Chapter Man of The Koran - Study Guide by Islam

Man

The design of creation mirrors Gods omnipotence. Everything within the universe has its own, divinely ordained place and purpose, allowing the whole of creation to function in harmony. God's creation is autonomous as each created being acts according to its own inherent laws of behaviour, yet not self- determinative as each part of creation operates within certain limits, designated by God, "everything has been created by us according to a measure". God alone is entirely unlimited and independent. This fundamental principle is crucial to the Koran's teaching on the nature and role of man. Unlike the Judeo- Christian doctrine, which states that man is created in God's own image, the Koran explicitly rejects this notion, as an insult to God's uniqueness and perfection.

Man is acknowledged to be "ignorant and foolhardy", nevertheless he is the noblest of all creation, and has been given a position of superiority over the remainder of created beings. The purpose of man's role is service and submission (Islam) to God's will; he is described as "God's viceregent" in the universe. The Judeo-Christian story of the creation of Adam, the first man, and his disobedience of God and subsequent fall from Paradise is reiterated, but with a crucial difference: this act is not seen as original sin, which is a defining element in Christian doctrine. The principle failing of mankind is seen to be his pride. Like the rest of creation, man has been designed to operate within certain specific limits, however, our somewhat weak nature often fails to understand this. Man's attribute of rationality would suggest human responsibility as to whether or not to act on pride, and hence a certain amount of free will. However, the scripture is ambiguous on this point. Whilst there are passages which refer to man's freedom of action to decide whether or not to accept the Koranic teaching, there are many more points at which God's power to control His creation indicate divine predestination of history. The verse "Let him that will, take the right path to his Lord. Yet you cannot choose, except by the will of God."(KORAN76:22) demonstrates this ambiguity, which has led to significant divergences of opinion within Islam, regarding the essential nature of humanity.