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goodness? There must be some way to reward goodness and arrest evil. If this is not
done here on this earth – and we know that it is not done regularly or immediately – it
has to be done some day, and that is the Day of Judgement. This is not to condone
injustice or tolerate mischief in this world. It is not to sedate the deprived or comfort
their exploiters. Rather, it is to warn the deviants from the Right Path and remind
them that the Justice of God shall run its full course sooner or later (see, for example,
the previous references).
6. The true Muslim believes in the timeless knowledge of God and in His power to
plan and execute His plans. God is not indifferent to this world nor is He neutral to it.
His knowledge and power are in action at all times to keep order in His vast domain
and maintain full command over His creation. He is Wise and Loving, and whatever
He does must have a good motive and a meaningful purpose. If this is established in
our minds, we should accept with good Faith all that He does, although we may fail to
understand it fully, or even think it is bad. We should have strong Faith in Him and
accept whatever He does because our knowledge is limited and our thinking is based
on individual or personal considerations, whereas His knowledge is limitless and He
plans on a universal basis.
This does not in any way make man fatalist or helpless. It simply draws the
demarcation line between what is God’ s concern and what is man’ s responsibility.
Because we are by nature finite and limited, we have a finite and limited degree of
power and freedom. We cannot do everything, and He graciously holds us responsible
only for the things we do. The things which we cannot do, or things which He
Himself does, are not in the realm of our responsibility. He is Just and has given us
limited power to match our finite nature and limited responsibility. On the other hand,
the timeless knowledge and power of God to execute His plans do not prevent us from
making our own plans in our own limited sphere of power. On the contrary, He
exhorts us to think, to plan and to make sound choices, but if things do not happen the
way we wanted or planned them, we should not lose Faith or surrender ourselves to
mental strains and shattering worries. We should try again and again, and if the results
are not satisfactory, then we know that we have tried our best and cannot be held
responsible for the results, because what is beyond our capacity and responsibility is
the affair of God alone. The Muslims call this article of Faith the belief in ‘Qadaa’
and ‘Qadar’ , which simply means, in other words, that the Timeless Knowledge of
God anticipates events, and that events take place according to the exact knowledge of
God (Qur’ an, for example, 18:29; 41:46; 53:33-62; 54:49; 65:3; 76:30-31)
7. The true Muslim believes that God’ s creation is meaningful and that life has a
sublime purpose beyond the physical needs and material activities of man. The
purpose of life is to worship God. This does not simply mean that we have to spend
our entire lives in constant seclusion and absolute meditation. To worship God is to
know Him; to love Him; to obey His commandments; to enforce His law in every
aspect of life; to serve His cause by doing the right and shunning the evil; and to be
just to Him, to ourselves, and to our fellow human beings. To worship God is to
“ live” life not to run away from it. In brief, to worship God is to imbue ourselves with
His Supreme Attributes. This is by no means a simple statement, nor is it an
oversimplification of the matter. It is most comprehensive and conclusive. So if life
has a purpose and if man is created to serve that purpose, then he cannot escape the
responsibility. He cannot deny his existence or ignore the vital role he has to play.
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