The Creation Plan
of God
A western philosopher has written that it appears that man is a strange creature in this vast universe. It seems that neither man is made for this world, nor this world is made for man. Man and the Universe both seem to be a mismatch for each other.
Man is born with unlimited potentials. But in this present world, he finds only a very limited use of his potentials. Man, according to his nature desires to have an eternal life but very soon death arrives without his permission and finishes him off on a unilateral basis. Man carries unlimited desires within him, but these desires of his are never fulfilled.
World of dream is cherished by every man but these dreams are never realized. In this matter, there is no difference between the poor or rich, the big or the small. In the words of the philosopher mentioned above it seems that man has come to a world which was not made for him.
Why is man and the present world, are not in accord with each other? To find the answer of this question, we have to know the Creation Plan of God. This question arose due to unawareness of the creation plan only by knowing the creation plan of God we can arrive at a convincing answer.
The reality is that God—the Creator of man, has created man according to His plan. To become acquainted with this plan is necessary for a man to have a thorough understanding of himself—just as the workings of a machine can only be understood when we study the drawings of the engineer who made it. Without the knowledge of engineer’s plan, nothing else can clarify the significance of that machine. Same is the case with man. The creator of the man has created him under a special plan. The plan is that man has to spend a trial period in this present unidealistic world, and after this, according to his deeds, he earns his right to inhabit the ideal world, another name of which is “Paradise”.
The present world is a trial world. Here, any man and woman, to prove their worthiness for an entry into paradise, has two great parts: to acknowledge the truth and a disciplined life. Any man or woman who qualify themselves fully in this test, shall find a place in the ideal world of paradise. And those who fail in this test shall spent their lives in eternal deprivation.
Are We Completely Free?
Man finds himself completely free in this present world, but this freedom is not as his right instead it is a test paper for everyone. What Man has to do is that without any pressure applied to him he acknowledges the truth. Without any compulsion he surrenders before the truth. He restricts his freedom by his own choice. To surrender oneself before the truth is without doubt the greatest sacrifice for any man. To acknowledge the truth is, apparently, to make oneself smaller as compared to others but this is the thing which shall gives man the highest position. It will guarantee his entrance into paradise.
In this connection, the second important thing is a disciplined life. Generally, man’s character is moulded by his emotions—anger, revenge, jealousy, hatred, rivalry etc. These are negative perceptions which shape up the personality of a man. But a man should opt for a life of principle. He should not build his character under the influence of external incentives, rather his character should be based on principles. He, of his own will power must shape up his personality in the lights of sublime principles. This is the thing which is known as heavenly character.
Man has been created under the plan of creation. Man is the most noble creature of this entire universe. The existence of man is such a unique existence that no other example can be found in this vast universe. Man is rightly called as the most superior of the created beings. That is, the best and most meaningful being among all the created things.
The Hereafter
Those huge masses of ice, which we know as icebergs, found floating in the seas of the North and South poles, number amongst the most deceptive
Man has been created under the plan of creation. Man is the most noble creature of this entire universe. The existence of man is such a unique existence that no other example can be found in this vast universe.
and, therefore, the most dangerous phenomena to be found in nature. Their deceptiveness lies in the fact that no matter how huge, or wonderful in configuration, what we see of them amounts to only one tenth of their enormous bulk. What lies below the surface of the ocean spreading far and beyond the visible perimeter, poses tremendous hazards to the unwary. In some ways, our lives are like those floating mountains of ice. The part we spend in this world—about a hundred years, or less—is like the part of the iceberg which is visible above the surface. We can see it, touch it, feel it. We can take its measure and deal with it effectively. But the part which comes after death is like the submerged part—vast, unfathomable and fraught with peril. It is something which defies the imagination, but which we must nevertheless try to comprehend, for that is the part of human life which God has decreed should be eternal and, as such, ineluctable.
We are all familiar with the facts of our origin and the course which life takes from the womb until death. But at the end of our lifespan, whether it terminates in youth or in old age, our familiarity with the nature of things comes to an end. It has been surmised that death means total and final annihilation. But this is not so. Death is simply a means of consigning us to a new womb, to the womb of the universe itself. From that point, we are ushered into another world: the Hereafter. While the present, physical world as we know it has a finite time frame, the Hereafter stretches away from us into infinity. We fondly imagine that there is some parallel between the pleasures and pains of this world and those of the next, but, in truth, nothing that we can experience in this world will ever match the extremes of agony and bliss of the life after death. Those who merit punishment in the Hereafter will be condemned to suffer the most horrific pain for all time to come. But those who merit God’s blessings in the Hereafter shall know the most wonderful joy and contentment.
It is because life in this world is intended to be a testing-ground that the world of the Hereafter remains beyond our· reach. But all around us, we have innumerable signs which can help us, by
What we understand by suffering and solace in this world cannot be compared with the suffering and solace of the Hereafter.
analogy, to understand and appreciate the nature of the world to come. Imagine a room which ostensibly consists of four walls, furniture, a few material objects and some human occupants. To all outward appearances, that is what the room adds up to. But the moment we switch on the TV set, we are introduced to a hitherto unsuspected world of colour, movement, and highly vocal human activity. This world, with its scenery and very alive human beings, had existed all along. It had only needed the flip of a switch to make us aware of it. Similarly, our terrestrial existence is made up of a world within a world. The world we know is concrete, visible, audible, tangible. The ‘other’ world, the world within it, or rather, beyond it, is not, however, one which can be apprehended through any of the normal human senses; no switch can be turned on to make us understand what it is really like. Only death can do this for us. And, when we reopen our eyes after death, we find that what had formerly been impalpable, and quite beyond human comprehension, is now a stark, overwhelming reality. It is then that we grasp what had hitherto existed, but had remained invisible.
What is Success?
Once we have become clear in our minds that the afterlife truly exists, we realize that the sole aim of our earthly existence should be to strive for success in the life to come, for, unlike the present ephemeral world, the Hereafter is eternal and real. What we understand by suffering and solace in this world cannot be compared with the suffering and solace of the Hereafter.
Many individuals lead immoral, even criminal existences because they feel that we are free to do as we please in this world. Freedom we do have, but it exists only so that God may distinguish between the good and the evil, and determine who deserves a place of honour and dignity in the Hereafter and who should be condemned to eternal disgrace. While there is nothing to prevent the good and the evil from living cheek by jowl in this world, they will be separated in the Hereafter like the wheat from the chaff, and will be judged in strict accordance with their record in this life. Some will be condemned to an eternal Hell of pain and distress, while others will be blessed with eternal bliss and pleasure. Each will ineluctably get his deserts.
Two men once brought a case before the Prophet for judgement. One had misappropriated the other’s land, but because of certain legal quirks, it was difficult to pass a verdict against him. After due consideration, the Prophet warned him: “If the court gives a verdict in your favour, think of it as being fire and brimstone which you have been awarded.” The piece of land might, in terms of this world, have been a prized possession, but in the perspective of the Hereafter it would assume the terrible properties of fire and brimstone.
These two sides of human deeds have been beautifully described through allegories and symbols in the hadith of the mi‘raj (The Prophet’s Journey to the Heavens). When the Prophet reached Sidrah al-Muntaha (the lote tree at the end of the Seventh Heaven), he saw four rivers: two flowing inward and two flowing outward. It was explained to him by the angel Gabriel that the two inward-flowing were rivers of Paradise, and the outward-flowing were the Nile and the Euphrates.
By analogy, the present world and the Hereafter are two sides of the same event. The worldy side is trivial and temporary, while the Hereafter side is substantive and permanent. It is to the latter side that we must face up after death. Here one has complete freedom to live out one’s worldly existence as one wills; in the life-to-come, one will have no choice about the future course of one’s life. One will either be raised to eternal glory, or cast down into the pit of everlasting Hell.
God Oriented Life
The Earth is the sun’s satellite. It constantly orbits around the sun. It takes one year to complete such a rotation. This movement of the earth around the sun is essential for the healthy functioning of life on earth. If the earth did not revolve around the sun, its existence would have no meaning, and life would come to an end.
This is a practical example of how we should lead our lives in this world. This example is indeed a physical demonstration that shows how man must revolve around God, just as the earth revolves around the sun. It means that all of man’s activities should be based on God.
The earth rotates as compelled to by the laws of nature. But man, of his own free will, should surrender to God. He should build a life, which is based on the concept of God. This consciousness is the real ascension of man. In this consciousness lies the secret of all success. A God-oriented life begins with the discovery of God. When individuals, whether men or women, discover God, it means that they have found the truth. And this truth pervades their whole being. This feeling of having discovered the truth becomes such a thrilling experience that it fills them with everlasting conviction. This everlasting conviction removes all frustrations from their lives. Therefore, losses are no longer such, for, in spite of them, they never lose the feeling that their greatest asset, i.e. God, is still with them.
Man experiences this realization by pondering upon God’s creations. The present universe is an expression of God’s attributes. It is a complete introduction to God. God is visible in His creations, just as clearly as a human being sees his own reflection in the mirror.
The vastness of space tells man that God, its Creator, is boundless. The observation of the sun and the stars shows us that God is all light. The heights of the mountains show us the greatness of God. The waves of the sea and the flow of the river tell us that God is a storehouse of boundless blessings. We see God’s bounty in the greenery of the trees. Man’s existence becomes a proof of God’s existence. In the waft of air he experiences a Divine touch. In the chirping of the birds, he hears God’s songs.
For man, a God-oriented life starts by his remembering God. He begins to feel the presence of God. Everything serves to remind him of God. God’s remembrance is never absent from his heart and mind. His mornings and evenings are spent as if he is living in God’s neighbourhood. Just as rain replenishes the crops, so does he remain ever immersed in the remembrance of God.
The Source of Spiritual Development
God is a spiritual focus for man. One whose heart is attached to God undergoes spiritual experiences at every moment. Belief in God becomes a source of spiritual development for him. Filled with the love of God, he does not need anything further. God becomes a vast ocean for him to continue to swim in without ever experiencing any limit. In the form of spiritual awakening, he receives such great wealth that he does not feel any need for anything else.
For one who discovers God, the entire universe becomes an open book of God for him. Every leaf of a tree becomes a page of the divine book.
When he sees the sun, he feels as if God is lighting His heavenly torch so that he may read His book clearly. The Universe becomes, as it were, a supernal university and he its student.
Finding God is to find his centre of Love. Man by birth is a seeker of a Supreme Being who is far above him, who is free from all limitations and who may form the centre of his feelings, in short, a Being after finding whom a grown man becomes as satisfied as a child after being held in the arms of his mother. This discovery of God saves one from regarding something other than God as God and mistakenly and unrealistically thinking it to be the answer to the urge inherent in his nature. The discovery of God is to fulfill his or her real urge to find God. And the failure to discover God means failing to find that which is man’s greatest need.
One who fails to find God is compelled by his natural urge to give the place of God to something other than God. This place is sometimes accorded to a certain human being, sometimes to a certain animal, sometimes to a phenomenon of nature, sometimes to a certain material power, sometimes to a certain supposed concept and sometimes just to the self.
Even if one fails to discover God, or he becomes a denier of God, it is not in his or her power to stifle the urge in his nature to find God. That is why those men and women who have not found God inevitably come to hold something other than God as God. And this supposed God is always some creature or the other of God. By nature, it is possible for man not to accept the real God as God, but it is not possible for anyone to save himself or herself from granting the status of divinity to something other than God. Making God one’s object of worship raises man’s position. On the
The present universe
is an expression of God’s attributes. It is a complete introduction to God. God is visible in His creations, just as clearly as a human being sees his own reflection in the mirror.
contrary, regarding something other than God as God amounts to descending from the level of humanity. Submission to God is the only way of life for both man and the universe.
God’s Prophets
The Islamic concept of prophethood is different from that of other religions. Some religions would have it that even God Himself becomes incarnate in human shape, and that his prophets are in some way superhuman or other-worldly. But a prophet in the Islamic sense is no different from any other human being. His uniqueness lies simply in his being the chosen messenger of God.
God’s prophets were born into this world just like any other human beings. They led their lives just as others did, thus demonstrating to their people how God’s servants should, in practice, conduct themselves on earth, and showing them clearly what path they must tread in order to avert God’s displeasure and make themselves worthy of His blessings.
Man has been placed on this earth by God in order that his obedience to his Creator may be put to the test. For this purpose he has been given complete freedom to tread the paths of both good and evil. He has a choice. But to follow the path desired for him by God, man is in need of guiding principles. The true source of guidance, according to Islam, is to be found in prophethood. Throughout human history, God in His infinite mercy selected certain individuals to communicate His message to mankind, so that all human beings might be given an opportunity to follow the right path. These chosen people were called prophets, or messengers.
A prophet is a person chosen by God as His representative. When God appoints someone as His Prophet, He sends His angel to him to inform him of his new status. In that way, the individual can have no doubts about his appointment as God’s Prophet. Later, God reveals His message to him through His angels, so that he may communicate the divine teachings to all his fellow men.
God has given man a mind so that he may be endowed with understanding. But this mind can only grasp things that are apparent. It cannot go below the surface, and there are many things to be apprehended, for which a superficial knowledge is insufficient. The deeper realities of this world are beyond the scope of the human mind, and so far as God and the next world are concerned, they must remain forever invisible—beyond the reach of human perception.
What the Prophet does is to enlighten people so that they may overcome this human inadequacy. He tells of the reality of things here and now, and also gives tidings of the next world. He thereby enables the individual to formulate a plan for his entire existence in the full light of knowledge and awareness so that he may carve out a successful life for himself.
