Human values in Islam and Western Philosophy

The importance of moral values

Man is considered a moral being; God Almighty honored him and preferred him over all other creatures, and therefore the need for human values was urgent, and this is what this article tries to explain.

Human values in Islam and Western Philosophy

Human Values in Islam

Ethics are the inner form of Man, which corresponds to his outward form, and hence the importance of morality in human life, considering that it represents the essence of the divine creation associated with the breath of the supreme spirit with which he became a human being, following the words of God Almighty: 'And (remember) when your Lord said to the angels: "I am going to create a man (Adam) from dried (sounding) clay of altered mud. So, when I have fashioned him entirely and breathed into him (Adam) the soul I created for him, then fall (you) down prostrating yourselves unto him.[15:28-29].

Therefore, moral values ​​were and still are the focus of attention of all nations and peoples, despite their different sects and the diversity of their denominations until it was said: "Either the twenty-first century is a moral century, or it is not." (Taha Abd al-Rahman,2013).

Human Values in Western Philosophy

Thus, Philosophers of the Renaissance - and with them, Enlightenment philosophers - were not against religion, as may be understood from some of their words, but were against the "distorted" religion; Most of their intellectual conflict was with the church, which monopolizes the interpretation of the Bible, and then the philosophers - since Spinoza, Descartes, Kant, and others - sought a new reading of religious texts, aimed at removing the illusion from them, and interpreting them by the scientific and intellectual developments that Europe knew during the era Renaissance.

The slogans of the French Revolution (freedom, equality, fraternity) represented this double desire, described in the revolution against distorted religion on the one hand while continuing to adhere to the moral values ​​that represent the essence of faith on the other hand; This is evidenced by the fact that a number of the great philosophers of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment came from a religious background, and a not small number of them developed their research within churches and monasteries; Some of them had pleaded for religion, and desperately defended it.

The significance of moral principles in our time

The era in which we live is considered one of the eras most concerned with the issue of moral values, whether at the level of theorizing and branching or the level of institutionalization and legalization endeavors. 

Therefore, the areas of moral values ​​have multiplied and increased in quantity and quality.

In addition to the moral values ​​inherited from ancient human civilizations, there was a need for new moral values; It was significantly associated with the Industrial Revolution and the problems it resulted in various fields and levels, and with the media and communication revolution, whose repercussions and turmoil we are still experiencing.

Perhaps the value of Al-Amânah (trusteeship, honesty, and responsibility) is the essential value that is needed in our time - as well as the need for it in all ages - due to the state of humankind after it possessed the means of knowledge and power, which made it reach a stage of feeling dispensation and strength; The thing that made the entire existence at the mercy of this being "Superman" which some philosophers of power called for, such as Nietzsche and others.

The Value of Al-Amânah

The value of Trust and Honesty

1: The concept of Al-Amânah

The man came to this world under a contract of trust between him and the Creator - the Blessed and Exalted - and a covenant from his side to bear the faith from which the heavens, the earth, and the mountains be afraid of it; God Almighty said: 'Truly, We did offer Al-Amânah (the trust or moral responsibility or honesty and all the duties which Allâh has ordained) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and were afraid of it (i.e., fearful of Allâh's Torment). But the man took it.[33: 72].

Despite the different interpretations of the meaning of Al-Amânah, it is possible to trace these various meanings to a few origins; So; these multiple sayings become examples and models of Al-Amânah and not Al-Amânah in itself. (Ibnu Ashur, 1984).

In addition to the nature of Al-Amânah that man accepted to bear, the event indicates the high status of this creature capable of carrying what these marvelous beings have failed to achieve. 

So whether what is meant by Al-Amânah is faith and monotheism, or reason, or what man is entrusted with from deposits, or God's succession on earth, or other meanings that scholars have investigated, that act of man in accepting to bear the trust indicates that this being has instinctive preparations Among the innate talents that enable him to do this work, and what qualifies him to undertake this heavy task. (Taha Abd al-Rahman,2014).

2: Pests that hinder Al-Amânah

Man's success in this position of trust depends on his ability to be freed from two prominent and dangerous evils, namely ignorance and injustice, by the Almighty is saying: 'Verily, he was unjust (to himself) and ignorant (of its results).'[33: 72].

The meaning of "he was unjust and ignorant" is that he failed to fulfill the right of what he bore by negligence: some of it deliberately, which is expressed by describing wrongdoing, and some of it is negligence in taking the reasons for the fulfillment, which is represented by being ignorant.

Thus, the meaning is correct that a person is exposed in his trusteeship and responsibility(Al-Amânah) to two significant evils, namely ignorance and injustice; Hence, Man has always needed support from outside to direct his course and protect him from deviation, and this is what the heavenly messages have done throughout humankind, because Man did not err in bearing the trust and responsibility, but rather accepted something that was offered to him; And if the heavens, the earth, and the mountains have looked at their weakness and abstained, then Man has looked at the side of the one who is obligated and said the depositor is a knowledgeable and capable person who does not present the trust except to those who deserve it.

And if the human being, with the nature that God created him with - as a sane, accessible, and willing creature - is exposed to injustice and ignorance, then God Almighty has taught him how to avoid that, by the saying of the Highest:' And He taught Adam all the names (of everything)' [2: 31].

Thus, all the doubts the angels had regarding the ability of this creature to bear the trust were removed. 

Their fears about the fate of the earth and the animals that lived on it were dispelled, so they apologized for what they had done, saying: "Glory be to You, we do not know what you have taught us. Verily, it is You, the All-Knower, the All-Wise." [2: 32] "And if it were not for this appreciation, the speech would not have been healed because the human being did not carry the moral responsibility(Al-Amânah) by choice, but instead, he was instinctive to bear it." (Ibnu Ashur, 1984).

This means that failure to seek knowledge inevitably leads to a waste of trust, regardless of the person's belief, faith, and sincerity.

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