Note: Although the right to dignity and human equality is a newly emerging topic in the philosophy of law and constitutional law with a history of only a few decades, it possesses a heritage of over a thousand years among religious texts. Perhaps it can be stated that one of the most important sources of the right to human dignity among Islamic sources is Nahj al-Balaghah. Regarding the presence of this right in Nahj al-Balaghah, we interviewed Ayatollah Ebrahim Baqeri, Director of the Criminal Jurisprudence Department at the Higher Institute of Jurisprudence and Islamic Sciences. He believes that the basic proof of the right to dignity from Nahj al-Balaghah is an established matter, to which numerous passages of this book attest. The detailed text of Contemporary Jurisprudence‘s exclusive interview with this scholar of the Qom Seminary and member of the Seminary’s Jurisprudence and Law Association follows:

Contemporary Jurisprudence: Is the right to dignity derivable from the statements of the Commander of the Faithful in Nahj al-Balaghah and other textual sources? Which narrations prove it?

Baqeri: That the principle of dignity can be derived from the statements of our Master, the Commander of the Faithful (peace and blessings be upon him), is an established matter. For instance, in Nahj al-Balaghah, His Eminence the Commander of the Faithful’s (peace be upon him) letter to Malik al-Ashtar is filled with dignity throughout, such as where he commands Malik to treat all people equally and uniformly, whether Muslim or non-Muslim. This indicates that merely being human brings about dignity, irrespective of religion, creed, school of thought, and geographical issues.

In another place in Nahj al-Balaghah, as His Eminence was traveling toward Levant (Sham), on the way in the region of Al-Anbar, the local people came out and started walking behind him. When His Eminence noticed this, he became upset, turned back, objected to them, and said: “This act of yours yields no benefit for you: ‘By Allah, your rulers do not benefit from this, and you only cause hardship for yourselves in your worldly life and suffer misery in your Hereafter.'” That is, not only does it yield no benefit for you, but it also offers no benefit to your rulers and commanders; rather, it only causes you to torment and harass yourselves, harming both your world and your Hereafter. With this statement, His Eminence wishes to say that you are a human being, and a human being must possess dignity; human dignity must not permit a person to walk and move behind even me, the Commander of the Faithful (a).

In another place, in his testament, he states:

“And Allah Almighty required from the angels His trust placed with them and His covenant of testament to them regarding submission through prostration to him and humility to honor him” (wa-sta’da Allahu subhanahu al-mala’ikata wadi’atahu ladaihim wa-‘ahda wasiyyatihi ilaihim fi al-idhnani bi-al-sujudi lahu wa-al-khudu’i li-takrimatihi); meaning it was because of human dignity that God commanded the angels to prostrate before him. In truth, through this command, God willed to make human dignity understood by all the angels.

Furthermore, he says to Malik: “And allocate a portion of your time for those in need, wherein you free yourself personally for them, sitting with them in a public gathering, and keeping away from them your soldiers, companions, guards, and police, so that their speaker may speak to you without stammering; for indeed I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) say on more than one occasion: ‘A nation in which the right of the weak is not taken from the strong without stammering shall never be sanctified.'”

This narration stands as the best witness that His Eminence wishes to accord dignity to the people.

In another report, it is mentioned that someone brought a complaint against the Commander of the Faithful (a) before the second Caliph. The Imam was present there, and at the end of the gathering, judgment, and trial proceeding, the second Caliph came and addressed His Eminence using the honorific Abu al-Hasan—a form of respect among Arabs—while addressing the opposing party without an honorific. When His Eminence saw that the second Caliph addressed him with honor but failed to address the opposing party with respect, he became upset and angered. The second Caliph said: “O Abu al-Hasan, why have you become angry and disturbed?” His Eminence replied: “Why should I not be angry, when both of us are litigating parties, yet you address one side with respect and the other without respect?”

This demonstrates that His Eminence accords dignity to all human beings and is never willing to restrict dignity exclusively to himself.

In another incident, a person named Harith ibn Husayn ibn Hasirah relates: An Abyssinian man was drawing water in Medina, and I saw that his hands were cut—that is, four of his fingers were severed. Harith ibn Hasirah says: I said to this Abyssinian man, “Who cut your hand?” He replied, “The best of men cut my hand: Qata’ani khayr al-nas.” He meant the Commander of the Faithful (peace and blessings be upon him). He then explained that we were eight individuals who went to commit theft, but we were caught and arrested. Then they brought us before the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib, and we all confessed to the theft. After we confessed, His Eminence said to us: “Did you know that theft is forbidden, or did you not know?” We said: “We knew that theft is forbidden, and we committed theft knowing it to be forbidden.” When the crime was established before His Eminence, he ordered that four of our fingers, excluding the thumb, be severed, leaving only the palm.

Here lies a point that attests to human dignity, even for a criminal. Continuing this incident, the Abyssinian man says: After we confessed to theft and His Eminence severed our fingers, he ordered us to be placed in a house and provided with oil and honey so that the wound resulting from the severance of our fingers would heal and mend. After the wound healed, he ordered us freed, clothed us in the finest garments, and finally said to us: “If you repent from this crime you committed and act righteously hereafter, this will be better for you and will cause Allah to open the doors of Paradise to you, allowing you to enter Paradise with a healthy hand; but if you do not repent and do not reform yourselves, Allah will send you back into the fire of Hell with your hands, where you will be punished.”

This conduct of His Eminence—where, after severing the criminal’s hand, he orders him fed the finest food, clothed in the finest garments, and then offers him goodwill and counsel—is the very embodiment of dignified behavior toward a human being.

I also mentioned his letter to Malik al-Ashtar, where he stated that all people are either your brother in religion or your equal in creation; so when you encounter them, preserve their respect: “For they are of two types: either your brother in religion or your equal in creation” (Fa-innahum sinfan: imma akhun laka fi al-din wa-imma nazirun laka fi al-khalq).

Here, His Eminence reminds us of both citizenship rights and human dignity, while treasuring human beings.

In that very covenant to Malik al-Ashtar recorded in Nahj al-Balaghah, he states: The furthest and least valuable individuals in your estimation must be those most eager to pursue and uncover the flaws and secrets of the people; meaning keep away from yourself those who question the dignity of other humans through fault-finding and spying.

In another passage of Nahj al-Balaghah, His Eminence advises the Banu Abd al-Muttalib, namely his own kin, not to engage in murder and bloodshed.

In another place, regarding his own assassin, he states: If I pass away, and he struck me with one blow, you strike him with one blow; and if I survive, I know how to deal with him; but under no circumstances do you have the right to mutilate (muthlah) him, because this act runs contrary to human dignity.

The person who is the assassin of the Commander of the Faithful has certainly squandered his own inherent dignity; yet even so, His Eminence states: Beware that you do not mutilate him.

He then said: I heard the Messenger of Allah say: Beware and refrain from mutilation, even if the one being mutilated is a rabid dog. Do not mutilate even that, let alone a human being.

In another narration regarding Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), it is reported that in his presence, a person demanded his debt from another; however, the debtor insulted him and said: “You are the son of an adulteress.” Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) cast a sharp look at this person. He said: “This individual whom I addressed in this manner is not a Muslim; rather, he is a Magian (Majusi), and even his mother is his sister.” His Eminence said: “Is this type of marriage valid in their religion?” He replied: “Yes.” His Eminence stated: “Then you had no right to insult him.”

These are portions of the expression of human dignity in the statements of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them).

Contemporary Jurisprudence: What instances and dimensions are encompassed by the right to dignity derivable from Nahj al-Balaghah? In other words, are jurisprudential rulings proven or altered through this right to dignity?

Baqeri: What is derived from the Quran and Nahj al-Balaghah is that dignity is of two types: inherent dignity (karamat-e zati), by virtue of proofs such as the verse “We have certainly honored the Children of Adam,” which establishes dignity for all human beings; and a special dignity that exists for the God-wary (muttaqin). Therefore, when the Commander of the Faithful said to Malik al-Ashtar to keep away the person who pursues fault-finding and uncovering the secrets of the people, it does not mean that such an individual possesses no dignity whatsoever; rather, it means stripping the high degree of dignity from him. Consequently, all human beings possess a minimum degree of dignity, and therefore no human being should be mutilated; however, some possess greater dignity by virtue of God-wariness (taqwa).