Why is There Imperfection
in the Human World
The misuse of freedom by man leads to imperfections in the world. Those who use their freedom properly will be rewarded while those who misuse it will be punished.
Chapter 67 of the Quran states: “Blessed is He in whose hand is the Kingdom: He has power over all things; He created death and life so that He might test you, and find out which of you is best in conduct. He is the Mighty, the Most Forgiving One. He created seven heavens one above the other in layers. You will not find any flaw in the creation of the Gracious One. Then look once again: can you see any flaw? Then look again and again. Your gaze will come back to you confused and exhausted.
We have adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, and We have made them for driving away devils. For them We have prepared the punishment of the blazing Fire. Those who are bent on blaspheming against their Lord will have the punishment of Hell: an evil destination.” (67: 1-6)
A study of the present world reveals a certain contradiction. The whole universe is functioning quite perfectly and in the most well-organized manner. It has no defect in it anywhere. On the contrary, one finds many defects in human life. This is because the nature of a human being’s creation is different. A human being in this world is living under testing conditions. For a test to be valid, there has to be freedom of action. This freedom of action has given the opportunity to human beings to create disturbance and imbalance in the world.
Human freedom has come at the cost of the transgression rampant in the human world. If such conditions did not exist, how could divine approval be given to those worthy persons who did not transgress, in spite of having the opportunities to transgress and who abstained from arrogance in spite of having the power to be arrogant?
Paradise and Hell are not for anything other than a human being in the universe. A human being is in a special category, for he is a responsible creature. He is unique in having been granted the ability to discriminate between truth and falsehood. On this basis, he will be subjected to an assessment of his deeds. Those who succeed in this test will be rewarded, while those who fail will be deserving of punishment.
