A Comparative Study of Inherent Dignity and Human Rights in the Holy Quran

Inherent dignity is the basis for human rights. Human persons per se possess human rights and in the age of post-socialism and the emergence of the governments, they are always seeking realization of their human rights. When human rights are to be translated into action in a society, the democratic state is forced to embark on restricting rights of individuals in line with enforcing right ethical codes, establishing public order and meeting public welfare. In this political-legal affiliation of citizenship, any semantic narrowing or broadening of the “human rights” will lead to the enactment of citizenship rights. A glance at Quranic literature indicates that in verbal dispute on human rights and responsibilities, human dignity is the preliminary ground and the cornerstone for any type of right and responsibility. The Holy Quran has made good references to the rights of human person but the basis of this right is another principle known as inherent dignity. Irrespective of their race, religion, color, language, gender and nationality, the Holy Quran attaches a sort of inherent dignity to all humans. Given the hypothesis, this paper claims that there is a direct link between inherent dignity and human rights in the Holy Quran. To that end, this paper will indicate that in the holy verses of the Book, like the human rights international system, inherent dignity is the basis for human rights, and the rights and dignity of human persons – as the presupposed reality vis-à-vis religion – are among the accepted principles of the religion of Islam.