The Noblest of
God’s Creation
By the Fig, and by the Olive!
By Mount Sinai, and this inviolate city.
We created man with the most noble image and in the end We shall reduce him to the lowest of the low; except the believers who do good works, for theirs shall be a boundless recompense.
What, then, after this can make you deny the Last Judgement?
Is God not the best of judges?
(The Quran 95:1-8)
The Sinai Mount is one where God spoke to Moses. Makkah is referred to as “inviolate city” where the Prophet Muhammad, (may peace be upon him) was sent with the final version of divine guidance. Tin and Zaytoon, two hillocks near Bayt al-Maqdis, is the place where Christ came and proclaimed divine guidance before the people.
These places are the historical reminders of the fact
that God is watching over man. He sends through authentic missionaries the guidance of his choice. In this way God is telling everyone in advance what kind of life should be lead in this world, so that man may save himself from coming to a bad end, and may secure his share in the eternal blessings of God.
God has created man with the best of faculties. These faculties have been given to man, so that he may recognise the truth sent to him by God through His messengers, and then lead his life accordingly. Those who do so will be entitled to an eternal place of honour and prestige.
On the contrary, those who do not conform to the will of God will be bereft of the blessings of this world too, while so far as the next world is concerned, they will suffer nothing short of total deprivation. The advent of the prophets and the consequences which became manifest as a result of refusal or acceptance of their guidance prove the veracity of this statement.
In human life, only the loftiest of goals should be aimed at. That is, man, to make proper use of his God-given faculties, should aim at the realisation of God and lead a life approved of by God. People who conduct themselves in this way deserve a great reward in the Hereafter. Those who do not come up to this standard will be nothing short of total failures in the life beyond the grave.
