CREATION OF MAN

Only when a person goes beyond self and his environment can he understand that there is a higher purpose on which he should focus his life. way results from the pressures of desire or of immediate exigencies. It must emanate from his own urge to worship God. Man’s true purpose in life can only be one which reflects the nobler side of his character; one which represents him as the superior being that he is. If one pauses at this stage to take note of what the Quran has to say, one will find that it gives us clear guidance in this matter. Man’s purpose in life has been explained in the Quran in the following words: I created the jinn and humankind only so that they might worship Me: I seek no sustenance from them, nor do I want them to feed Me—it is God who is the great Sustainer, the Mighty One, the Invincible. (51: 56-58) These verses specify man’s purpose in life as worship. This is a purpose that highlights man’s uniqueness in its ultimate form. It raises man to a much higher plane than that of the animals. Not a trace of animalism contributes to the achievement of such a goal. God does not, as the verse states, demand of you a livelihood, rather He himself is responsible for your livelihood. This means worship of God is a purpose, which is motivated neither by inward desires nor outward influences but comes into being through conscious thought alone. Only when a person goes beyond self and his environment can he understand that there is a higher purpose on which he should focus his life. The motivating force towards the fulfillment of this purpose is not the urge to satisfy one’s needs or those of others. The worshipper seeks neither to gratify his own desires nor those of the Being he worships. It is a purpose which sets before man a goal far above all these things—a goal which does not follow internal needs or external pressures, but results purely from conceptual thought. When a person works, makes money, builds a house, and makes an effort to improve his standard of living, he appears to be engaged in efforts towards some worthy end. But a life of this nature cannot be called a purposeful life, for these activities do not demonstrate man’s unique status. It might seem as if they are the result of deliberation, but if one looks at the matter in-depth, one will see that in actuality the motivating force behind these actions is the same urge that motivates