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| Mission of Humans on Earth
(Risâlat al Insân) Prof. Dr. Omar Hassan Kasule Sr. DEFINITION OF THE MISSION Allah (SWT) could not have created humans
and given them all the bounties that make them a special creation without
a purpose. That purpose must be a great one since the human is a great
creation. It also must be comprehensive to explain the wide range of human
potential and actions. The purpose must also have pre-dated human creation
such that human nature and faculties must conform to it. The purpose in
turn defines the mission of humans on earth. A human unaided cannot identify and define
the purpose of creation. The Qur’an has informed us that the purpose of
human creation was worship of Allah (‘ibadat). The mission of the human
is therefore to undertake ‘ibadat. A human who establishes ‘ibadat is
successful in the mission; the one who fails is not successful. The concept of ‘ibadat in Islam is very
wide. It includes virtually all human endeavor and all human activities.
Closely related to ‘ibadat are the concepts of Istikhlâf and Isti'imâr. SCOPE OF THE MISSION The scope of the human mission is as wide
as the scope of ‘ibadat. Human responsibility is wide-ranging. As
individuals, humans are obliged to worship Allah while at the same time
undertaking those functions needed to maintain life like working to earn a
living. They have roles in building and maintaining families and
communities. This involves putting group interests before individual
interests. They have responsibilities to the eco-system to leave the earth
a better place or at least not worse than what they found it. ‘Ibadat is the purpose of creation
(51:56). ‘Ibadat in Islam is a comprehensive concept that embraces all
human endeavors. Whatever humans do in sincerity and without disobeying
any of Allah’s commands is a form of worship and they will be rewarded
for it. ‘Ibadat is the practical expression of taqwâh.
‘Ibadat can be structured or non-structured. Structured ‘ibadat can be
obligatory or non-obligatory. ‘Ibadat must be constant and in all
circumstances and is not confined to certain places, times, or occasions. Only Allah is worthy of worship (4:36,
19:93, 44:18). Ibadat must be for Allah only, ikhlâs al ibadat lillah
(15:40, 37:40, 37:40, 37:74, 37:128, 37:160, 37:169, 39:2, 39:11, 90:5).
‘Ibadat is Allah’s right and He punishes those who do not fulfill it.
Humans were given a free will to choose what to do and what not to do
within the limited human capacity. Life is therefore a test for them
whether they will choose the right path of ‘ibadat or they will choose
the path of rebellion, ma'asiyat. All human activities can be ‘ibadat.
There must be a balance between these various activities for a harmonious
life. No one act should be done to excess to the detriment of others. For
example prayer at night is ‘ibadat. It should not be done to such an
excess that the ‘ibadat of looking for a livelihood the next morning is
not possible. Although every human endeavor can
be ‘ibadat, only those undertaken with the correct intention (niyyat)
are rewarded as ‘ibadat. An act of ‘ibadat can therefore not be
accidental. It must be a consequence of deliberate choice and intention. DURATION OF THE MISSION The duration of human responsibility covers
the present and the future. It does not include the past, no human can be
held accountable for actions that they were not a party to. While humans
undertake work to build and maintain a civilization today they must have a
sense of responsibility for generations to come. The benefits of today
must be balanced against the harm of tomorrow. The continuity of the
mission requires that a human be engaged in a continuous way in fulfilling
the mission (15:99). Since the mission is of finite duration, humans must
be aware that there is accountability (hisaab) at the end with rewards and
punishments. The human mission of ibadat was required of
all previous generations and civilizations (16:36, 21:25) for example the
children of Israel (2:83, 5:72, 2:132), people of Nuh (7:59, 11:25-26,
23:23, 71:1-3), people of Hud (7:65, 11:50, 46:21), Thamud (7:73, 11:61,
27:45), people of Shuaib (7:85, 11:84, 29:36), and people of Ibrahim
(29:16). The nature and level of responsibility for
the mission varies with time in two ways: (a) chronological age and (b)
calendar time. Infants have very little responsibility. When they become
children they take on increasing responsibilities until after puberty
when, as legally adult persons, they take on full responsibility. This
responsibility is decreased as people age and become weak with senility.
Even among adults the level of responsibility varies, for example leaders
and scholars have more responsibility for the human mission than ordinary
persons. Different epochs in human history have posed different challenges
and hence different levels of responsibility. Those living in peaceful and
stable conditions need only fulfill the obligations of personal 'ibadat.
In situations in which the freedom of religious choice is threatened or
when oppression becomes predominant, the scope of responsibility will
expand to include jihad. Jihad in this sense will be a type of 'ibadat and
perhaps the highest level of 'ibadat. There are responsibilities that are
individual (fardh ain) and others that are collective (fard kifayat). The
dichotomy between the two is neither firm nor permanent; it varies with
time and circumstances. With the passage of time, humans tend to forget the mission. This amnesia can be individual in which case reminding, nasiha, by religious or social leaders can bring back a person to the right path. The amnesia may be collective in which a major social change or reform is necessary for the society to return to the right path. The process may be revolutionary if carried out in a short time or could be evolutionary if done slowly over a long time. As humans and societies forget their mission they also forget their basic humanness because awareness of humanness is awareness of the human mission. The constant challenge before humans is to remain human and resist the forces of evil that want to drag them to the station of animals that have no moral responsibility. They also must resist the forces that would turn them into angelic beings that are pure and clean but have no practical deliberate involvement in the daily struggles of life on earth. The most recent challenge to humanity is forces that are trying to turn humans into machines or cogs in the industrial system. All these must be resisted to be able to preserve humanness and the human mission on earth. SUCCESS (FALÂH) The Qur’an has provided a clear
definition of the success of human endeavors. It has used the word Falâh
to refer to the success of humans in their mission (4:73, 7:157, 9:88,
28:67, 58:22, 58:22). Success can be on earth or in the hereafter (73:185,
4:13, 5:119, 6:16, 7:8, 9:20, 9:72, 9:89, 9:10, 9:111, 10:64, 23:111,
24:52, 33:71, 37:60-61, 39:61, 40:9, 44:51-57, 4?:30,
48:5, 59:20, 61:12, 64:9, 78:31-35, 85:11). Complete success must be both
on earth and the hereafter. Success on earth is a pre-requisite for
success in the hereafter. However it is possible to succeed on earth but
commit mistakes towards the end of earthly life that lead to failure and
regret in the hereafter. Falâh can be achieved by: Falâh includes material success on earth
and spiritual success in the hereafter. Both types of success depend on
human effort on earth. It is a unique feature of Islam that all human
endeavors that are good contribute to both types of success at the same
time. FAILURE (KHAIBAT) Failure at the individual level is not
worshipping Allah as was enjoined. A civilization can fail if it does not
follow and uphold the laws of Allah (sunan al Laah fi al kawn) that are
needed to guide human action. The failure of the human in his mission
manifests as transgression dhulm (6:21, 6:135, 12:23, 28:37), lying kadhb
(10:69, 16:116), disbelief kufr (23:117, 28:82), crime (10:17), and
disappointment of unbelievers khaibat (3:127, 14:15, 20:61, 20:111,
91:10). Humans can fail in their mission in 2 ways: Internal motivation is due to innate evil
promptings in the person that predispose to sinning or neglect of duty. e-mail: kasule@iiu.edu.my END |