What we are made for
Almighty Allah created people for a specific purpose – to worship Him (al-‘ibada).
By “worship” (‘ibada) is meant the confession of monotheism (at-tawhid), as pointed out by Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father .
? Allah Almighty said:
I created jinn and humans only for them to worship Me.
I do not want any inheritance from them and I do not want them to feed Me.
(51:56-57)
▪️ Hafiz Ibn Kathir in the interpretation of this verse said:
“The meaning of the verse is that the Almighty and Most High [Allah] created slaves so that they worship Him alone, without giving Him partners. Whoever obeys Him, He will reward him with a perfect reward, and whoever disobeys Him, He will punish him with the most severe punishment.
▪️ He also said that He does not need them [creatures], but they need Him in all their positions. For He is the One Who created them and sends down their inheritance.”
?See “Tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘azim” 7/396.
▪️ Imam an-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said in relation to this verse:
“This verse clearly indicates that people are created for worship. That is why they must take care of what they were created for.
They must turn away from this world, showing restraint towards the worldly, for this world is perishable, and not a place where a person will linger for a long time. This world is the vessel on which a person passes to the next world. That is why, of the inhabitants of this world, only those who worship Allah are awake. The most intelligent people here are the ascetics.”
? See the author’s Introduction to his book Riyad as-Saliheen, p. 27.
Sheikh Ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“ The religion of Islam is the worship of Allah, Who said: “I created jinn and people only so that they worship Me.” This worship is Islam. Islam is submission to Allah .
▪️ Islam is the fulfillment of the commands of Allah and the abandonment of what He has forbidden. It is for this that Allah Almighty created all people.”
? See “Sharh Salyasatul-usul”, page 22.
