SPIRIT OF ISLAM NOVEMBER 2019

16 Spirit of Islam Issue 83 November 2019 CREATION OF MAN As Described in the Quran M AN is God’s servant. Man has been created by God with a plan, that is, to place him temporarily on earth in order to test him. Then those who pass this test will be rewarded, while those who fail will be rejected. For the purposes of this test, man has been granted freedom in this world. Whatever man receives in this world is not as a matter of right but only as a matter of trial. Every situation here is a test, and in all situations, man must give a proper performance as is required of him by God. The proper attitude for man is not to take to the paths of his desires, but to try to understand the divine plan of creation and then after being convinced of its ineluctability, he should build his life accordingly. Man may deviate from the divine plan by misusing the freedom given to him by God, but he cannot save himself from the consequences of this deviation. In such a state of affairs, it is in the interest of man himself that he remain extremely cautious in determining the course of his life. Instead of being guided by his own will and desires, he should make God’s will his guide. Instead of pursuing his own ambitions, he should lead a life in conformance with the commands of God. Man may be a masterpiece of divine creation, but he must nevertheless remain subservient to the plan of God. Making a full acknowledgement of these two aspects of the existence of humankind is the key to human progress. Man succeeded inbuilding amodern industrial civilizationby discovering and exploiting the laws of nature. Similarly, in the next world man will achieve lasting success on a much vaster scale, but only after striving earnestly to comprehend God’s creation plan for humanity and then adhering unflinchingly to its edicts. Man’s True Purpose in Life Man attains his highest distinction only when he leads a purposeful life. Such a life characterizes the most advanced stage of human development. This does not mean that, by taking up just any task which is ostensibly significant, man’s life becomes truly purposeful. A really