Surah Adh-Dhariyat, Ayah 56

All Messengers met the Same Type of Denial from Their Nations

Allah comforts His Prophet by saying to Him, `just as these idolators denied you, the disbelievers of old used the same words with their Messengers,'

كَذَلِكَ مَآ أَتَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ مِّن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ قَالُواْ سَـحِرٌ أَوْ مَجْنُونٌ

(Likewise, no Messenger came to those before them but they said: "A sorcerer or a madman!") Allah the Exalted and Most Honored said,

أَتَوَاصَوْاْ بِهِ

(Have they transmitted this saying to these), meaning, have those of the past taught these words to the people of the present

بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ طَـغُونَ

(Nay, they are themselves a people transgressing beyond bounds!) They are tyrannical people whose hearts are the same. Therefore, the latter said the same as those before them have said. Allah the Exalted said,

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The Purpose of Jinn's and Mankind's creation

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ (And I did not create the Jinns and the human beings except that they should worship Me."...51:56). This apparently may raise two questions: [ 1] If Allah has created a creature for a particular task, and it is His will that it should perform that task, rationally it is impossible for it to deviate from that task, because doing anything contrary to the will of Allah is inconceivable. [ 2] The purpose of jinn's and man's creation has been restricted to the worship of Allah whereas there are many other underlying reasons and benefits in their creation.

Scholars have made different approaches to solve these problems. Some say that this verse pertains to the believers only, that is, only believing jinn and believing mankind are created for worship and for no other task. It is obvious that the believers are more or less steadfast to worship. This is the view of Dahhak, Sufyan Thawri and others. According to one version of Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ ، the word mu'minin does occur in the verse thus: وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ مِنَ المُؤمِنِینَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ And I have not created the believing jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me'. This version supports the view that the verse is only in connection with the believers.

Another answer to the question, given by Moulana Ashraf ` Ali Thanawi (رح) is that: Allah has commanded all to worship, but at the same time He has equipped them with free will. Some of them exercised their God-given free will correctly and chose to worship Him, but others used their God-given free will incorrectly and deviated from worshipping Him. This is what Sayyidna Ali ؓ has said, as quoted by Baghawi. Tafsir Mazhari gives a plain and simple explication of this verse: Allah has equipped every jinn and man with the innate capacity to worship. Some use the capacity rightly and succeed, while others employ it wrongly in sinning and fulfilling their base emotions, and thus destroy it. The Messenger ﷺ is reported to have said:

کُلُّ مَولُودِ یُّولَدُ عَلَی الفِطرَۃِ فَاَبَوَاہُ یُھَوِّدَانِہٖ اَو یُمَجِّسَانِہٖ

"Every child is born according to the fitrah but his parents [ cause him to deviate from the unadulterated propensity ] and turn him into a Jew or a Christian or a Magian."

According to the majority of the scholars, fitrah here refers to the religion of Islam. Just as this Tradition tells us that every man is born with the natural capacity for Islam and true faith, but his parents adulterate and destroy that capacity, and put him on to the ways of disbelief, in the same way the phrase 'except that they should worship Me' could mean that every member of jinn and mankind has the natural, inborn capacity to worship. Allah, the Pure and Exalted, knows best.

Answer to the second question is that bringing any creation into being for the purpose of worship does not necessarily imply that they are unfit for other functions of life.

God Himself possesses all kinds of powers. However, He has created the angels to effect the administration of His vast domain. But, the case of human beings is different. Human beings were not created to fulfill any administrative or other need of God. The sole purpose of their creation was their devotion and servitude (‘ibadah) to God. This implies bowing down without any reservation before God completely and dedicating oneself entirely to Him. The substance of this devotion is deep inner realisation of God (ma‘rifah) (Tafsir ibn Kathir). In other words, it is required of man that God should be a discovery for him. He should recognise God without seeing him. This is essential to ma‘rifah. The shape which the life of a man takes as a result of this ma‘rifah is one of devotion and subservience.