The unity of humankind is one, because God is One. This is the universal aspect of the Islamic teachings.
Allah is one, the light of the messengers is one, because their message is essentially one. Every man and woman will return to God, either voluntarily or reluctantly, and either he/ she is a person of faith or a faithless one - all with very different consequences.
Mankind is described as "banu Adam" - the folk of Adam which is every person on earth. Allah addresses every person whereever and whoever they are in these words:
{ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ }
Who created you from a single soul…}
Sura 4-1
The Islamic tradition tells us that it is Allah (may His Majesty be exalted!) Who guides Who He wills, and the religion was established to uphold truth, justice, the common good and safety, whereas corruption and sedition are malicious and condemned.
In principle the unity of humankind is one, however there are those who scheme to create divisions and who in their greed for a trifle gain in this world don't care about human life.
In these latter days (before the Day of Judgement), humankind is threatened by many problems and calamities, first of all by the loss of the sacred and not the least by those who instigate wars and impose illegal occupations.
Peaceful coexistence among nations, religions, ethnicities and tribes has to be the goal, with the perception that 'the other' may be different but none-the-less human and entitled to his/ her dignity.
What does it mean to be human?
If it is sometimes held that mankind originated from a kind of ape, then the principles of the sacredness of human life and of human dignity have become meaningless. And this is what we witness in these ‘latter times’: dehumanizing the human, transforming human beings into an accessory of ‘artificial intelligence’.
If we are only compounds of molecules, the result of chance or ’blind forces’ then what is the meaning of human rights and human dignity? How can there really be any basis for that? The result of such ’scientific’ assumptions can already be seen in this world.
The claims to human rights and human dignity are universal claims, these questions of what God wants of us first of all is in order to elevate us to our real human potential are asked by thinking people everywhere.
In the West, before the advent of atheism and nihilism, it was basically held ”that human dignity is based on the Divine imprint upon the human soul” and it is obvious that historically ”the idea of human rights is derived from the religious conception of the human state.”
In Islam human beings are defined in relation to God. Islam informs us that God breathed His Spirit into Adam and then ”created Adam in His form” - form meaning the reflection of God’s Names and Qualities.”[fn1]
In his creation and his life man is endowed with the double function of vicegerent of God (khalifat Allah) and servant of God (’abd Allah). As vicegerent he ”must be active in the world to do God’s Will here on earth.” As servant he has to ”remain in total obedience to God and in perfect receptivity before what his Creator wills for him.”[fn2]
So this is in short the Islamic idea of man (insân - encompassing both the male and female states), combining these two qualities (of khalifat and ’abd), while being given ’free will’, - free will either to do good or bad.
May Allah guide us on the straight path of mercy and reflection.
fn1 Understanding God,
From ”Ibn 'Arabi, Heir to the Prophets; W. C. Chittick”
fn2 The ’he’ or ’him’ always refers to man and woman, just as it did in premodernity. When referring to Allah (may His Majesty be exalted), then this is ’He’, or sometimes ’We’, which has nothing to do with gender, but more to do with the limitations of language.
The Heart of Islam, S H Nasr, p.275/6
“An agreement between us and you!”
{ قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ تَعَالَوْا إِلَىٰ كَلِمَةٍ سَوَاءٍ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمْ أَلَّا نَعْبُدَ إِلَّا اللَّهَ وَلَا نُشْرِكَ بِهِ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُنَا بَعْضًا أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ فَإِن تَوَلَّوْا فَقُولُوا اشْهَدُوا بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَ }
{ Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to an agreement between us and you: that we shall worship none but Allah, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside Allah. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are they who have surrendered (unto Him).} Sura 3-64
We would wish for all of humanity to be guided by Allah to truth and felicity, although we know that not everyone accepts (the) Guidance.
The Charter of Medina
We declare hereby our firm commitment to the principles articulated in the Charter of Medina*, whose provisions contain a number of principles of constitutional contractual citizenship, such as freedom of movement, property ownership, mutual solidarity, and defence, as well as principles of justice and equality before the law.
*The year 2016 marked the 1,400th anniversary of the Charter of Medina, a constitutional contract between the Prophet Muhammad, God's peace and blessings be upon him, and the people of Medina, which guaranteed the religious liberty of all, regardless of faith.
1st Point in Arabic
إن البشر جمیعا على اختلاف أجناسهم وألوانهم ولغاتهم ومعتقداتهم كرمهم الله عز وجل بنفخة من روحه في أبيهم آدم علیه السلام
{ ولقد كرمنا بني آدم }
– الإسراء
The Bottom Line
In reality the enmity against Islam (and Muslims) is a ploy to divert the attention from the ongoing attrition of the lower classes for the benefit of the 1% of the population and this happens in several countries:
The superrich and their wannabes are bent on increasing their wordly riches to the detriment of the majority of the population all the while destroying the common good, which is necessary for a society with decent standarts of humanity and dignity.
”The world is changing for the worse, now is the time to speak out, because otherwise you and your children will be silenced forever.” NN
Other Opinions
The impulse to make Muslims collectively guilty is driven by an urge to collectively punish Muslims, which is a war crime. CJW ... Co-piloted by the Israel-Lobby's anti-Muslim propaganda machine whose sole purpose is to dehumanise Muslims and by extension the Palestinians. PC_S
ISIS grew out of Al Qaeda in Iraq, which grew out of the chaos caused by the 2003 unwarranted US invasion. 'War On Terror' approach doesn't make us safe. (DW)
To recognize Western violence as a causal factor in terrorism isn't to deny terrorists agency; the opposite is true. GGR January 6, 2016
