Both science and religion assert that man is the apex of creation. Science bases this claim on man’s physiological superiority over the rest of the animated world, while religion bases it on man’s psychical excellence and potential. Islam too, declares man as the best of God’s creation and designates him as His vicegerent (Khalīfah) on earth. So far, it all sounds very flattering, but is this position of pre-eminence unconditional? Let us see how the Islamic concept of vicegerency is meant to work. A conscientious study of this concept involves a study of issues such as:
Who is this man who has been appointed as God’s representative on earth? Does anyone who possesses human features qualify for this exalted rank, or are there any qualifying conditions attached to this office? If there are any qualifying conditions, what are they?
Islam’s corroboration of man’s claim of superiority over the other species is circumscribed by mental, moral and physical limitations in the exercise of this power. Man should use animals out of necessity and with compassion, humility and loving care rather than with malevolence, avidity or greed for the satisfaction of creature-comforts, luxurious pleasures and self-indulgence. All the major religions have taught compassionate and humane treatment of animals. It is neither feasible nor necessary for a religion to lay down in its scriptures detailed rules and regulations covering every aspect of life. Each religion has tried in its own way to lay down the basic principles and to nurture in man a sense of responsibility as the custodian of nature. In our age of ever-increasing human mastery over nature, this responsibility has also increased proportionately.
The Qur’ān, while declaring man’s vicegerency, makes it clear in the following verses, that the appointment is not unconditional:
“He [God] it is Who made you vicegerents on earth; he who disavows, the burden of disavowal will be on him …” (Qur’ān 35:39)
“Certainly, We created man in the best make.” (Qur’ān 95:4)
However, in the very next sentence the Qur’ān makes it clear what happens to those who fail to conform to the conditions, in these words:
“then We reduce him to [the status of] the lowest of the low.” (Qur’ān 95:5)
Man is the only species which has been endowed with the ability to differentiate between evil and virtue and to exercise his freedom of choice. Animals are capable of differentiating between ‘good and bad’ in the material sense, but not in the moral and ethical sense. In the following verses, the Qur’ān tells us about those humans who misuse their freedom of choice and transgress – they lose the status of human beings in the spiritual sense and are reduced to the status of animals:
“… they are those whom Allah has rejected and whom He has condemned and has turned into [the nature of] apes and swine, because they served evil. Such people are even worse than them and farther astray from the right course.” (Qur’ān 5:60)3
No doubt such people still possess human features, as distinct from those of animals, but their moral status is degraded even lower than the status of animals for not making use of their faculties in the way expected of human beings. The Qur’ān explains this further in these words:
“… they have hearts wherewith they fail to comprehend, and eyes wherewith they fail to see, and ears wherewith they fail to hear. They are like cattle; nay, even less cognizant of what is right. Such [humans] are far astray from the right path.” (Qur’ān 7:179)
Again the Qur’ān urges in remonstrance:
“And be not like those who say, ‘we have heard’, while they do not hearken. Verily, the vilest of all creatures, in the sight of Allah, are those deaf and dumb ones who do not use their rationality.” (Qur’ān 8:21, 22)
The above verses occur in the Qur’ān in a context not directly related to animals vis-à-vis man. Nevertheless, they do lay down a very relevant principle that ‘it depends on the conduct of man whether he maintains his privileged position as a human being or gets himself degenerated to a status lower than that of animals’. While elaborating man’s responsibilities as the vicegerent of God, the Qur’ān lays great emphasis on the development of Godly attributes which have been imbued in man’s incarnation. These attributes are eternal and unchangeable. Compassion, love, mercy, justice, charity … are some of the Divine attributes which form the pedestal of that masnad on which God has seated man as His vicegerent to establish His Kingdom on earth, in harmony with His laws of nature. This Kingdom of God is not meant to be only a human domain. God’s suzerainty encompasses all creation, including the Animal Kingdom. How, then, can man as His Minister on earth administer justice and grace over the whole of His Kingdom without nurturing in himself the Godly attributes and a tender conscience? This is how the Qur’ān explains this moral philosophy:
“So, set your face to the true religion…” (Qur’ān 30:30)
The spontaneous question arises here as to what is implied by ‘true religion’. The answer is given in the lines of the same verse that follow:
“Direct your face towards the upright way of life – the nature created by God upon which He has instituted the innate nature of humankind. No change is permissible in God’s creation; this is the proper way of life and yet, most people do not even know of this.” (Qur’ān 30:30)
Man’s superiority over other species does not lie in his physique. As a matter of fact, physically, man is inferior to animals in many respects. Muslims have often been advised by their mentors to learn lessons from some species of animals. For example, Imām ʿAlī gives this piece of advice: “Be like a bee; anything it eats is clean, anything it drops is sweet and any branch it sits upon does not break.”4
The real criterion of man’s superiority lies in his spiritual volition, called in the Qur’ān Taqwā. This spiritual power bestows on a man a greater measure of balance between the conscious and the unconscious elements of mind, thus, enabling him to make the best use of his freedom of choice. He is considered the best of God’s creation only because of this distinction. Without the power of spiritual volition, this distinction is rendered superficial.
Man’s dominion over animals, in the true Islamic sense, is a patriarchal authority – an arrangement under which the paterfamilias rules the family with discipline and paternal love. The Holy Prophet Muḥammed(s) puts it in these words: “All creatures are like a family [ʿiyāl] of God: and He loves them most who are the most beneficent to His family.”5
The Holy Prophet(s) used to say: “Whoever is kind to the creatures of God, is kind to himself.”6
The Qur’ān puts this analogy in tribal or communal terms in these words:
“There is not an animal on earth, nor a two-winged flying creature, but they are communities like you…”. (Qur’ān 6:38)
According to the learned commentators of the Qur’ān, the word ‘communities’ is used here in the sense of genera, and ‘animals’ and ‘flying creatures’ of vertebra, quadrupeds, mammals, crustacea, reptiles, worms, insects and the like. They all live a life, individual and social, like members of a human commune. In other words, they are communities in their own right and not in relation to human species or its values. These details have been mentioned to emphasize the point that even those species which are generally considered as insignificant or even dangerous, deserve to be treated as communities; that their intrinsic and not perceptible values should be recognized, irrespective of their usefulness or apparent harmfulness.
To define further what it means by ‘communities of animals’, the Qur’ān explains:
“Allah has created every animal from water: of them there are some that creep on their bellies; some that walk on two legs; and some that walk on four…” (Qur’ān 24:45)
The first category includes all kinds of worms, reptiles, centipedes, insects and all