Factors for Honoring Humankind in the Holy Quran

Abstract

Human dignity in Islam is one of the fundamental and essential principles, which, according to the verses of the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him), is granted to all human beings regardless of race, gender, religion, or nationality. This principle is founded on respect for the value and status of human beings and recognizes all humans as possessing inherent rights. The factors for honoring humankind in the Holy Qur’an include vicegerency and succession, knowledge and learning, free will, superiority over other creatures, intellect, the power of expression and communication, and self-awareness. This study examines the factors that honor humankind as described in the Holy Qur’an, demonstrating that this divine religion assigns the highest values to human beings. The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the virtue and exalted status of humankind in the Qur’an and to analyze the blessed Qur’anic verses concerning human dignity. The research method is library-based, utilizing personal books and online resources to study and analyze the concept of dignity; subsequently, the relevant points and materials were collected. The findings indicate that humankind is honored because the Creator has exalted and dignified them with a special honor — a privilege unique to humans from the perspective of the Holy Qur’an, originating from the divine spirit breathed into their being, which compelled the angels to prostrate before them. The path to attaining this rank of dignity is through piety: the greater one’s piety, the greater their share of divine honor. Such a person will benefit not only from heavenly rewards but also from worldly blessings and possesses such a noble essence that God has created other creatures for their sake.