The purpose of creation

6Jirf d-a+6tf
JdB
,-i.!r d)! - aj*.i jii
The Purpose
of Creation
Greation
By
Dr.Abu AbuA Ameenah meenahB Bilal ilalP Philips
hilips

,Jil{ltif -fllllgr lliJf
The lfrtu@ furpose
[fJrmr:r[fJ®~
ofr olereation
GreafifflDrf

flil*l- d'lill fr d{liJt
Til (f[D~&~
1'lrealiaD;':")>;,' ' ·:)t<,.':;,J/,: ::::::" }~~ ': ;_,' ' ,-:::', '-';":,:. ",.. ;.:"':'y "~M":':'_, '::/C:-: "J@/ )f'
Thffi W,W
ffiffif itr&etfrwtm
By
By
Dr.A buA meenaBhi lalp hilips
Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips
llirir.Crefl AIirl
..;JiJ l &i ..I+I~I ~.. d!8';,
+litt C:t*llrJl l5+i irsif
, l A AY Y :: y * - . ''''~ r . v . - . a.-. 1 ' f" f Y Yt Y t y y f r t t :~: _ , . i f l i - - • r . ' l t,. t T t y o ., l g ' V ., : V . ]
:~

@ Copyright 1995 Dar Al Fatah
Revisede dition1 997
AII rightsr eservedN. o portiono f this book may be reproduceds.t oredi n a
retrieval syst€n or transmified in any form by any means electronic.
mechanical. photocopyingr ecordingo r othenvisew ithoutp rior permission
of the copyright owner.
Dar Al Fatah
Printing, Publishing & Distribution Co. Llc.
P.O.Box2 34 24,S haraj fr
Tel: (9716) 322305 / Fax: 3225?6
Approvedb y: Ministry of Information, U AE
© Copyright 1995 Dar Al Fatah
Revised edition 1997
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced. stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means electronic.
mechanical. photocopying, recording or othetWise without prior permission
ofthe copyright owner.
Dar Al Fatah
Printing, Publishing & Distribution Co. Lie.
P.O.Box 23424, Sharjap
Tel: (9716) 322308 322526
Approved by: UAE
ReferencNe o. 1600, d atedg .6.97
Reference No. dated 8.6.97
edition was reproduced by
This bv
Zalfi Foreigners' Zulli Guidance Office
O. Zulfi 11932 Saudi Arabia
P.O. Box 182, Zulfr llg32 - Tel: (00966) 06-4ZZSGS-T F ax: (00966) 42242}4
Tel: (00966) 4225657 - Fax: 06-4224234
C*p"rative Office for Call & Cuidance Zulfi Zfflz
@cooperative Guidance at Zulli .,2002
King King Fahd Fahd National LIBRARY cATAtocrNc- CATALOGING-IN rN - - puBUcATtoN PUBLICATION DATA
DATA
PHILIPS, 8I[A[
Thc purpose of creation.-Riyadh.
..-p.;..cm.
tsEN 9960 - 864 -11 - 1
l-lslam 2-Worship t-Tiile
210 dc ZBoSlZj
PHILIPS, B'LAL
The purpose Riyadh.
•.·p·i.·em.
ISBN 9960 - -11 - I - Islam 2-I - Title
210 de 2805/23
LegaDl Legal Deposit epositn no. o. 2805/2805/23
23
lsBN ISBN 9960 9960 - - 864 864 --11 11 - - |
1

ITL
fn, P"rprtt l - t l
The Purpose ofCreation
"f
C*ttu!. = __
Introduction
The a that puzzles every
ffihe purpose of creation is topic that puzzles I human being at some point in r Everybody at some time or the question "Why do I exist?"o r purposea m here on earth?"
another asks themselves
exist?'~ or "For what purpose am I
The variefy and complexity of his or her lifetime.
variety the intricate systems
which constitute the fabric of both human beings and the
world in which they exist indicate that there must have been a
SupremeB eingwhocreatedth em.D esigni ndicatesa When human beings come across footprints immediately conclude that a human some time previously. No one from the sea settled in the sand depression looking exactly like humans instinctively conclude that existence without a purpose. purposeful natural producto f humani ntelligence.lr umansc oncludet hat
the SupremeI ntelligentB eing who createdt hem dones of or a specificp urposeT. hereforeh, umanb eingsn eed
to know the purpose for their existence in of this life and to do what is ultimately Supreme Beingwho created them. Design indicates a designer.
on a beach, they
being had walked by there
imagines that the waves
-sea and by chance produced a
human footprints. Nor do
they were brought into
Since action is a
product of human intelligence, humans conclude that
Supreme Intelligent Being created them must have
done so for specific purpose. Therefore, human beings need
order to make sense
beneficial for them.
Throughoutt hea ges,h owever,t hereh asb eena Throughout the ages, however, there has been a minority
amongh among humans umansw who ho haved have denied eniedt the heexistenceo existence ofGod. f God.M Matter,
atter,
in their opinion, is eternal and mankind product of accidental combinations is merely a chance
of its elements. Conse-

t-L
of Creatior,t _
quently, to them, the question "Why did God create man?"
had and still has no answer. According to them, there simply
is no purpo:;purpose e to existence. However, the vast majority of
humankind over the ages have believed and continue to
believe in the existence existenceo of f a Supreme SupremeB Being eing who created createdt this
his
world with a purpose. For them it was, and still is, important
to know about the Creator and the purpose for which He
created beings.
F or impoftant
purposef or human The Answer
To answer the question "Why did God create man?" it
bed eterminedf rom which perspectiveth e question
must first be detennined from perspective the is being asked. From the of view of God it would mean,
beingaskedF. romt he point Cod "What causedG od createh umanb eings?"w hile from caused God to create human beings?" while the
point view it would mean "For what purpose createh umans?"B oth pointso f view representa spects
human of did
God create humans?" Both points of represent aspects
of the intriguing question "Why do I exist?" In the following
pages, both aspects ofthe of the question will be explored based
on the clear clearp picture icturep painted aintedb by y divine revelationT. revelation. This his is not
a topic for human humans speculation, peculationb. because ecauseh human umang guesswork
uesswork
cannot possibly produce the whole truth in this matter. How
can human beings beingsi intelJectualJy ntellectuallyd deduce educet the he reality of their
existence existencew when hen they can hardly understandh understand how ow their own
brain or its higher highere entity, ntity,t the he mind, functions? C Consequently,
onsequently,
the many manyp philosophers hilosopherws who ho haves have speculated peculateodn on this question
down through the ages have come up with innumerable
answersa, ll of which are basedo n assumptionws hich cannot
answers, all based on assumptions which

Q uestionso n this topic havee venl ed a numbero f
that we do not really exist and that the
uqorldi s imaginaryF. or example, theG reekp hilosopher
(428-348 BC) argued tlrat the everydayw orld of
changeableth ings,w hich manc omest o know by the useo f
sensesi,s primary reality, b ut is a shadoww orld
appearancesM.' any a sw asp reviouslym entioned,
claimeda ndc ontinueto claimt hatt herei s no purposefo r the
creationo f humansa t all. Accordingt o thetrrH, umane xistence
merelya producto f chatrceT. herec an be no purposeif life
evolvedf rom inanimatem atterw hich only becamea nimate
purel uck.H umankind'ss upposed'c ousins,'themonkey
anda pesa ren ot botheredw ith questionos f existences. o why
shouldh umanb eingsb e botheredw ith them?
mostp eoplep ut the qrrestioroif why we are
createda sidea ftero ccasionabl rief reflection.i t i.se xtremely
criticalf or humanb eingsto knowt hea nswerW. ithoutk now-ledgeo
f correct answer. h utnanb eingsb ecomei ndis-tinguishablef
rom theo thera nimalsa roundt hern.T hea nirnal
necessitiesa ndd esireso f eating, d rinkinga ndp ro-creating
purposeo f lrumane xistenceb y default.a nd
efTort is thenf ocusedi n this limiteds phereW. hen
satisfactiond evelopsi nto the most importantg oali n
t 'fhis
vierv expressedi n
knorvn N ew Encltclopaedia Br itunnica.
Repuhlic his rvell
wlrere changin-ep hysical rvorld is
tlrcw all ol'a caveb y graveni mages( Ihe
vol. 25. n. 552).
be proven. Questions on have even led number of
philosophers to claim whole V(0rld is imaginary. For the Greek philosopher
Plato 348 Be) that everyday world changeable things, which man comes to use of
his senses, is not the but shadow world
of appearances. I Many others, as was previously mentioned,
claimed and continue to claim that there is purpose for creation ofhumans at According to them, Human existence
is merely a product of chance. There can purpose if evolved from inanimate matter which became animate
by pure luck. Humankind's supposed 'cousins,' the monkey
and apes are not bothered with questions of existence, so should human beings be bothered with Although most people put question" of created aside after occasional brief reflection, it is extremely
critical for human beings to know the answer. Without knowledge
of the human beings become indistinguishable
from the other animals around them. The animal
necessities and desires of drinking and pro-creating
become the purpose of human existence by default, and
human effort then focused in limited sphere. When
material satisfaction develops into important goal in
I This view was expressed in his book The Republic through well
known metaphor of the cave.
where the changing physical world compared to shadows cast on
the .all 0 r a cave by graven images (The
New Encyciopaedia Britannica. p.

TheP urposeo f Creation tgJ
life, humane xistenceb ecornese venm ored egradedth an of thel owestofanimalsH. umanb eingsw illconsistentlmy isuse
their Go{-giveni ntelligencew hent hey lackk nowledgeo ftheir
purpose of existence. T he degradedh umanm ind usesi ts
abilities to created rugsa ndb ombsa nd becomese ngrossedin
fornication, pornography, h omosexualityf,o rtunetelling,
suicide, etc. Without knowledge of life, existencel osesa ll meaninga nd is consequentlyw asted,a nd
the rewardo f an eternall ife of happinessin hereafteris
completelyd estroyedT. herefore,of the utmosti mportance
that human beings we here?"
life, human existence becomes even more degraded than that
ofthe lowest ofanimals. Human beings wi II consistently misuse
G04-given intelligence when they lack knowledge oftheir
The degraded human mind uses its
create drugs and bombs and becomes engrossed in
homosexuality, fortunetelling,
ofthe purpose oflife, human
existence loses all meaning and consequently wasted, and
reward of eternal life happiness in the hereafter is
completely destroyed. Therefore, it is ofthe utmost importance
correctly answer the question "Why are
Humans most often turn to other human beings like
themselves themselvefso for rthe the answers. auswersH. However. owevert.the h eo only nly placet place that hatc clear
lear
and precise precisea answers nswerst to o these theseq questions uestionsc can an be found is in the
books of diviner evelationI.t was necessartyh atG od the purpose to mant hroughH is prophetsb. ecauseh uman
beings are incapable of arrivinga t correcta nswersb y
themselvesA. ll of the prophetso f God taughtt lreirf ollowers
the answerst o the question" Why did createm an?"
Judeo-Christian Scriptu res
divine revelation. It necessary that God reveal
man through His prophets. because human
arriving at the correct answers by
themselves. All prophets of taught their followers
answers to question "God create man?"
Christian Scriptures
survey of leaves the honest seeker of truth
A surveyo f the Bible leavest he honests eekero f lost. The Old Testamenst Testa..ment seems eemsm more ore concernedw concerned with ith laws
and the history of eariy early man and the Jewish people than with
answeringth answering the ev vital ital questionc question concerning oncerningh humanity's umaniry'sc creation.:!
reation.l
2 2 In Isaiaht Isaiah the he Israelitesa Israelites are rec created reatedt for br God's glory, "'.. But IBut norv now thus says
the Lord. he rvhoc who created reatedy you. ou. O 0 .Jacob. lacob.h he e who formedy formed you. ou. O 0 lsrael:...
Israel: ...

l - L
-Th TI,e eP Purpose u r p o soefC ofCreation
r e o t i o n - _ . .
In ln Genesis, GenesisG, God od creates createsth the e world and Adam and Eve in six
days and ''rests' rests' from His work on the seventh.J Adam A3 dam and
Eve disobey God and are punished and their son Cain kills
their other othei son Abtl AbDl and goes to live in the land ofNod. of Nod. And
God was ''sorry' sorry' that he had made man!man!* 4 Why are the answers
not there therei in n clear cleara and ndu unmistakable nmistakabltee terms? rms?Why W hy is so much
of the language languages symbolic, ymbolic.leaving l eavingt the he reader readert to o guess guessa at t its
meanings? For example, in i n Genesis Genesis6 6::6 6 it is stated, stated," "When
men began begzutro to multiply on the face faceo ofthe f the ground, and a nd daughters
were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters
were took of men fair; and they to wife such of them as they
chose." Who are these "sons of God"? Each Jewish sect and
each of the many Christian sects who followed them have
their own explanations. Which is the correct interpretation?
The truth is that of man's creation was taught by
the of old, however, some of their followers-in
collusion devils-later changed the scriptures. The
answers became vague and much ofthe revelation was hidden
in symbolic language. When God sent Jesus Christ to the
explanationsW. hich correcti nterpretation?
the purpose prophets. ofo ld, s omeo f theirf ollowers-with the changedth e scripturesT. he
answersb ecamev aguea ndm ucho f the revelationw as languageW. henG od sentJ esusC hristt o ''l will up" and south- rvithhold: my from atar andm y daughtersfi om end eafih. 7 evervo nc
who is called by my name. rvhom I tbrmed
andm ade."' (RevisedS tandardV crsion.l saiah4 3:l- 7.)
t "tAnd seventhd ay finishedh is rvorks ,hichh e hadd one.a nd
6'1 say to the north. Give up. to the south. Do not withhold: bring
sons afar and my daughters from the of the earth. 7 every one
whom I created for my glory, whom r tanned
and made.'" Revised Standard Version. Isaiah 43: 1. 6-7.)
3 •• ~And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done. and
he rested on the seventh seventhd day al from all his work which u'hich he had done. i So
350
God blessed blessedt the he seventh sev enthd day ay and hallowed hallowedi it. t. because becauseo on n it God rested
from which he had done in creation:' (RSY. Genesis 2:2-3.)
fiom all his work whichh c hadd onei n creation.("R SV.G enesis2 :2-3.1
n "And hc man grievedh im his heart."( RSV.C enesis6 :6.)
4 "And the Lord was sorry that he had made on the earth. and it
grieved him to heart." (RSY. Genesis 6:6.)

The Purpose of creation f
Tile Purpose ofCreation
Jews, he overturnedth e tableso f thosem erchantsw ho had
set up businesseisn sidet he temple,Sa ndh e preacheda gainst
the ritualistici nterpretationo ftlre law practicedb y the Jewish
rabbis.H e reaffrnnedth e law of ProphetM osesa ndr evivedi t.
He taughtt he purposeo f life to his disciplesa ndd emonstrated
how to fulfill it untilhisl astm omentsin thisw orld.H owever.
after his departureF romt his w'orld.h is rnessagwe as also
distortedb y sornew ho clairnedto amongh is follorvers.
The clealt nrthh e broughtb ecamev ague.li ke of tlre prophetsb efore hirn.s ymbolisrnw as introduced.
especialllt'h rought he" Revelatiorrso"f a ndt heG ospel
which wasr evealedto Jesusw as lost. F ouro therg ospels
conrposedb y men verec hosenb v Athanasiusa, f ourthc entury
bishop.6to replaceth e lostG ospeol f Jesusc hrist.A nd 23 bookso f writingso f Paula ndo thersi ncludedi n theN ew
Testamenot utnumbereedv ent lref our versiolrso f T
As a result, New Testamenrte adersc an'ot answerst o the question" Why did creater nan?"sA nd
Jews, he overturned the tables of those merchants who had
set up businesses inside the temple,' and he preached against
the ritualistic interpretation ofthe law practiced by the Jewish
rabbis. He reaffirmed the law of Prophet Moses and revived it.
He taught the purpose of life to his disciples and demonstrated
how to fulfill it until his last moments in this world. However.
after depat1Ure from this world. his message was also
distorted by some who claimed to be among his followers.
clear truth he brought became vague. like the messages
the prophets before him. Symbolism was introduced,
especially through the '''Revelations'' of John, and the Gospel
which was revealed to Jesus was Four other gospels
composed by men were chosen by Athanasius, a fourth century
bishop,6 to replace the lost Gospel of Jesus Christ. And the
23 books of writings of Paul and others included in the New
Testament outnumbered even the four versions of the gospel.7
As a Testament readers cannot find precise
answers to question "God create manT,g And
'Luke <; Luke t9:19:45 45 ((RSV).
RSV)
6 6 The. The .Vew 'et, Encu-Encyclopaedia c'lop,aedia Britannir.Britannica, r, vo[. vol. l4- 14. p. gl4.
814.
7 7 tn In tlre the rnicl-mid-4th 4th ccntur,'century manuscript manuscncpat called llecCl Codc 'odexS Sinaiticus. inaiticust.the l .reL Letter
etter
of of Barnaba.Barnabas sa and nd the the shepherd Shepherd ol a/Hernias Hernrfl.ra are rc included included as as a a part part of of the
the
New New Testamen(Testament. t.(T The lrc Sew N'ewE Encyclopaedia ncvclopctedBiur Briwnnica. irunnical.o 01. l. 14.14. p p. . gl4.)
814.)
t 1 what What rnayb may be e citedi cited in n the the Kin-King e. .lanres lames Version Version as as the the purpose purpose o{'of crcation.
creation,
Revelatio4n: Revelation 4: ll II "'"Thou fhou art art worthy, vonh.o 0 Lord.Lord. r III o rcceiveg receive glory lor-va (Inc! nclh honor onora and
nd
porver:power: l for ilr thouh thou hast astc created reatcda all ll thin-things. ssa.and n df for or thv thy pleasuret pleasure they hey are are and
and
were were created."created." i is s retranslateidn retranslated in the the Reri Reised st-'dS Standard tandarcVle Version rsiona as: s:" "worthr,.
Worthy
art art thou. thou, our our Lord Lord and and God. God. to lO reccrvcg receive glory lor-ra and nd honcura honour and nclp power. og.er-f.for
b r
thoud thou didst idstc create reatea all ll things.things. a and nd by by thy thy will will they they existeda existed and nd werec were created.-'
reated."

The Purpose of Creation
The ofCreation
one is forced to blindly follow whatever sect they happen to belong are interpreteda ccordingt o eachs ect'sb eliefs,a nd of truth is again left wondering, which The Incarnation Perhapsth e only coffrmonc oncept o mostC hristians ects
regarding the purpose mankind's became man so that He could cleanseth emo f sin inheritedfr om According tothem,this sin had great act of atonement or repentancec ould erasei t. that sinful man cannots tan'db eforeH im. Consequentlyo, nly
God's sacrificeo f Himselfc oulds aveh umankindfr om Belief in this man-madem yth becameth e for salvation, accordingt o Consequentlyt,h e
Christianp urposeo f creationb ecameth e recognitiono f 'divine sacrifice'a ndt he acceptanceo f JesusC hrist Lord God. This may be followirrg attributedt o Jesusin the Gospela ccordingto John," so loved the world that he Flove his Son, believes in him should perish eternal lift."'
ln Paul's lettert o the Colossiansh e explainst hat rvorld fbr .lesus"r 5Hei s the imageo f the invisibleG od.t he bomo f r6for in him all thingsw erec reated.heavena nd anr:
invisible. rvhetherth rone'so r dominionso r principalitieso r authorities-all
thingsw erec reatedt hrough C olossian|s : t John3. :16( RSV) .
the contrived dogmas of
to or adopt. The gospels
interpreted according to each secfs beliefs~ and the seeker
wondering~ one is correct?
of God
Perhaps the common concept to most Christian sects
of mankind~s creation is that God
die at the hands of men to
cleanse them ofsin inherited from Adam and his descendants.
to them, become so that no human
repentance could erase it. God is so good
cannot stan'd before Him. Consequently~ only
sacrifice of Himself could save humankind from sin.
made myth became the only source
according to the Church. Consequently~ the
Christian purpose of creation became the recognition of the
'divine sacrifice' and the acceptance of Jesus Christ as the
deduced from the following words
attributed to Jesus in Gospel according to John, "For God
gave only Son. that whoever
not but have eternallife.,,9
In letter to Colossians he explains that the world was created
for Jesus .d5He is image ofthe invisible God. the first-born of all creation:
16for things were created. in heaven and on earth. visible amI
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authoritiesall
things were created through him and for him."(RSV. Colossians I: 15).
9 John, 3: 16 (RSY).

of Creation
However, ifthis is the purposeo f creationa ndt he prerequisite
for everlastingli fe,w hy was it rrott aughtb y prophets?
Why did God not become man in the time offspring so that all mankind would have an equal fulfill their purposefo r existencea nda ttaine verlastingli fe.
Or did thoseb eforeJ esus't ime havea notherp urposef or
existence? All people today whom God has to hearo f Jesusa lsoh aven o chanceto fulfill supposed
purposeo f creation. S ucha purposei.s obviouslyt oo limited
to fit the need of humankind.
Everything is The Hindu scripfures teach gods,
incarnationso f gods, p ersonso f God andt hat everythingi s
God, Brahman. ln spite oftlre belief thatthe self (atman)
of all living beingsi s actuallyB rahtnan,a n oppressivec aste
systeme volved in which the Brahmanst,l rep riestlyc aste,
possesss pirituals upremacby 5rb irth.T heya ret he teacherso f
the Vedastja ndr epresentth e idealo f ritual purity prestigeO. n theo therh and.t heS udrac astea ree xcludedf rom
religiouss tatusa ndt heirs oled uty in life "to sewem eekly"ll
the othert hreec astesa ndt heir thousandso f subcastes.
t" l'eda,m eaning"K nowleclge.i"s collectivete rrnf or revealed(s nili:
All in doctrinesa ndp ractiseso f I-lindusa ree ncoded-recognizeda s
beingc omposedb y humana uthorsa nd aret husc lasseda ss mriti
lrememberedl. ( Encltclopaedia Britannica, " Manaua 1.91. p. purpose of creation and the everlasting life, why not taught by all the of Adam and his
chance to
purpose for existence and attain everlasting life.
those before Jesus' time have another purpose for
destined never
hear of Jesus also have no chance to their purpose of Such a purpose, is obviously too God
scriptures that there are many incarnations of persons of and that everything is
In of the that the self alJ beings is actually Brahman, an oppressive caste
system evolved Brahmans, the priestly caste,
possess spiritual supremacy by birth. They are the teachers of
Vedas 10 and represent the ideal of and social
prestige. On the other hand, the Sudra caste are excluded from
religious status and their sale duty is serve meekly" I
1
other three castes and their thousands of 10 The I'eda, meaning ·'Knowledge." is a collective term for revealed (sruti:
heard) sacred scriptures of the Hindus. other works-in which the
actual doctrines and practises of Hindus are encoded-are recognized as
having being composed by human authors and are thus classed as smriti
(remembered). The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. vol. 20. p. 530.)
1 Manava Dharmasastra 1.9t: (The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, vol.
20, 553.)

f n , n r p " t , pt9rta*" . .
According to Hindu philosophers, monist humankind's
oftheir divinity and-following a
purpose is the realization of their path (marga) to emancipation (moksha) rebirth-the reabsorbtion of the soul (atman) ullimate reality, Brahman the path,l2 purpose loveGod becauseG od humankind to "enjby as children" (Srimad Blngwatam). main aim of worldly duties, to the traditional caste-the
path margq) from the wheel of
the ofthe human soul into the
ultimate Brahman. For those following the bhakti
12 the is to love God because God created
enjoy a relationship-as a father enjoys his
Bhagwatam). For the ordinary Hindu, the
ofworldly life lies in conforming to social and ritual
rules of conduct for one's castethe
path. 13
karma r3
Although most of the religion of the ofthe ofthe Vedic texts, which
revolves around rituals by Hindu docffines practices absolute authority and sacrednqsso f central tenet virtually Veda is composedo f four collectionst,h e oldesto f the Rlgueda ("Wisdom of the described in the most confusing inthe Rigvedai s a polytheismm ainly concernedw ith deities associatedw ith atmospheret,h e most
important were Indra (god Baruna (guardian sacrificial
of fire sacrifice, has been eclipsed
doctrines and found in other texts, the
sacredness of the Veda remains a
of all Hindu sects and traditions. The
composed of collections, the oldest of which is
Rigveda ofthe Verses"). In these texts, God is
~he terms. The religion reflected
in the Rigveda is polytheism mainly concerned with appeasing
associated with the sky and the atmosphere, the "most
ofwhich of the heavens and rain),
of the cosmic order), Agni (the sacr~ficial
tt are
11 The path of devotion to a personal God in which murtis (idols) are
worshipped with the hope of goingto going to krishnaloko krishna/oka (a spiritual planet) in
their next lives.
1' 13 The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Britannica. vol. 20. p. 520.

of Creotion
fire), and Surya (the and Sun). In later Vedic texts, interest in the
Rigvedic gods polytheism early declines, and begins to be
replaced pantheism Prajapati (Lord by a sacrificial to of
w ho is All. ln Upanishads( secrett eachings
Creatures), who the All In the Upanishads (secret teachings
concerning cosrnic Prajapati cosmic equations), merges with the
concept of Brahman, the thes supreme upremer reality eality and substance substanceo of
f
the 'universe, ~universe, replacing replacinga any ny specific personification, thus
t hus
transforming transformingt the he mythology mytholory into abstract abstractp philosophy. hilosophy.'14 oI If f the
contents of these scriptures were all that human beings had
to choose from for guidance, one would have to conclude
that God hid both Himself and the purpose of creation from
humankind.
God is not the author of confusion, nor does He wish
difficulty for mankind. Consequently, C onsequentlyw, when hen He revealed
His final communication to hUl1J.huqankind ankind one thousand four
hundred ago,.He ensured that for all ofthe gene~ations of human beings to come. In that
final scripture, the Qur'an(Koran), God revealed His for creating mankind and, through His last prophet. He clarified
all of the details which man could comprehend. It is on the
basis of this revelation and the prophetic explanations that
we will analyze the precise answers to the question "did God create man?" in the coming years He it was perfectly preserved
generationso f beingst o scripturet,h e Qur'an (Koran),G od revealedH is purpose
propheL detailsw hich manc outdc ornprehendIt. orrt he
revelationa ndt he prophetice xplanationtsh at
analyzet he precisea nswersto question" Why
pages.
tn 14 The New New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Britannica. vol. 20. pp. 529-530.
530.

Purpose of Crcation
Why RoM THE potNT oF vtEw oF Goo, EvEN fundamental question needs God This question humankind is not, in fact, the greatest creation. Chapter of the final revelation:
/r..3' jki #', /fit f
'c';r
,-r't:jis,:,r,,*L,triJr l
{brH r
"Indeed, greater Qur'an 4A:57
The composition of human beings is far less than the compositiono f the universei n which However, very few people reflect reatity. of the apparents upremacyo f humanb eingso ver creatureso n this earth, m an'sj ourneyst hroughs pacea nd continued advancemenot f their technologya nd humankindi n everya geb ecomesa rroganta ndc onsidersit self
greatest thing in this world. worth noting that the
humankind'sa mazingd iscoveriesa re not
concerningt he human surroundingsT.h us,
material world rather
Did God Create?
FROM POINT OF VIEW OF GOD, AN EVEN more
to be asked, "Why did
create?" should be asked because
God says in
Ghaafir ...,..1-111 ~f ~~ ...,..lf1, ~ ~ :r.rf JP~~I~ ~~ ~}
.... ".... .... ...
{~~~
"Indeed, the creation of the heavens and the earth
is than the creation of mankind, but most
of mankind do not realize it."
Qur'an 40:57
complex
composition of universe in they exist.
on this reality. Because
apparent supremacy of human beings over the other
creatures on man's journeys through space and the
advancement of technology and knowledge,
humankind in every age becomes arrogant and considers itself
the It is majority of humankind's amazing discoveries are concerning the being, but his surroundings. Thus,
human efforts tend to be focused on the

f n , Pr r p r t " trlt
The Purpose 0/Creation
"f
Cr"tti . -
than human beings. In this verse, God brings human beings
back to their actual status this world. Humankind is merely
a smallp arto f thee xistenceth at resultedf rom act of divine creation. T hus, in ordert o understandw hy created mankind, one first needs fundamentaql uestiono f why God The Creator
than human beings. In this verse, God brings human beings
actual status in Humankind is merely
a small part ofthe existence that resulted from the miraculous
Thus, order to understand why God
to answer the even more
fundamental question of created.
Creation is fundamentallyth e consequencoef the fundamentally the consequence ofthe divine
attribute of being the creator. A who is something of a contradictioni n terms.T his that God needs His creation. God is free creation which needsH im. But, as the greatnesos f becomesa pparenti n his writings, the perfectiono f the creativea ttributei s manifestin creation. C reationi n sensei s uniquet o God alone. A lthoughh umansa scribeth e
act of creationt o themselvesw, hatt hey do Humankind merelym anipulatesw hat alreadye xists-was already created by God. A table which came from treesa nd is held togetherw ith nailsa nd
screws made from metalthat came from rocks. did not make the trees orthe rocks. In fact, can be tracedb ackt o basice lementsw hich humansc annot
make. E vent he artist ocreatesd' esignsb asedo n seen. It is not possible to imagine what has by the sensesT. hus,a ll of the artist's thoughtsa re on what was already created. Only Creator. creator does not create
contradiction in tenns. This is not to say
from all needs. It is
needs Him. greatness of a writer
becomes apparent in perfection ofthe divine
creative attribute is manifest in Creation in the true
sense is unique to Although humans ascribe the
ofcreation to themselves, what they is not true creation.
merely manipulates what already exists-what
is made from wood
trees and together with nails and
metal that Human beings
or the all human creations
traced back to basic elements which humans cannot
Even the 'creates' designs based on what he has
not been perceived
senses. Thus, all ofthe thoughts are reflections
God alone creates from

The Parpose Purpose of ofC.Creation
reation
T his basicf act was is incomprehEnsiblteo
Somea ncienta s well modernp hilosophersw, ho
nothing. This basic fact and still incompreh~nsible to
some. Some ancient as as modern philosophers, who
could not comprehend how God could create from nothing,
claimed claimedt that hatthec the created reatedw world orld and its contents contentsa are rea all ll originally
a part of GOd. God.'15 t That is, according to them, God took a part
of Himself Himselfa and ndm made adet the he universe. universeT. This his conclusion conclusionis is based
on comp~comparingGodtomanw, ngGodtoman, who ho can cano only nly ''create' create'b by y modifying
modiffing
what already exists. However, God, denies any such
comparisons which' would give Him human limitations. In
Chapter ash-Shooraa Shooraa of the final revelation, He states:
{ ~. ""i, ~ d' ;.'~ ~ ~~JAJ~,__ ~'.'... }
{}*lr g;*lJr ,r'ri,f br -l }
"There is nothing like Him and He is the AIIHearer
"There All-
Hearer Seer."
Qur'an 42: 11
and the All-Seer."
Qur'an 11
creafioni s conSequencoef the divine
Thus, the act of creation.is a consequence of beingt heC reatot.G od describesH imself ast he
attribute of being the Creator. God describes Himself as the
Creator in a variety ofverses throughout the final revelation to
emphasize to humankind that everything belongs to Creatori n avariety ofversest hroughoutt he revelationt o
emphasizteo humankindth ate verythingb elongsto Him alone.
ts ln
I! This is also Hindu belief regarding the supreme reality. Brahman. In
the last (lOth) book of the Rigveda: in the of the Cosmic PurusasukJa), it is said that the universe created out of the body ofa single cosmic man Purl/sa) when his body dismembered at the primordial sacrifice. The four castes emerge body: the priest (Brahman) from the mouth. the warrior Rajanya) arms. the peasant (from the thighs. and the servant (from
the legs. (The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, vol. 20. 53 I ).
Rr'3n'edain: "Hymn Man"
(Purusasukta), was the parts of
of a singlec osmicm an (Ptrrursar)v henh is was burned and
tbur from his
wanior (Raianya) from the
peasan(t Vaisya) f rom a nd servant( Sudra) f rom
legs.( NewE ncltclopaediaB ritannica,v ol. p. 531).

l-L
of Creation _ _
""Allah Allah is the Creator of all things and He is the
agent on which all things depend."
{~J ~~ JS" Js. JA J~~ Y~~ ~l}
Qur'an 39:62
Qur'an 62
tt;,;; ur;35ii ii,rry
"And Allnh crested you {~P~J~~IJ}
"And Allah created all and whatever you do."
Qur'an 37:96
Qur'an 96
that place Man needs to realize nothing takes in this
universew ithout permissiono f seekp rotection
universe without the permission of God. To seek protection
from evil or to seek to acquire good from any source other
than God is a major mistake. Due to ignorance, many attempt to avoid misfortune and to fortune through
a variety of channs and amulets, astrology, etc.
Consequently, in the final revelation, Chapter al-Falaq, God
informs hum~n beings to·seek refuge-in God from evil:
D ue ignorancem, any people
misfornrne gain good charms palmistry, human to.seek refugrin ty 6? u P,q'r'tii'y}
""Say: Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the dawn, from
the evil ofwhat of what He has created."
Qur'an 113:1-2
Qur'an I l3:1-2
He good. created
Allah, God Almighty, is not evil; is He whiche vil goodc anb e doneb y beingst o a world in which evil or good can be done by beings to whom
He this ability. However. no evil or good can take in this without the permission of God.. This is why it
futile to turoto others besides God help and gave However, place
world withoutt he permissiono f Thisi s is turn to othersb esidesG od for protection.

of Creation - _n_7l
{~ IJb~ ~1 r:,o~ ~ y~i La}
{i' 9i9
'11.,.*=.a
a -'t:ei 6)
'" "" ,,~ -"
"No strikes by "No calamity except Allah's permission"
Qur'an, 64: II
Qur 'an6. 4: l I
The final prophet of God, Muhammad (~), (ffi), further
furrher
aware that ifthe whole
elaborated on this concept, saying, "Be owore if the of mankind gathered together to do something to help you,
you.
they would only be able to do somethingfor you which u,hich Alloh
Allah
had already written writtenfor for you: Likewise. Likewise, ifthe f the whole ofmankind
of mankind
gathered together to harm you, they would only be able to
do something to harm you which Allah had already written
to happen to yott."t6
t h ,,16 o appen you.
The Merciful, The Forgiving
In creation of humankind, the divine attributes of
the creationo f humankirrdt,h e divinea ttributeso f
forgiveness, forgivenessm, mercy ercya and ndk kindness indnessa are rea also lsom manifested. anifestedH. Human
uman
beings were created good and pure with a natural awareness
of good gooda and nde evil. vil. The Almighty also alsoc created reatedin in humansd humans desires,
esires.
and gave gavet them hem an ability to control controlt those hosed desires esiresa according
ccording
to divine law or to tum turn them loose and follow them blindly.
God created createdm mankind ankindk knowing nowingt that hatt they hey would disobeyH disobey Him.
im.
Consequently, ConsequentlyH, He etaughth taught human umanb beings, eings,b beginning eginningw with ith Adam,
how to repent and andt thereby herebyp purify urifo themselveso themselves of f their sins.
Adam and Eve represent represenat a patternf pattern for or all mankindt mankind to o follow.
16 Reported by 'Abbaasa nd collectedb y at-Tirmitheea nd authenticated
in $afueefoSunaatn- Tirmifueev,o l. 2. pp. 308-9.n o. 2043.
16 by'Abbaas and collected by Tirmi!hee and Saheeh. Sunan at-Tirmi!flee, vol. 9. no.

I - ^ L
of Crcation U
commandmenot f God, and Satanp layedo n
They forgot the commandment of Satan played on
their desires. After they disobeyed God, turned back
to Him in repentance, and He forgave them. In disobedience and turning back to repentance, the attributes of total forgiveness and mercy become
manifest. The final Prophet (~) informed his followers of desiresA. fter had disobeyedG od, they turnedb ack
repentancea,n dH e forgavet hem.I n humankind's
disobediencea ndt urningb ackt o God in repentanceth, e divine
attributeso f forgivenessa nd infinite mercyb ecome
T he Prophe(t x;) informedh is followerso f this
saying, "Ifyou did Allah.
reality, "lf you not commit sins and turn to Allah,
forgiveness, would you with
seeking His forgiveness, He have replaced another people who would sin, ask Allah's forgiveness He wouldforgive them. ,,17 Every one of the 114 Chapters of
the final revelation, except one, begins with prayer, "In
the name ofAllah, the Beneficent the Allah's
attributes of mercy and forgiveness are stressed to humans not fall despair. No matter how great the of human beings may God forgive them ifman turns
back to Him in sincere repentance. The Messenger (~) quoted as saying, "When Allah created the He an obligation on Himself [recorded} document Him: My mercy supersedes my wrath."18 He was also reported
to have said, "[Allah created} mercy with parts.
one ofwhich was sent down upon thejinn. beings other living beings. It out ofthis one each other, show kindness to each other even treat their offspring with affection. Allah has forgiveness and
would.forgiveth em."'t Everyo ne ll4 Chapterso f
revelatione, xcepto ne,b eginsw ith the prayer," ln
nameo f Allah,t he Beneficentth e Most Merciful." A llah's
attributeso f mercya ndf orgivenessa res tressetdo encourage
humansn ot to into despairN. o matterh ow greatt he sins
humanb eingsm ay be, G od can forgivet hem if mant urns
sincerer epentanceT.h e Messenge(rx ) was
quoteda ss aying,"WhenA llah createdt he universe, H e made
[recordedJ in a kept by
mercys upersedems ywrqtfr."l8H e wasa lsor eponed
said," [Allah createdJ v,ith one hundred parts,
of whichwas upan the jinn, human and
ather is oJ'this part that they love
and the animals
lheir ffipring affiction. reserved the
17 " Sahih SohihM Muslim. uslint,vol. v ol. 4. pp. 1435-6. 6.no. n o. 6621. reported r eportedb by y Aboo Ayyoob
al-AnEaaree.
An~aaree.
t' SohihM uslint,v ol.p n o,r eportedb y 18 Sahih Muslim, vo!. 4. p. 1437. no. 6628. reported by Aboo Hurayrah.

I L
The of Creation _
remaining nine for remammg ninety-nine parts for His true worshippers on the
Day ofResurrection. ,,19
of Re s urr e c t i on." I e
Had Allah wished, He H e could have havec created reatedm mankind ankindl like
ike
angels, incapable i ncapableo of f committing committings sin. in. However, that t hat was not
His wish, as asH He e had hada already lreadyc created reateda angels. ngelsH. Human umanb beings
eings
were created capable capableo of f making makingm mistakes istakesa and nd when they
realize their errors and seek seekC God's od's forgiveness, forgivenesst,the h e divine
attributeso f mercya nd forgivenessb ecomem anifest.
Supreme Justice
attributes of mercy and forgiveness become manifest.
In the judgment of mankind the at end of this world,
God's attributes attributeso of f supreme supremeju justice sticea and nd fairness fairnessa also lsob become
ecome
manifest. Based Basedo on n His infinite knowledge, God G od could have
created all members of the human race who were to eartha nd immediatelyp laceds omeo f them in paradisea nd
the remaindeirn hell. B eforec reatingm an,A llah alreadyk new
what choicesth eyw ouldm akei n this life, w hat provisiona nd
opportunitiesH e would give them, a nd in what stateo f or disbelief they would die. Therefore, in ones enseit could
be saidt hat somep eoplew ere createdf or paradisea nd for hell. 'Aa'ishah, wife of the Prophet Muhammad (*g),
quoted him as saying,"Don't you lcnout,h at Allah paradise and hell, and He crealed inhabitants for each?"2o
If God had immediatelyp lacedt hoseh eadedf or paradisei n
paradiset,h eyw ould not questionG od's decisionT. hosei n
tn Ibid. .v ol .4. p 1437. n o.6631.r epor tedb y Aboo Hurayrah.
to Ibid. .v ol .4. p 1400. n o.6 435.
live on
earth and immediately placed some of paradise and
remainder in Before creating man, Allah already knew
choices they would make in what provision and
opportunities He and state of belief
one sense it said that some people were created for paradise and others
'Aa'ishah, (~),
saying, "know that created
created for each?,,20
immediately placed those headed for paradise in
paradise, they would question God's decision. Those in
19 Ibid.. vol. 4. p. no. 663 I. reported by 20 Ibid.. vol. 4. p. no. 6435.

The Purpose of Crestion
paradisew ould happilya ccepta n everlastingli fe of blissa nd
be thankful that they were not placed in helr. However, those
immediately placed in hell would ask why. They would feel
a senseo f unfairnesds uet o their ignoranceo f what theyw ould
have done had they lived on earth. Those relentlessly argue that had they live
out their liveso n earth, t heyw ould haveb erieveda ndd one
righteousd eedsc. onsequentlyA, llah allowsh umanb eings
to live out their Iiveso n eartha ndm akea ll thec hoicest hey
would havem ade,s ot hate veryonew ho entersh eil that theyc hoseh ellb y themselveTs.h eyw ill recognizeG od's
mercy in their livesa nda cknowledgeth eirs in His signsa ndg uidhnceA. 'd theyw ill accepHt isj udgment
as beingj ust andb eyondr eproach.H owever.t heyw ill still
beg for anotherc hancet o do good in world.a sc od in Clraptera s-Sajdafot f the t-i;di dr'r+r'+'#;, r j-{ri iyr+.Jr it s; "f:}
t rrti 6tv ta,1;';g; rti t:;;,
If only you could see [the timel will bow their heads before [sayingf ,
tour Lord! We have now seen heard, send
us back and we will do righteous deeds, Verily; we
now believe with certaintv.' "
Qur'an, 32:The Purpose ofCreation
paradise would happily accept an everlasting life of bliss and
be thankful that they were not placed in hell. However, those
immediately placed in hell would ask why. They would feel
a sense ofunfaimess due to their ignorance ofwhat they would
have done had they lived on earth. Those in hell would
relentlessly argue that been given a chance to live
out their lives on they would have believed and don~
righteous deeds. Consequently, Allah allows human beings
lives on earth and make all the choices they
would have made, so that everyone who enters hell will know
they chose hell by themselves. They will recognize God's
mercy lives and acknowledge their sin in rejecting
His signs and guidance. A.nd they will accept His judgment
as being just and beyond reproach. However, they will sti II
beg for another chance to this world, as God says
in Chapter as-Sajdah of Qur'an:
l-i~' ~~;.f~ ~ ~;~ I;...fU ~;~,~! l.S} Jf~}
{ ~A; If! ~~ ~ ~~~ ~~
/ /
"If lthe time) when the sinners
their Lord, [saying],
'Our and heard, so send
righteous deeds. Verily; we
now believe with certainty.' "
Qur'an, 32: 12

o[Crestion r
this world
However, if Allah were to send them back to whatthey hell, they would again
having forgotten what they had seen of choose evil and end up in hell as before. this in Chapter ai-An 'aam:
God spoke about
al-An'aaml
{iji,iJ d* w i# e iririi it'r'i'r11
... '" I' ... • 0.1 .. C/I A ~ ......
iJ;~~ ~!J ~ '* ~ 'J~Al 'J~) JlJ}
"But [to worldl' "But if they were returned [to this world], they
would certainly go backlo back.to what was forbidden to
thelD. Indeed they are liars."
them. thev Qur'an, 6:28
Qur'an, existence,
God's love is manifest in beings brought into disbelievert,o enjoy life, if only for a
whether believer or disbeliever, to brief moment. It i~ also realized in the for those who choose righteousness over evil. states in
the final revelation that He loves those who do good (those who are 42), those who 4), who are. patient those who (3: 159), those who frequently tum to repentance and
those who purify themselves (2:222). However, it has defined for human beings through the scriptures and prophets what is good, just and Consequently, those
who follow the prophets are most beloved to God. In Aal 'Imraan, Allah instructed Prophet Muhammad- (~) to the following to the believers:
is creation of paradise
Divine Love
thosew ho chooser ighteousnesosv er Allah statesi n
revelationth at lovest hosew ho good( 5: 13),
just (5:42), are pious (9:4), those
are (3: 146), put their trust in Him
thosew ho frequentlyt urn Him in repentancea nd
puriff themselves(2 :222).H owever,i t is He who
definedf or humanb eingst hrought he scripturesa nd the
j ust pious. C onseQuentlyth, ose
prophetsa re mostb elovedt o ln Chapter
'lmraan, instructedP rophetM uhammad'(#Et)o say
t&;i
'"3r'-;elii"" -t $;il ,rrt:hr oi7.r;r bll
{~j~ ~ ~J ~ ~::;.,; ~~~ ~, ~kJ ~ ~!}

fh" P"rprt" rf Crettir, WI
_
65If you really love Allah, follow me and Allah witl
love you and forgive your sins."
"If you really love Allah, follow me and Allah will
love you and forgive your sins."
Qur'an 3:31
Qur'an 3:3 I
The prophets should be followed not only in the
The prophets should be followed not only in the
compulsory compulsory acts acts ordained ordained by God, God, but also also in their eagerness
eagerness
to do do acts of voluntary worship.
The love of God is also manifest manifesti in n His mercy mercya and
nd
blessings blessingsw which hich He grants grantsf fo o those thosew who ho deserve deserveth them em as as well
well
as those thosew who ho do not. But, it is particularly particurarrym manifest anifesti in n His
His
willingness willingnesst to o forgive forgivet the he sins sinso of f whomsoever whomsoevetru turns rnst to o Him
Him
in in sincere sincerer repentance. epentanceF. From rom the creation creationo of f Adam and and Eve,
Eve,
repentance repentance was granted to them to erase their sins as as an
an
example example to all human beings who would follow them into
into
this this world. No matterh matter how ow great greath human umans sins insr may nayb become, ecome,t the
he
door door for sincere sincerer repentance epentancere remains mainso open penu until ntil the lastd last day
ay
of this world. Anasq Anas quoted uotedA Allah's llah's Messenge(Messenger (~) r# ) as saying,
saying,
""Allah. Allah. the Almighty, has said.- said: O 0 son of ofAdam, Adam, as long as
as
you you call call on Me and ask of ofMe, Me, I will forgive forgive what you hate
have
done, done, and and I do not mind. O 0 son of ofAdam. Adam. even if ifyour your sins
reached reached the clouds and andyou you asked askedMyforgiveness, IrIy forgiveness, I witt willforgive
forgive
you. you. O 0 son son of ofAdam, Adam, ,ifyou f you came to Me with sins nearly as
great great as as the earth and andyou you met Me Me without giving Me Mepartners,
partners,
I I will will give give you you a a similar similar amount amount offorgiveness."offorgiveness. ,,21
2l
2f collected by at-Tirmithee and authenticated in galre elt sunan at-
Tirmilheev, ol. 3. pp. 175-6.n o. 2805.
21 Collected by at-Tirmi!hee and authenticated in Sab.eeb. Sunan atTirmifhee,
vol. 3. pp. 175-6. no. 2805.

pmadise, based
grace that will Prophet of Allah (#) said in this
your do right, and be l*ppy. For none
enterparadiseo nlybecauseo f hisd eeds."H is said," O Messengeor f eveny ou?" replied,"Not
unlessA ttah envelopsm e in His mercya nd gtace.z2
thst loved by Allah is one
small."Z3 It faith and
Aal 'Imraan, Jo'Hl,i e#urrv ,f
't
q.Ai'p'ai y-alu. "q
",iI
{iiru r p; ,+r+
"Whoever brings [the
ofl deed
it, and they will
wronged.tt
Qur'an 6: 160
WereG odtohold humankindto accounts trictly,n o one's
deeds. However, God
manifestedH is graceb y multiplyingt he valueo f good
w hile keepinge vil deedsa t theirf acev alue. is by
22 Sahih Muslim, vol. 4, p.
" Sahih Muslim, vol. 4, pp
1473. 6765. Hurayrah.
1473-4. no. 6770. 'Aa'ishah.
Divine Grace
As forthose in paradise, they will not enter it solely on their good deeds. It is the of God ultimately
carry them there. The final (~) regard, "Try best to happy. will enterparadise only because ofhis deeds. " His companions
said, "0 Messenger of Allah! Not even you?" He replied, "Not
even I, unless Allah envelops me His mercy and grace. 22
And bear in mind that the deed most done constantly, even though it is small. ,,23 However, God's
grace is not arbitrary. is based on both correct righteous deeds. In Chapter Aill 'Imraan, Allah says:
~! ~~ ~ ~::.. I~ ~~ :; J~~f ';:..s. ill f' ;J~ ~~ :;}
{~J~Hal ~ ;.A J~
"Whoever brings a good deed, will have [the
value of] ten like it, and whoever brings an evil will only be punished with one like not be wronged."
Qur'an 160
Were God to hold humankind to account strictly, no good deeds would outweigh their evil has manifested His grace by multiplying the value of deeds, while keeping evil deeds at their face value. It 22 Sahih Muslim, vol. 4. p. 1473. no. 6765. reported by Aboo 23 Sahih Muslim, vol. 4. pp. 1473-4. no. 6770. reported by "Aa'ishah.

I 241 - Il
the grace of God that the true believers enter paradise. This
does not mean that deeds have no role. Deeds have a major
role, but they are not the deciding factor. God's grace
outweighs them.
Consequently, the creation of human beings, the errors
that they make and the good they do are all circumstances
for the manifestation of mercyand
forgivenessH, is attributeo fjustice attributeo f Humankind should question to
manifest His attributes in that this was the bestw ay, becauseA llah describesH imself as
being the Most wise and KnowredgeableH. umans
can only understandw hat choosesto revealt o them.
{",ia lr +dr'c '?i*# r;}
will only trnor"hAge He wishes.tt
Qur'an Thus, theyshould not try equatet hemselvesw ith God.
If He has told humankind why somerhing,
it is not for them to question why such
questions are without end It
is theyw ho be questionedo n Judgmenta bout
their actionsandin tentionsa ndn ot He.chaptera l-Allah addressetsh is point:
{.jU"Ji,W_6i tu"t}
the grace of God that the true believers enter Paradise. This
does not mean that deeds have no fO,le. Deeds have a major
role, but they are not the deciding factor. God's grace
outweighs them.
Consequently, the creation of human beings, the errors
and good that they do are all circumstances
God's attributes of mercy and
forgiveness, His attribute ofjustice and His attribute of grace.
not why God chose to
this way. It can only be assumed
best way, because Allah describes Himselfas
Wise the Most Knowledgeable. Humans
understand what Allah chooses to reveal to them.
{~~ ~ ~!~~<~~~~~}
"They encompass of His knowledge what
wishes."
Qur'an 2:255
they should to equate themselves with God.
IfHe He decided to do something,
He decided to decide. Such
questions and thus beyond human scope. It
they who will questioned on the Day of Judgment about
their actions and intentions and not He. In Chapter al-Ambiyaa,
Allah addresses this point:

The Purpose of ofCreation
Creation
""IIe He cannot be questioned as to what He does, while
they will will.be questioned."
Qur'an. 21 :23
Qur'an,2l:23
(*) was In this regard Prophet Muhammad (~) reported by
'Abbaas said,"the of AIIah but
Ibn 'Abbaas to have said, "Reflect on creation ofAllah do not reflect on Allah."Allah. ,,24 2o To reflect on the reality of Allah Alldh is
to reflect on the infinite. And, as the mind boggles when it
reflects on the limits ofthe of the finite universe and the galaxies and
stars within it, it will be more morec confounded onfoundedw when hen it attempts
to understand understandt the he uncreated. uncreatedT. The he Prophet Prophet( (~) ff) warned warnedt that hat the
satanic forces forcesw would ould seek seekt to o introduce introduced doubts oubtsi in n the hearts
of the theb believers elieversb by y raising raisingu unanswerable nanswerablqeu questions estionas about boutG God.
od.
Aboo Hurayrah related relatedt that hat Allah' Allah's sMesseng~Messenge(r (~) rS ) said,
"Sstan Satan will come to everyone ofyou of you and ask: Who created
this and that?-until until he questions: questions; Who created your Lord?
When he comes to that, one should seek Allah [say:
1 affirm my faith in Allah and His prophets)25 and avoid
[such thoaghts]. ,,26
Wen refuge in fsay:
I ffirm faith Hisp rophetsJ2a5n d [such thofrghtsJ."26
ta Nugym inql-Hiah authenticatebdy al-
Albaanee Silsilaha l-Aftaadeetha s--Sakeehavho, l. 4. p 12. n o. | 788,
24 Collected by Aboo NU}liym in gl-lf.ilyah and authenticated by alAlbaanee
in Silsilah al-A!l.aadeeth a~-S.a!l.eebah, vol. p. no. 1788.
fiom 'Umar collected by ag-Jabamanee
There is also a similar narration from Ibn 'Umar bya!-Iabaraanee
in al-Awsa{ Awsalanda and al-l-Bayhaqee Bayhaqeein in Shu .Sftu'aba 'ab al-l-Eemaan.
Eemaan.
25 Sahih Muslim, vol. L p. 77. nos. 242 & 243.
26 Ibid., vol. 1, p. 77. no. 244 and Sahih AI-Bukhari, vol. 320~ no. 25 Mttslim, l- p &.2,43.
'u lbid., l, and Al-BuWnri, 4, p. 320, no, 496.

rt
of Creation il
Mankind?
T.t noM TF{E PERSPECTTVEO F THE
F{
qUESTION "Why implies "For
I purposew asm an created?" ln the revelation,
question answeredw ithout ambiguity. H umans
every human being is an innatec onsciousnesosf In Chaptera l-A'raq/:
JF:qli; ilJrl e:*b i;; .F b {; ;;f i11}
ei *l y[ilr r'rlfbf *y -,r,i.i' i &t U*ti 'fi;;i
',.-'^{r:g:'t, ,F b u;qtl! '-hiG l jrr'ti'g#,vt :,^f
ii9I'r
"l,w':k#!tb$ "[Rememberl descendantsa nd
them [sayingl:
'Am L,ord?'
'Yes, [This was] 'We this.t tlt you Qur'an, 172-3
Why Did God Create FQUESTION RO~ THE PERSPECTIVE OF HUMANKIND, did God create man?" what purpose was man In final this is answered without any Humans
are first informed by God that born
with innate consciousness of God. Chapter al-A 'raq/~
Allah said:
~ itA¥) ~~~ ~?~ ~ ~;~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~!)}
~ It' ~lii, '. , i. ~:: ~i lr -~ i: i .l . ~~, ~- · 'i· ~fi
~' - ~Jt y~ ~~ y r-l:............,~.
~ i;~~ ~~ Jj ~ uJ1i~ ~~i Wl ij~ ~i ~~ ,lA :f
{ ~ .It..·~ i, ',;i ~ ~i· ~
~ v- : - ~,.
"[Remember) when your Lord extracted from the
loins of Adam's children their descendants and
made -them testify [saying]: 'Am I not your Lord?'
They said: 'Yes, we testify to it.' [This was) in
case you say on the Day of Judgment: 'We were
unaware of this.' Or you say: 'It was our ancestors
who worshipped others besides God and we are
• only their descendants. Will then destroy us
for what those liars did?'"
Qur'an, 7: 172-3

The of Creation
(#) The Prophet (~) explained that when Allah created Adam,
He took from him a covenant at a place called Na'maan on
the 9th day7 ofthe 12th month. He then extracted from Adam
covenanta t placec alledN a'maano n
fth dut'' of the exffacted all descendantwsh o would endo f
the world, generation generation, of his descendants wltowould be born until the end of
before Him to take a covenant from them also. He spoke to
them, face face, after and spread them out
to making them bear witness that He was
their Lord.28 z8C Consequently, onsequentlye, every veiy human humanb being eingi is s responsible
for belief in God, which is imprinted It is basedo n this inbornb elief that definedt he of humankind's creation agh-Thaariyaat:
on each and every soul.
based on inborn belief Allah defined the purpose
in Chapter ath-Thaariyaat:
{ir:**l 1! .r"!lt ;,+Jt c-il+ r.'1}
{IJJ"w ~l ~~I) ~ ~ I.A)}
ttl jinn2e except that they "I did not create the jinn?9 and the humankind
they, should worship Me."
Qur'an 51 :56
Qur'an 5l Thus, the essential essentiapl purpose urposef for or whiclr which humankindw humankind was
as
created is the worship in need of human wors[rip. He did not create of God. However, the Almighty is not
worship. human beings
17 'Arafaat.
27 Known as the day of 'Arafaat.
2t 28 Collected by Almad Ahmad and authenticatedin authenticated in Siisi/Silsilah a h al-Ahaadeeth A!laadeeth aas-
§.$.
$afteefuavho, a!J.ee!lah. vol:l.'4, 4,p p. . 158, n no. o. 1623.
2e 29 Thejinn The;inn are a class of invisible rational beings created by God from the
elements of offire. fire. They were endowed by God with free will, like mankind.
Consequently, s some ome of them arer are righteous ighteousb believers elieversa and nd othersa others are re evil
disbelievers. T The he evil among them are commonlyc commonly called alledd demons. emons.e evil
vil
spirits, devils. etc.

The Parpose Purpose of ofCreation
Creation
part. not single human worshipped
out of a need on His If a God, it would not diminish way, of mankind ~orship~ed Him, increase His in any way. God is He alone exists needs. All created beings have needs. Consequently, it humankind that needs to The Meaning of Worship
His glory in any w&], and if all
mankindw orshipp.edH im, it would not increaseH is glory
perfect. without any
A ll createdb eingsh aven eeds.C onsequentlyi,t is
worship God.
understandw hy humanb eingsn eedt o worship God,
To understand why human beings need to onem ustf irst understandw hat is meantb y thet erm 'worship.'
one must first understand what meant by the term 'worship.'
The English term 'worship' weorthscipe meaning 'honor.' Consequently, worship English language is defined as 'the performance of acts in honor of a deity. ,30 According to this meaning, is instructed to ~how gratitude to glorifying Chapter an-Na~r of the final Allah 'worship' comes from the Old English
weorthscipem eaning'honor.C' onsequentlyw, orship in the
languageis defineda s 'the performanceo f devotional
deity.'30 man
instructedt o show gratitudet o God by glorifuing Him. In
an-Na;ro f revelation, A llah says:
{drh'#l
"Glorify the praiseso f your Lord."
Qur 'anI l0:3
"Glorify praises of Qur'an 110:3
gloriffing choosest o in harmony
In glorifying God, man chooses to be which naturally glorifies its
with the rest of creation Creator. Allah addresses this phenomenon in chapters ofthe Qur'an. For example, in lsraa,
Allah states:
addressest his phenomenonin many
of the Chapter al-Israa,
3o The Living lhebster Encltclopedic Dictionarrr, I 148
30 The Living Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary. p. 1148.

of Creation
;! ~~ ~ ~!j ~ :;j ~~~j ~ ~J~ ;j ~}
rl :F
"y
tt')'4 c1,io'st[Ir Lr3ttr rt ilJ]
{ " " • ~ ~ , :".~ ~ ". ~I' o~ , ", ,
~ JfMi ~J" :~
tiithJ-J rtitir r l5[ 1F|#-
*The seyen eerth "The seven heavens and the earth and whatever
is in them glorify Him and there is nothing which
does not glorify His praise.preise.'' 31 However, Howeyer, you do not
understand their glorification."
glorification.'
Qur'an, 44
of the 'ibaadah,which 'abd, meaning'a w orship,
tothe 'obedient of God.' essenceo f the messageo f
worship was in 'Lord' who the wiII of my that'.quote 'what 'what to becausen othingh appensin (permission) o f 'Will revealedl awsw hich prophets
3t glori$ing l3:13. the night
2 t :20 the mountainsin 38:1 8.
Qur'an, 17:44
However, in Arabic, the language ofthe final revelation,
worship is called 'ibaadah, which is closely related to the
noun 'abd, meaning 'a slave.' A slave is one who is expected
to do whatever his ma'ster wills. Consequently, worship,
according to the final revelation, meaas 'obedient submission
to the will ofGod.' This was the essence ofthe message of
all the prophets sent by God to humankind. For example, this
understanding of emphatically expressed by
Prophet Jesus the Gospel according to Matthew, 7:21,
"None of those who call me 'Lord' will enter the kingdom
of God, but only the one does will ofmy Father in
heaven." It should be noted that '-will' in this means
'what God wants human beings to do' and not 'what God
permits humans do,' because nothing happens in creation
without the will of God. The 'Will of God' is
contained in the divinely revealed laws which the 31 The thunder is described as glorifying God in 13: 13, day and in 21:20 and mountains in 18.

l - ^ t
of Creation I t t ! I _
taught their followers. Consequentlyo,b edienceto law is the foundationo f worship.[ n senseg, lorification
also becomesw orshipw hen humansc hooset o obeyG od's
instructionsr egardingH is glorification.
Why do human need worship glorifo by obeyingt hed ivinelyr evealedla ws?B ecauseo bedience
to divine law is the key successin andt he The first human beings, paradisea nd latere xpelledf rom paradisefo r the divine law. The way paradise is by obedience,ttoh e J esust,h e Messiahw, as
reported in the Gospela ccordingt o Matthewt o havem ade
obedienceto thed ivinel awst he key paradiseN: ow him, 'Good " "Why. ri, if commandments.'82A lso J esusChrist
was reported have insistedo n obediencet o commandments, saying, "Whoever breala the of thesec ommandmentsa, nd teachesm en s hall
of heaven; of heaven."
3r l9:16-17 (RSV).
Consequently, obedience to divine
foundation of worship. In this sense, glorification
becomes worship when humans choose to obey God's
instructions regarding His The Need for Worship
beings to and glorify God
obeying the divinely revealed laws? Because obedience
to success in this life and the next.
Adam and Eve, were created in
paradise and later expelled from paradise for disobeying
only for human beings to return to
obedience. to the law. Jesus, the Messiah, was
Gospel according to Matthew to have made
obedience to the divine laws the to paradise: Now behold,
one came and said to him. 'Good teacher, what good thing
shall I do that I may have eternal life? So he said to him,
Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that
is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the
commandments. ,32 Also in Matthew 5: 19, Jesus Christ
to insisted on strict obedience to the
saying,"Whoever" therefore breaks one of
least ofthese commandments, and teaches men so, shall
be called least in the kingdom ofheaven; but whoever does
and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom
ofheaven."
32 Matthew 19: 16-17

Divine laws represent guidance for humankind in aU
representg uidancef or humankindi n all
walks of life. They define right and wrong for them and offer
human beings a comp{com~ete ete system governing atl all of their afflairs.
affairs.
The Creator alone knows best what is beneficial for His
creation and what is not. The divine laws command and
prohibit variousa various acts clsa and nd substancetso substances to protectt protect the he human
spirit, the human body and human society from harm. ln In order
for human humanb beings eingst to o fulfill their potentialb potential by y living righteous
lives, they need to worship God througho through obedience bedienceto to His
commandments.
Remembrance of God
ofthevariousactsofw orshipc ontainedin the divine
All ofthe various acts of worship contained in laws are designed to help humans remember God. It for human beings to sometimes forget even the things.. Humans often become so engrossed in material needs that they totally forget Regular prayer is ordained to believer around the remembrance of spiritual needs regular daily need to eat, need to renew man's connection regular prayer, Allah states Iaahaa:
ared esignedto humansr ememberG od.I t is natural
humanb eingst o sometimesfo rget event he most important
H umanso ften becomes o engrossedin fulfilling their
their spiritual needs.
organize the day of the true
remembranceo f God. It interweaves
with material needs on a daily basis. The
work and sleep is linked to the daily
with God. With regard to
in the final revelation, Chapter
laahaa:

The Purpose Purooseo ofCreation
f Creation I.- 32 I
""Verily, Verily, I am Allah, there is no God beside Me,
so worship worrhip Me and establish regular prayer for
My remembra~remembrance."
ce."
Qur'an 20: 14
Qur'an Regarding fasting, Allah al-,y u$t Ji.'-,?,;i iUttr
stated in Chapter a/-Baqarah:
'{Jt'6 irvd/lr *{{ }
0# ' • .iil i~ J W"' ~ ~ ~ ~ol~ J i ~'~ '. .iiI '~I.i}
~,J., ~ ., ~ - ~., J*" ,J., ft-
ttfrtsiiF$
"O you "0 who believe! Fasting has been prescribed
for you as it was prescribed for those before you
that you may become God-conscious."
{~);J~~
Qur'an 2:183
Qur'an 183
believersaree ncouragedto rememberGoda s The believers are encouraged to remember God as much
possible. A lthough, moderationir i sphereso f life, material or spiritual,i s generallye ncouragedin as Although, moderation in all spheres of life. whether
mater~al spiritual~ is generally encouraged in divine law, an
exception made regarding the remembrance of Allah. It is
virtually impossible to remember God too much. Consequently,
is mader egardingt he remembranceo f impossiblet o rememberG od C onsequently,
Chapter al-A!lzaab, Allah encourages
in the final revelation, C haptera l-AfuzaaDA, llah believerst o rememberG od as often possible:
the believers to remember God as r-*r ri, l,r rSitiF;*JJ'dq}
{IJ#' -)~ ~I i/t~1 i~~ ~~ ~~}
*O Rememb-er Altah "0 believers! Remember Allah often."
..
Qur'an, 33:41
33:41
Remembrancoef Remembrance ofGod G odi is ss stressed tressebde because caussei sin ni is s generally
committedw committed when henG God odi is s forgottenT. forgotten. The hef forces orceso of f evil operate

rn"t I "y,f: "tCrrun" _ I. - .-a r
t t r
most freelyw henc onsciousnesosf God C onsequently,
the satanic forces people's mirids irrelevantt houghtsa nd desirest o maket hem God is forgotten, people willingly join comrpt The final revelation, t he Qur'an, addressetsh is in Chapter al-Mujaadalaft most freely when consciousness ofGod is lost. Consequently,
the satanic seek to occupy people'smiIids with
irrelevant thoughts and desires to make them forget God. Once
the corrupt elements.
the Qur'an, addresses this phenomenon
Mujaadalah as follows:
.rualSqr T rytii'' fi ;f,l;!i 6'LJ.J'#r s.*,1.
IJ~' ~~ ~~f ~, ')~ ;..Al:.Jti ~b:~~" ;••:If. ~~I}
~ ~ {~' I.iJI U JIb.~~ II :../. ~I ~{
{lt}Jf!' s.i' ~ ," oGii{- r. . r;£ 7 11!.
i
"Satan got the forget Allah. Those partl'of Satan. party of Satan "Satan better of them and caused them to
forget Those are the party ofSatan. Truly the
Qur'an 58: 19
Qur'an 19
are the real losers"
God, through Divine law, has prohibited intoxicants and
gambling gamblingp primarily rimarily because becauseth they ey cause causeh human umanb beings eingst to o forget
God. The human mind and body easily become addicted to
drugs and games gameso of f chance. O Once ncea addicted, ddictedh, humankind's
umankind's
desire to continually be stimulated by,by them them leads them into
all fonns forms of comrption.corruption. a and nd violencea violence among mongt themselves. hemselvesG. God
od
says in Chapter al-Maa'idah of the final a/-Maa 'idah revelation:
·_~il . '~,~ ~"JAll F ~ ~ ,~i ~t,-"~1I JJ ' WI} .r--"" ~" . J J _. ~.J! - ~.fl •
~ {~-*;~: ~f:W ~~ ~J~' f~ ~ ~l:A!J;~ :~i~J
"Satan's plan is to incite enmity and hatred
among you with intoxicants and gambling, and

| * r I
I t ( t t
I I Purpose of Creatlon _
The ofCreation
hinder you from the tfte remembrance ofAllah of AIIaft and
regular prayer. Will you not then abstain?"
Qur'an, 5:91
Qur'an,5:91
Consequently, humankind need to remember God for
their own salvation and growth. All humans have times of
weakness in which they commit sins. If they have no means
of remembering God, they sink deeperand deeper and deeper into
corruption with every sin. However, those who follow the
divine laws lawsw will ill be constantly constantlyr reminded emindedo of f God, which will
give chancet o repenta nd themselvesT. he
final revelationa ccuratelyd escribesth is processi n them a chance to repent and correct themselves. The
revelation accurately describes this process in Chapter
'Imraan:
; l:;'i ..~ ~ li'ri1 i./j~ i1,'&~i Jii i~ it ~"
ri i ~~ +o i);iji J r1;,!~~ ~~'1;, J}
rr;l
te'ii.
Aal 'Imraan:
" ' '.~,
J~'"
""Those Those who, having done something shameful or
having wronged their own souls, remember Allah
and immediately ask forgiveness for their sins..."
{~y~
sins,.."
Qur'an, 3:135
Qur'an,3:135
The Religion of Islam
The most complete system of worship available human
to beings today is the system found in the religion of Islam. The
very name name' 'Islam' Islam' means means' 'submission submissionto to the will of God.'
Although it is commonly referred to as ''the the third ofthe of the three
monotheistic faiths,' it is not a new religion at all. It is the
religion brought by all allcif ofthe the prophets of God for humankind.

t-t
fnt nry"tt rf Cr"ttt"" _ t€l
Islam was the religion God addressest his issue to Prophet Abraham, saying:
'-;.rqllti+ if 1{r$i* r; rt # b'jr if r;;
lg.#,'u o'g
*Ahrahom wa$ nor.e wrs not othens besides Qur'an 67
Since there is species, the religion beings is one. He did not prescribe another for Indians, yet spiritual and social needs uniform, not changed since first'man woman Consequently,n o otherr eligion is acceptableto beSides
Islam, as 'Imraant of the revelation:
{iyr:f' l'+;irr i,1}
*Surely Allah's religion is Islam."
Qur 'an3 :19
'H:'eI'
.'Jp 14F"'*6-r;>L)r F #i'i
{ir-rnri.i'
The Purpose o[Crelltlon
of Adam, Abraham, Moses and Jesus.
addresses this in the final revelation with regard
~' ~ ~ ~S" ·.~r ~(. (~'~.) ", I·' ~S" ~}
J, ., ~J -,.rAJ ~J-,Jft~.)'!~
{~~I~~~
"Abraham was neither a Jew nor-a Christian, but
he was an upright Muslim who did bot worship
others God."
Qur'an 3:67
only One God, and humankind are one
which God has ordained for human
one religion for the Jews,
another for Europeans, etc. Human
are unifonn, and human nature has
the first 'man and wOman were created.
Conseq~ently, no other religion 'acceptable to God besides
He clearly states in Chapter Aal '/mraan ofthe final
{~~~I ~ ~ ~:UI ~!}
"Surely Qur'an 3:19
~ ~~~ J JAJ ~ ~ ~ ~~ r~~ ;;s. ¢Ft ~J}
'{~r"bJl

- rTheh The Purpose twose ofCreation
of Creatlon I lO I
""And And whoever desires desircs a religion besides Islam will
not have hnve it accepted, and he will be among the losers
in the hereafter."
heretfter."
Qur'an 3:85
Qur'an 85
Every Act Is Worship
In the Isla.Islqeig mic system, each and every human act can be
transformed into act the believers to dedicate their al-An'aom, Allah transfonned an of worship. In fact, God commands
whole lives to Him. In Chapter
ai-An 'aam, says:
{-;- ~ tAiI:""..1l -~" oN' . ~J_ ( t:J.J~, eli} ~ .J, "" J'i. J~J"" :4.r
{colni'; ; l e6't lsthnj'i2J r,irf- ir
*Say: 'Surely "rr} pmyer, ry tiving
end worlds.t tt
"Say: 'Surely my prayer, my sacrifice, my living
and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of all the
worlds.' "
Qur'an 6: 162
Qur'an However, {edication acceptableto for that c;ledication to be acceptable to Allah,
each act must fulfill basic 11
FIRST, THE ACT MUST BE DONE SINCERELY FOR the
two baSic conditions:
FIRST,T HE ACT MUSTB E DoNE SINCERELFYo Rt he
I pleasure of humanb eings. The believera lso hast o ponsciouso f
God while forbidden Allah (#E).
of God and not for the recognition and praise
human beings. believer also has to be conscious of
doing the deed to insure that it is not something
by or the last Messenger (~).
In order to facilitate this transformation of mundane
deeds worship, (!$) prescribe prayers even sf acts The into Allah instructed the last Prophet (~) to
short to be said before e~en the simplest
of ~~t~ shortest prayer which may be used for any

The Parpose of Creation
l' -*, bismillaah(ln h owever,m any other prayersp rescribedf or whenever piece Prophet( +E)ta ughth is followerst o O AIIah, k is ask Yoafor its beneJit for its evil 33
J THe sECoND coNDrloN IS THAT THE Acr se done in
Laccordance with called in Arabic the
the prophets instructed their followers to
theirw ay becausteh eyw ereg uidedb y God. W hatt hey
revealedtr uths,a nd only thosew ho
way and acceptedth e truthsw ould inherit
eternall ife paradiseI.t is in this contextt hatP rophetJ esus,
peacea nd blessingso f God be uponh im, was
reportedi n Gospela ccordingto John l4:6, as saying," ./
way, truth, the life; no man cometh unto the
nte." Similarly,' Abdullaahi bn Mas'ood
day Proplret Muhammad (#) drew a iine in
,;-a V l-',
! _ : ' J
" Sunan vol. p.
Saheeh Sunan Abee Daawood, vol.
I 125. no. 4009a nda uthenticateidn
2 . p . 7 6 0n. o . 3 3 9 3 i
circumstance is: ~ ~ bismillaah (In the name of Allah).
There are, however, many'other prayers prescribed for specific
occasions. For example, a new of clothing
is worn, the Prophet C*) taught his followers to say:
~ ~ ?-~ ~?- X:JtJ .~:,:S ~f J:.;j ~ ~I
. j ~ l. ~~ ~~ X ~ ;;f~ ,j
o Allah, thanks is due to You, for it You who has
clothed me. I ask Youfor its benefit and the benefit
for which it was made, and seek refuge in Youfrom
its evil and the evilfor which it was made.33
2THE SECOND CONDITION IS THAT THE ACT BE accordance the prophetic way, Sunnah. All of follow their way because they were guided by What they
taught were divinely revealed truths, and those who
followed their accepted the truths would eternal life in paradise. It context that Prophet Jesus,
may the peace and blessings of upon him, reported in the Gospel according to 14:saying, "'I
am the way. the truth. and life: Father, but by me." Similarly,' Abdullaah ibn related that one Prophet C~) 33 Sunan Abu Dawud, 3. p. 1125. 4009 and authenticated in
S,ah.eeh. Sunan vol. 2. p. 760. no. 3391~

nt nrp"tr rlc*"t*" luls I
the dust for them and said, "This is Allah,s path." He then
drew several lines [branching off] to the right and to the left
and said, "These are the paths [of misguidanceJ on each oJ'
which is a devil inviting people tofolrow it." Hethen recited
the verse: "this is my path, leading straight, so
follow it. And do not follow [otherl for they will
scatter you about from His command
to you in order of Allah.34"35
Thus,t he only acceptablew ay accordingt o
the way of the prophetsT. hat beingt he i nnovationi n
religious affairsw ould consideredb y amongt he worst
of all evils. Prophet Muhammad (x) have
said, "The worst of all affairs innovstion rerigion, for
every religious innovation is leading to the hellfire."36
the dust for them and said, "This is Allah's path." He then
drew several lines [branching off] to the right and to the left
and said, "These are the paths [of misguidance] on each of
which is a devil invitingpeople tofollow it. " He then recited
the verse: "Verily, this is my path, leading straight, so
follow it. And do not follow the [other] paths for they will
Allah's path. That is His command
that you may be conscious ofAllah.34
Thus, the acceptable way to worship God is according to
the prophets. That being the case, innovation in
religious affairs would be considered by God among the worst
of all (~) was reported to have
ofall is innovation in religion, for
a cursed, misleading innovation
hellfire. ,,36
Innovation in the religion ,,35
is forbidden and unacceptable
to God. The Prophet ((~) E) was also reported by his wife,
'Aa'ishah, 'Aa'ishah, to have said, "He who innovates something in
in
this matter of ours, that of it, hqve rejected.,,37
ofours, is not ofit. will have it rejected. ,,37
fundamentally due innovations that the messages
earl ier distorted and the many false
It is fundamentallyd ue to innovationst hat of the earlier prophets were false
religions religions in in existenceto existence today daye evolved. volved.T The he generalr general rule ule to
to
3a Soorah al-An'aam (6):153.
3sc ollected by Ahmad. an-Nasaa'ee and ad-Daarimeea. nd authenticated
by Almad Shaakir in al-Musnad, vol.6. pp. 89-4142.
16 Sahih Muslim, vol. 2. p. 410, no. lgg5.
, sahih At-Bukhari,v ol.3. pp.535-6. no.g 6l. andsahihM uslim.vol.3.
p. 931. no.4266.
34 Soorah al-(35 Collected by Ahmad. an-and ad-Daarimee. and authenticated
by Ahmad Shaakir in al-Musnad, vol. 6. pp. 89-90. no. 4142.
36 Sahih Muslim, vol. 2, p. 410, no. 1885.
37 Sahih AI-Bukhari. vol. 3. pp. 535-no. 861. and Sahih Muslim, vol. 3.
p. 931. no. 4266.

Purpose of Creation
follow follow in in order order to avoid innovation in religion religion is is that that all
all
forms forms of of worship worship are prohibited, except those which have
have
beens been specifically pecificaltyp prescribed rescribedb by y God and conveyedt conveyed to o humans
humans
by by the the true true messengerosf messengers of God.
The The Best of Creation
Those Those who believe in One Unique God, without partners
or or offspring, offspring, and do righteous deeds [[according according to the above-mentioned
abovementioned
of creation. That is,
principles] become the crown creation~ although humankindi s greatesct reationo f Allah,
they have best of His creation.
In al-A llah statest his fact as follows:
although humankind is not the greatest creation of they have the potential to become the In Chapter a/-Bayyinah, Allah states this {~~ .r?" ~ ~Ji ~~...QJ' ~ J ."..~ ..:r..u, iJl}
{tu-,Jl- * e clJri .rtr.Jr-elrr }.r.1 lPu t-iJt u1}
"Surely, righteous deeds
are 98:6
"Surely, those who believe and do are the best of creation."
To of one's creation is then the
greatest evil that a can commit. 'Abdullaah
reportedt hat he askedA llah's Messenge(r# ) which sin is
the gravest in Allah's sight and he replied, "To give Allah a
partner, event houghH e createdy ou."38W orshippingo thers
besides God, called shirk in Arabic, is the only unforgivable
sin. If a human being dies without repenting from his or her
" Sohih Muslim, vol. l. pp 50'1.'no. 156.
Qur'an 6
The Gravest Sin
To contradict the purpose greatest evil that a human being 'Abdullaah
reported that he asked Allah's Messenger (~) is
the gravest in Allah's sight and "a
partner, even though He created you. ,,38 Worshipping others
besides God, called shirk in Arabic, is the only unforgivable
sin. If a human being dies without repenting from his or her
38 Sahih Muslim, vol. I. pp. 50·1: no. 156.

l-L
fn" P"rp"t, l {ul
"f
Crtrtt* _
sins, Allah may forgive all their sins except shirk.In this
regard, God stated the following in Chapter an-Nisaq,;
sins, Allah may forgive all their sins except shirk. In this
regard, God stated the following in Chapter an-Nisaa ':
{ti.:"- ir"J gU'l r.J.;rt r pJ q elr.:4 0i ,ii,- I frr ir1}
{'"~~ ~I~ iJJ~ ~ ~J <.! ~~ iJi ~"'i.1l iJl}
""Surely Allah will not forgive the worship wonship of of others
others
besides Him, but He forgives sins less than that
that
to whomever He Qur'an.4:48
Qur'an,4:48
wishes."
worshippingo therdb esidesG od essentiallyin vorves
Worshipping others besides God essentially involves
giving giving the attributes anributes of the Creator creator to His creation. Each sect
or religion religiond does oest this his in their theiro own wn particular particulawr way. ay.A small smallb but
ut
very vocal group of people down through the ages have
actually actuallyd denied eniedG God' od'se s existence.~xistence.9 iTeo TojustifY justifo theirr their rejection ejectiono of
f
the Creator, creator, they were obliged to make the illogical claim that
this world hasn has no o beginningT. beginning. Their heir claim is illogicalb illogical because
ecause
all of the observablep observable parts artso of f the world haveb have beginnings eginningsin
in
3' HinavanaB uddhism( 400-250B C). the earrier strict of the two
interpretationso f Buddhismw hich arosea fterc autamaB uddha'sd eath.
clearl;'s tatesth att herei s no God. .lainisma ss vstematizebcyl 'V ardharnana
also asserts that therei s no God. hut liberateds ouls.a ccordin_teo the
teachings.a ttain immortalitv and nmniscience.l n the lgth and2 0th
centuriesa numbero f Europeanp hilosopherpsr oclaimedw hat camet o be
known ast he "deatho f Godp hilosoph1,T,"h e Germanp hilosopherp. hilipp
Mainlander( I 84 l - I 876).t he PrussianF. riedrichN ietzsche( I g44-I 900).
the FrenchmanJ.e anP aulS arrre( 1905-1 980)a ll arguedt hen on-of God. (Dictionary of Philosophya, nd Religion,p p. 72. 262-3. 327 and
508-9).
39 Hinayana Buddhism (250 BC). earlier and more strict of the two
interpretations of Buddhism which arose after Gautama Buddha's death.
clearly states that there is Jainism as systematized by Vardhamana
also asserts there is liberated souls. according to the
teachings. attain immortality and omniscience. In the 19th and 20th
centuries a number of European philosophers proclaimed what came to be
known as the "death ofGod philosophy."' The Gennan philosopher. Philipp
Mainlander (1841-1876), the Prussian. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900),
the Frenchman. Jean Paul Sartre (1980) all argued the non-existence
of God. (Dictionary ofPhilosophy and Religion. pp. 72.262-3.327 and
508-9).

thereforei t reasonableto expectt he of the
time, therefore it is only reasonable to expect the sum ofthe
parts to also have a beginning. It is also only logicalto logical to assume
that whatevers whatever caused ausedth the e world to come into existencec existence could
ould
not have been a part of ofthe the world nor could it have a beginning
like the world. The atheista atheist assertion ssertiont that hat the world has no
beginningm beginning means eansth that att the he matterw matter which hich makesu makes up p the universe
is eternal. etemal. This is a statementof statement ofshirk, shirk, whereby God's attribute
of being without~ without'beginningi begi!ming is s givent given to o His creation. T The
he
numbers of genuine atheists have historically always been
quite small smallb because, ecausei,in n spite spiteo of f their claims, t they hey instinctively
know that God does doese exist. xist. That is, in spite spiteo of f decadeso decades of
f
communist indoctrination, the t he majority majorityo of f Russiansa Russians and
nd
Chinese continued continuedt to o believe believei in n God. The Almighty Creator
pointed out this phenomenon in Chapter an-Naml, saying:
pointedo ut phenomenonin Chaptera n-I'laml,s aying:
{,t t Gi! il.tli rlnF,it w.i tlo'i
{I~J ~ ~r j!f T8~;-a:.:" '(J ~ iJ~J}
"And [the signsl and
were
"And they denied (the signs] wrongfully arrogantly, though within themselves they convinced of them."
Qur 'an2 7:14
Qur'an 27: 14
atheistsa nd materialistsl,i fe has'nop urposeb eyond
To atheists and materialists, life has-no purpose beyond
the fulfillment of their desiresC. onsequentlyt,h eir desires
also god which they obey and submit to instead
of One In Chapter al-Furqaan of the final
revelation,A llah said:
the fulfillment oftheir desires. Consequently, their also become the of the One True God. revelation, Allah said:

{;IJA 4+-1....11 W, ~ ~)}
{i,roia-Jl #, f
-**'ril
"you seen the one who takes his desires as
his god?"
"Have you seen the one who takes his desires as
his god?"
Qur'an 25:43
Qur'an 25:43
christians gave Prophet Jesus christ the attributes of the
Christians gave Prophet Jesus Christ the attributes ofthe
Creator creator by first making him co-eternal eternal with God,God,40 a' then then by
by
making making him a per.perponalityo sonality ofGod f God whom they titled '.God God the
the
Son.' son.' Hindus, on the oilier otller hand. hand, believe that God has become
become
man in many ages, by b y incarnations incarnationsc called ailed avatars, svatars, and and then
then
they they divided God's attributes between three gods, Brahma
Brahma
the creator, Vishnu vishnu the preserver and Shiva shiva the destroyer.
Love of God
shirk also occurs when or fear
Shirk human beings love, trust or fear
the the creation more than Allah. In chapter Chapter al-Baqarah Baqarahof of the
the
last last revelation, revelation, God said:
nr l-ii'Fh,J-rir.r;i ar ;,i -H|
u #,i ,,6t
~, ~~~ ,;,JJf ~I iJJ~ ~ ¥i :;",,~I ~J}
, , , {{..l 1s + ~~'$f iit;;
i~~ ~~(,
"There among men those who worship
*There b-ili are emong worship
others besides Allah as equals to Him. They love
love
them them as as only only Allah Allah should should be he loved. loved. But But those those who
who
believe believe have have a a stronger stronger love love for for Allah."
Allah."
Qur'an 2:165
Qur'an 2:a0J 40 John ohn l I: : l&1&14 14 " "r I ln In the the beginning beginning was was theword. the Word. andthewordwas
and the Word was
with with God. God. and and the the word Word wasG was God.... od....'14 tA And nd the the word Word becamefl became flesh esha and
nd
dwelt dwelt among among us, us, full full of of grace grace and and truth:" truth:" ((RSV).
RSV).

of Creation
When these and other similar emotions are directed more
strongly to the creation, they cause human beings to disobey
God in an effort to please other humans. However, only Allah
deserves a complete human emotional commitment, for it is
He alone who should be loved and feared over all creation.
Anas ibn Maalik narrated that the Prophet (~) said, " possesses {the following] three characteristics has tasted the
sweetness offaith: he who loves Allah and His Messenger
above all else; he who loves another human beingfor Allah's
sake alone; and he who hates to return disbeliefafter has rescued him as he hates to be thrown into a fire. ,,41
(*) Whoever
1ao.esessfeth.re followingJ character,lsfi'csl rlertsa sted Hk afuve aII lw wln lrumnt salre md wln lntes rettnn to disbelief afre, Allah
has into afire.'Al
reasonsfo r humansl ove humanso r
All the reasons for which humans love other humans or
to than
love other created beings are reasons love God more His creation. Humans love life and success, and and failure. Since Allah is ultimate source success, He deserves the full love and devotion of Humans also love when they are in need. Since benefit (7: 188) H umansl ove successa, nd dislike death
the of life and
successH, e deservesth e-fulll ovea ndd evotiono f humankind.
those who benefit them and help them
all benefit(7:188) and help
(3:126) from God, He should be loved above all else.
6}bti r i' uu. iril6 bri}
126) come {lA~ ~.11 ~ iJ~ ~1J}
*If blessings' you will
eble [p."
Qur'an, l4:34
" Sahth Muslim, vol. l, 67.
, , ,
"If you try to count Allah's blessings, not be able to add them up."
Qur'an, 14:41 Sahih Muslim. 1, p. 30, no.

fnr nrp"t",il9rt"tt -m_
However,t he supremel ove humanss houldf eel for
However, the supreme love which humans should fee) for
God God must not be reduced reducedt to o the common comrnond denominator enominatoro oftheir
f their
emotional love for creation. Just as the love humans feel for
animals should not be humans,at2h e loveo fAllah shouldt ranscentdh e feel towards each other. fundamentally, a love manifesti n completeo bedienceto laws of God, as stated in 'fmraan, ff love
Allah, then follow [the Prophetl you.'/3 This abstractc oncept,b ecauseh umanl ove
of otherh umansa lso implieso bedienceT, hat one requeststh at somethingb e h umansw ill strivet o
do it accordingt o the levelo f that person.
the same as what they feel for other
42 the love ofAllah should transcend the love humans
Human love of God should be,
manifest in complete obedience to the
Chapter Aal 'Imraan, "If you Jove
me [the Prophet] and Allah will love
yoU.,,43 is not an abstract concept, because human love
other humans also implies obedience. That is, if a loved
requests that something be done, humans will strive to
according to level of their love for thatperson.
The love of God shoulda lso expressedin ofGod should also be expressed in the love of
those thosew whom hom God loves. Ris I t'is inconceivable inconceivableth that at one onew who ho loves
Allah could couldh hate atet those hosew whom homA Allah llah loves lovesa and nd love lovet those hosew whom
hom
He hates. T The he Prophet( Prophet (~)-*€).was wasq quoted uotedb by y Aboo Umaamaha Umaamah as
s
saying, "He who loves for for for for Allah and withholds for for Allah, has perfected hisJaith.,his faith. ,,Al
44
consequently, Consequently, those whose faith is proper will love all those
who loveG love God. od.I In n chapterM Chapter Maryam. aryam,A Allah llah indicatesth indicates that atH He e puts
love in the heartso hearts of f the believersf believers for or thosew those who ho arer are righteous.
ighteous.
12 42 The huge sums of money currentlv currently being spent protecting endangered
endangered
specieso species of f animals while humansa humans are re leli left to starvea starve and nd die of of diseaseis
disease is
among the major crimes of aJ
43 Qur'an,Qur'an, 3 3::31.
3L
44 Collected by Ahmad, at-Tirmi!hee and Aboo Daawood (Sunan Abu
Dawud, vol. 3. p. 1312, no. 3664. and authenticated in S-a!lee!l Sunan
Abee Daawood, 3, p. 886. no. 3915).
for Allah and hates for Allah, gives
the 20th century.
aa collected by Almad, Tirmithee stman Abu
Dawud, vol. 3. p. 1312. no.3664.a nda uthenticateidn Saheehsunan
Abee Daawood, vol. 3, p. 886. no. 3915).

Paryose of Creation
{,;~ ~:,J' ~~ ~~~, i#J i~~ ~~l ~~}
ti'*lt'#'#h" lq{"rr ifuji-*[ irir i.r1]
""Sunely, Surely, Allah will bestow love [[in in the hearts of
the believens believers forl for] those who believe and do
righteous deeds."
Qur'an 19:96
Qur'an l9:Hurayraha lsor elatedt hat Messenger( #)
Aboo Hurayrah also related that Allah's Messenger (~)
*If Allah loves a servant He
said the following in this regard, "IfAllah informs angel Gabriel that He loves So-and-so to love him, so Gabriel loves him. Then Gabriel to the inhabitants ofthe heavens: 'Allah and-so,
therefore love him. ' So ofthe him. Then he is granted the love ofthe ofthe eqrth. ,,45
Prayers
and-so and tells him
calls out
of the 'Allah loves So-and-so,
hint ' ,So the inhabitants of the heavens love
love of the people of the eqrth."a5
alone, for only
Prayers should only be directed to God answerp rayers.H e is accessiblea s long as He is
He can answer prayers. He accessible as called upon sincerely.
{iJ~; ';1 ~':UI i;.; ~f ~) J~ JS- '-$~4- ~L ';lJ}
"When 'My servants askyou [6 Mu!!ammad] abOut
Me, [tell them] that I am near, I answer of everyone w~o calls on {irrair ilurritri Vi *i -ti rfy, io +tV iA sr.}
"When sertants askyou [O Mulammadl about
[tell near' the prayer
evelyone wo Me."
2: 186
Qur'an 186
nsS ahilrAl-Bukhariv, ol.p. 291. no. 43l. andS ahihM uslim,v ol.4. p.
1385.n o. 6373.
45 Sahih AI-Bukhari, vol. 4. 431. and Sahih Muslim, vol. p.
1385. no. 6373.

The Purposeo rcrearion [F| _l
The Prophet( S) emphasizedth is point, saying,, ,If you
The Prophet (~) emphasized this point, saying, "Ifyou
ask in prayer, ask only Allah, and ifyou seek help, seek it
only from Allah.,,46 Thus, prayer to human beings or through
human- beings, dead or living, is a form of shirk. The one to
whom prayers are directed becomes an object of worship.
An-ibn Basheer reported that the Prophet (~) said,
"Supplication worship. ,,47
ask in prayer, ask-only Allah, and if you seek help, seek it
only from Allah.'46 Thus, prayer to human beings or through
humanb* eings,d eado r living, is a form of shirk.one to
whom prayers are directed becomes an object of worship.
An-Nu'maan ibn Basheer repofted that the prophet (*) said,
" supplication is worship."a1
{~i:.f;4- ~, ~J~ ~ ~;'Jj ~~I ~!}
"Surely, those whom you calion in prayer besides
Allah are servants like yourself."
Qur'an 7: 194
Qur'an 7:194
Thus, the Catholic catholic Christian christian practice of praying te to saints
saints
is shirk. If somethingis lost,s aint Anthonyo f Thebesi s
prayed to in ordert o help find a8s t. JudeT haddaeusis the
patron sainto fthe impossiblea nd prayedt o in incurableil lnessesu, nlikelym arriageos r aeA nd
it used to be that when someone journey, Saint
christdpher, the patron saint object of
prayers for protection. However, st. christopher was
is shirk. something is lost. Saint Anthony of Thebes is
prayed order to it.48 St. Jude Thaddaeus is the
patron saint ofthe impossible and is prayed to for intercession
in incurable illnesses, unlikely marriages or the like.49 And
it used set out on a Saint
Christdpher, of travelers, was the object of
prayers in 1969 St. Christopher was
a6 Reponed by Ibn 'Abbaas and coilected by at-Tirmithee and authenticated
n Sabeeh sunana t-Tirmifute. 2, pp. 308-no. 2043. see Na wa wi ,s
n*r', y Hadith, p. 68, no. l9 andl vlishkatA !-Masabih, vol.2 , p. 1099. sunanA bu Dnvud, vol. l, p. 387. no. 1474a nd authenticareidn saheeh
Sunan Abee Daawood, voI. I, p.277. no. 1312.
u The lllorld Book Enc.vclopeita, vol. l. p. 509.
t" tbid.. vol. I l. p. 146.
46 Reported by Ibn 'Abbaas and collected by at-Tinnithee and authenticated
in Saf1ee!1 Sunan at-Tirmi~ee. vol. 2, pp. 308-9. no. 2043. See an-Nawawi's
Forty Hadith, p. 68. no. 19 and Mishkat AI-Masabih, vol. 2 , p. 1099.
47 Sunan Abu Dawud, vol. I. p. 387. no. 1474 and authenticated in Sa!:J.ee!l
Sunan Abee Daawood, voL I, p. 277. no. 1312.
"The World Book Encyclopedia, vol. 1. p. 509.
49 tbid.. vol. 1L p. 146.

t l - -
- TheP urp-lseo f Creation I I
unceremoniouslys ffucko ffthe saintsb y papald ecree,
unceremoniously struck off the list of saints by papal decree,
after it was confirmedt confinned that hat hewas he was fictitious.50 50P Prayers rayerst to o Mary,
the mothc;r of Jesus, and to the angels, as on Michaelmas51
mothgro f Jesusa, ndt o a s Michaelmassl
• are also shirk. Even Christians who shun saint worship
commit shirk whenever they direct prayers to Prophet Jesus,
through him or in his name. Likewise, any Muslim who prays
to Prophet Muhammad (#) (~) commits shirk. Consequently,
God commanded commandedth the e Prophet Prophet( (~) H) to inform his followersa followers as
s
follows in Chapter al-A A'raaf.
'raaf
~i c..5 YJ ~ Sou. L. ~~ I~ ~J W,j ~ ~i ~ Ji}
F-Jti c-s JIJ lrr rll rr 1! rr"a I:lr.iiu.,.tlJ cUi f ;0)
{So.,..J' ~ L.J ~, ~ ..:;.;j5.:-~ ~
{oF' #br ;*Jt t,.:;*-f =*Jt
"Say [O Muhammadl: 'I "Say [0 Muhammad): 'I have no power to bring
good or avert harm even from myself, except if
Allah wills. If I had knowledge of the unse~unseen, n, I
would surely have accumulated only good and no
evil would have befallen me."
Qur'an 7: 188
Qur'an s WorldB ook Encyclopediav. ol. p. 417
'tt The Christian t'easto f Archangel. c elebratedin the
western churcheso n Septembe2r 9 and in the Eastern( Orthodox) C hurch
on 8. the Roman Catholic Church, it istheFeastof SS.
Michael. Gabriel. and Raphael.a rchangelsi:n the AnglicanC hurch,i ts
proper name is the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels (The New
Encyclopaedia Britannica, vol. 8. p. 95)
50 The World Book Encyclopedia. vol. 3. 417.
51 The Christian feast of St. Michael the celebrated in western churches on September 29 Eastern (Church
on November 8. In is the Feast of S5.
Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, archangels: in Anglican Church, its
proper name is the Feast of 51. (The Encyclopaedia 8. 95).

_ The The Purpose Purposeo ofCreation
f creotion |-
E| Aboo Hurayrah reported that when the verse ..Warn
Aboo Hurayrah reported that when the verse "Warn
your nearest relativesr"s2w as revealedt o the prophet,h e
said the following to his relatives: ,,O people of eurrysh,
secure deliverancefrom AIIah [by doing good deedsJ,for I
cannot avail you st all against Allah...o Faatimah, daughter
of Mufiammad, ask me whatever wish [in this lifeJ, but
I have nothing which qvail Allah.,,53
your nearest relatives,"S2 was revealed to the Prophet, he
said the following to his relatives: "0people ofQuraysh,
secure deliveranc~from Allah [by doing good deeds], for I
cannot avail at all against A/lah. ..O Faatimah, daughter
of Mullammad, ask me whatever you wish [in this life], but
I have nothing which can avail you against Allah. ,,53
sr Sooraha sh-Shoora(aZ G):214.
st sahih Al-Bukhari, vol. 4. pp 47g-9. nos. 727 &.7zg. and sahih Muslim,
vol. l. p. 136. no.402.
52 Soorah ash-Shooraa (26):214.
53 Sahih A/-Bukhari, vol. 4. pp. 478-nos. 727 & 728. and Sahih Muslim,
vol. l. p. 136. no. 402.

The purpose of creation

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to The purpose of creation

Similar to The purpose of creation (20)

More from Noor Al Islam

More from Noor Al Islam (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

The purpose of creation