Why test us

[Zafreen]

Salam! I know Allah created us to test us but I get very disheartened that in His Mercy He created us to test us with so much turmoil. He does not need us but He just created us, it seems, for a game. Look at all the suffering....why? We were just created because He decided to make us and test us? It makes no sense

[good logic]

Greetings Zafreen.

GOD has sent a message explaining what you are asking.

Sometimes we get our answers straight away, sometimes GOD asks us to be patient. Each one of us is different.

With this question, I believe even if we give you our answer, you still need your own .
 I am absolutely certain ,if we go to Qoran with a sincere heart, study it, ponder its verses, ask the Lord to help us understand it. We get our answers.  Whatever we are seeking an answer to.

May the lord help you and guide you to the answer.
GOD bless you.
Peace.

[Hamzeh]

Salam

These ayat may give you some answers of why God may have created us.

021.016-18
"And We did not create the Heaven and the Earth and what is between them for mere play / sport. If We intended that We take a pastime, We could surely have taken it from the things nearest to Us, if We would do (such a thing)! Nay! We cast the truth (Arabic: bil-haqi) against the falsehood (Arabic: l-batili), so that it breaks its head, and lo! falsehood does perish! and woe to you for which you ascribe!"


047.031 
“And We shall try you until We make evident those who strive among you and persevere in patience; and We shall test your affairs”


Peace

[Hamzeh]

Another ayah to point out would be

51:56
And I did not create the jinn and mankind(ins) except to worship Me.

The Good Lord has created the jinns and mankind to worship Him. That to show and manifest his greatness to us. Not for a game or sport or out of boredom. But to cast the truth over the false. And to show the truth of His Oneness.  And to test and make evident of those who believe with patients and turmoil.

Before we came to life in the world. I sometimes think of who we were as souls.  Before GOD has put us in this world.  The word INS is a word that describes human form. We are given little info about the NAFS (soul). So somethings we might never totally understand.  But the purpose of this life is to worship the Mighty GOD. And to go with the truth and to believe in HIM even at times of hardship and struggle.  Hoping for the end to be Paradise Insha'Allah. 

I find in all this the greatness of mercy and love that GOD has to his creation.  To the souls that he created. He has manifested the truth for them and to prove to them His Oneness and Excellence without a doubt. That they should worship Him alone and get repaid much more for there efforts with a eternal paradise to come. Glory be to Him who is all merciful and and loving.

Salam

[Zafreen]

Thank u, I have read the ayats and ultimately it seems we dnt know and all we have to do is struggle. Allah doea not need us. He does not need us to fight for Him. There is too much sorrow and torture. And I dnt understand why the helpless suffer so much. This is where I struggle. This is not explained. Why would something be created out of nothing just to show to the creation who is good or not? Allah knows before who will prosper. Why make us to suffer and test?

[Hamzeh]

Salam

I dont think we are created so that we can show other creations who is good and who is not. Yes GOD has given some authority over others. But with rules and a way of life to live by. If people were to live through the guidance of GOD whether rich or poor then maybe things would be better. Some people might suffer in this world because others did not follow the guidance and rules laid out by GOD. Feeding the poor, charity, being good with people and no oppression.  Thats why we are accountable. But those who suffered and believed there reward is with GOD. At the end those people might be so happy that they are glad that they went through all that. And the ones who lose the most is the ones who were not given much in this world and also disbelieved. They lost both worlds.

However even if poverty was eliminated I feel GOD would still try us and test people to make evident of those who actually believe he is the one who is in control and the one who is able to do anything.  And to give him thanks and worship him. To understand that He is the provider the sustainer. If we look deeply at the world I realize that all this is for us. A blessing in this world. Some might have to pay the price in the hereafter for the rights they have taken away from people. But ultimately we are all going to return to GOD. He is definitely not in the need of anything. Your right He does not need us. We need him.  So whatever we do is only a benefit to ourselves.  He simply created us to worship him. And yet he does not need our worship.  But GOD can create whatever he pleases. The answer of why he created us could be simply with Him. But to those who follow him is a blessing.  And to those who fail is a miserable price.

At the end GOD creates what ever he pleases. We are his creation. He manifested his powers and blessings to us. Little thanks do we give. God created the heavens and the earth in six periods. He has indeed given us something that means a lot. All have the opportunity to attain the promised paradise to come. He is the best of all judges. 

And maybe we are to live so that we can suffer and strive. Its not paradise afterall.

Allah does know before who is good and will prosper and who is not. But imagine GOD has put the people who disbelieved in hell without really living this world and the people who believe in heaven without actually living in this world. Wont the disbelievers be confused about why they are there in hell and the believers would also think about why they are given paradise and think they are just better. I mean that can be a little bit of a answer. But one might question also about little babies or children who die at a young age. At the end GOD does know there final decision and what they would be like if they did live to a older age. What kind of human they would of been. But even to them a world was shown. ALLAH knows best.

I know I dont have all the answers and I think all of us have lots to ask and the questions might get so deep. I think we can never know everything.  But it still all works out to be satisfiable in my opinion. And the Quran is where all the guidance from and we will never know everything about it. But a believer believes in all of it and says we hear and we obey.. And we will never get anything close to it. Full truth is will the almighty GOD

[Joseph Islam]

Salam! I know Allah created us to test us but I get very disheartened that in His Mercy He created us to test us with so much turmoil. He does not need us but He just created us, it seems, for a game. Look at all the suffering....why? We were just created because He decided to make us and test us? It makes no sense

Wa alaikum assalam Zafreen,

God certainly didn't create us for mere sport / game which is specifically addressed in a verse of the Quran.

021.016-18
"And We did not create the Heaven and the Earth and what is between them for mere play / sport (* la'ib). If We intended that We take a pastime, We could surely have taken it from the things nearest to Us, if We would do (such a thing)!  Nay! We cast the truth (Arabic: bil-haqi) against the falsehood (Arabic: l-batili), so that it breaks its head, and lo! falsehood does perish! and woe to you for which you ascribe!"

(Truth vs Falsehood and the manifestation/ recognition of truth)

* la'ib - pastime, game, playing, sport, play.

I have discussed this in the main article dealing with suffering and adversity [1] below. However this article is also underpinned by two other articles  [2] and [3] below.

I hope this helps, God willing
Joseph


REFERENCES

[1] Suffering & Adversity
http://quransmessage.com/articles/suffering%20FM3.htm
[2] A Purpose to Creation - The Power of Truth
http://quransmessage.com/articles/creation%20purpose%20FM3.htm
[3] We will be Tested
http://quransmessage.com/articles/tests%20FM3.htm

[HOPE]

Salaam all,

 The simple answer to ‘Why is there a creation?’ is because there is a Creator; without the creation the creator attribute of the Divine Being would not be actualized.  The Self-Existent Reality, the principle of unity,  first differentiates into complementary duality: jalal and jamal sides of the One Divine Being.  Majestic, Overpowering, masculine, wrathful side to counterbalance the feminine, loving-kind, merciful, beautiful side.  These potential attributes then further differentiate into plurality  only in relation to creation.  I have to sin so the forgiving aspect of the Being can be activated, for example.

Why man and jinn created?  This is a different area because apart from the other creation, these two groups possess a relatively free will which puts them in a sort of ‘testing’ category to evaluate how the will is exercised.  The process can be used as a learning exercise to help in the evolution of the being.  There is a physical evolution why not a spiritual evolution, too?

There is a famous saying attributed to the Prophet, explaining why God created the universe.  God says ‘I was a hidden treasure and I desired to be known thus I created the creatures so I might be known.    God is disclosing Itself to Its creatures through the cosmos.  In Mathnawi II 2680, Rumi refers to this dichotomy “Severity and gentleness were married and a world of good and evil was born from the two”.  This can also refer to the 38:75 where it is mentioned that  man was created with the two hands of God, jalal and jamal.

[Zafreen]

Conclusion: Allah created us with free will to test us. Rather than putting us in hell or paradise He is showing us so we will know.
Question: this seems to be a never ending question. Allah leaves the unbelievers to increase their sins. This affects the good helpless people. Then a person does bear the consequences of another. For eg, Israel and Palestine. We cant do anything. It is a calamity placed by Allah and billions have died and suffering. The innocents are being tested because Allah left the Unbelievers to their sins? It makes no sense and I can understand that although everything else in the Quran makes sense, why some people may not accept the existance of a God. There is too much pain for a Merciful God. How can you love a God who you have to fear? Fear of being tested so harshly? Any happiness can be taken away because of a test. Worshipping God coz of fear is easier than love.
Thank u all for ur answers.

[good logic]

Peace Zafreen.

There is something that happened before this creation, which explains Why Were We Created?

We are in this world because we committed a horrendous crime, and this life is our chance to redeem ourselves, denounce our crime, and rejoin God's kingdom. [38:69] .We failed to uphold GOD s authority.

Contrary to common belief, the "Original Sin" was not Adam's violation of God's law when he ate from the forbidden tree.
 The original sin was our failure to uphold God's absolute authority during the Great Feud.
If the human person convinces his or her jinn companion to denounce that original sin, and uphold God's absolute authority, both creatures are redeemed to God's eternal kingdom on the Day of Judgment.
 But if the jinn companion convinces the human being to uphold Satan's idolatrous views, then both creatures are exiled forever from God's kingdom. .

Because our life in this world is a series of tests designed to expose our polytheistic ideas, idol worship is the only unforgivable offense (4:48, 4:116).
 The world is divinely designed to manifest our decision to uphold either God's absolute authority, or Satan's idolatrous views (67:1-2).

To give us a headstart, the Most Merciful gathered all the human beings before Him, prior to sending us to this world, and we bore witness that He alone is our Lord and Master (7:172). Thus, upholding God's absolute authority is a natural instinct that is an integral part of every human being, and the test is not to break this covenant.

On the day of judgement we will remember . There will be no excuses , we will be requited for what we earned/did during this trial period. There will be total justice .

GOD bless you.
Peace.



 :

[Joseph Islam]

We are in this world because we committed a horrendous crime, and this life is our chance to redeem ourselves, denounce our crime, and rejoin God's kingdom. [38:69] .We failed to uphold GOD s authority.

Contrary to common belief, the "Original Sin" was not Adam's violation of God's law when he ate from the forbidden tree.
 The original sin was our failure to uphold God's absolute authority during the Great Feud.
If the human person convinces his or her jinn companion to denounce that original sin, and uphold God's absolute authority, both creatures are redeemed to God's eternal kingdom on the Day of Judgment.

Dear Good Logic,

As-salam alaykum

Do you have any explicit proof (not interpolations) of this from the Quran?

Regards,
Joseph

[HOPE]

Peace Zafreen,

 Remember the nafs amara in each of us ?  It tries to dominate us and blind our eyes to truth.  It seeks to take away our free will.  We all struggle with our narcissistic ego that manifests in egotistical, arrogant tendencies in us.
The playing field is the same for everyone.  We all behave selfishly and hurtfully.  As self awareness develops, we try to change our harmful actions and be more tolerant and accepting of our differences.  Unfortunately some lag behind and cannot develop the consciousness at the same time or level.  Thus many get hurt from the actions of those laggers.  It is not God’s fault We have been told to fight the inner jihad.

“Then a person does bear the consequences of another"  I believe it should be bearing the sins of another not the consequences.

[good logic]

Greetings Brother Joseph.

I will give you the verses numbers,this way you can look them up and use your own translation.

Heavenly feud [38:69]'
After the feud The angels expected God to banish the creatures who did not uphold His absolute authority (2:30).
 But God is Most Merciful; He decided to give us a chance to denounce our mistake, and informed the angels that He knew what they did not know (2:30).
God's plan called for creating death (67:1-2), then bringing the humans and jinns into this world. Thus, they start over without any biases, and exercise full freedom.

To give us a headstart, the Most Merciful gathered all the human beings before Him, prior to sending us to this world (7:172)

He then created us and the Jinn (15:26) and (15:27).

 Jinns are descendants of Satan (7:27, 18:50).

An independent jinn soul is  assigned to the new human being to represent Satan's point of view.

The assigned jinn remains with the human being from birth to death, and serves as the main witness on the Day of Judgment (50:23).
 A continuous debate takes place in our heads between the human soul and the jinn soul until both of them are convinced of one point of view.

Thank you for your enquiry.

God bless you.
Peace.

[HOPE]

Salaam good logic,

" Heavenly feud [38:69]'
After the feud The angels expected God to banish the creatures who did not uphold His absolute authority (2:30)"


Just like the Prophet we were not there to listen to the arguments.  I believe at that point Adam was not involved in the feud; it was about him though.  It was the angels who expressed their concern over God's intent to create a khalifa out of the mud. Then Iblis falls prey to his jealousy and arrogance; declares his superiority over the material creature, not understanding enough to appreciate the spiritual dimension of the khalifa in being breathed into him by God.

[Joseph Islam]

Dear Good Logic,

As-salam alaykum

Please see my responses to your comments in blue italics.

Heavenly feud [38:69]'

After the feud The angels expected God to banish the creatures who did not uphold His absolute authority (2:30).

Whilst I do not disagree with the linkage of verse 38:69 with 2:30 as I have acknowledged elsewhere with regards the 'mala-i-l-ala'  [1], there is no mention in verse 2:30 that the angels expected God to banish creatures that did not uphold His absolute authority. They made known their concerns and posed questions. However, at no stage was an expectation to banish any creature mentioned. It remains noteworthy that man had not even been created at this stage.

But God is Most Merciful; He decided to give us a chance to denounce our mistake, and informed the angels that He knew what they did not know (2:30).

Where was our mistake made? Man was not even created as yet in verse 2:30. Therefore, man could not have made any mistake. With respect, this is an unwarranted interpolation.

God's plan called for creating death (67:1-2), then bringing the humans and jinns into this world. Thus, they start over without any biases, and exercise full freedom.

Verse 67:1-2 make it clear God's reason for creating man which was to try humans to ascertain those that were best in deeds / conduct. There is no mention of Jinns in these verse and if verse 15:26-27 is to be relied upon, jinns already existed as they were created before mankind.

To give us a headstart, the Most Merciful gathered all the human beings before Him, prior to sending us to this world (7:172)

This with respect, is again an unwarranted interpolation. There is no mention of a congregational assembly of 'humans' before which they were sent into this world.

He then created us and the Jinn (15:26) and (15:27).

This is incorrect and once again, an unwarranted interpolation. These verses make clear the difference in chronology with respect to the creation of these two species. Jinns were created before man and this is explicit in the Arabic text. Therefore your intimation of the jinn being created with man or after man has absolutely no warrant from a Quran's perspective.

Jinns are descendants of Satan (7:27, 18:50).

This statement is unwarranted. At no point do these verses say that all jinns are descendants of Satan. The Quran clearly mentions that there exists good amongst the jinn and they abide in divergent sects / ways (72:11). They have the ability to discern truth (72:2) from falsehood (72:4) and understand that they will be judged (72:14-15). [2] It would be an incomprehensible position to insinuate / assert that righteous jinn have descended from Satan.

An independent jinn soul is assigned to the new human being to represent Satan's point of view.

With respect, there is again no proof of this.

The assigned jinn remains with the human being from birth to death, and serves as the main witness on the Day of Judgment (50:23).

There is no mention of an ‘assigned jinn’ in these verses. This is again an interpolation. The mention is of a ‘qarin’ (companion / comrade / associate) whose form has not been elaborated and such an assigned evil companion has been mentioned in other verses as well, such as verse 41:25. In the contexts cited, these ‘qarin’ are of evil nature (43:36) and have led not only humans astray, but also the jinn (41:25). It is noteworthy ‘shayatin’ is often used by the Quran as a generic term to reference all manner of evil ones including those from humankind (2:14). I have discussed this more in the article [3] below.

Dear Good Logic, I did respectfully ask you for explicit evidence and not interpolations as this is a very serious theological position that you have asserted. This would arguably require the explicit backing of the Quran.

Therefore given your response, I understand that there is no explicit proof for the position you have posited.

Thank you for sharing your views.

Kind regards,
Joseph


REFERENCES:

[1] Exalted Assemblies
http://quransmessage.com/forum/index.php?topic=84.0
[2] THE JINN
http://quransmessage.com/articles/jinn%20FM3.htm
[3] A CREATURE FROM THE EARTH
http://quransmessage.com/articles/creature%20FM3.htm