Nature Of Human Being
The Human being is the most valuable and respected creature in the creation. He has an immeasurable value. God has honoured him and says:
“We honoured the children of Adam” (17:70).
Truly God respected and honoured human beings among all the creatures 1. To prosper, Man should first understand his position and value. He should know himself and what he needs, hence acquiring knowledge is very important in order to know, who he is? Where is he from? Why is he here? And where is he heading?
There are billions of humans, all having the same features generally, regardless of where they are. One medic can cure all. We all love goodness and hate evil. We despise annihilation. We all have generally the same physiology, could it be that so many beings, so similar, don’t have a knowing creator? 2
Two Parts Of Human Being
God, the creator of human beings, mentions in the Qur’an that Man has been created from two parts:
a) Spirit (soul).
b) Physical body.
God discloses that when human being is formed in the womb of his mother, his soul is given to him and his hearing and sight is created.3
If a human knows that he has been created from two spiritual and physical parts, it will be very helpful to him to manage his life. It will enable him to pave the ground for prosperity in the eternal life in as well as prosperity in his earthly life.4
God mentions that human beings did not exist before5 and He created the human being. The soul which has been given to the human being is eternal, but the physical body is subject to changes through time. A child grows into his 70s and all parts of his body have changed, but he is the same person. That is why it is rational to punish a criminal even if he has fled for decades. The cells have changed, but it’s still the same person. Even though it is not the same body he had decades ago but all people consider him the same person because the reality of human being is his ego or his soul, which lasts forever, not his physical body.
When death comes, his soul will be removed from his physical body and taken to the world of unseen6. This soul is eternal.
Goal Of Life Of The Human Being
Love for life is a common demand of all the creatures including human beings. Mankind hates annihilation because he considers it as an end to his life! Everyone desires prosperity and eternity. This desire is innate, placed by the All- Creator, because we have been created for eternity, not annihilation. We need guidance and the best teachers in order to achieve prosperity in our eternal life7 ; however, God does not force human beings into good or evil, but rather He has shown the way 8 and loves His servants to achieve the best life. It is up to us to choose.
In addition to the Hereafter, the Qur’an does not neglect the importance of earthly life. God guides us towards a good earthly life too9 because we build our afterlife with the deeds we commit here; this world and its life is very valuable; Earth is a farm, and it crops deliver their products in the afterlife. So it’s not surprising that God insists we be watchful of our deeds and take good notice of His guidance.
God paves the way for our prosperity, yet earthly life is embedded with difficulties and troubles 10 as means of test. With guidance and intellect, we can overcome the challenges that life presents us with.
The value of Man is the things he does 11, we shall have the fruits of our deeds and decisions12. Our decision may be to be neglectful or accept guidance 13. This is the framework of all Divine religions throughout history. Hence, earthly life requires managing the difficulties, performing good deeds, and avoiding sin even in difficult situations. Difficulties and hardships are in the nature of earthly life and we cannot get rid of it, but we can manage it Turn it into an opportunity. If human beings follow Divine guidance in spite of the difficulties, they can purify their souls and whoever purifies his soul will prosper, otherwise he will fail.
God has not created human beings aimlessly. We shall return to God, the source of perfection, and see the fruits of our deeds:
“Have you imagined that We have created you aimlessly and you will not return to Us?” (23:115).
Therefore, human beings have not been created aimlessly and the main goal is to gain eternal perfection in the world to come; the life of the world does not have the capacity to meet this goal and it is only a temporary place where human beings prepare the eternal perfection. Don’t forget, we create our afterlife with our earthly life.
Role Of Knowledge In Life
God says:
“Are people who know equal to those who do not know?" (39:9).
Thus, the Qur’an emphasizes acquiring knowledge and learning. This is the knowledge which tells you what to do! When you are in problems and when you make a decision, it is your understanding and knowledge which leads you towards the next step. Hence having true, precise, and deep knowledge regarding the matter of the problem helps human beings make the right decision.
Two Types Of Knowledge
Husuli (Acquired)
This type of knowledge should be learned and acquired, so teachers, books, experience can be the sources of this knowledge. Human beings are invited and encouraged to acquire knowledge even if difficulties plague the way. This knowledge can be the knowledge regarding religion or whatever is necessary to have an honourable life.
Huzuri (Presented)
The presented knowledge is within one’s self, without any intermediaries. We don’t doubt this kind of knowledge, because he finds it in himself, as true as his feelings e.g. happiness, sadness, anger. Or like a person who burns in the fire and senses the burn.
The messengers of God are certain about God. They have this type of knowledge, so they never doubt God and His teachings because they clearly find it within themselves, and God helps them lest they make a mistake.
Role Of Reason In Life
Reason and intellect are exclusive features of Mankind. The human being has been given the ability to understand and ratiocinate, so he can invent, plan, and decide. We can can accept or refuse an ideology through reasoning, this is why, we are not allowed to blindly follow a creed or make unfair decisions. We are responsible for what we perform.14
The Qur’an invites the human being to use reason and think about the knowledge he receives. If it is fair and reasonable, he is not allowed to deny it. The Qur’an gives many reasonable reasons and examples to show the truth and the straight path, because human beings are able to use reason and choose the best path15. Thus, the Qur’an strongly criticizes those who abandon reason and take the path like the animals.16 It worth mentioning that the Qur’an expects the wise to use reason, analyse, and think about the scientific creation of God in order that they may find out the truth.
Therefore, the human being is not allowed to neglect the truth once he finds it. He is not allowed to legitimize his wrong deeds or to judge unfairly, because he is able to use reason and discover the truth. This is Why the Qur’an strongly criticizes those who turn blind eyes to the truth and make a false decision and judgment.17 When a human being hears that God has sent the Qur’an, he should not neglect it but he should study and think about its teachings in order to have a firm reason for accepting or refusing it. He should take in to consideration that he must be fair in his decision and judgment, otherwise, he will not be able to give valid reasons if its teachings turn out to be true.
Value Of Ideology
Ideology is a key of life. The way you think shows you the way of your life; human’s thoughts will shape his fate and lifestyle. This is why the Qur’an puts great emphasis on ideology. The Qur’an repeatedly invites human beings to study, think, and have belief in the teachings of the Qur’an18, in order to provide mankind with the correct ideology. The Qur’an directs human being’s reasoning and thought in order to help him achieve safe eternal life, in addition to a good life on earth.
Religion
Religion! A popular word. Many people of the world follow a religion and adhere to it, however, some may think that religion is just a bunch of tales or a package of limitations, however, religion in the Quran is not what many people may imagine.
Meaning Of Religion
Religion a perfect program designed for mankind by his creator, who is also the creator of all existence. It is clear that the creator of the human being and universe knows best what they need and what is better for them. He has provided the human being with a perfect program which guides towards a good earthly life and a good afterlife. Mundane laws, however, fail to recognize the eternal life, thus they are imperfect since they fail to understand Man as completely as God.
This religion is the framework, style, and program of life that all messengers have come with.19
The meaning of religion in different commentaries of the Qur’an:
Religion is the message of revelation. It is One religion that all mankind should follow as a path towards perfection and prosperity. This religion started from Adam and was completed step by step by God. The most perfect style of this religion was revealed to Muhammad (S).
It’s right to expect similarities, therefore, between different Godly religions, but refuting a religion simply because of its dissimilarities is wrong, for first one must search to see why the differences exist, and secondly, remember that these differences may be because of innovations imported from other religions during history.20
Religion is a principle within the systematic framework of belief revealed to the messengers of God, and God perfected it through His Messengers to meet the needs of the societies.21
Religion is a set of beliefs in God, His unity, His Messengers, books, and the Day of Judgment. This religion does not reject nor deny the needs of mankind or that of their societies.22
Religion is an obligation, teaching us the dos and the don’ts.23
Main Features Of Divine Religion In The Qur’an
There are some main features in the teachings of the Qur’an, three features are mentioned as follows:
Obedience and submission: The Qur’an says that accepting a religion or program and obligation towards God is not compulsory to mankind24, but those who neglect it, will fail to prosper. The Qur’an repeatedly mentions that human beings cannot prosper in all aspects without God’s help and guidance, because human intellect and understanding is limited and it cannot analyse the realities of non-experimental subjects, so the teachings of God are divided into two parts:
Directing the intellect: Human’s intellect understands right and wrong but sometimes, it needs Divine guidance to conclude in a fair and correct way otherwise man will go wrong.
Teachings: there are some facts that humans cannot understand without receiving guidance from God, so the Qur’an discloses and teaches these aspects in detail. Such as the soul and the details of prayer.
The Qur’an emphasizes that the human being should obey the teachings of God if he desires to have a good eternal life. This obedience is not blind following of religion, because blind following is criticized in the Qur’an 25. Mankind should think and search before accepting a religion. Hence when he comes to know that God is truth and His teachings are reasonable and absolutely correct, he should not deny nor turn a blind eye to it.
Islam
Literally, Islam means being submissive to God. Islam is God’s chosen Divine religion which was introduced by His Messenger, so the accepted religion in the sight of God is Islam26. Thus, all the Messengers of God are Muslims i.e. submissive to God. The Qur’an calls some of God’s messengers “Muslims”, for instance:
“Abraham was neither a Jew, nor a Christian, but a truthful and submissive [person] to God, and he was not an idolater” (3:67).
Jews and Christians each claimed that Abraham was of them, thus rejecting each other. God declares that Abraham was sincerely submissive to Him, because submission to God is His religion 27, so if Jews and Christians become submissive to God, they are following God’s religion, otherwise they have gone astray 28.
This is why God discloses in the Qur’an that if someone follows other religions instead of Islam it causes losing the world to come 29, because adherence to other religions does not equate to submissiveness to God. Those who are submissive to God follow and obey God through the religion He sent and the Messenger He chose.
Technically, Islam refers to the religion of the followers of Muhammad (S). Muslims are those who believe in Muhammad as the last messenger of God and are obedient to him. Muhammad is God’s last messenger 30.
It is worth mentioning that most Muslims are not true Muslims. They claim to be Muslims, but their actions suggest otherwise. Their deeds are against the merciful teachings of Muhammad (S).
Evils, Calamities, And Disasters
God has created the human being and placed him in difficult conditions 31, so that those who honour themselves strive towards prosperity and those who lay back and neglect lose. Stress and vicissitudes enable proper testing, so those who are challenged in difficulties and follow Divine law in all conditions, they are making a good future for themselves.
If God is merciful and just, and if He has created the creation to give benefit to human beings, why does He let human beings suffer? Why is life full of evil deeds, calamities, and disasters? Why do earthquakes happen? Why is there famine, why so much destruction?
In order to find out the philosophies and true answers, we should take some points into consideration:
Human's Knowledge Is Limited
A thousand years ago, people may have thought they know almost everything and there isn’t much more to life. Fast forward a thousand years and our knowledge and technology is beyond their imagination. But we still don’t know everything.
We don’t correctly comprehend the benefits of hardships. We may hate something that is actually good for us (so many communities in history have hated the very person who was the most benevolent and useful to them!). Imagine the bitter medicine. It’s bitter, but it’s for our own good. A child will only understand the bitterness, complaining and refusing to take the drug. That child is unaware of the benefits of that bitter drug.
We shouldn’t be quick to dismiss the troubles of life as pure evil and make unfair judgments. There may be benefits we are unaware of. Take a look at the story of Moses and Khidr in the Qur’an 32.
Evils And Calamities Are The Outcomes Of Human's Mismanagement And Sins
Have you ever thought about our role in life’s troubles? Destruction going on somewhere; Who dropped the bomb? Who raged the war? Who executed a blue flag? A theft occurs; Who is the thief and which is the community that raised that thief?
A lot of our problems emanate from our own deeds. Our mismanagement and illiteracy, laziness, and our sins, are the reasons for so many of our problems. We cannot blame others. We should find the solution and strive to fix our mistakes. If you build your house on a dangerous place, it’s your fault if it is ruined. Those who decide without knowledge, make things worse.
Punishment
Some calamities are Divine punishments. God sometimes punishes the sinful with calamites, disease, poverty, and starvation. These come as warnings, but if they continue their disobedience, they may be given blessing in life and through the lack of personal worldly calamites or punishment forget God completely, but suffer from heavy eternal punishment in the afterlife 33.
Evils Are Useful In Their Own Place
Most of us can remember events in our life that seemed terrible, but later proved to be useful. You could say that later we feel that it was good that it happened.
Sometimes we consider some things as evil because it harms us or does not bring immediate benefits, but in fact when we consider them as a part of the creation, we see that not only are they not evil, but they are good for other things, although they may not be good for us. consider the snake for instance.
Growth
Even though human beings have been created within difficulties and hardships but if the human being faces the challenges properly and manages his life and its difficulties correctly, he grows and reaches perfection.
Test
Earthly life is a test. We take the test and we move on. Life is temporary. We shall leave the world someday. Therefore, since life is a test, it’s absolutely typical for it to have ups and downs, difficulties and challenges, successes and lucks. God has created this earthly life mixed in problems because it is in stressful situations that the value of each person is uncovered 34.
Turning To God
For Man to reach prosperity, he has to turn to God and follow His guidance, otherwise he will lose the permanent life to come. This is why God strikes human beings with calamity; to awaken him from the routines of life and neglectfulness, to make him humble that he may be prosperous 35.
Spiritual Rank
Successfully passing through life’s difficulties increases one’s spiritual rank. God strikes us with various difficult situations, if we manage to keep our belief and act according to the Divine law, God will increase our rank, as He did with his messengers and true believers 36.
Human’s Duty
God is just and fair. He has created mankind to lead him to perfection and help him receive Divine mercy. No one is given a burden beyond his ability. God never oppresses. If He has charged human beings with some duty or difficulty, they are the means of Divine test. Those who manage the difficulties according to God's law, patience, and Taqwa, will be helped by God to grow further in their spiritual journey; indeed, God does not charge the human being with a duty beyond his capacity37, so His commands are in accordance with Man’s nature and capability. Only those deeds are compulsory which God, as our creator, knows we can take.
God will judge us, but He will consider the capacity each of us has. Each of us are judged according to the situation we have, because God never oppresses anyone. God is All- Knowing, He knows those who slip for a moment, and those who eagerly decide to violate God’s commands.
Predestination
Man has the free will to change his fate, therefore, predestination, fatalism, and predetermination are not confirmed in the Qur’an. Thus, those who have belief that God has determined everything already and that nothing can be changed, are speaking against the teachings of the Qur’an; because if we have no choice, then why send prophets and books?!
Where do these thoughts originate from?
Wrongdoers who want to legitimize their bad deeds. What better way then frame it as if you had no other choice. They hold this belief to freely perpetrate wrong deeds.
Illegitimate rulers who said it was God’s order that they become King, and thus their injustice and crimes could not be opposed, because he who opposes a king chosen by God has opposed God’s command. They convinced their people that they are forced to accept their rule.
There are two groups of verses regarding our discussion:
The first group of the verses directly and explicitly says that the fate of human being is in his own hands and he can change his fate, lifestyle, and so on; God helps those who make a decision and take steps to reach it. According to these verses, God's knowledge about the future and the fate of mankind does not prevent us from exercising free will. Like the knowledge of a teacher about his students, which does not force students to pass or fail.
The following verses explicitly says that man is responsible of his/her deeds:
“Indeed, God does not change a nation (’s condition) unless they change what is in themselves” (13:11).
“And whoever opposes the Messenger and follows a path of non- believers after he received clear guidance, We will take him to the path he has turned to 38and We will throw him into Hell, which is an evil destination” (4:115).
“When they (decided to) deviate (from the straight path) God deviated their hearts (as they wanted themselves). Indeed, God does not guide the transgressing people” (61:5).
“God may show mercy on you; if you return, We will return (too)” (17:8).
The second group of the verses conveys the meanings of monotheism in belief to show that it is God who is the All- Performer of all things; Nothing can happen without God’s help, because all things are under His power and will and it is He who has given free will and power to others; thus, all things are in need of Him 39 but it does not mean that human beings are not free to change the directions of their fate. None of these verses negate Man’s free will.
Destiny And Providence
Destiny and providence, Qada and Qadr: in Islamic terminology is usually translated as Destiny and Providence but we should know that in fact there is a substantial difference between the meaning of Qada and Qadr in the teachings of the Qur’an and their translations (: destiny and providence) because destiny and providence literally mean that there is a force which controls what happens in the life of human beings and that the human being is being forced, so he is not able to do anything regarding his own future; this meaning has been attributed to these two concepts (Qada and Qadr) by the dictators in the history in order to legitimize their dictatorship over the people,, that is, they claimed that God desires that they rule over people and people cannot change the conditions because it is what God wants; in actual fact, this is opposite to the teachings of the Qur’an, which teaches that the human being can change his fate.
If it was not such, he would be not punished for his evil deeds nor would he receive rewards for his good deeds.
According to the Qur’an Qada and Qadr are clarified as follows:
Qadr: literally means size, measure, amount, etc.
Qada: literally means becoming, accomplishment, carrying out.
In other words, measurements and achievement; if the measurements are right, the goal will be achieved. This is why God has provided human being with intellect, in order for him to learn what he needs to build, to improve his future and life, and to decide and thus direct his own fate; the fate of human beings is within the frame of his own power and decision and he is responsible for his decision; this is why God emphasizes in the Qur’an that human beings only get the outcome of their deeds:
“God never changes (or destroys) the favours which He has given to the people, unless they change themselves” (8:53).
“When your Lord declared that if you be grateful, I will increase you (in blessings), and if you abandon belief my punishment is severe” (14:7).
- 1. Bahrani 1995, 3/550.
- 2. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 38:65; 39:4; 13:16; 12:39.
- 3. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 9:32.
- 4. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 16:67.
- 5. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 76:1.
- 6. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 39:42.
- 7. Tabatabaʾi 1417 A.H., 12/342
- 8. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 76:3.
- 9. N. Makarim Shirazi 1373 Sh., 11/390.
- 10. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 90:4.
- 11. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 53:39.
- 12. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 75:35.
- 13. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 76:3.
- 14. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 17:36.
- 15. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 45:5; 14:25.
- 16. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 36:18; 7:179; 25:44.
- 17. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 37:154; 18:36.
- 18. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 4:82; 47:24; 2:25; 5:9.
- 19. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 42:13.
- 20. Tabatabaʾi 1417 A.H., 18/28.
- 21. N. Makarim Shirazi 1374 Sh, 20/378.
- 22. Zamakhshari 1986, 4/215.
- 23. Suyuti 1404 A.H, 6/4.
- 24. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 2:256.
- 25. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 2:170; 5:104; 43:22.
- 26. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 3:19.
- 27. A. I.-F. Razi 1408 A.H., 4/374.
- 28. Tusi 1405 A.H., 2/492.
- 29. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 3:85.
- 30. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 33:40.
- 31. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 90:4.
- 32. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 18:65-82.
- 33. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 42:30.
- 34. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 21:35; 2:155.
- 35. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 7:94; 32:21.
- 36. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 2:124; 20:40.
- 37. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 2:286.
- 38. Chosen.
- 39. Refer to Holy Qur’an, 81:29; 7:188; 10:100; 8:17…
