Why Respect All
Human Beings?
God-oriented living means that one looks at all with respect and honour, whether he belongs to one’s own religion or community or to another.
According to a tradition, the Prophet of Islam was once seated at some place in Madinah when a funeral procession was passing by. The Prophet stood up in deference to it. Then one of his companions told him that it was the funeral of a Jew. The Prophet replied, “Was he not a human being?” (Sahih al-Bukhari 1312)
One principle of the God-oriented life is that everyone should be looked at with respect and honoured, whether he belongs to one religion or another and whether he belongs to one’s own community or to another. Respect derives from the fact that I have been created by God in exactly the same way that other human beings have been created by God. Regardless of his choice of religion or culture, the believer still remains a human being. Because of this commonality, he continues to remain worthy of everyone’s respect.
When you look at a person and your eyes are set on differences, then as a result, you want to keep your distance from him. You will find there is no commonality between you and him. On the contrary, if you look at him as a human being, he emerge as a masterpiece of God’s creation. Then his existence will remind you of the high attributes of God. Then in such a situation you will forget the apparent difference and you will be lost in the divine creation that he represents.
In the mirror of creation, you will find God. In the form of the human being you will imagine a being, or a person who has also been created by God and who is worthy of respect as you think you are yourself. His relationship with God is equal of your relationship with God, the Compassionate and Merciful.
For any human being, respect is not for a person but for God. When a believer respects some person, it is in fact an expression of divine feelings that are aroused in him about God as the best Creator. And the expression of these divine feelings has no limit. Such feelings find expression in the matter of all kinds of human beings and not only of those who are related to you.
