The anthropological facts in the qur’an about a man as “a ruler” and “a slave”

Abstract

The aim of this study is quite layered and could be expressed, in a broader sense, through the phrase: deconstruction of human nature in the Qur'an. In a more specific sense, this paper intends to argue for the effectiveness of the complementarity of the roles of "khalif" and "abd" (a ruler and a slave) in a man, in the three-dimensional tension between three essential elements related to humans as "endowed", "in charge" and "responsible" beings, along with "dependency" as a central and relevant determinant. In further elaboration of the topic, we will to a certain extent discuss the Qur'anic sources that emphasize the two-dimensionality of human nature and that suggest their equal and proportional treatment. This modest study will try to project an adequate treatment of two diametrically different dimensions of a human being - material and spiritual, whose heterogeneous structure unites and merges into a homogeneous and coherent whole, and as such realizes the predestination roles of "Khalif" and "abd" (a ruler and a slave) here and now. Keywords: the Qur'an, khalif (a ruler), abd (a slave),