The heavens, the earth and everything between them. The flawless universe in all its splendour and majesty. Allah’s existence and greatness can be seen everywhere, from a tiny living creature to the vast galaxies in space. Those who see and comprehend this truth are sincere believers. They fear Allah and heed Him, and organise their lives according to this great truth they have recognised. Allah reveals the purpose of human creation in a verse of the Qur’an:
We seek refuge in Allah from satan:
“I only created jinn and man to worship Me.” (Surat adh-Dhariyat: 56)
Muslims live according to the command of this verse. Others are those who do not fear Allah and heed Him. These people disregard by Whom, how and why their lives were begun. In their own minds, they try to construct a new life in which there is no place for Allah or His religion. In the Qur’an, the fact that such a life rests on an empty and unsound foundation and is doomed to end in destruction is explained through the following wise comparison:
“Who is better: someone who founds his building on fear of Allah and His good pleasure, or someone who founds his building on the brink of a crumbling precipice, so that it collapses with him into the Fire of Hell? Allah does not guide wrongdoing people.” (Surat at-Tawba: 109)
For many people, religion is a set of rules encompassing certain beliefs. Religion and religious observance have no important place in these people’s lives. Muslims, however, regard religion as a path to follow in order to earn Allah’s approval and say, in the words of the Qur’an:
“My prayer and my rites, my living and my dying, are for Allah alone, the Lord of all the worlds.” (Surat al-An‘am: 162)
