FOREWORD

placed in a free environment to find out who proves himself to be the best in conduct so that God may find eligible candidates for Paradise. This concept makes life extremely meaningful. The British scientist, Sir James Jeans, on seeing that man comes to this world and leaves this world without making use of the potential of his brain and without achieving the fulfillment of his desires, exclaimed: “Man has strayed into a world which has not been made for him.” But, when we look at this in the light of this Quranic concept, human life becomes extremely meaningful. An attribute of God, according to the Quran, is that He is the best of the creators (23:14), while man is required to be “best in conduct” (67:2). This shows that the very same quality of God, which is at the divine level, is required of man at the human level. The only difference is that this divine attribute manifests itself at the level of powerfulness, while with man, it becomes evident at the level of helplessness and obedience. Here is a saying of the Prophet: “Adopt divine ethics.” (Sharh Al-Aqeedah At-Tahawiyyah, Vol. 1, p. 120). This means that man ought to bring himself into line with divine ethics; he should prove to be best in conduct by properly using his freedom, although there is no compulsion for him to do so. Those who fulfill