Respect and Humanity in Islam

Almighty Allah created human beings with the ability to think, research, and take on certain responsibilities towards other creations. Mankind’s laborious efforts produced positive developments such as scientific and technological progress, which have continuously improved the quality of human subsistence in this world since the time of Adam (AS). However, negative developments have gone hand-in-hand with positive developments, including wars, armament, ignorance, ethnic problems, discrimination, vandalism, violence and terrorism, etc. Nevertheless, most religious teachings give tidings and hope that there are a few fundamental notions that will aid humankind to achieve a peaceful coexistence, and these include tolerance, mutual respect, love, and faith. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was seen to stand up with respect when he saw a Jewish funeral procession passed by. When he was told that the deceased was a Jew, he replied; “Whenever you see a funeral procession, you should stand up.” In another Hadith he was reported to have said: “Is it not a living being (soul)?” Just as the sanctity of a person’s life in Islam, the rights of the dead are also sacred. As related by Hazrat Aisha (RA), the Prophet (SAW) said: “Do not reproach or abuse dead persons, for they are facing the consequences of what they had done in this world.” With this Hadith, the bonds between individuals in the society are aimed to be strengthened, as none is permitted to talk bad of a member of another’s family.
By using insulting expressions towards a deceased will be both hurtful for his soul and his grieving family members, even if one apologizes to the family members, the opportunity to reconcile with the deceased member would be forever lost. Along with this, the Quran commands the Muslims not to take others’ beliefs and values lightly: And do not (O believers) revile the things or beings that they have, apart from God, deified and invoke, lest (if you do so) they attempt to revile God out of spite, and in ignorance. Thus have We made their deeds seem fair to every people; then to their (true) Lord is the return of all of them, and He will make them understand what they were doing (and call them to account for it). With this verse, the Qur’an enjoins those peoples’ religious and ethical values to be under protection. If any individual longs others to respect and adopt his values, he firstly needs to be respectful towards the values of others around him. The path to effective dialogue leads from having an understanding and respectful attitude towards others feelings, value systems and perceptions; respect is always reciprocal. If one is accused with untruthful words, he will be forced to be disrespectful and the doors will hence be slammed on dialogue; the preciousness of the opinions to be exchanged will become insignificant. This principle is not only important amidst people sharing a community, but a code of life valid universally.
(The author is an Assistant Professor at J&K Higher Education Department. Views are his own)