The essence of the Islamic paradigm is grounded on the concept of tawhid (monotheism), which refers to the belief in the oneness and uniqueness of Allah (God).
The coherence of the central belief system in Islam is based on the relationship between the act of submission to Allah and its resulting in a state of peace of mind. At the core of this relationship is the concept of monotheism, by virtue of which submission is transformed into a dynamic and ongoing action.
That is the very meaning of devotion or worship that has been beautifully explained by many early and contemporary Muslim scholars, such as Ibn Taymiyah, Ibn Al Qayyim Al Jawziyyah, and many others. Purpose of Creating Humankind Muslims believe that God created human beings — men and women — to worship and serve Him as khalifahs (i.e., representatives or vicegerents to Him). God, the Almighty, says in the Quran:
Behold, your Lord said to the angels, “I will create a vicegerent on earth.”
(Al Baqarah 2:30)
Besides, the only aspect by which one person is deemed better than another in the sight of God is piety. God says in the Quran what mean,
People, We created you all from a single man and a single woman, and made you into races and tribes so that you should recognize one another. In God’s eyes, the most honoured of you are the ones most mindful of Him: God is all knowing, all aware.
(Al Hujurat 49:13)
God has invested humankind with His trust to be vicegerents on earth. The divine trust is the fulfillment of the ethical part of the divine will. As a result, a Muslim, by virtue of submission to God is committed to a lifetime of striving in God’s way to enjoin what is good and forbid what is wrong, altogether to fulfill the purpose of creating humankind as vicegerents.
The foremost quality of mind and character that flows from this commitment is a state of constant vigilance or an awareness of the presence of God, the All-Knowing.
Purification is the important process of building this quality of consciousness of God which is piety. Piety is at the heart of the traits cultivated by the five basic duties of every Muslim — the pillars of Islam that include belief in the oneness of Allah and in Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as His Messenger, prayer, fasting, alms giving, and pilgrimage to Makkah once in a person’s lifetime on condition of affordability.
Impact of Five Pillars
These basic duties serve to build up the moral character of both the individual and the community. In addition, many Quranic guidelines focus greatly on defining human relations, especially male-female relations, by clarifying their roles, rights, and responsibilities within marital relations, parent-child relations and family care, and with relatives, neighbours, and friends.
The Quran also outlines the relationship between human beings and the universe, which is described in hundreds of verses. The relationship that ties the universe to humankind is described in the Quran as taskhir (meaning that everything in the universe was made subject to humans), as God says in the Quran:
He has made the sun and the moon useful to you, steady on their paths; He has made the night and day useful to you.
(Ibrahim 14:33)
On the other hand, human beings are well-equipped to interact with the universe in a way that actualises the duties of being vicegerents and establishes the feelings of closeness and harmony between human beings and the universe, which is called construction and inhabitation. God says in the Quran what means,
He has subjected all that is in the heavens and the earth for your benefit, as a gift from Him. There truly are signs in this for those who reflect.. (Al Jathiyah 45:13)
The creation of the universe should be utilised to understand the concept of monotheism and the significance of human relations. There are laws that govern the universe to maintain its balance and well-functioning, like the food chain, for example, where lower forms of life sustain higher forms of life: Plants sustain animals, both of which sustain humans. The Quran describes this connection in the following verse,
It is He who sends down water for you from the sky, from which comes a drink for you, and the shrubs that you feed to your animals.. (Annahl 16:10-11)
The same chapter talks about the relationship between humans and animals in an earlier verse:
And livestock — He created them too. You derive warmth and other benefits from them: you get food from them. (Annahl 16:5)
At the family level, there are rights and responsibilities for each person in the family to observe, which further regulate healthy relationships. God has put laws and rules that govern humans’ lives, in order to maintain the universal system’s balance and proper functioning.
As far as it comes to human relationships, we should follow the model of the universe. In this verse and the one following it, God illustrates this with a visual rendering:
And your Lord inspired the bee, saying, Build yourselves houses in the mountains and trees and what people construct.
(Annahl 16:68)
The picture that the Quran illustrates reflects a cooperation and complementary relationship among bees to fulfill their life mission. Similarly, God has provided a mechanism to regulate and balance human relationships by prescribing behaviours that benefit such relationships and prohibiting those that damage them.
For example, He describes spying, mockery, and backbiting as censured behaviours that can destroy relationships, while being honest, trustworthy, truthful, just, and forgiving maintains and strengthens relationships.
Believers, no one group of men should jeer at another, who may after all be better than them; no one group of women should jeer at another, who may after all be better than them; do not speak ill of one another; do not use offensive nicknames for one another. How bad it is to be called a mischief-maker after accepting faith! Those who do not repent of this behaviour are evildoers..
(Al Hujurat 49:11)
At the family level, there are rights and responsibilities for each person in the family to observe, which further regulate healthy relationships. Human beings are encouraged to learn how to work together in order to accomplish their goal.
Since the Quran clearly explains the mission of humankind on earth as vicegerents to God, gender-based roles and relations are well defined. To establish an effective vicegerency as individuals, the Quran acknowledges piety as the only criterion of merit among humankind (men and women). God establishes the concept of equality in this verse:
People, be mindful of your Lord, who created you from a single soul, and from it created its mate, and from the pair of them spread countless men and women far and wide; be mindful of God, in whose name you make requests of one another. Beware of severing the ties of kinship: God is always watching over you. (Annisaa’ 4:1)
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