and is responsible for the "objectification" and alienation of humans in this world. The "objectification" of humans erases their dignity bestowed by Allah, while alienation undermines their role as divine stewards on Earth. Consequently, the human presence in the world has diminished in favor of machines. Human autonomy has eroded due to heavy reliance on technology, leading to transformations that have altered humanity's position and relationship with the universe and nature. The independent human being of the past has vanished, marking the loss of the unique value that once defined humanity as an autonomous entity and master of the universe.
Dr. Abdelwahab Elmessiri discusses how materialistic thought prioritizes nature over humanity, forcing humans to submit to the deterministic laws of nature. In contrast, the religious faith-based perspective asserts that while nature may have preceded humanity in creation, humanity holds precedence through divine honor. Hence, materialist philosophy is inherently hostile to humanity, equating humans with nature, reducing them to mere objects, and confining their existence to the material realm.
The Islamic Perspective
Islam presents a different approach to human value. The Islamic worldview holds that humans are masters of the universe and are honored because Allah breathed His spirit into them. Numerous Quranic verses and Prophetic traditions affirm this truth. In the interpretation of Sayyid Qutb's In the Shade of the Quran, the verse “And We have certainly honored the children of Adam” (Al-Isra: 70) is explained that Allah honored this human creature above many of His creations. He honored him in his creation with a nature that combines clay and a divine breath, merging earth and heaven.
In the Islamic Perspective, Humanity Is the Master of the Universe and Honored by the Creator’s Breath of His Spirit
Allah also honored him with inherent capacities that qualified him for stewardship on Earth, enabling him to create, innovate, build, and seek perfection in life.
Furthermore, Allah honored him by subjecting the forces of the universe for his benefit and welcoming him with grandeur into existence. The angels prostrated for him, and Allah proclaimed this honor in His eternal Book.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) exemplified this value in his practices. When a Jewish funeral passed by, he stood in respect. When his companions expressed surprise, he said, “Is it not a soul?” (3)
Ibn Khaldun, in his Muqaddimah, also affirms this value: “Man is inherently a leader by nature, due to the divine mandate of stewardship for which he was created.”
In From the Fragmented Human to the Perfect Human, philosopher Taha Abdulrahman critiques the segmentation of human faculties, considering it a devaluation of humanity as it nullifies the revival of the human spirit, the repository of existence and secrets. Abdulrahman asserts that lowering human value by turning humans into machines, commodities, or mere data undermines their existence. Machines are characterized by abstraction and segmentation, commodities are defined by price and profit, and data rely on numbers and speculation. This diminishes and narrows human existence.
As for Islam, it offers a different perspective on the value of humanity. As Abdul Rahman states: "Renewing humanity is achieved by transitioning it from the state of being a machine to the state of being a sign (of Allah), from the state of being a commodity to the state of being a gift, and from the state of being mere information to the state of being an inspiration—that is, innate nature (fitrah)." Through this, the elements of existence and their meanings are harmonized within humanity, granting it honor and value.
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(1) Nihilism: A philosophy that views existence—particularly human existence in the past or present—as devoid of meaning, purpose, comprehensible truth, or intrinsic value.
(2) Euthanasia in Nazi Germany refers to the killing of individuals with disabilities, chronic illnesses, and mental disorders. The Nazis implemented this policy under the pretext that such individuals were unproductive, executing over 200,000 people with disabilities between 1941 and 1945. Physicians participated in this program, and the slogan used was, “These people are not worthy of life.”
(3) Sahih al-Bukhari.
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