Man as the best stature and Lowest of Low.
Qur'an
is the book of guidance and it serves as our first source of Islamic law.
Allah
says in Qur'an95:4-6
“we have indeed created man in
the most excellent form(ashani tagwin).
Then we reduced him to the
lowest of the low except those who believe
and practice righteousness,
for they shall have an endless reward.
From
the above verses of the Qur'an, Muslims believe that there is no fault in
Allah's creation. To man God gave the purest nature and mans duty is to
preserve the pattern on which God has made him.
By
making man His khalifah(vicegerent), God exalted man in a position even higher
than the angels, for the angels must make obeisance to Him. This is indicated
in the verse of the Qur'an below:
“Behold, thy lord said to the angels: I
will create a vicegerent on earth.
They said: will thou place
therein one who will make mischief therein
and shed blood?while we do
celebrate thy praises and glorify thy holy name
He said: I know what you know
not.........And behold we said to the angels:
“Bow down to Adam” and they bowed
down except Iblis(Satan), he refused
and was naughty. He was of
those we reject faith(2:30-34).
Man,
the best and highest element of God's creation is endowed with intellectual
power whereby he can make sound judgment and pursue the best way leading to
success in his life on earth and in the coming life when he will be raised from
death and brought to account for his deeds. This assertion can be found in the
Qur'an:
“ O you people who adore your
guardian lord, who created you
And those who came before
you that you may have the chance
to learn righteousness. He has made the
earth your couch and
the heaven your canopy and
sent down rain from the heaven and
brought forth therewith
fruits for your sustenance.
Then set not up any rival
unto God when you know the truth(Q2:21-22).
We
realize in the above verses that Allah has provided us with all the necessary
things in abundance for the betterment of our life in this world.
So
far we have seen man's position as vicegerent who was also given the will and
power to rule over his environment. But if man rebel against God and follow
evil, he will be in the lowest possible position, for judgment is sure. Of men
are some who follow the dictates of their mind and become slave of passion, thus
turning deaf ear to the guidance revealed to all mankind. It is these kind of
people Allah called the attention of Muhammad(S.A.W) in surah al-furqan:
“ O prophet!have you seen the
man who has made his passion his lord?
Can you accept responsibilities for his
misdeed?or do you think that
most of these slaves of
passion listen to your instruction and observe
them? Nay they are like
animals rather farther off the right path than
them (Qur'an25:43).
History
have shown that the downfall of the Muslims was brought about by their own
deviation, sinful acts and misdeeds. This is stated in the Qur'an below:
“ Whatever misfortune striketh you, it is what
you right hands have earned(Q42:30)”
furthermore
in the Qur'an Allah also says:
“ If you did well, you did
well for yourselves and if you
did evil you did it
against yourself”(17:7).
From
the above verses of the Qur'an we can understand that when Muslims become
negligent of their duties towards Allah and their fellow human beings, they
loose the essence of their strength and expose themselves to both internal and
external weaknesses.
In
order that Muslims may awake, arise and ascend the highest point of glory, it
is their first and foremost duty to create harmony between their faith and
practice by closing ranks in the service of Islam. Their greatest weapon,
wealth and guarantee is Islam which is essentially a code of life unparalleled
to any .
However
if we use the intellect and the freewill Allah bestowed us wrongly, we shall
fall even lower than the lowest of animals.
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