In the Name of Almighty Allah
Most Beneficent Most Merciful
Assalamualaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu
Alhamdu Lillahi Rabbil 'Aalameen was Salaatu was
Salaamu 'alaa Ashrafil Ambiyaa'e wal Mursaleen
Wa Ba'd:
Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wa’ala informs us in verse 30 of Surah Al-Baqara:
“Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: I will create a vicegerent on earth.”
We may suppose that the Malaa'eeka had no independent wills of their own. Their
perfection in other ways reflected Almighty Rabbul Ala’meen’s perfection but
could not raise them to the dignity of vicegerent. The perfect vicegerent is he
who has the power of initiative himself, but whose independent action always
reflects perfectly the will of his Principal. Almighty Allah Azza Wajjal out of
His great Muhabbat (love) for humanity then declares in verse 165 of Surah
Al-An’am:
“It is He Who had made you inheritors of the earth.”
The human being has a very strange position in Islamic thought. In fact, human
beings in Islam are not exclusively pictured as straight-statured animals, who
walk on two feet and who can speak. According to the Most Glorious and Holy
Qur’an, they are much deeper and more mysterious than what such words may
define. Human beings are repeatedly praised as well as reproached in the
Glorious Qur’an. They are considered more supreme than the heavens and the
earth and, at the same time, meaner than devils and wild animals. They are
regarded as creatures who can conquer the world, who can acquire the mastery of
the Mala’eeka; yet so weak as to descend to the lowest of the low. Human beings
are endowed with innate greatness and dignity. In fact, Almighty Allah
Subhanahu Wata’ala has conferred upon them supremacy over many other creatures.
They would recognize their real self only when they sense such nobleness and
dignity, and regard themselves above pettiness of humilities, servitudes and
sensualities. Almighty Allah Exalted tells us in Verse 70 of Surah Al-Israa:
“And We have honoured the children of Adam.”
Human hearts are not quieted except by the remembrance of Almighty Rabbul
Ala’meen. Their desires are unlimited; yet they become bored with what they are
blessed with the most. On the contrary, they become more eager as they are
elevated toward joining the Divine Eternal Creator and Sustainer Who confirms
this to us in verse 28 of Surah Ar-Rad:
“Those who believe and whose hearts rest securely on the thought of Allah: for
without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts rest.”
And in verse 6 of Surah Al-Inshiqaq Allah’s confirms His promise to us:
“Then verily, O man, who desires to reach thy Lord shall thou meet Him.”
All earthly blessings have been created for the benefit of mankind. They are
entitled to make use and enjoy them in the
manner prescribed by Almighty Allah Azza Wajjal Who declares in 29 of Surah
Al-Baqara:
“It is He Who created everything on earth for you.”
Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala created human beings in order that they would
worship Him Alone and be obedient to Him as their foremost obligation for so He
declares in verse 56 of Surah Az-Zariyat:
“I have not created Jinn and man, but that they should worship Me.”
In this verse we are reminded that Creation is not for idle sport. Almighty
Allah Most Exalted has a serious purpose behind it, which, in our imperfect
state, we can only express by saying that each creature is given the chance of
development and progress towards the Goal, which is Rabbul Ala’meen. Almighty
Allah Jallah Wa’ala is the source and centre of all power and all goodness, and
our progress depends upon our putting ourselves into accord with His Will. This
is His service. It is not of any benefit to Him: it is for our own
benefit. Human beings do not appreciate themselves except in the worship of
Almighty Allah Azza Wajjal and with the thought of Him. Should they forget
their Glorious Creator and Sustainer, they would forget themselves. In such a
situation, they would have forgotten who they are, what they are, why they are
here and where they are heading. In short, they would not know the purpose of
their existence as we learn from verse 19 of Surah Al-Hasr:
“And be not like those who forget Allah, and whom he had therefore caused to
forget their proper selves.”
The conclusion is drawn, therefore, that the Most Glorious Qur’an reveals a
picture of the human being as a chosen creature of Almighty Rabbul Ala’meen, as
His own Caliph on earth and as being half-heavenly and half-earthly, in whom
has been implanted a God-knowing nature, freewill, freedom, trustworthiness, a
sense of responsibility towards himself or herself as well as the world and the
favour of hegemony over Nature, heaven and earth. Human beings are empowered
with inclination towards good and evil. Their existence begins with weakness
and disability and moves in the direction of strength, but it does not reach
the state of tranquility except on the threshold of Almighty Allah Subhanahu
Wata’ala and with a thought of Him. Their capacities are limitless, both in
their ability to learn, and the application of their knowledge.
They enjoy an instinctive greatness and dignity. Their motivations and stimuli
are, in most cases, non-materialistic. Finally, they are quite free to use the
abundant bounties and blessings conferred upon them, but at the same time, they
must carry out their duty towards none other than Almighty Allah Subhanahu
Wata’ala. Human beings are greatly blamed in the Most Glorious Qur’an for it is
revealed that they can be extremely violent, tyrannical and ignorant. The Most
Holy Qur’an defines them with the following malignancies in various verses
throughout the Most Holy and Glorious Qur’an. Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala
tells us very clearly in the following verses of the Most Glorious Qur’an
exactly who we are.
“…..verily, he was unjust, senseless!”
verse 72 of Surah Al-Ahzab
“…..of a truth man is all ungrateful.”
Verse 66 Surah Al-Hajj
“Nay, verily, Man is insolent,
When he sees himself possessed of riches.”
Verse 7 Surah Al-Alaq
“…..for man is hasty.”
Verse 11 Surah Al-Israa.
“When trouble touched a man, he cried to Us, on his side,
or sitting, or standing; and when We withdraw his trouble from him,
he passed on as though he had not called on Us against
the trouble which touched him.”
Verse 12 Surah Yunus
“For man is niggardly.”
Verse 100 Surah Al-Israa
“Man truly is by creation greedy: When evil befalls him, impatient:
But when good falls to his lot, tenacious.”
Verse 19 Surah Al Ma’arij
How are human beings depicted in the Most Holy and Glorious Qur’an? Are they
good? Are they evil? Are they either very good or very evil? Are human beings
shown as double-natured creatures: semi-light and semi-dark? Why then does the
Glorious Qur’an praise them to the highest point, and at the same time, reduces
them to the lowest level? In the logic of the Most Glorious Qur’an, human
beings enjoy all potential perfections, and they should direct themselves to
bring these inclinations to the stage of action. They have to develop
themselves because the original condition for the attainment of such human
perfection is Imaan (faith). Imaan is the basic step towards piety, correct
deeds, caring and sharing and endeavours in the way of Almighty Allah Jallah
Wa’ala. It is Imaan through which knowledge is converted into a useful
mechanism as opposed to a harmful tool for the passions.
It is apparent, therefore, that Almighty Rabbul Ala’meen’s vice-regent on the
Doonya, whom the Mala’eeka (angels) praise and for whom there is everything and
all perfection, is the human being plus faith, not minus it. The human being
minus Imaan (faith) is a tragic, imperfect being. Such a creature appears to be
avaricious, murderous, greedy, cruel and parsimonious. Such a person is
faithless, and, thus, meaner than the beast of burden. Specific verses of the
Most Glorious Qur’an clearly differentiate between the praised and the blamed
human being. It is written in these verses that faithless human beings who deny
the existence of Almighty Rabbul Ala’meen is not at all human. In other words
such a human would resemble a tree without any roots. Verses 1 to 5 of Surah
Al-Asr illustrate this reality:
“Verily! Man is in loss, save those who believe and do the things which are
right,
and enjoin truth and enjoin steadfastness on each other.”
The Most Glorious Qur’an is a Divine Book for the development of human beings.
It is not a theoretical philosophy restricted to controversy about theories and
points of view. It proposes each and every idea for its practical application.
It requires the individual to discover his or her real self. This “self” is not
that which one’s birth certificate or I.D. card reveals. What Islam causes each
individual to reveal is that which is considered to be the ‘divine spirit.’ The
Holy Qur’an, however, regards a human as a chosen being who earns his or her
authority on the basis of his or her faith and competency and from the most
legitimate source of existence – Almighty Allah Jallah Wa’ala Exalted.
This is why he or she is supplied with a mission and is responsible before the
Glorious Creator and Sustainer. Human beings should therefore bear in mind that
each and every one of them is a trustee of Almighty Allah, that they are not
solely earth-bound, that they are a ray of the Divine Spirit, that they can
take precedence over the Malaa’eeka in wisdom and that they are free,
independent and responsible to others and to the prosperity and betterment of
the world. Our Beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam said: “Whosoever
shall know himself or herself shall know Allah.” We live in a world engulfed by
a ‘world conscious culture’ which bends towards self-oblivion. Within this
culture, all that we concern ourselves with is to merely know the world. The
more we attain an awareness of the world, the more we seem to forget about our
own beings. This is the actual mystery of the fall of mankind.
When man loses his own self “Khusran-i-Nafs” to quote from the Most Glorious
Qur’an, what would be the use of him conquering the world or outer space? The
Most Holy and Noble Qur’an speaks of the “chosen man” who is undoubtedly the
most authoritative creature on earth due to the responsibility which is
incumbent on him. It does not consider man to have been created by the
incidental accumulation of atoms. If we picture the Doonya and all its
creatures as a village, man will stand at the head. Material philosophies
account for man’s authority as a mere product of his power. They claim that man
has gained his force and power by chance. Thinking this way makes ‘having a
mission’ or responsibility meaningless. What mission? What responsibility? From
whom? For whom?
And Almighty Allah knows best.
Baarak Allaahu Feekum wa-sal 'Allaahu wa Sallam 'alaa
Nabiyyinna Muhammad Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam.
Was Salaamualaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu
Abdul Hamid
PoEtEsS
"Prayer is the stepping stone of rewards and success when my life has its
trials and my eyes has its tears…"Zohra Moosa (Deaf Poet)
------------------------------------
***************************************************************************
{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom
(i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue
with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone
astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy
Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in
His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites
(men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I
am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if
Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of
camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever
calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who
follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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Recommended:
http://www.ikhwanweb.com
http://www.islamonline.net
http://www.islam-guide.com
http://www.prophetmuhammadforall.org
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