Freedom; The First Result of Human Dignity
This is according to Mehdi Mehrizi, a university professor, who made the remarks at a local conference. Here are excerpts from his speech:
When we study the Qur'an, we see that God created everything with His own dignity. God is Noble and He makes noble things. The Qur'an is the main source of dignity.
The two following verses point to the issue of dignity and nobility:
“We have honored the children of Adam and carried them on both land and sea. We have provided them with good things and greatly preferred them above much of Our creation.” (Surah Al-Isra', verse 70)
“People, We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that you might know one another. The noblest of you before Allah is the most righteous of you. Allah is the Knower, the Aware.” (Surah Al-Hujurat, verse 13)
When we call a creature noble, we should show why it is noble. Some scholars disagree about whether humans have been bestowed dignity by God or they have to earn it gradually.
Human dignity is an inherent quality
I think the Qur'an says that human dignity is an inherent quality. Every human has dignity because of their connection to God, no matter what they believe or do. But they can make their dignity more complete with other things.
The Qur'an says that God treats humans in a special way. He respects their abilities and lets them ask questions. This is a unique quality that humans have. They can ask questions even about God and His commands.
The Qur'an values human thinking and understanding. Humans have dignity because they have been created by God Almighty and can improve this when they do good things.
The bad qualities of humans, like ignorance and cruelty, are not part of their nature. The Qur'an mentions them to warn us. We all make mistakes and God wants us to avoid them.
I think human dignity is deeper than human rights. Human dignity is more than rights. It is a balance that includes questioning and rights, but also responsibility and commitment. Freedom is the first result of human dignity because it shows that humans are free to think and choose.
