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Purpose of Man's Creation |
In my humble
understanding, the purpose of man's creation,
according to the Quran is to turn his potentialities
into actualities. Please consider the following
three points:
1. According to 51:56, the purpose of the
creation of man in 'Ibada
2. According to 2:21, the purpose of 'Ibada
is Taqwa
3. According to 2:189, 3:130, and 3:200, the purpose of
Taqwa is Falah
According to the above three points the
ultimate purpose of man's creation is Falah.
'Ibada (, when the object of the
word is Allah) is compliance with the
Commands of Allah with humility and submissiveness, in all
walks of man's life
Taqwa is preservation from any
harm, disintegration or decay
Falah is from Falahat (i.e.
the practice of cultivating the land,) which is done to
convert the potentialities of a seed into actualities
According to 91:8,
Allah has put in man's nafs the characteristic to
become disintegrated or preserved. Becoming of nafs
preserved (from harm, disintegration or decay) is Taqwa.
But just becoming or staying preserved is not enough. The
ultimate purpose is to make it grow and develop (91:9). This
is how falah will be achieved.
An Example:
You buy seeds of a crop from a seed
corporation. They tell you the best method of its
cultivation, maintaining, and harvesting (i.e. the
best season when it should be sown, the best frequency of
watering it, the best time to give the fertilizer, and the best
time for harvesting). The
compliance to the instructions of the seed corporation ['Ibada]
results in the preservation [Taqwa] of seed from
decay or harm from the pests and the conversion of its
potentialities into actualities (, its best growth and
development) [Falah]. |