The Purpose of Creation-Why Did God Create Mankind?

From: http://www.whyquran.com/877/content/view/149/148/

By Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips

From the perspective of humankind, the question "Why did God create man?" implies "For what purpose was man created?" In the final revelation (the Quran), this question is answered without any ambiguity. Humans are first informed by God that every human being is born with an innate consciousness of God. In the Quran, God said:
"[Remember] when your Lord extracted from the loins of Adam's children their descendants and made them testify [saying]: ‘Am I not your Lord?' They said: ‘Yes, we testify to it.' [This was] in case you say on the Day of Judgment: ‘We were unaware of this.' Or you say: ‘It was our ancestors who worshipped others besides God and we are only their descendants. Will you then destroy us for what those liars did?'" (Quran 7:172)

The Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, explained that when God created Adam, He took from him a covenant at a place called Na,maan on the 9th day of the 12th month. He then extracted from Adam all of his descendants who would be born until the end of the world, generation after generation, and spread them out before Him to take a covenant from them also. He spoke to them, face to face, making them bear witness that He was their Lord. Consequently, every human being is responsible for belief in God, which is imprinted on each and every soul. It is based on this inborn belief that God defined the purpose of mankind's creation in Quran:
"I have created the jinn and humankind only for My worship." (Quran 51:56)

Thus, the essential purpose for which humankind was created is the worship of God. However, the Almighty is not in need of human worship. He did not create human beings out of a need on His part. If not a single human worshipped God, it would not diminish His glory in any way, and if all of humankind worshipped Him, it would not increase His glory in any way. God is perfect. He alone exists without any needs. All created beings have needs. Consequently, it is humankind that needs to worship God.

The Meaning of Worship
To understand why human beings need to worship God, one must first understand what is meant by the term ‘worship.' The English term ‘worship' comes from the Old English weorthscipe meaning ‘honor.' Consequently, worship in the English language is defined as ‘the performance of devotional acts in honor of a deity.' According to this meaning, man is instructed to show gratitude to God by glorifying Him. In the Quran, God says:
"Glorify the praises of your Lord..." (Quran 15:98)

In glorifying God, man chooses to be in harmony with the rest of creation which naturally glorifies its Creator. God addresses this phenomenon in many chapters of the Quran. For example, in the Quran, God states:
"The seven heavens and the earth and whatever is in them glorify Him and there is nothing which does not glorify His praise. However, you do not understand their glorification." (Quran 17:44)

However, in Arabic, the language of the final revelation, worship is called ‘ibaadah, which is closely related to the noun ‘abd, meaning ‘a slave.' A slave is one who is expected to do whatever his master wills. Consequently, worship, according to the final revelation, means ‘obedient submission to the will of God.' This was the essence of the message of all the prophets sent by God to mankind. For example, this understanding of worship was emphatically expressed by Prophet Jesus (the Messiah or Jesus Christ),
"None of those who call me ‘Lord' will enter the kingdom of God, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)

It should be noted that ‘will' in this quote means ‘what God wants human beings to do' and not ‘what God permits humans to do,' because nothing happens in creation without the will (permission) of God. The ‘Will of God' is contained in the divinely revealed laws which the prophets taught their followers. Consequently, obedience to divine law is the foundation of worship. In this sense, glorification also becomes worship when humans choose to obey God's instructions regarding His glorification.

The Need for Worship
Why do human beings need to worship and glorify God by obeying the divinely revealed laws? Because obedience to divine law is the key to success in this life and the next. The first human beings, Adam and Eve, were created in paradise and later expelled from paradise for disobeying the divine law. The only way for human beings to return to paradise is by obedience to the law. Prophet Jesus, was reported in the Gospel according to Matthew to have made obedience to the divine laws the key to paradise: Now behold, one came and said to him,
"Good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" So he said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."

Also Prophet Jesus was reported to have insisted on strict obedience to the commandments, saying:
"Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

Divine laws represent guidance for humankind in all walks of life. They define right and wrong for them and offer human beings a complete system governing all of their affairs. The Creator alone knows best what is beneficial for His creation and what is not. The divine laws command and prohibit various acts and substances to protect the human spirit, the human body and human society from harm. In order for human beings to fulfill their potential by living righteous lives, they need to worship God through obedience to His commandments.

Remembrance of God
All of the various acts of worship contained in the divine laws are designed to help humans remember God. It is natural for human beings to sometimes forget even the most important things. Humans often become so engrossed in fulfilling their material needs that they totally forget their spiritual needs. Regular prayer is ordained to organize the day of the true believer around the remembrance of God. It interweaves spiritual needs with material needs on a daily basis. The regular daily need to eat, work and sleep is linked to the daily need to renew man's connection with God. With regard to regular prayer, God states in the final revelation,
"Verily, I am God, there is no god beside Me, so worship Me and establish regular prayer for My remembrance." (Quran 20:14)

Regarding fasting, God stated in the Quran,
"O you who believe! Fasting has been prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you that you may become God-conscious." (Quran 2:183)
The believers are encouraged to remember God as much as possible. Although, moderation in all spheres of life, whether material or spiritual, is generally encouraged in divine law, an exception is made regarding the remembrance of God. It is virtually impossible to remember God too much. Consequently, in the final revelation, God encourages the believers to remember Him as often as possible:
"O believers! Remember God often." (Quran 33:41)

Remembrance of God is stressed because sin is generally committed when God is forgotten. The forces of evil operate most freely when consciousness of God is lost. Consequently, the satanic forces seek to occupy people's minds with irrelevant thoughts and desires to make them forget God. Once God is forgotten, people willingly join the corrupt elements. The final revelation, addresses this phenomenon in as follows:
"Satan got the better of them and caused them to forget God. Those are the party of Satan. Truly the party of Satan are the real losers." (Quran 58:19)

God, through Divine law, has prohibited intoxicants and gambling primarily because they cause human beings to forget God. The human mind and body easily become addicted to drugs and games of chance. Once addicted, mankind's desire to continually be stimulated by them leads them into all forms of corruption and violence among themselves. God says in the Quran:
"Satan's plan is to incite enmity and hatred among you with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of God and regular prayer. Will you not then abstain?" (Quran 5:91)

Consequently, humankind need to remember God for their own salvation and growth. All humans have times of weakness in which they commit sins. If they have no means of remembering God, they sink deeper and deeper into corruption with every sin. However, those who follow the divine laws will be constantly reminded of God, which will give them a chance to repent and correct themselves. The final revelation accurately describes this process:
"Those who, having done something shameful or having wronged their own souls, remember God and immediately ask forgiveness for their sins..." (Quran 3:135)

The Religion of Islam
The most complete system of worship available to human beings today is the system found in the religion of Islam. The very name ‘Islam' means ‘submission to the will of God.' Although it is commonly referred to as ‘the third of the three monotheistic faiths,' it is not a new religion at all. It is the religion brought by all of the prophets of God for mankind. Islam was the religion of Adam, Abraham, Moses and Jesus. God addresses this issue in the Quran with regard to Prophet Abraham, saying:
"Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was an upright Muslim who did not worship others besides God." (Quran 3:67)

Since there is only One God, and humankind are one species, the religion which God has ordained for human beings is one. He did not prescribe one religion for the Jews, another for Indians, yet another for Europeans, etc. Human spiritual and social needs are uniform, and human nature has not changed since the first man and woman were created. Consequently, no other religion is acceptable to God besides Islam, as He clearly states in the final revelation:
"Surely God's religion is Islam..." (Quran 3:19)
"And whoever desires a religion besides Islam will not have it accepted, and he will be among the losers in the hereafter." (Quran 3:85)

Every Act is Worship
In the Islamic system, each and every human act can be transformed into an act of worship. In fact, God commands the believers to dedicate their whole lives to Him. In the Quran, God says:
"Say: ‘Surely my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for God, the Lord of all the worlds.'" (Quran 6:162)
However, for that dedication to be acceptable to God, each act must fulfill two basic conditions:
1. First, the act must be done sincerely for the pleasure of God and not for the recognition and praise of human beings.
2. The second condition is that the act be done in accordance with the prophetic way, called in Arabic the Sunnah.