The human–religion dichotomy has long constituted a central subject of intellectual debate and philosophical controversy throughout history. Indeed, it may be argued that this duality represents one of the principal determinants shaping the course and dynamics of civilizations, as societal attitudes toward it profoundly influence communities and imbue them with fundamental existential meanings related to values and ethics, relationships and social bonds, work and worship, spirit and matter, and even the very concepts of humanity and religion themselves, not to mention the nature of the relationship between the two.

Yet, despite centuries of reflection and inquiry, the same enduring question continues to resurface: What is the human being?

Countless thinkers have attempted to answer this question, although their responses have varied according to differing epistemological paradigms and frameworks of knowledge. In this regard, the controversy generated by the theory of Charles Darwin remains particularly significant. Alija Izetbegović addressed this issue in his discussion of human nature and origin, drawing upon the perspective articulated by Abdelwahab Elmessiri, who argued that: “Evolution, by its very nature, could not produce a human being, but merely an ideal animal capable of functioning efficiently within the group in pursuit of material survival.”^[1]

Such a perspective is fundamentally grounded in a materialist conception of human origins. According to Charles Darwin, the human being is “nothing more than an animal that evolved from matter into the amoeba; the amoeba subsequently evolved into higher apes, from which emerged the human being, progressing toward physical perfection and eventually toward innate intelligence.”^[2]

It becomes evident, however, that this materialist interpretation neglects the essential essence of humanity, for the human being “cannot be reduced to mere biological functions; rather, there exists within the human being a dimension that transcends the realm of necessity, absolute determinism, and material utility, elevating humanity into the realm of freedom, choice, existential anxiety, complexity, and sacrifice.”^[3]

Consequently, the concept of the human being emerges within multiple and intersecting dimensions: the material and the spiritual, utility and instinctual needs, freedom and restriction, limitation and choice, compulsion and volition, order and chaos, among others. This complexity renders any unilateral definition incapable of encompassing the profound existential questions that continue to perplex humanity—questions eloquently reflected in the verses of the poet Elia Abu Madi, from whose celebrated poem we select the following lines:

Among the significant attempts to uncover the concept of the human being is that undertaken by Alexis Carrel in his book “Man the Unknown”^[4], where this man spent “the greater part of his life in the laboratory studying living organisms, and the rest of his life in the vast world observing human beings and trying to understand them.” Speaking about his experience, he said: “I observed almost every aspect of human activity and came to know the young and the old, the healthy and the sick, scholars and the ignorant, the feeble-minded and the insane, the skilled and the criminals. I lived among peasants, laborers, employees, merchants, politicians, soldiers, professors, teachers, clergymen, aristocrats, and bourgeois. Life placed me on the path of philosophers, artists, poets, and scientists, and it cast me among geniuses, heroes, and the convolutions of the brain, which in truth carry both organic and mental phenomena together”^[5].

From here arises the importance of his experience, which was the outcome of a set of accumulated experiments, observations, and direct empirical encounters. What distinguishes his approach is his attempt to present the concept of the human being in light of modern transformations, the consequences of modernity, the complexities of contemporary life, and the overwhelming flow of information and accumulation of knowledge. Accordingly, Alexis Carrel viewed the human being as the most complex phenomenon in the universe, one that cannot be reduced to its biological or intellectual dimension alone, but rather constitutes an integrated entity in which physical, psychological, spiritual, and social aspects are deeply intertwined. Carrel criticizes modern civilization for focusing on technological and material progress while neglecting the study of the human being itself, which in his view has led to increasing moral, psychological, and social disturbances. Therefore, he called for establishing a comprehensive knowledge of the human being that integrates the natural and human sciences, so that the individual is understood as an integrated whole, not as a set of separate organs or functions, stressing that the future of civilization depends on the human being’s ability to understand himself as much as he understands the external world, a position he adopts as a man of science rather than a philosopher.

In the field of Islamic philosophy, Taha Abdurrahman raised the question of ethics, the question of method, the question of action, and the spirit of modernity, searching for answers and discussing the relationship between human beings and existence. We may, if we wish, drawing upon these intellectual landmarks, formulate the equation of religion and the human being, where it is structured within the framework of life as a prominent line whose coordinates represent the major turning points of cognitive achievement and civilizational action.

From this, we infer the concept of religion, which does not stand before the human being as mere rigid rituals, but rather appears fundamentally as an integrated system that organizes and regulates daily behavior; ethics, work, methods of dealing with others, and respect for duties and rights all represent coordinates within a single human framework.

If we consider religion as a horizontal axis and human existence as a vertical axis, the relationship appears to be a positive one, the greater the level of honesty, justice, benevolence, and mercy in human life, the higher the level of psychological, social, and civilizational balance. Thus, religion becomes a constructive force translated into practical behaviour that guides the human being toward harmony with himself and with his society. This line is also governed by an important factor shaped by the variables of reality and universal laws in a necessary coherence and proportionality. This requires highlighting and invoking what Taha Abdurrahman calls the “spirit of modernity,” since modernization is a civilizational necessity, but its components must respond to the reference framework of each society, its culture, conditions, and specific characteristics.

This mathematical analysis that we have proposed and adopted as an appropriate description of the relationship between human beings and religion, in response to the enduring existential questions, is similarly addressed by Roger Garaudy following his conversion to Islam. He concluded that the relationship between human beings and Allah is not merely a set of formal rituals, but rather a relationship of meaning, presence, and responsibility.

He emphasizes that the human being is not fulfilled by matter and reason alone; rather, he requires a spiritual dimension that connects him to the Absolute and grants purpose to his existence. He further argues that modern civilization, having severed its connection with Allah, has transformed the human being into a consumerist being deprived of meaning despite scientific progress^[6]. Consumerist, devoid of meaning despite scientific progress.

This is the summary of the vision of Roger Garaudy, who lived Western civilization and moved to Islamic civilization after his conversion to Islam, which gave him a deep and penetrating perspective that led him to explain the great spread of Islam as a result of the need for Allah. He says: “The central issue in Islam in all its manifestations is this double movement of drawing the human being toward Allah and the promises of Allah toward the human being, expansion and contraction in the heart of the Muslim.”^[7] He also clarifies that the spread of Islam is not due to external reasons but rather internal reasons, saying: “At the outset, the fundamental affirmation was the transcendence of Allah”^[8], meaning that “the spread of Islam is based on freedom of belief, the cornerstone upon which great nations are built.”^[9]

Outside the circle of Islamic intellectual discourse, the study of the human–religion dichotomy was based on needs that were translated into doctrines, ideas, and orientations that determined the direction of Western civilization. But religion transcends all of that. This is what the thinker Malek Bennabi addressed when he said: “Moreover, the religious idea, which conditions individual behaviour, creates in the hearts of society a teleological orientation that is not based on the instinct of survival, as Toynbee says, or the need for sustenance, as Marx claims.”^[10]

Existential knowledge is not limited to the boundaries of visible worldly life, but it is completed and bears fruit only when man reaches knowledge of the Hereafter. This represents the duality of the unseen and the seen worlds, which are inseparably linked to illuminate the true meaning of existence.

The true meaning of human existence based on the duality of human and religion. This is what the West lacks, as it has remained in pursuit of goals without ever attaining true arrival. The Qur’an has already indicated the incompleteness of human knowledge when man becomes heedless of his purpose, as stated in the verse:

﴿ They know only what is apparent of the worldly life, but they, of the Hereafter, are unaware﴾ (Ar-Rum: 30:7).

The Qur’an has also illuminated the path for humanity that leads to the realization of extended meaning through the duality of human and religion, as the Almighty says:

﴿Unquestionably, His is the creation and the command. Blessed is Allah, Lord of the worlds﴾ (Al-A‘raf: 7:54).

This is the transcendence that Garaudy described as the transcendence of Allah. Here the true meaning of religion becomes clear: when creation (the human being) and command (religious teachings) are in harmony, the affairs of both this life and the Hereafter are set in order.

However, whoever seeks truth and access to meaning must possess the qualities described by Mohammed al-Ghazali: “an intelligent mind, honest inquiry, and an idea free from ulterior motive, and straight in method, inevitably lead its possessor to Allah”.^[11]

In light of the above, it becomes clear that the human being cannot be reduced to a single dimension, whether biological, material, or even purely intellectual, but rather is a composite entity in which physical, psychological, spiritual, and value-based dimensions are intertwined.

While material approaches have contributed to understanding some aspects of the human being, they have failed to explain his deep need for meaning and his to transcend necessity toward the space of freedom, choice, and values.

In the journey of searching for existential meaning, religion appears not as an external or ritualistic element separate from human life, but as an integrated system that frames existence, guides life, and provides a vision of purpose and its extension, making human life more coherent, harmonious, and stable with itself and with the universe. This is because religion provides knowledge of Allah that resides within the human being, who continues to suffer disturbance until he discovers it within himself through the guidance of religion.

Accordingly, the duality of human and religion is truly a foundation for human existential meaning. The question of the human being is, at its core, a question of meaning, and religion is one of the most important answers that restores balance to human existence between matter and spirit, between knowledge and values, and between action and purpose.