Why Did Allah Create Us?
ما هي الحكمة التي لأجلها خلق الله الإنسان؟
Allah Almighty created man so he could worship and glorify Him.
(I did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me.) [Ad-Dhariyat 51:56]
And since man lives on this earth, he has to build it so he could worship Allah in it. (He ˹is the One Who˺ produced you from the earth and settled you on it.) [Hud 11:61]
(except those shown mercy by your Lord, and so He created them ˹to choose freely˺.) [Hud 11:119]
Allah Almighty loves us and He has created us and put us on earth to worship Him. He set for us a way of life to follow and after our lives on earth, which are temporary and a few days, we will die and will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection, and we will be judged as to which of us did the best deeds.
(˹Remember˺ when your Lord said to the angels, “I am going to place a successive ˹human˺ authority on earth.”) [Al-Baqara 2:30]
(Indeed, We have dignified the children of Adam, carried them on land and sea, granted them good and lawful provisions, and privileged them far above many of Our creatures.) [Al-Isra 17:70]
خلق الله الإنسان لعبادته وتعظيمه.
قال الله تعالى: (وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ) [الذاريات 51: 56]
ولما كان يعيش على هذه الأرض كان لا بد من عمارته لها ليعبد الله فيها: (هُوَ أَنشَأَكُم مِّنَ الْأَرْضِ وَاسْتَعْمَرَكُمْ فِيهَا) [هود 11: 61]
(إِلَّا مَن رَّحِمَ رَبُّكَ ۚ وَلِذَٰلِكَ خَلَقَهُمْ) [هود 11: 119]
الله سبحانه يحبنا، خلقنا ووضعنا على الأرض لنعبده، ووضع لنا منهج حياة كي نتبعه، وبعد حياتنا على الأرض والتي تكون مؤقتة وأياما معدودة، سنموت ونبعث يوم القيامة، وسنحاسب أينا أحسن عملا.
(وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً) [البقرة 2: 30]
(وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ وَحَمَلْنَاهُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَاهُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَفَضَّلْنَاهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًا) [الإسراء 17: 70]
1. Created to Worship Him, Not Because He Needs Us | إلا ليعبدون
Allah says: I did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me. I seek no provision from them, nor do I need them to feed Me (51:56-57). Ibn Kathir explains: I only created them to command them to worship Me, not because I need them. Ali ibn Abi Talhah reported that Ibn Abbas said: except to worship Me means except to acknowledge their servitude to Me, willingly or unwillingly, and this is the view Ibn Jarir chose; Ibn Jurayj said: except to know Me. Why Allah, who needs nothing, still commands us to worship Him is explained in why Allah created us when He has no need of our worship.
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ (سورة الذاريات: 56)
قال تعالى: (وما خلقت الجن والإنس إلا ليعبدون) (الذاريات 51: 56)، قال ابن كثير: أي: إنما خلقتهم لآمرهم بعبادتي، لا لاحتياجي إليهم، وقال علي بن أبي طلحة عن ابن عباس: (إلا ليعبدون) أي: إلا ليقروا بعبادتي طوعا أو كرها، وهذا اختيار ابن جرير، وقال ابن جريج: إلا ليعرفون.
2. A Test of Who Is Best in Deeds | ليبلوكم أيكم أحسن عملا
Allah is the One Who created death and life in order to test which of you is best in deeds (67:2). Ibn Kathir explains: He brought the creatures into being from nothing to try them and test which of them is best in deeds, and he cites Muhammad ibn Ajlan: He did not say most in deeds. This is the judgment the scholar describes: which of us did the best deeds. The trials of this life are explained in the trials of the believer in this worldly life.
الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا (سورة الملك: 2)
قال تعالى: (الذي خلق الموت والحياة ليبلوكم أيكم أحسن عملا) (الملك 67: 2)، قال ابن كثير: ومعنى الآية: أنه أوجد الخلائق من العدم، ليبلوهم ويختبرهم أيهم أحسن عملا، وقوله: (أيكم أحسن عملا) أي: خير عملا، كما قال محمد بن عجلان: ولم يقل أكثر عملا.
3. Successors Who Build the Earth | إني جاعل في الأرض خليفة
Allah told the angels: I am going to place a successive human authority on earth (2:30). Ibn Kathir explains: a people who succeed one another, generation after generation, as Allah says: He is the One Who has placed you as successors on earth (6:165). On the verse of Hud, He produced you from the earth and settled you on it (11:61), Ibn Kathir explains: He began your creation from the earth from which He created your father Adam, and He made you its inhabitants who build it and benefit from it.
وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً (سورة البقرة: 30)
قال تعالى: (وإذ قال ربك للملائكة إني جاعل في الأرض خليفة) (البقرة 2: 30)، قال ابن كثير: أي: قوما يخلف بعضهم بعضا قرنا بعد قرن وجيلا بعد جيل، كما قال تعالى: (وهو الذي جعلكم خلائف الأرض) (الأنعام 6: 165)، وقال في قوله: (هو أنشأكم من الأرض واستعمركم فيها) (هود 11: 61): أي: ابتدأ خلقكم منها، خلق منها أباكم آدم، (واستعمركم فيها) أي: جعلكم عمارا تعمرونها وتستغلونها.
4. Not Created Without Purpose | أفحسبتم أنما خلقناكم عبثا
Allah asks: Did you then think that We had created you without purpose, and that you would never be returned to Us? (23:115). Ibn Kathir explains: did you think that you were created in vain, without intent or will on your part, and without wisdom on Ours, and that you would not return in the Hereafter? It is like His words: Do people think they will be left without purpose? (75:36), meaning left neglected. The return to Allah and the accounting that follows are explained in what the Day of Reckoning is.
أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ عَبَثًا وَأَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا تُرْجَعُونَ (سورة المؤمنون: 115)
قال تعالى: (أفحسبتم أنما خلقناكم عبثا وأنكم إلينا لا ترجعون) (المؤمنون 23: 115)، قال ابن كثير: أي: أفظننتم أنكم مخلوقون عبثا بلا قصد ولا إرادة منكم ولا حكمة لنا، (وأنكم إلينا لا ترجعون) أي: لا تعودون في الدار الآخرة، كما قال: (أيحسب الإنسان أن يترك سدى) (القيامة 75: 36)، يعني هملا.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Why did Allah create us?
To worship and glorify Him: I did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me (51:56).
Does Allah need our worship?
No. Ibn Kathir explains that He created us to command us to worship Him, not because He needs us, and He says: I seek no provision from them (51:57).
What is the test of this life?
Allah created death and life to test which of us is best in deeds (67:2); Ibn Kathir notes that He said best, not most.
What does successive authority on earth mean?
Ibn Kathir explains it as people who succeed one another, generation after generation (2:30, 6:165), settled on the earth to build it (11:61).