作为人类,我们的能力令人惊叹。我们能够对彼此展现令人眩晕的爱之举动,彰显善良与友爱、仁慈与怜悯。人们目睹了母爱、父母的照料、自愿的牺牲,而通过美化彼此的关系,人们能够培养温暖、庇护与善意。但正如人类能够行善,他也能够施加难以想象的残忍。在人类潜能的黑暗面中,最具毁灭性的行为之一便是将他人非人化。将某人非人化,就是认定其不拥有、也不应得到我们赋予自己及所偏爱之人的基本权利与应有待遇。这是将其贬为次等人类、不值得尊重、视为异类,从而使其变得完全可以被牺牲。

As humans, we are capable of a lot. We are able to display dizzying acts of love towards one another, to exemplify kindness and friendship, mercy and compassion. Humans are witness to motherly love, to parental care, to voluntary sacrifice, and in beautifying their relationships humans can foster feelings of warmth, protection and goodwill. But just as the human is capable of such goodness so too can he inflict unimaginable cruelty. When it comes to the dark side of human potential, one of the most devastating things we can do is to dehumanise others. To dehumanise someone is to decide they do not have, nor do they deserve, the basic rights and dues we give to ourselves and anybody we favour. It is to render them sub-human, unworthy, alien and as a result, completely expendable.

我们将其非人化的对象，便被我们视为“他者”。这个“他者”被看作不完整的部分，人性不足，因而不配在世界——我们的世界——中占有一席之地。对于被非人化的人而言，道德原则不再适用，任何防止虐待、酷刑或杀戮的道德约束都很容易被突破。非人化具有抹除性：它扭曲他人的形象，并把自己内心所厌恶的一切品质都归于对方。

The one we dehumanise, we now count as the Other. The Other consists of incomplete parts, insufficiently human and thus inadequate for a place in the world, our world. For the dehumanised, principles of morality no longer apply and any moral restraints against abuse, torture or killing are readily overcome. Dehumanisation is effacing, it is to contort another’s image and ascribe to it all the qualities one would find repugnant to have within oneselves.

一切仇恨，以及那些卑劣而冷酷的行为，往往都被归咎于那个“他者”。自我因知道自己不像那个“他者”而感到安心。被非人化的“他者”被描绘成非理性的、野蛮的、具有威胁性的。在心理图景中，被非人化的“他者”是用粗略的笔触和宽大的画刷勾勒出来的。没有细致的辨认，没有精细的线条，没有细微之处，没有灰色地带，也没有微妙的轮廓。被非人化的群体被恐惧、被不信任，并被一概而论。在号召反对“他者”的口号中，关于这个“他者”如何陌生、野蛮和非人的图像与叙述被不断地竖立起来。

All hatred, and that which is vile and callous is often imputed upon that Other. The self feels secure knowing he is not like that Other. The dehumanised Other is irrational, savage and threatening. On mental canvases the dehumanised Other is painted with broad strokes and wide brushes. There are no identifications, no fine lines, no nuances, no greys and no subtle outlines. The dehumanised is feared, mistrusted and generalised. In rallying calls against the Other, images and narratives of how alien, barbaric and inhuman the Other is are propped up.

这些观念随后被不断地、反复地灌输，直到相信其他任何与之不同的说法都变得格格不入。那些同情“他者”的人，最好还是与那个“他者”站在一起，而不是与“我们”为伍。

These ideas are then repeated continuously and relentlessly until believing anything different about that Other becomes incongruous. Any sympathisers with the Other are better placed with that Other, rather than with ‘us’.

根据伊斯兰的观念，人既可以受到启发而做出奇妙的善举，也可能堕入道德的败坏，背弃自己本有的更好的自我。

According to the Islamic paradigm, man can be inspired to perform wondrous displays of kindness, but so too can he sink into moral depravity and betray his own better sense of self.

《古兰经》在第91章《太阳章》（Surah al-Shams）中提请我们注意人类处境中所存在的二元对立。

The Qur’an in Surah al-Shams (91) draws our attention to the dichotomies which exist within the human condition:

91:7 ——以灵魂发誓，以及祂如何塑造它； 91:8 ——并启示它辨识自己的罪恶与敬畏！ 91:9 ——净化自己灵魂的人必成功； 91:10 ——玷污灵魂的人必失败。

91:7 - by the soul and how He formed it 91:8 - and inspired it [to know] its own rebellion and piety! 91:9 - The one who purifies his soul succeeds 91:10 - and the one who corrupts it fails.

穆斯林必须时刻牢记,在与他人的每一次交往中,心灵或许会因此得到信仰的滋养,也可能陷入意图败坏与骄傲自满的隐秘危险。穆斯林的目的不是信口引用经文、事实、圣训,把它们当作修辞或辩才的表演。其目的也不是让自己手握一套事先准备好的应对之词,在压力之下机械地搬出来。穆斯林不是在进行一场智力的较量,也不是在参加竞赛,更不是在争取“点击”“浏览”和“点赞”。穆斯林不应以口才的高低来被评判。穆斯林要记住,他面对的不是一台自动运转的机器,而是与他一样的人。

The Muslim must always remember that in every interaction one has with another person, the heart can either find a replenishing of belief or the insidious risk of a corrupted intention and pride. It is not the purpose of the Muslim to throw out quotes, facts, verses and traditions and speak them as if it is an exercise in rhetoric or eloquence. The purpose is not to feel armed with a set of mentally prepared responses to be regurgitated under pressure. The Muslim is not a participant in a battle of wits, nor are they in a contest, or competitor for ‘hits’, ‘views’ and ‘likes’. The Muslim is not to be judged for oratory prowess. The Muslim is to remember that he or she does not stand before an automated machine, but a human being, just like him.

每一个人都由同样无数的情感、感官、生活经历、希望、梦想、兴趣、期待、责任和信仰构成，与任何其他人并无二致。没有人是存在于真空之中、缺少重要细节的；每个人，就像穆斯林一样，都走过许多道路，经历了年龄、环境与阅历的变迁，并且依真主的前定，如今站在穆斯林面前，迎来另一段有意义的人生际遇。如果穆斯林真心希望与此人的交往能够带来改变，那么就必须从穆斯林将对方视为一个由许多部分构成的复杂个体开始，视其为一个人，就像你一样。

Every human is made up of the same myriad of emotions, senses, life experiences, hopes, dreams, interests, anticipations, responsibilities and beliefs as anyone else. No human exists in an empty space, void of important details but has, like the Muslim, traversed many paths, transitioned in age, landscape and experience and by the decree of Allāh1 now stands before the Muslim on what is another meaningful life encounter. If the Muslim genuinely hopes their interaction with the person will be transformative, it must begin with the Muslim seeing the individual as a complex person made up of many parts, a human, just like you.

因此,穆斯林在传达伊斯兰的信息时,需要充分考虑人的复杂性。最根本的,是穆斯林内在的核心与其受众之间的沟通。英国作家、政治评论员哈里·莱斯利·史密斯在回忆录中描述了他每天清晨的例行习惯:下楼走进家中,为自己冲泡一杯咖啡。在冲泡和搅拌咖啡的过程中,杯子与勺子相碰发出的“叮当”声唤起了他一段怀旧的记忆。看似平凡的事情,实际上却非同寻常,这是一个具有强烈经验意义的时刻,它塑造了这位95岁老绅士与空间、地方和生活相关的种种情感。正是勺子与杯子碰撞的“叮当”声,把史密斯带回了童年时期,那时他还是一个站在伦敦街头的小男孩。

The Muslim therefore needs to convey the message of Islam with close consideration of how complex the human being is. It is the communicationbetween the inner core of the Muslim and their addressee which is most fundamental. In the memoirs of the English writer and political commentator Harry Leslie Smith, he describes his early morning routine of going downstairs in his home and preparing himself a cup of coffee. In his brewing and stirring of the coffee, he conveys a nostalgic memory stimulated by the “clinking” of his spoon with his cup. What might seem mundane is in fact exceptional, a moment of experiential magnitude that shapes the sentiments connected to space, place and life of this 95-year-old elderly gentleman. In the “clinking” of the spoon with the cup, Smith is taken back to his childhood days as a young boy standing on a London street.

当勺子碰到杯子时,史密斯想起的是石子路上马蹄的“嗒嗒”声,这声音唤起了他对父母在户外垃圾中翻找食物的记忆。仅仅一个声音就能唤醒这样一段相隔约八十年的遥远记忆,这一点的力量确实惊人。2 后者提醒我们,人是由无数错综复杂的脉络组成的,任何一件事物在任何一个时刻都可能将其触发。正如史密斯的例子所说明的,人并非一个简单的外壳,而是一个多层次的造物:由有意识的自我、看、听、嗅、尝、触的感官、灵魂,以及能够感受和理解的心所组成。伊斯兰的品格,就在于认识人的本性,并且全面地认识人。

As the spoon meets the cup, it is the “clinking” of the hooves of horses on a cobblestoned road that Smith remembers, and his memory is alerted to a recollection of his parents rummaging through outdoor litter in search of food. This single sound is able to awaken such a distant memory, spanning back eight or so decades is incredibly powerful.2 The latter alerts us to the reality that man is a composite of so many intricate strands that can be provoked by any one thing at any one instance. Man, as the example of Smith illustrates, is not a simple shell, but a multi-layered creation made up of a conscious self, senses of see, hear, smell, taste and touch, a spirit, and a heart that feels and understands. Islamic character is to recognise the nature of man in all his entirety.