Dignity

Walaqad karramnaa banii aadama; "We have honoured the sons of Adam" (QS. 17:70). In the other words, "We gave dignity to human being."

The value of dignity is essential because it is the way from where we have to start our spiritual journey towards Him. This dignity, as understood by the scholars, has to do with two main dimensions.

The first one has to do with knowledge. It has to do with fact that we can get knowledge and we come back to ourselves and to Allah ta'ala through knowledge.

When it is said in the Qur'an that even the angels bowed in front of Adam 'alaihi salaam. Meaning what? The dignity of human being had to do with what?

Wa'allama aadamal asmaa'a kullahaa, "And He taught Adam ('alaihi salaam) the names of all the things" (QS. 2:31). It means that it has to do with knowledge, the knowledge that we can get.

The second element which is important has to do with our freedom. We can choose our choice by our own, faman syaa'a fal yu'min wa man syaa'a fal yakfur, "Let him who will believe, and let him who will, reject (it)" (QS. 18:29). The one who wants to believe he/she can believe, and if you want to reject you can reject. This is your freedom.

So, through the knowledge and the freedom we are dignified. We were using our consciousness for fasting all these days. It's a dignified way of using our knowledge and our freedom. This is exactly it. In order to come back to ourselves and in order to be dignified is the way we deal with our freedom.

Yes, our freedom is our right. But our freedom is also a duty. It's a commitment to be dignified. This is where we start with dignity and we need to go deeper and deeper to nurture this dignity.

How?

This is what we find in the Qur'an; inna akramakum indallaahi atqaakum, "Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you"(QS. 49:13). The one who is dignified among you is the one who is nurturing this loves toward Allah ta'ala, keep god consciousness in our life.

This is what we are doing during Ramadan. This is the time of dignity. This is where we, as dignified human being, are trying to be more and more dignified. Coming back to god, coming back to ourselves, and trying to be better today and tomorrow.

This is the month of Ramadan, as well, a teaching for us to remain dignified and more dignified toward human being, insya Allah.

Allaahu ta'alam

Summary of advice of Prof. Tariq Ramadan: https://youtu.be/_wNVsZIyIac