God's Little Secret - The Purpose of Human Creation

Several thousands of years ago, when God decided to create a new species we now call human beings, he gathered the angels and informed them,

 اِنِّیۡ جَاعِلٌ فِی الۡاَرۡضِ خَلِیۡفَۃً

Khalifa means a person who has been delegated some authority and power by the one who originally possesses that authority and power. The political successors of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ were hence called Khalifa, because they ruled in his name, by the authority vested in them by virtue of being the Prophet's political successors. Similarly, spiritual leaders too make their most accomplished students their Khalifa, which essentially means that they too would now deem to have the same spiritual authority that they have.

So when God said that He would create a new species which would act as His Khalifa, what He meant was that this new species (man) would be delegated, in some measure, some of God's own powers and attributes that other species on earth do not possess.

But as all Spiderman fans know, With great power comes great responsibility. An irresponsible man vested with unlimited power can only cause great harm and corruption. That is why the angels were so appalled. They immediately asked,

اَتَجۡعَلُ فِیۡہَا مَنۡ یُّفۡسِدُ فِیۡہَا وَ یَسۡفِکُ الدِّمَآءَ ۚ وَ نَحۡنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمۡدِکَ وَ نُقَدِّسُ لَکَ

What was the point of creating such a species which would cause havoc on this beautiful blue and green planet when we already are performing your ibadat? Are we not glorifying You and Praising and Thanking You and extolling Your purity already? And we are not causing you any problems either. So what's the point? We fail to understand, dear Lord.

What this conversation tells us is:

1. Man has been created with certian powers, a shadow of God's own attributes. He has been given free will and volition. And he can potentially use this free will to do both good and bad. It's entirely up to him to decide what he does with that power.

2. Man has been created for a purpose that angels cannot fulfil. Had man only been created for acts of ibadah, then the angels are doing a far far better job than man. So its not just tasbeeh and tamheed and taqdees. There's something more, or something different.

3. It is common knowledge that the angels’ apprehensions have indeed come true. Man has spilled blood and caused fasad on earth in all ways possible and conceivable. It would not be a exaggeration to state that man has been the worst thing to have happened to earth. The land, the oceans, the air have all been polluted beyond repair. Climate change and global warming are all man's return gifts to earth. Several thousands of species have gone extinct because of man's greed and his refusal to act responsibly. Man has single handedly claimed the lives of more men and animals and trees and forests than nature ever could. So the angels were indeed right in their apprehensions.

So? Why DID God create man? 

God did not answer. His only reply was:

اِنِّیۡۤ اَعۡلَمُ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُوۡنَ

In the greatest ayat of the Qur'an, Ayat ul Kursi, God tells us:

وَ لَا یُحِیۡطُوۡنَ بِشَیۡءٍ مِّنۡ عِلۡمِہٖۤ اِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ 

So God informs us only what He wishes to inform us. Nothing more. And we have no other source of knowing it either. All we have is His revelation - direct (the Qur'an) and indirect (the Hadith). And both, the Qur'an and Hadith, are silent on why exactly God has created man.

What makes this matter more mysterious is that God is Ghani and Samad. This means that he is not in any need of anyone. There is a Hadith Qudsi which says that even if all men on earth become most righteous or all men on earth become most evil, it wouldn't increase or decrease Allah's grandeur at all. So the very idea of man being of any benefit to God is out of question.

Then has man been created for no reason at all? But that can't be true either; nothing has been done for jest.

God Himself says,

وَ مَا خَلَقۡنَا السَّمَآءَ وَ الۡاَرۡضَ وَ مَا بَیۡنَہُمَا لٰعِبِیۡنَ

[Ambiya: 16]

Paradox, eh?

People usually tend to confuse the Purpose of Creating Human beings with the Purpose of sending Human beings on earth. Human life can be divided into two distinct parts - their life on earth (from birth to death) and their life thereafter (death onwards). So the purpose of sending man on earth, of letting him live here from his birth to death, is obviously a subset of the greater purpose of his creation. If that had not been the case, then we could have safely claimed that the objective of creating human beings ends with his death. But the question that remains is, what is the purpose then of raising him up after death and continuing his life in the akhirah?

Let us first explore the purpose of sending man on earth. We have two answers to this question in the Qur'an - trial and ibadah.

Trial:

The second ayat of Surah Mulk says that God has created life and death so as to test man. Likewise, the second ayat of Surah Dhahr says that God has created man to test him, and has equipped him with hearing and sight for the same reason.

الَّذِیۡ خَلَقَ الۡمَوۡتَ وَ الۡحَیٰوۃَ لِیَبۡلُوَکُمۡ اَیُّکُمۡ اَحۡسَنُ عَمَلًا 

اِنَّا خَلَقۡنَا الۡاِنۡسَانَ مِنۡ نُّطۡفَۃٍ اَمۡشَاجٍ نَّبۡتَلِیۡہِ فَجَعَلۡنٰہُ سَمِیۡعًۢا بَصِیۡرًا

Test him in what? To test whether he does good deeds or not. But why is God interested in seeing whether he uses his free will to do good deeds or misues his free will and power to perpetuate evil? And if God does not stand to receive any benefit from us, then it can only mean that man is being asked to perform good deeds for his own good.

اِنۡ اَحۡسَنۡتُمۡ اَحۡسَنۡتُمۡ لِاَنۡفُسِکُمۡ ۟ وَ اِنۡ اَسَاۡتُمۡ فَلَہَا

[Bani Israel:7]

The concept of man being created to perform good deeds can also be rephrased as: “Man has been created to perform ibadah”. But we'll get back to this later. First, let us understand what is actually being tested.

What actually is being tested is man's heart. God is testing whether man returns the heart God had given him at birth in the same pure and pristine form. Man's heart is an amanat from God that has been entrusted to him. The test is whether he can fulfil that trust and keep that heart pure and intact.

اِنَّا عَرَضۡنَا الۡاَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالۡاَرۡضِ وَالۡجِبَالِ فَاَبَيۡنَ اَنۡ يَّحۡمِلۡنَهَا وَاَشۡفَقۡنَ مِنۡهَا وَ حَمَلَهَا الۡاِنۡسَانُؕ اِنَّهٗ كَانَ ظَلُوۡمًا جَهُوۡلًا ۙ‏ لِّيُعَذِّبَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقِينَ وَٱلْمُنَـٰفِقَـٰتِ وَٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ وَٱلْمُشْرِكَـٰتِ وَيَتُوبَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنَـٰتِ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًۭا رَّحِيمًۢا

[Ahzab:72,73]

When man commits sin, that heart gets tarnished and the amanat gets affected.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ once said: “Verily, when the slave (of Allah) commits a sin, a black spot appears on his heart. When he refrains from it, seeks forgiveness and repents, his heart is polished clean. But if he returns, it increases until it covers his entire heart. And that is the ‘Raan’ which Allah mentioned: ‘Nay, but on their hearts is the Raan which they used to earn.’”

[Abu Hurairah ؓ, Jami` at-Tirmidhi]

This heart can be cleansed in two ways. One is taubah and astaghfaar, as mentioned in the above Hadith. Another method is to perform good deeds.

اِنَّ الۡحَسَنٰتِ يُذۡهِبۡنَ السَّيِّاٰتِ

[Hud: 114]

A person who returns this heart, this amanat, in its original form, fulfils the right of amanat and thus passes this test.

یَوۡمَ لَا یَنۡفَعُ مَالٌ وَّ لَا بَنُوۡنَ

اِلَّا مَنۡ اَتَی اللّٰہَ بِقَلۡبٍ سَلِیۡمٍ

[Shoora: 88,89]

Also,

قَدۡ اَفۡلَحَ مَنۡ زَکّٰىہَا

وَ قَدۡ خَابَ مَنۡ دَسّٰىہَا

[Shams: 9,10]

This is why diseases of the heart are so dangerous. There are several ayaat and aHadith that tell us that a person would never pass this test if he harbours diseases like hypocrisy, arrogance and jealousy in his heart.

The entire system of prophethood was also instituted to ensure this:

ہُوَ الَّذِیۡ بَعَثَ فِی الۡاُمِّیّٖنَ رَسُوۡلًا مِّنۡہُمۡ یَتۡلُوۡا عَلَیۡہِمۡ اٰیٰتِہٖ وَ یُزَکِّیۡہِمۡ وَ یُعَلِّمُہُمُ الۡکِتٰبَ وَ الۡحِکۡمَۃَ وَ اِنۡ کَانُوۡا مِنۡ قَبۡلُ لَفِیۡ ضَلٰلٍ مُّبِیۡنٍ

[Juma: 2]

Ibadah:

So where does Ibadat come in? God says:

وَ مَا خَلَقۡتُ الۡجِنَّ وَ الۡاِنۡسَ اِلَّا لِیَعۡبُدُوۡنِ 

[Zariyat: 56]

But this ibadat also does not benefit God, does it? We have seen earlier that God is not in any need of human beings. He is over and above petty needs. This means that man alone stands to benefit from his acts of Ibadah.

Ibadah literally means slavery. Ibadat of God means God’s slavery and servitude. But why does God want man to serve Him?

Shah Waliullah Muhaddis Dehelvi ؒ has written in his epic book, Hujjatullah alBaligah, that ibadat cannot be just for the sake of it. It is not like a master asking his slave to go run and touch that stone just to see whether he touches that stone or not. God is not just testing our loyalty. Ibadat is much more. 

Ibadat is actually a process to maintain our heart in its pristine state. Ibadat is a syllabus that helps us in passing that test. God saying that I have sent man for no other reason than to perform ibadah can be likened to a father telling his son, “I have sent you to college for no other reason than to study”. But it is quite evident that the real purpose was to get him educated, to pass the exam and earn a degree, so that his future is brighter.

We also need to perform ibadah so that we can pass this test and receive our degrees in our right hands, and our future is secured in Jannah. That is why I say, ibadah is not the ultimate purpose, but a means to achieve that purpose.

The purpose of Ibadat is thus to develop Qalbe Saleem and attain Taqwa.

 یٰۤاَیُّہَا النَّاسُ اعۡبُدُوۡا رَبَّکُمُ الَّذِیۡ خَلَقَکُمۡ وَ الَّذِیۡنَ مِنۡ قَبۡلِکُمۡ لَعَلَّکُمۡ تَتَّقُوۡنَ

[Baqarah: 21]

Have a look at various forms of worship. Every form of ibadah is directed towards cleansing the heart, developing qalbe saleem, and bringing man closer to God.

Offer Namaz so that you might remember God at least 5 times a day and your heart is cleansed of all evil.

اَقِمِ الصَّلٰوۃَ لِذِکۡرِیۡ

[TaHa, 14]

اِنَّ الصَّلٰوۃَ تَنۡہٰی عَنِ الۡفَحۡشَآءِ وَ الۡمُنۡکَرِ

[Ankanoot, 45]

Else, if a person's namaz does not make him a better person, then God has cursed such worshippers:

فَوَیۡلٌ لِّلۡمُصَلِّیۡنَ الَّذِیۡنَ ہُمۡ عَنۡ صَلَاتِہِمۡ سَاہُوۡنَ الَّذِیۡنَ ہُمۡ یُرَآءُوۡنَ

[Maoon: 4-6]

Recite Surah alKahf on Friday to understand how Satan tries to deceive men and how we can protect ourselves from Dajl (deception).

Offer fasts so that you may become muttaqi.

یٰۤاَیُّہَا الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا کُتِبَ عَلَیۡکُمُ الصِّیَامُ کَمَا کُتِبَ عَلَی الَّذِیۡنَ مِنۡ قَبۡلِکُمۡ لَعَلَّکُمۡ تَتَّقُوۡنَ

[Baqarah, 183]

Else, simply staying hungry and thirsty would not give us anything at all:

Prophet Muhammad has ﷺ said, "Whoever does not give up false statements (i.e. telling lies), and evil deeds, and speaking bad words to others, Allah is not in need of his (fasting) leaving his food and drink."

[Abu Hurairah ؓ , Saheeh Bukhari]

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has also said:

“There are people who fast and get nothing from their fast except hunger, and there are those who pray and get nothing from their prayer but a sleepless night.”

[Abu Hurairah ؓ , Sunan Ibn Majah]

Engage in zikr so that you can get itminan e qalb (peace of mind).

اَلَا بِذِکۡرِ اللّٰہِ تَطۡمَئِنُّ الۡقُلُوۡبُ

[Ra’ad: 28]

Engage in taubah and astaghfaar to wipe out the stains off one's heart, as mentioned in the Hadith mentioned earlier.

Offer qurbani to reaffirm your resolve to sacrifice and submit before Allah

لَن يَنَالَ ٱللَّهَ لُحُومُهَا وَلَا دِمَآؤُهَا وَلَـٰكِن يَنَالُهُ ٱلتَّقْوَىٰ مِنكُمْ

[Hajj, 37]

Offer Saqda/Zakat to cure bukhl and arrogance, to become compassionate and empathetic.

وَ مَنۡ یُّوۡقَ شُحَّ نَفۡسِہٖ فَاُولٰٓئِکَ ہُمُ الۡمُفۡلِحُوۡنَ

[Taghabun, 16]

Recite the Qur'an for guidance and remembrance.

کِتٰبٌ اَنۡزَلۡنٰہُ اِلَیۡکَ مُبٰرَکٌ لِّیَدَّبَّرُوۡۤا اٰیٰتِہٖ وَ لِیَتَذَکَّرَ اُولُوا الۡاَلۡبَابِ

[Saad, 29]

Else, simply reciting the Qur'an to please God is a very shallow understanding of ibadah. Why would God be pleased just because someone reads His book or even praises it? Does He stand in need of our validation? No! I always tell my daughter that simply reading the Qur'an would not please God. To please God, you would have to embody the good qualities that God has enumerated in that Qur'an and become the Muslim that God wants you to become.

The Prophet ﷺ once said, “There will come a people from the east, who recite the Quran but it does not go beyond their throats....”

[Abu Sa’id al-Khudri, Saheeh Bukhari]

Jihad and Amr bil Maroof and nahi anil munkar, and the struggle to establish Islam on earth is done so that the external environment is also clean and pure, helping us in keeping our hearts unblemished.

Offer all forms of Ibadah to strengthen your talluq billah and to develop qalbe saleem.

NOT (only) for Sawab. NOT (only) for Fazail. NOT just for the sake of it. The Fazail of deeds should best be taken as a motivation, not as the core objective of ibadah. It is not the act of ibadah that impresses Allah but the resultant change in heart.

Is there any other way to develop Qalbe Saleem bypassing these acts of Ibadah? No!

اِنَّ الدِّيۡنَ عِنۡدَ اللّٰهِ الۡاِسۡلَامُ

[Aal’Imran: 19]

وَمَن يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ ٱلْإِسْلَـٰمِ دِينًۭا فَلَن يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ مِنَ ٱلْخَـٰسِرِينَ

[Aal’Imran: 85]

قُلۡ اِنۡ کُنۡتُمۡ تُحِبُّوۡنَ اللّٰہَ فَاتَّبِعُوۡنِیۡ یُحۡبِبۡکُمُ اللّٰہُ وَ یَغۡفِرۡ لَکُمۡ ذُنُوۡبَکُمۡ ؕ وَ اللّٰہُ غَفُوۡرٌ رَّحِیۡمٌ

[Aal'Imran: 32]

Hereafter:

Whatever we have discussed about ’Test’ and ‘Ibadat’ concerns the purpose of man's life on earth. But man's life does not end with his death. In fact, considering his entire timeline from alam e arwah to the eternal life of the hereafter, his life in this world from birth to death is no more than a speck on the graph. But this little time is so important that his remaining life depends upon the results of his examination here.

So the question that remains is why is God testing us? Why is He holding such a huge entrance exam, sending in batch after batch (generation after generation) since so many centuries? Why is He sifting through mankind to pick out the best? An entrance exam whose pass percentage, according to certain aHadith, is a mere 0.1% to 0.01%! Why? Why, to reiterate the angels’ query, is God creating human beings in the first place? Honestly, we do not know. We haven't been told. We have only been told why we are on earth. So that we are tested. But why we are being tested is God's Little Secret.

There is another world after this where the best men would be admitted to Jannah and provided with all luxuries of the best possible food, clothing and residence. But why? Is there any task to be expected from such men who have surpassed angels in their obedience to God? Who, unlike angels, have obeyed God of their own free will despite having the choice to not do so, despite all the difficulties of leading a Muslim life, despite all the Islamophobia around us. What does God want from the possessors of such pristine hearts?

And why would the rest of the examinees (99.9 or 99.99%) be punished in hellfire? Would they be made into slaves and bonded labourers? God says that they would be the fuel of hellfire. What engine would this fuel drive? What establishment would this workforce sustain?

We do not know. We haven't been told. God had told us only what we need to know to pass this test in this world, nothing else.

To reiterate,

اِنِّیۡۤ اَعۡلَمُ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُوۡنَ

وَ لَا یُحِیۡطُوۡنَ بِشَیۡءٍ مِّنۡ عِلۡمِہٖۤ اِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ