AND MANKIND CREATED FOR THE PURPOSE OF LIFE AND HEREAFTER

Bismillah Irrehman Nir-Rahim

(In the Name of Allah. The most Beneficent, The most Merciful)

The purpose of creation is a topic that puzzles every human being at some point in his or her lifetime. Everybody, at some time or another, asks themselves the question: "Why do I exist?" or "For what purpose am I here on earth?"

Let's Find Out The Purpose of Mankind Creation:

Before the creation of Mankind, there existed Angels/Farishte, Jinn/Satan etc, The Angels doesn't have free will, except Jinn/Satan and Mankind. Allah has honored Mankind by creating them to be His vicegerents on earth. He gave us free will, which makes us higher than the angels. When He created us, He did not create us for His own benefit, but for ours. He created us for our advantage, not His. 

Our purpose of existence on earth is more meaningful than being slaves to worldly gains. There can be no meaningful life better than that prescribed by our Creator, Allah. Every act done according to Allah's way is an act of worship. Man is the beneficiary and Allah is in no need. The Qur’an says what means:

{O mankind! It is you who stand in need of Allah, but Allah is Rich [Free of all wants and needs], Worthy of all praise.} (Fatir 35:15)

We need Allah to feel our own being and to taste the happiness of life. Our need for Him is like the need for a baby for a supporting father and a merciful mother. We need to admit our powerlessness to Him and to trust Him to give us might and power since He is the source of all might and power. A prophetic tradition reads:

“O Allah, I seek refuge in You for Your pleasure and against Your wrath and in Your forgiveness and against Your punishment and in You from You. I cannot praise You as You can praise Yourself.” (Reported by Muslim, Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.)

Allah is He besides Whom there is no God, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting by Whom all subsist; slumber does not overtake Him nor sleep; whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is His; who is he that can intercede with Him but by His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they cannot comprehend anything out of His knowledge except what He pleases, His knowledge extends over the heavens and the earth, and the preservation of them both tires Him not, and He is the Most High, the Great. (Al-Baqarah 2:255)

Allah does not need to be worshiped; rather, we need to worship Him. Our need of God stems from our innate need of someone to help us and give us safety.

Virtues of Mankind towards its Creation:

There is no better way to learn about Islam than to read the Holy Qur'an and to observe the practices of a devout Muslim. The Holy Qur'an, the revelation given to Prophet Muhammad over 1400 years ago, is an instruction book for people of all times and all places as to how one can live their life correctly. It contains therein, among other things, the qualities that one should adopt in order to please the Creator and to obtain true peace on Earth. The ultimate result of a sincere striving towards such qualities would be the fulfillment of the human being's purpose in this life (submission to the One God) and the attainment of the reward in the next life (eternal Paradise!)

Pillar of Islam

Muslims believe that only when humanity believes in the One God and sincerely follows the teachings of this divine book, will all the problems of the world then be solved.

Following are the Virtues of Mankind towards God/Allah:

RIGHTEOUSNESS

• "Do no evil nor mischief on the (face of the) earth." (2:60)
• "Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong." (3:104)
• "Do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbors who are of kin, neighbors who are strangers, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (ye meet), and what your right hands possess." (4:36)
• "[God] forbids all indecent deeds, and evil and rebellion: He instructs you, that ye may receive admonition." (16:90)
• "Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you." (49:13)

GENEROSITY

• "Give of the good things which ye have (honorably) earned, and of the fruits of the earth which We have produced for you." (2:267)
• "If ye disclose (acts of) charity, even so it is well, but if ye conceal them, and make them reach those (really) in need, that is best for you ." (2:271)
• "By no means shall ye attain righteousness unless ye give (freely) of that which ye love." (3:92)
• "Those saved from the covetousness of their own souls, they are the ones that achieve prosperity." (59:9)
• "[Do not] expect, in giving, any increase (for thyself)!" (74:6)

GRATITUDE

• "Eat of the good things that We have provided for you, and be grateful to God, if it is Him ye worship." (2:172)
• "Show gratitude to Me and to thy parents: to Me is (thy final) Goal." (31:14)
• "[God] liketh not ingratitude from His servants: if ye are grateful, He is pleased with you." (39:7)

CONTENTMENT

• "In no wise covet those things in which God hath bestowed His gifts more freely on some of you than on others: to men is allotted what they earn, and to women what they earn: but ask God of His bounty." (4:32)

HUMILITY

• "Call on your Lord with humility and in private: for God loveth not those who trespass beyond bounds." (7:55)
• "Celebrate the praises of thy Lord, and be of those who prostrate themselves in adoration." (15:98)
• "The servants of (God) Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, 'Peace!'" (25:63)
• "Exult not, for God loveth not those who exult (in riches)." (28:76)
• "Swell not thy cheek (for pride) at men, nor walk in insolence through the earth; for God loveth not any arrogant boaster." (31:18)

KINDNESS

• "God loveth those who are kind." (5:13)
• "Be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: 'My Lord! bestow on them Thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood.'" (17:23-24)
• "We have enjoined on man (to be good) to his parents: in travail upon travail did his mother bear him, and in years twain was his weaning." (31:14)
• "Treat not the orphan with harshness, nor repulse him who asks." (93:9-10)

COURTESY

• "When a (courteous) greeting is offered you, meet it with a greeting still more courteous, or (at least) of equal courtesy. God takes careful account of all things." (4:86)
• "Let not some men among you laugh at others: it may be that the (latter) are better than the (former): nor let some women laugh at others: it may be that the (latter) are better than the (former): nor defame nor be sarcastic to each other, nor call each other by (offensive) nicknames." (49:11)

PURITY

• "Eat of what is on earth, lawful and good; and do not follow the footsteps of the Satan, for he is to you an avowed enemy." (2:168)
• "[God] loves those who keep themselves pure and clean." (2:222)
• "When ye prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; Rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the ankles. If ye are in a state of ceremonial impurity, bathe your whole body... God doth not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to make you clean." (5:6)

GOOD SPEECH

• "Say to My servants that they should (only) say those things that are best: for Satan doth sow dissensions among them." (17:53)
• "[The believers] have been guided... to the purest of speeches." (22:24)
• "Woe to every (kind of) scandal-monger and backbiter." (104:1)

RESPECT

• "Say to the People of the Book and to those who are unlearned: 'Do ye (also) submit yourselves?' If they do, they are in right guidance, but if they turn back, thy duty is to convey the Message." (3:20)
• "Enter not houses other than your own, until ye have asked permission and saluted those in them: that is best for you, in order that ye may heed (what is seemly). If ye find no one in the house, enter not until permission is given to you: if ye are asked to go back, go back: that makes for greater purity for yourselves." (24:27-28)
• "Avoid suspicion as much (as possible): for suspicion in some cases is a sin: and spy not on each other, nor speak ill of each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother?" (49:12)

WISDOM

• "Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious." (16:125)

TOLERANCE

• "Say: 'O People of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but God; that we associate no partners with Him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, lords and patrons other than God.' If then they turn back, say ye: 'Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to God's Will).'" (3:64)
• "If it had been thy Lord's Will, they would all have believed, all who are on earth! Wilt thou then compel mankind, against their will, to believe!" (10:99)

JUSTICE

• "Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for God can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve." (4:135)
• "God loveth those who judge in equity." (5:42)
• "Take not life, which God hath made sacred, except by way of justice and law." (6:151)

MERCY

• "If the debtor is in a difficulty, grant him time till it is easy for him to repay. But if ye remit it by way of charity, that is best for you if ye only knew." (2:280)
• "We ordained therein for them: 'Life for life, eye for eye, nose or nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal.' But if any one remits the retaliation by way of charity, it is an act of atonement for himself." (5:45)
• "Overlook (any human faults) with gracious forgiveness." (15:85)
• "Repel (Evil) with what is better: then will he between whom and thee was hatred become as it were thy friend and intimate!" (41:34)
• "(It is) for those who believe and put their trust in their Lord... when they are angry even then forgive." (42:36-37)
• "The recompense for an injury is an injury equal thereto (in degree): but if a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from God: for (God) loveth not those who do wrong." (42:40)

DIGNITY

• "To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged." (22:39)
• "If any do help and defend themselves after a wrong (done) to them, against such there is no cause of blame." (42:41)

COURAGE

• "(It is) for those who believe... when an oppressive wrong is inflicted on them, (are not cowed but) help and defend themselves." (42:36-39)

FIRMNESS

• "How many of the Prophets fought (in God's way), and with them (fought) large bands of godly men? But they never lost heart if they met with disaster in God's way, nor did they weaken (in will) nor give in. And God loves those who are firm and steadfast." (3:146)
• "Bear with patient constancy whatever betide thee; for this is firmness (of purpose) in (the conduct of) affairs." (31:17)

FRANKNESS

• "Fear God, and make your utterance straight forward: That He may make your conduct whole and sound." (33:70-71)

HOPE

• "Here is a plain statement to men, a guidance and instruction to those who fear God. So lose not heart, nor fall into despair: For ye must gain mastery if ye are true in Faith." (3:138-139)
• "What is with you must vanish: what is with God will endure. And We will certainly bestow, on those who patiently persevere, their reward according to the best of their actions." (16:96)

PATIENCE

• "Seek (God's) help with patient perseverance and prayer: It is indeed hard, except to those who are humble, who bear in mind the certainty that they are to meet their Lord, and that they are to return to Him." (2:45-46)
• "Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere, who say, when afflicted with calamity: 'To God We belong, and to Him is our return'. They are those on whom
• (descend) blessings from their Lord, and Mercy." (2:155-157)
• "Pray for help from God, and (wait) in patience and constancy: for the earth is God's, to give as a heritage to such of His servants as He pleaseth; and the end is (best) for the righteous." (7:128)

PERSEVERANCE

• "On no soul doth God place a burden greater than it can bear. It gets every good that it earns, and it suffers every ill that it earns." (2:286)
• "Ye shall certainly be tried and tested in your possessions and in your personal selves; and ye shall certainly hear much that will grieve you, from those who received the Book before you and from those who worship partners besides God. But if ye persevere patiently, and guard against evil, then that will be of great resolution." (3:186)

DISCIPLINE

• "Bow down, prostrate yourselves, and adore your Lord; and do good; that ye may prosper. And strive in His cause as ye ought to strive, (with sincerity and under discipline)." (22:77-78)

SELF-RESTRAINT

• "Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint." (2:183)
• "[Do not follow] the lust (of thy heart), for it will mislead thee from the Path of God." (38:26)
• "For such as had entertained the fear of standing before their Lord's (tribunal) and had restrained (their) soul from lower desires, their abode will be the Garden." (79:40-41)

BALANCE / MODERATION

• "Fight in the cause of God those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for God loveth not transgressors." (2:190)
• "Commit no excess: for God loveth not those given to excess." (5:87)
• "And the servants of (God) Most Gracious are those who... when they spend, are not extravagant and not niggardly, but hold a just (balance) between those (extremes)." (25:63-67)
• "Seek, with the (wealth) which God has bestowed on thee, the Home of the Hereafter, nor forget thy portion in this world: but do thou good, as God has been good to thee." (28:77)

PRUDENCE

• "When ye deal with each other, in transactions involving future obligations in a fixed period of time, reduce them to writing... whether it be small or big; it is juster in the sight of God, more suitable as evidence, and more convenient to prevent doubts among yourselves." (2:282)
• "If a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest ye harm people unwittingly, and afterwards become full of repentance for what ye have done." (49:6)

UNITY

• "Hold fast, all together, by the Rope which God (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude God's favor on you; for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, ye became brethren." (3:103)

FRUGALITY

• "Eat not up your property among yourselves in vanities." (4:29)
• "Waste not by excess: for God loveth not the wasters." (6:141)

SINCERITY

• "God will never change the grace which He hath bestowed on a people until they change what is in their (own) souls." (8:53)
• "Woe to the worshippers... who (want but) to be seen." (107:4-6)

RESPONSIBILITY

• "Whoever recommends and helps a good cause becomes a partner therein: And whoever recommends and helps an evil cause, shares in its burden." (4:85)

LOYALTY

• "Fulfill (every) engagement, for (every) engagement will be inquired into (on the Day of Reckoning)." (17:34)

TRUSTWORTHINESS

• "If one of you deposits a thing on trust with another, let the trustee (faithfully) discharge his trust, and let him fear God." (2:283)
• "God doth command you to render back your trusts to those to whom they are due." (4:58)

HONESTY / FAIR-DEALING

• "Cover not Truth with falsehood, nor conceal the Truth when ye know (what it is)." (2:42)
• "Take not your oaths, to practice deception between yourselves." (16:94)
• "Truly many are the partners (in business) who wrong each other: Not so do those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, and how few are they?" (38:24)
• "Woe to those that deal in fraud, - Those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, exact full measure, but when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due." (83:1-3)

REPENTANCE

• "Seek ye the forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him in repentance; that He may grant you enjoyment, good (and true), for a term appointed ." (11:3)
• "Your Lord knoweth best what is in your hearts: If ye do deeds of righteousness, verily He is Most Forgiving to those who turn to Him again and again (in true penitence)." (17:25)

SPIRITUALITY

• "Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, - there are indeed Signs for men of understanding, - Men who celebrate the praises of God, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (with the thought): 'Our Lord! not for naught hast Thou created (all) this! Glory to Thee!'" (3:190-191)
• "Establish regular prayer: for prayer restrains from shameful and evil deeds; and remembrance of God is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt." (29:45)
• "True, there is for thee by day prolonged occupation with ordinary duties: But keep in remembrance the name of thy Lord and devote thyself to Him whole-heartedly. (He is) Lord of the East and the West: there is no god but He: take Him therefore for (thy) Disposer of Affairs." (73:7-9)

Why God has given Free will to Mankind???:

Free will to Humans is to obey or not to obey God. The proponent of this school say that man is automatically aware that he possesses freedom in his actions; he can decide as he wishes and fashion his own fate in accordance with his own will and inclinations. The existence that decrees responsibility for man, the regret man feels for certain acts he commits, the punishments the law provides for criminals, the deeds men accomplish in order to change the course of history, the foundation of science and technology—all of these prove man to be free in his actions.

It would be completely meaningless were God, on the one hand, to compel men to do certain things and, on the other, to reward or punish them. It would surely be unjust were the Creator of the world to set us on whatever path He chose, by means of His power and His will, and then to punish us for actions we have committed without any choice on our part.

If the deeds of men are, in reality, the acts of God, all corruption, evil and cruelty must be regarded as His work, whereas His most sacred being is utterly pure of all such corruption and injustice.

If there were no free choice for a man, the whole concept of man's religious accountability would be unjust. The oppressive tyrant would deserve no blame and the just would merit no praise because responsibility has meaning only within the sphere of what is possible and attainable by man.

All beings in the world enjoy a form of guidance particular to the stage of development they have reached; their specific forms of guidance correspond to their different degrees of existence.

Man who has attained the highest level of development as the only being possessing the faculty of independent will and discernment has a relatively low level of instinctual power. As he gradually attains his freedom, he is progressively beset with relative weakness in his sensory capacities.

For free will and choice to express themselves, a factor opposing natural instinct must exist. Man will, then, be caught between two opposing attractions, each seeking to gain his obedience, so that he is compelled to choose the path he desires, freely, consciously, and relying on his own efforts and resources. Free of all determining factors and mental preconceptions, he begins the work of making and developing himself on the basis of specific principles and criteria.

Once faced with this element of contradiction, man cannot attain equilibrium or choose a correct path for himself by acting as an automaton or refraining from all effort. Bearing as he does the burden of the divine trust, the great divine gift that the heavens and the earth were unfit to receive, man alone proving worthy of accepting it, man is confronted with only two choices in his conflict and struggle.

Either he becomes a prisoner to the tyranny of instinct and unbridled desire, thus debasing and degrading himself; or, drawing on his abundant capacities of will, thought and decision, he embarks on the path of growth and development and begins to ascend.

In all the verses that are concerned with God's will, not even one can be found which attributes man's volitional acts to the divine will. Thus, the Quran proclaims:

"Whoever does the smallest good deed shall experience the result of it, and whoever does the slightest evil deed shall experience the result of it." (99:7-8)

"Certainly you are accountable for what you do." (16:93)

"Those who assign partners to God say that their worship of idols and other deeds derive from God's will; had God not willed it, they and their forefathers would not have become polytheists, and they would not practice the deeds of the Age of ignorance. Those who went astray in previous times also spoke such nonsense, denying the heavenly teachings and attributing their misguidance to God but they suffered the punishment for their lies and their slander. Say to them, O Prophet: 'Do you have a decisive proof for what you say? If you do not, your excuses are nothing but the result of erroneous ideas and fantasies; you speak vainly and lying.'(6:148)

The Noble Qur’an clearly states in some of its verses that God has shown man the path to salvation, but he is compelled neither to accept guidance and salvation nor to fall into misguidance.

("We have shown man the path of truth and the path of falsehood; he may choose either the path of guidance and offer the thanks, or choose the path of ingratitude)." (76:3)

Conclusion:

Man has got free will to obey God commandments or disobey him, If obeyed as per God's/Allah will He will be granted the best reward in Hereafter or disobeyed him He will surely be punished by Allah(swt).

Dua/Supplication:

May Allah grants us Hidaya (guidance) to follow his Commandments, May Allah guide us to stand still for the purpose of his creation, May Allah guide us to believe in one unique God. (Ameen)