What Is the Purpose of Human Creation, and How to Fulfill This Purpose?
In addition to knowing the dimensions of human existence, there is another issue in self-knowledge, which is very important, and that is the purpose of human creation. The human being is the center of creation, and whatever exists in the heavens and the earth are all created for the human being and according to his existential structure. This includes the smallest organisms under the seas to the vast celestial bodies and galaxies, and even entities such as angels and demons that cannot be seen with our physical eyes. The status of the human in the system of creation is so high and important that if we remove the human from the plan of creation for a moment in our mind, everything loses its value and credibility.
Considering such an important status, naturally the first question that comes to mind is, “What is the purpose of human creation?” Why has this vast universe been put at his disposal? What is he expected to do? Where is he supposed to end up? Was the purpose of human creation just to eat, sleep, get married, have social activities, pass the days of life one after another and then die? Was it necessary to create this vast universe for such mundane purposes? A universe where scientists, despite centuries of research, have not been able to fully delve into the depths of even a single one of its particles!
These are key questions that every human being faces at some point in his life, and if he cannot find the right answer, he will suffer from a crisis of meaning and may even commit suicide. The human being innately looks for a purpose in everything and has a questioning mind, so he looks for a convincing reason for all the events happening around him. Now, which event is greater and more important than his own presence in this universe, which is itself the origin of many questions and events?
What Is the Purpose of Human Creation?
To find the answer to this important question; i.e., the purpose of human creation and the reason for the human presence in this world, it is necessary to return to the definition of the human being. We stated that the human being has five levels or dimensions of existence. He shares some characteristics with other beings in the first four levels, i.e. inanimate, vegetative, animal, and intellective dimensions, and only the fifth level is exclusive to him. In other words, the human being has all the inanimate, vegetative, animal, and intellective qualities and loves all of them. However, what makes him a human and the noblest creation are the qualities of the fifth dimension and its Beloved.
In the fifth level of our existence, we love the Absolute Perfect and Infinite Being, who is God. This love is also rooted in the origin and structure of creation. When God created us, He breathed into us of His Own Spirit, and with this breath, He entrusted to us all His perfections, names, and attributes completely all at once. So before being born and coming to the earth, we experienced what it means to be infinite. As a result, it is difficult for us to cope with limitations on earth. That is why we struggle so much in this world. We are putting in a great deal of effort to get the same position we had before coming to the world. We want to experience the same pleasure, power, popularity, beauty, and wealth that we experienced before. We would like to actualize the potentials that God has entrusted to us in the form of His names and attributes and reach the status for which we have come into this world.
This is the characteristic of love. Love in any level of existence encourages the lover to be united with and embrace the beloved of that dimension. For example, remember the time when you are hungry and how you rush towards the beloved of the vegetative dimension of your existence, that is, food. Or remember the times when your heart longs for a deep and warm emotional relationship with the beloved of your animal dimension, that is, your spouse. Have you noticed how you leave all your important tasks just to spend a few minutes alone with your spouse? The same thing goes for the relationship between the human being and God. A person, in his human dimension, loves God, and he innately and unconsciously wants to be united with Him. He wants the infinite perfections of God to become a part of his existence and make him a perfect manifestation of God on earth. This is exactly the purpose for which the human being has come into existence. Simply put, the purpose of human creation is to become God’s deputy on earth through becoming the mirror which reflects His names and attributes. Now the question is, “How can a person reach this status?”
Servitude, the Condition for Fulfilling the Purpose of Creation
God has included the whole story and the purpose of human creation in one verse of the Holy Quran; He says: “Wa maa khalaqtul jinna wal insa illaa liya’budoon” (I did not create jinn and humans except to be in servitude to Me).[1] Some have interpreted this verse wrongly and have considered “liya’budoon” as equivalent to worship. But this interpretation is wrong. “liya’budoon” does not mean worship, but it is servitude.
Servitude is a much higher level than worship. Servitude means being a servant. A servant is someone who regards himself nothing before his master, obediently following all His commands without question. Servitude is actually a nurturing and educating process, one side of which is the servant and the other side is the master and mentor. By using the word “liya’budoon” in the mentioned verse, God actually refers to His status as the Lord and Mentor. In a word, the name Lord[2] as one of God’s names is extracted from the heart of this word. Lord means the Owner who plans the affairs of the human being and the world. God is our Lord, that is, He is responsible for our education and is our only Mentor to help us reach the purpose of our creation.
Servitude is not an unfamiliar concept for us. We all know it well and have dealt with it many times in our lives. Servitude is actually the same thing that happens at the gym and school. When someone finds a potential talent in himself or people around him, the first step he often takes is to go to the gym. A gym is a place where a person, as a trainee, is in front of an expert mentor or coach. The coach gives him various exercises and works on his hidden talents, to gradually cultivate them. In fact, the most important thing that the mentor or coach does is that he transfers his perfections to the trainee, and after a while, he transforms a trainee who initially knew nothing into a competent coach. Of course, it is obvious that not all trainees become trainers. What elevates a trainee to the position of a coach is the extent of his servitude. The humbler and more obedient the trainee is towards his coach, the more likely he is to grow. The trainees who are not obedient, even if they have the best coach in the world, will not grow and not reach any level of perfection.
So when God speaks of servitude as the most important purpose of human creation, He wants to convey this message to the human: “O human being! I have created you to become similar to Me. Listen to My command, so that every name and attribute that I have entrusted to you will become manifest in you and you will also gain the same perfections that I have.”
If someone understands the concept of servitude and the brilliant result that lies at its core, he will easily understand the philosophy of divine commands and religious dos and don’ts. Then it will no longer be difficult for him to do acts such as performing prayers, wearing the hijab, paying khums,[3] fasting, doing jihad, etc., because he knows that by following these commands, he will reach a status that no other being, not even angels, can reach. This is the whole story of creation and the purpose of human creation. Love for God makes a person absorb infinite perfections and divine names and attributes. He becomes similar to God over time and the deputy of God on earth. This verse holds immense significance, and if someone understands its true meaning, he has understood the purpose of human creation and he will rejoice and dance because of the position that God has determined for him in the system of creation!
[1]. 51:56
[2] . Rabb
[3] . In Islam, khums (literally ‘one fifth’) refers to the required religious obligation of any Muslims to pay one-fifth of their acquired wealth from certain sources toward specified causes. (https://www.al-islam.org/tags/khums)
