From the perspective of humankind, the question “Why did Allah create man?” “For what purpose was man created?” In the final revelation the Quran, this question is answered without any ambiguity. Humans are first informed by Allah that every human being is born with an innate consciousness of Allah. While we can never fully answer the question, it helps to recognize that the answer will come only as we recognize the character and attributes of Allah.
First and foremost, Allah is a God of love, and love must be demonstrated by showering it upon the object of that love. His grace comes to all and even to those who deserve punishment, and the demonstration of His love, grace and mercy stands without parallel among humans. He is the Oft-Forgiving, Full of Loving-Kindness. And for those who believe and do deeds of righteousness He will honor and reward them.
S18:14 We gave strength to their hearts: Behold, they stood up and said: “Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and of the earth: never shall we call upon any god other than Him: if we did, we should indeed have uttered an enormity!
S19:96 On those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, (Allah) Most Gracious will bestow love.
S3:31 Say: “If ye do love Allah, follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you your sins: For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
From the Wisdom of Allah for creating mankind there are several reasons from the Qur’an but first and foremost we are being created for a good purpose and we should be thankful for being here in this world.
S38:27 And We did not create the heaven and the earth and that between them aimlessly. That is the assumption of those who disbelieve, so woe to those who disbelieve from the Fire.
S32:7-9 He Who has made everything which He has created of good: He began the creation of man with (nothing more than) clay, and made his progeny from a quintessence of the nature of a fluid despised: But He fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed into him something of His spirit. And He gave you the faculties of hearing, sight, feeling and understanding: little thanks do ye give!
S49:13 O mankind, indeed We have created you from a male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.
S2:186 And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely, I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way.
S40:59-60 Most surely the hour is coming, there is no doubt therein, but most people do not believe. And your Lord says: Call upon Me, I will answer you; surely those who are too proud for My service shall soon enter hell abased.
The creation of man served another wisdom of Allah as it exposed the level of loyalty and obedience of the other rational beings that He has created.
S2:30-34 Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: “I will create a vicegerent on earth.” They said: “Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood? whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy name?” He said: “I know what ye know not.” And He taught Adam the nature of all things; then He placed them before the angels, and said: “Tell me the nature of these if ye are right.” They said: “Glory to Thee, of knowledge We have none, save what Thou Hast taught us: In truth it is Thou Who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom.” He said: “O Adam! Tell them their natures.” When he had told them, Allah said: “Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth, and I know what ye reveal and what ye conceal?” And behold, We said to the angels: “Prostrate down to Adam” and they prostrated down. Not so Iblis: he refused and was haughty: He was of those who reject Faith.
The creation of man exposed the arrogance of Iblis of the Jinn kind who manifested his displeasure by not obeying Allah’s command.
S15:30-41 So the angels prostrated themselves, all of them together: Not so Iblis: he refused to be among those who prostrated themselves. (Allah) said: “O Iblis! what is your reason for not being among those who prostrated themselves?” (Iblis) said: “I am not one to prostrate myself to man, whom Thou didst create from sounding clay, from mud designed into shape.” (Allah) said: “Then get thee out from here; for thou art rejected, accursed. “And the curse shall be on thee till the day of Judgment.” (Iblis) said: “O my Lord! give me then respite till the Day the (dead) are raised.” (Allah) said: “Respite is granted thee “Till the Day of the Time appointed.” (Iblis) said: “O my Lord! because Thou hast put me in the wrong, I will make (wrong) fair-seeming to them on the earth, and I will put them all in the wrong, “Except Thy servants among them, sincere and purified by Thy Grace.” (Allah) said: “This (way of My sincere servants) is indeed a way that leads straight to Me.
S35:5-7 O men! Certainly, the promise of Allah is true. Let not then this present life deceive you, nor let the Chief Deceiver deceive you about Allah. Verily Satan is an enemy to you: so, treat him as an enemy. He only invites his adherents, that they may become Companions of the Blazing Fire. For those who reject Allah, is a terrible Penalty: but for those who believe and work righteous deeds, is Forgiveness, and a magnificent Reward.
S18:50 And when We said to the angels, “Prostrate to Adam,” and they prostrated, except for Iblis. He was of the jinn kind and departed from the command of his Lord. Then will you take him and his descendants as allies other than Me while they are enemies to you? Wretched it is for the wrongdoers as an exchange.
S35:15 O ye men! It is ye that have need of Allah. but Allah is the One Free of all wants, worthy of all praise.
S7:10 It is We Who have placed you with authority on earth, and provided you therein with means for the fulfilment of your life: small are the thanks that ye give!
S7:181 Of those We have created are people who direct (others) with truth. And dispense justice therewith.
S4:58 Allah doth command you to render back your Trusts to those to whom they are due; And when ye judge between man and man, that ye judge with justice: Verily how excellent is the teaching which He giveth you! For Allah is He Who heareth and see all things.
S67:2 He Who created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed: and He is the Exalted in Might, Oft-Forgiving.
The other noble and wise purpose we are being created by Allah is that we are to be credited with some of His spirits which is the intellectual faculties of hearing, sight, feeling and understanding. These faculties are to be utilized for the good of mankind and it is given for a specific period in the lifespan of each humankind.
S32:9 But He fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed into him something of His spirit. And He gave you the faculties of hearing, sight, feeling and understanding: little thanks do ye give!
S10:3-4 Verily your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and is firmly established on the throne (of authority), regulating and governing all things. No intercessor can plead with Him except after His leave. This is Allah your Lord; Him therefore serve ye: will ye not receive admonition? To Him will be your return of all of you. The promise of Allah is true and sure. It is He Who begin the process of creation, and repeat it, that He may reward with justice those who believe and work righteousness; but those who reject Him will have draughts of boiling fluids, and a penalty grievous, because they did reject Him.
S51:56 I have only created Jinns kind and mankind, that they may serve Me.
With these faculties of knowledge and senses we are commanded to worship and serve Him alone and follow His command and at the end of the appointed time He will judge us whether we are thankful and worthy of His favor and mercy that were given to us so as to be in the category of those chosen to be in bliss for eternity. The good is rewarded with garden while the bad will land himself in hell:
There is no excuse of not worshipping God alone as He has given adequate reminders and examples to be guided to the right path and a look at Adam what he did when he made a mistake by seeking forgiveness from God.
S2:35-37 We said: “O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden; and eat of the bountiful things therein as where and when ye will; but approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression.” Then did Satan make them slip from the garden, and get them out of the state of felicity in which they had been. We said: “Get ye down, all of you, with enmity between yourselves. On earth will be your dwelling-place and your means of livelihood for a time.” Then learnt Adam from his Lord words of inspiration, and his Lord turned towards him; for He is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.
S7:23 They said: “Our Lord! We have wronged our own souls: If thou forgive us not and bestow not upon us Thy Mercy, we shall certainly be lost.”
S2:38-39 We said “Get ye down all from here and if, as is sure, there comes to you the guidance from Me, whomsoever follows My guidance, on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve. “But those who reject faith and belie Our signs, they shall be companions of the fire, they shall abide therein.”
S17:70-72 We have honored the sons of Adam; provided them with transport on land and sea; given them for sustenance things good and pure; and conferred on them special favors, above a great part of our creation. One day We shall call together all human beings with their (respective) Imams: those who are given their record in their right hand will read it (with pleasure), and they will not be dealt with unjustly in the least. But those who were blind in this world, will be blind in the hereafter, and most astray from the Path.
QUOTATION TO PONDER
“I do not feel obliged to believe that same God who endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect had intended for us to forgo their use.” Galileo
“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” Buddha
“God exist whether or not men may choose to believe in Him. The reason why many people do not believe in God is not so much that it is intellectually impossible to believe
in God, but because belief in God forces that thoughtful person to face the fact that he is accountable to such a God” Robert A. Laidlaw`
“What comes into our minds when we think about God, is the most important thing about us” A.W. Tozer
“The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful, and has nobody to thank.” Dante Gabriel Rossetti
“Indeed, the worst of living creatures in the sight of Allah are the deaf and dumb who do not use reason.” Qur’an 8:22
Pondering with Saifuddin's index 