SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE — Protection of Mankind

their rulers were deposed. Eventually the only Muslim territory that was left was the Sultanate of Granada under the Nasrid dynasty established in 1238 AD, by Sultan Mohammed I ibn Nasr who was better known as Mohammed ibn al-Ahmar. This was the name given to him as he was the one who built the famous Alhambra palace of Granada. Muhammed II al-Faqih was the son and heir of Mohammed ibn alAhmar and the second Nasrid ruler of the Granada Sultanate. In 1302 AD, his son Mohammed III had him poisoned and ascended the Sultan’s throne. This murder broke the tradition of sanctity of life in the royal palace. Following this there was a series of murders in the royal family. The safety of mankind lies in upholding the ethic of the sanctity of human life. In 1310 AD, Sultan Mohammad III was blinded and killed on the command of his brother Abul Juyush Nasr so that there would be no other heirs to the Sultanate. Abul Juyush Nasr then reigned as Nasr, Sultan of Granada until 1314 AD, when he was overthrown by his nephew Ismail I. Sultan Ismail I himself was assassinated by his cousin Muhammed in 1325 AD. Sultan Muhammed IV then took the throne but like his father Ismail I, he was also assassinated by his relatives in 1333 AD. The throne fell into the hands of Sultan Yusuf I. In 1354 AD, whilst praying he was killed by a dagger. His son Muhammed V succeeded him but was overthrown by his half-brother Ismail II in 1359 AD. Less than a year later Sultan Ismail II and his brother were murdered by the sultan’s brother-in-law Abu Said who ruled as Muhammed VI. Similarly, one after another the Sultans and princes were murdered until the end of the Granada sultanate in 1492 AD. The safety of mankind lies in upholding the ethic of the sanctity of human life; and the breaking of this ethic is the destruction of mankind. o