ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE ON

HUMAN PERSON
WEEK 3
 Learning Intent
• At the end of Week 3, the students can
demonstrate better understanding of the
human person in Islam by:
– Discussing the human person and maturity in
relation to one’s vocation in Islamic context; and
– Reflecting on the Khalifah (Stewardship/rulership)
of a person in human history.
 Concept Notes
• What is so special of the status that God
designated for human beings?
 Concept Notes
• That is human being as Khalifah (human
vicegerent). God said:
• “Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: I am
about to create man from clay: When I have
fashioned him (in due proportion) and
breathed into him My spirit.” (Qur’an 38:
71:72)
• “And when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am
about to place a viceroy in the earth, they said:
Wilt Thou place therein one who will do harm
therein and will shed blood, while we, we hymn
Thy praise and sanctify Thee? He said: Surely I
know that which ye know not. And he taught
Adam all the names then showed them to the
angels, saying: Inform me of the names of these,
if ye are truthful. They said: Be glorified! We have
no knowledge saving that which Thou has taught
us….” (Q2: 30-38)
 Institution of Khalifah
Allah created Adam as Khalifah

• According to angels: • Allah taught Adam

(human) the names:
• Khalifa will do KNOWLEDGE
harm/mischief
• Asked angels to prostrate
• Shed blood (sujud) to Adam:
PRIVILEGE given to Adam

• Caused disobedience/ arrogance of

Iblis
• Khalifah has a variety of meanings and can
indicate a successor, substitute or deputy.
• Often it is understood as someone who is
given the authority and the means to rule in
someone else’s stead (Murata and Chittick,
2015 cited in Muzykina, 2017)
 II. Checking for understanding
• A. Individual Work
• Instructions: After reading the article: Islamic
perspective on human being: Reviving old beliefs in
the modern context, supply and continue the phrases
below of what you see, think or feel about human
being as portrayed from the article. Then share it with
us in the breakout room during our synchronous class
meeting.
• What I see…
• What I think….
• What I feel…
 III. Analysis
• Instructions: Read and answer the questions.
• What areas of responsibility where human has
the most control over the subject in fulfilling
the role of Khalifah?
• What components in Islamic perspective or
view that can facilitate in understanding the
role of human being as Khalifah?
 Critical issue
• What it means to be human?
• The absence of a clear understanding of this
complicated question causes different problems,
including a humanitarian catastrophe due to the
emergence of extremist religious organizations that
promote the dehumanized ideology and ―counterfeit
the Islamic understanding of who can be considered
human and thus worthy to live.
• This has become a serious threat to Islam itself and
needs to be combated with concepts founded in the
religion itself.
 Role of worldview
• WORLDVIEW serves as a tool to format people‘s
psychology, spiritual and intellectual lives,
principled actions and deeds.
• Basic concepts that constitute a worldview serve
as the source from which values, beliefs, actions
and behaviours come up (Dybdahl 2007, 101).
• For the Muslim worldview, such structures are
embodied in the Qur‘an and the Sunnah, which
deeply influenced it and gave birth to its main
components.
 Main components of Muslim
Worldview
• 1) Monotheism (tawhid). There is only one
God and no any other god or thing can be
compared or worshiped.
• ‘There is nothing like Him, and He [Allah]
alone is All-Hearing, All-Seeing‘ (Qur‘an
42:11).
 Main components of Muslim
Worldview
• 2) Divinely granted vicegerency (khalīfah). This
implies the ability to act in the world responsibly,
while bestowing an honoured position on human
beings.
• This position entails the right to use freedom of
choice in making decisions, but also includes
duties, responsibilities and accountability for our
actions on this earth and in the hereafter:
• “Behold thy Lord said to the angels: ―I will create
a vicegerent on earth” (Qur‘an 2:30).
• 3) Freedom (al-huriya). Islam considers
freedom to be a natural right of the human
being and elevates freedom to such a level
that the free thought becomes the proper way
of recognizing God‘s existence:
• “There is no compulsion in religion. True
guidance has been made clearly distinct from
error‘ (Qur‘an 2:256).
 TYPES OF FREEDOM
• Subjective personal freedom is the one that
brings together conscience and the
individual‘s convictions, doctrinal beliefs, and
worldview.
• Objective freedom deals with the freedom to
act within the social sphere. The community
determines boundaries and controls; its goal
should be the proper balance between
individual rights and freedoms.
• 4) Justice (‘adl). The Islamic worldview
indicates that justice means placing things in
their rightful place. Justice is the central goal
of all human actions and interactions on
different levels, e.g., material, spiritual,
economic, social, and political: “Allah
commands doing justice, doing good to
others” (Qur‘an 16:90).
• 5) Human life (nafs). Human life is considered
as a serious, meaningful and important
element of Islamic worldview:
• “If anyone slew a person unless it be for
murder or for spreading mischief in the land it
would be as if he slew the whole people: and
if anyone saved a life it would be as if he saved
the life of the whole people” (Qur‘an 5:32).
• Human life occupies an important place
among priorities and high objectives of the
Law (sharia’) and follows immediately after
religion (dīn), thus pointing out its essential
significance in Muslim worldview.
 Notion of Khalīfah
• The concept of human vicegerency (khalīfah)
is one of the core ideas of Islamic
anthropology. It streams out of the lordship of
Allah, the very idea of Islam as the Kingdom of
God on earth, when the supreme power, will,
law, and ordinances are prerogatives of the
Sovereign Lord (Al-Attas 2014, 55-56).
 Notion of Khalīfah
• Under His power and control are all particles
of the Universe;
• “whatever is on the heavens and earth,‘
including people who are the created beings,
is the result of God‘s artistic work.
• The story of man‘s creation is described in
different parts of the Qur‘an (2:30; 15:26, 28-
29, 33; 38:71-72) and
• has many parallels with the narrative in other
monotheistic religions, such as Judaism and
Christianity, where anthropological discourse
presents man as the culmination of the
creative power of Almighty God.
• But in contrast to the earlier religious traditions, the
Holy Scripture of Islam does not contain any
mentioning of human creation in the image of God as
occurs in Genesis 1:26-28.
• At the same time we cannot ignore the prophetic
tradition that contains a well-known hadith mentioned
in Al-Bukhaari (6227) and Muslim (2841), which refers
to the narration from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet
said, ‗Allah created Adam in His ṣūra.‘ Instead of
translating the word ‗ṣūra’ as ‗image‘, we would
rather use ‗form‘ to carry out the idea of the
fundamental difference between human beings and
other creatures.
• That difference is easily recognized if we
considered the relations of Adam—and by
extension, any and every person, whether male
or female—to the divine attributes in the typical
Sufi way which states that all divine attributes are
present and manifested in man under certain
circumstances (Eccel 1988; Nicholson 2007;
Baldick 2012).
• At the same time, the Quranic narrative of man‘s
creation brings in the idea of an ambivalent
position for human beings.
• On the one hand, the ontological status of man
does not differ from the status of the rest of the
world, which was also created by Allah.
• However, the Qur‘an does speak of Adam's
superiority over other creatures, achieved
because of his special epistemological status. The
knowledge of names makes the first man higher
than angels and indicates his superior position, as
narrated in surah al-Bakara 2:28-31.
 Teaching Adam the Names
• The synthetic epistemological function of man‘s intellect
helped him to know God in ways the angels could not, but
also positioned humans apart from other created beings,
distinguishing Islamic anthropology.
• Teaching Adam the names God introduced several
important ideas about the nature of God-man
relationships.
• First of all, each name designates God‘s reality. By learning
the names, human beings learned a double lesson: the
characteristics and qualities of God, for to Him ‗belong the
most beautiful names‘ (Qur‘an 7:180), and the qualities and
essence of the things God created.
• Secondly, when God taught Adam the names, He gave
man power over the named things.
• In all monotheistic (and polytheistic) traditions naming
delivers a deep, profound meaning of bestowing
certain characteristics on and obtaining power over the
named object (Alia 2009; Mandel 2007; Lockyer 2000;
Merrill 1971).
• As for God, He knows all things, even those that He has
not yet created and through this knowledge God
controls the whole universe. When God taught Adam
the names, He gave man a share of this ability.
• Thirdly, the lesson of teaching names also points out
that without motivation no power can be exercised.
• God‘s motivation for creating intertwines with His
power for bringing things into existence by a simple
utterance of ‗Be!‘ We can see a parallel that human
beings function in the same way, following their desire
to bring something near or get rid of it completely.
• Teaching Adam names of all things was not a
small matter to God, but a significant and
fundamental moment in human history.
• The act was a milestone to prove that everything
on the earth exists to be ruled by man.
• The Qur‘an refers to human power by pointing
out that creatures are subject to people: ‗Have
you not seen that God has subjected to you
whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth?‘
(Qur‘an 31:20).
• But according to this and other verses, God Himself has
established this subjection (Qur‘an 22:65; 14:32-34)
and did it purposefully and exclusively for the human
person.
• While all things in the universe tend to praise and
worship God, because in subordination to Allah‘s will
and law they are muslimūn (Qur‘an 3:83, 24:41),
• jinns and humans are endowed with the prerogative of
worshipping God (Qur‘an 51:56),
• only humans were originally intended to be khalīfah
(Qur‘an 2:30).
 Notion of Khalīfah
• The Arabic word khalīfah has a variety of meanings:
• ‗successor
• ‗substitute
• ‗deputy
• Often it is understood as someone who is given the
authority and the means to rule in someone else‘s
stead (Murata and Chittick 2015, 110).
• And since the whole universe belongs to Allah and is in
His control and jurisdiction (Qur‘an 3:105), the
replacement function is allotted to humans only
partially, even considering their superior position
among the rest of creation.
 Challenge to human being
• What was delegated to human beings to
manage on their own?
• What parts of the universal creation did they
succeed in controlling and exercising their
ruling power?
 Areas of human control/
RESPONSIBILITY
• Islam, with its underlying position on the
interconnectedness of all things and their
organic relation through the ever-present
spirit of Qur‘anic revelation (Sardar 2005,
209), offers its own description and
interpretation of human beings, thus
contributing to satisfying contemporary needs
and reality.
 1. Inner self & Personality (NAFS)
• The first area placed under human control, is
their inner self and personality, their nafs.
• Human beings were supposed to make
themselves busy with purifying their souls, thus
obtaining bliss: ‘Consider the human self, and
how it is formed in accordance with What it is
meant to be and how it is imbued with moral
failings As well as with consciousness of God! To a
happy state shall indeed attain he Who causes
this [self] to grow in purity’ (Qur’an 91:7-9)
• However, the current reality shows that God's
vicegerent is either not able to handle this
task or does it on the edge of failure. Finding
harmony with oneself is the most difficult task
for the modern person, in spite of numerous
attempts made, assisted by aids invented.
 2. Interpersonal relationships
• The second area relates to interpersonal relationships and
deals with the creation of a perfect human society:
• ‘You are the best nation produced [as an example] for
mankind. You enjoin what is right And forbid what is
wrong and believe in Allah’ (Qur’an 3:110).
• The evolution of religious history was to be the creation of
a human community in which racial, ethnic, social and
other differences would disappear.
• That was the ultimate goal for the Islamic society, ummah.
• But in reality, even Muslim majority countries have deep,
on-going social, as well as religious, conflicts thriving within
them. Again we see how human beings are failing in this
field.
 3. Relationship with environment
• The third area of the vicegerency relates to the relationship
with the environment.
• Being created from soil, man was placed on the earth
(Qur‘an 11:61) and endowed with all necessary benefits
that under reasonable management were to lead to
wellbeing:
• ‘It is He who sends down rain from the sky; from it is drink
and from it is foliage in which you pasture [animals]. He
causes to grow for you thereby the crops, olives, palm
trees, grapevines, and from all the fruits. Indeed in that is a
sign for a people who give thought. And He has subjected
for you the night and day and the sun and moon, and the
stars are subjected by His command. Indeed in that are
signs for a people who reason’ (Qur’an 16:10-12)
• However, the current situation with natural
resources, the condition of the environment,
and the variety of natural disasters, often
caused by human activities, reaffirm the fact
that human beings, as vicegerents of Allah on
earth, cannot cope with the mission entrusted
to them the way God has expected.
 Defining the Human Being Through
the Khalīfah Concept
• From the very beginning, the ethical perspective
points out to the high importance of human life
in the Islamic system of values, where it stands
next to religion (din) in the hierarchy of primary
objectives of the Shariah law, which were defined
by al-Ghazali as daruriyyat or essentials (Abdul
2015, 221).
• These five categories—religion, life, mind, lineage
and property—were considered indispensable for
the proper maintenance of human welfare in
Islamic theology and philosophy for centuries.
 Concept of the human being through
Khalifah
• 1. Personal Identification/meaningful life
• 2. Emotional Stability
• 3. Freedom
• 4. Power balance
• 5. Human equality
 1. Personal identification/
Meaningful Life
• Vicegerency helps to solve the identity crises
often faced by the young generation nowadays.
• Who am I? Why am I here?
• All such questions leave many modern people
perplexed and lost.
• But identifying themselves as khulafā’, the
creatures of God, to whom unique duties were
entrusted, people obtain the foundation for living
life meaningfully and purposefully.
• The idea of human vicegerency adds a new
dimension, helping to reach order in the
disorderly postmodern world, finding certainty
and clarity amidst chaos and perplexity.
• Human beings receive a detailed ‗job description‘
with a wide spectrum of duties toward
themselves, others, and life around them which
they need to make themselves busy with.
 2. Emotional Stability
• Tariq Ramadan points out that ‗we have entered the
realm of emotional politics or, to be more specific, of
the politics of emotions‘ (Ramadan 2010, 121).
• It looks like rationality is overcome by emotions gone
astray. Different psychological disorders and illnesses
cause multiple problems in society, due to human
inability to reconcile mind and feelings, reality and
dreams, aspirations and abilities, in sort, to overcome
inner conflicts.
• Thus psychological balance can be brought into
stability once a person embraces the idea of khalīfah
for his or her life.
• That stability is reached through inner harmony,
introspection, and acknowledgement of personal
significance in the overall picture of the world.
• The process is characterized by ‗entering into oneself,‘
realizing the essence of things, of the world‘s presence,
and of the world‘s presence in us.
• God‘s spark is ignited again and sheds a new light on
what it means to be human.
• People can learn to distance themselves from
immediate human emotional reactions—to identify,
observe, and control them.
• While emotions imprison people, the highly
spiritual notion of khalīfah inspires them to
freedom, helping people to become aware of
how they function as individuals and
communities, to realize their complexity, and
consciously accept responsibilities.
• The consciousness, with the clear determination
of the course and its objectives, is built on human
liberty, that is, freedom to choose and make
decisions.
 3. Freedom
• Considering two types of vicegerency: natural and
voluntary
• From the Islamic perspective a natural vicegerency
came into existence together with the creation of
human beings by God in His form, to manifest His
attributes in the world. Through Adam, a
representative of all humanity, people were taught all
the names, thus obtaining power over all things.
• This type of khalīfah closely relates to the idea of Islām,
or universal submission, that pertains to all created
things. It comes naturally and can be defined as
implied.
• But the second kind of vicegerency differs in terms of
consciously acquired status.
• People are able to obtain it only after having submitted
to God through exercising their free will, voluntarily.
• As Murata and Chittick point out, ‗because people are
free, they can easily abuse their natural vicegerency.
• Only by using their freedom to choose God—by
surrendering to him through following prophetic
guidance—can they act as his true vicegerents on the
earth.
• To be someone's representative, after all, you
have to follow that person's commands and
instructions‘ (2015, 124).
• Thus the position of God‘s vicegerent promotes
freedom, an important item in the Islamic ethical
value system.
• Actually, it is one of God‘s attributes, transformed
in human beings.
• This becomes a foundation for a whole range of
activities that define what it means to be human
and form the Islamic perspective:
• freedom of religion, because the Qur‘an state
that ―there is no compulsion in religion‖ (2:265);
• freedom of worship, because the concept of
muslim is closely related to the concept of ‗abd
or God‘s servant which brings us to ibadah or
worship as an integral part of Muslim lifestyle;
• freedom of education and obtaining knowledge,
because the famous hadith of the Prophet
Muhammad says, ‗Seek knowledge even in
China‘.
 4. Power balance
• The idea of power, one of the most sensitive
issues for the Muslim world.
• The challenge of current power centres and
their gradual shift to the East has become a
popular discussion topic in recent years, thus
raising a sort of nostalgia about the fabulous
times of Muslim dominance and the Golden
Age of Muslim empires.
• The idea of people as vicegerents of God can empower
Muslims to do that, because it moves the power centre
from a horizontal to a vertical dimension, to God,
whose rulership cannot be contested and does not
need to be protected by any human mean:
• ‗Unto God belongs all that is in the heavens and all
that is on earth; and all things go back to God [as their
source]‘ (Qur‘an 3:109).
• Though the understanding of this fact has not been lost
in Muslim minds, the present stage requires its revival.
 5. Universal Human Equality
• The very notion of Adam in the Qur'an and the
Islamic tradition in general is used and referred to
as a synonym for insān or human beings,
encapsulating different dimensions of what it
means to be human.
• In gender terms, the word ‗Adam‘ comprises the
male and the female.
• In ethnic terms, Adam was not created white or
black, Turkish or Caucasian.
• We can say that the initial delegation of rulership
from God was intended for all human beings.
• The same pattern appears in terms of religious
and social equality.
• The lineage of all people goes back to Adam, the
forefather of humanity; the primordial covenant
‘Ahd Alastu’ (Qur‘an 7:172) which God concluded
with all humanity, thus establishing an internal
link with the divine through generations and
times, that would be consummated with the
common destiny for all humanity (Qur‘an 29:57).
• This overarching Qur‘anic approach embodied in
the khalīfah notion leads to understanding the
brother- and sisterhood of all people in
humanity.
• Every human life, either personal or belonging to
another, should receive the utmost care and
respect, should not be taken lightly or wastefully.
• Life is a divine gift, equally bestowed on all
human beings, and no one has a right to deprive
another person of his or her life, nor treat it with
lack of respect or neglect.
• Thus these five dimensions of the idea khalīfah—
meaningful life, emotional stability, freedom,
power balance and equality—can help to
construct a new concept of what a human being
is, highly demanded by the modern world.
• The Islamic ethical perspective on this issue
proves to be valid; it carries its own unique
characteristics that are compatible with today‘s
world.
• These five are intrinsically linked.
 III. Analysis
• Instructions: Read and answer the questions.
Share your answers during our synchronous class
meeting via Zoom.

• What areas of responsibility where human has

the most control over the subject in fulfilling the
role of Khalifah?
• What components in Islamic perspective or view
that can facilitate in understanding the role of
human being as Khalifah?
 Spreading guidance

• “Invite (mankind) to the Way of Your Lord (i.e.

Islâm) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine
Inspiration and the Qur'ân) and fair preaching,
and argue with them in a way that is better.
Truly, Your Lord knows best who has gone
astray from his path, and He is the best Aware
of those who are guided” (An-Nahl(16):125)
End: Alhamdulillah
• Muzykina, Y. (2017). Islamic perspective on
human being: Reviving old beliefs in the
modern context.
DOI:10.2I506/j.ponte.2017.12.52