The Foundations And Concepts of Islam

Consider the greatness of Allaah’s work in man. He created him in the best form, clothed him with traits of honour like intellect, knowledge, eloquence, art of speaking, beautiful figure, moderate body, ability to acquire knowledge through analogical deduction and thinking and ability to acquire noble characteristics like, righteousness, acts of obedience and submission to Allaah. Far is his condition while he was just a drop of sperm kept in the womb of his mother from his creation while the Angel will enter upon him in the Paradise. “So blessed be Allaah, the Best of Creators.”[49]

This world is a village and man is its inhabitant. All is preoccupied because of him and all is made to work for his interests. All other creatures are made to serve him and provide for his needs. The angels are charged to protect him during day and night. Those of them who are charged with provision of rain and plants strive to provide him with his sustenance; orbits are made to surrender to him and revolve in his services; the sun, moon and stars are all subjected to move in line with his time reckoning and for the betterment of his food arrangement. The aerial world with its winds, clouds, birds and all that it contains is also subjected to him. So is the lower world with all its seas and rivers, its trees and fruits, its plants and animals and all that is in it. Allaah says,

 “Allaah is he Who has created the heavens and the earth and sends down water (rain) from the sky, and thereby brought forth fruits as provisions for you; and he has made the ship to be of service to you, that may sail through the sea by His Command; and He has made rivers also to be of service to you. And He has made the sun and the moon, both constantly pursuing their courses, to be of service to you; and He has made the night and the day, to be of service to you. And He gave you all that you asked for, and if you count the blessings of Allaah, never will you be able to reckon them. Verily, man is indeed an extreme wrong-doer, a disbeliever.”[50]

To complete His honour on man, He created for him all that he needs in his worldly life and all that he needs that can make him attain the highest positions in the Hereafter. He as such, revealed to him His Books and sent to him His Messengers explaining to him the Law of Allaah and calling him unto it.

Then Allaah created for him from his own self – meaning from Adam himself – a wife, so that he might enjoy the pleasure of living with her, in response to his natural needs, be it psychological, intellectual and physical. He then found with her comfort, tranquillity and stability and both of them found in their togetherness peace, contentedness, love and mercy; because of their physical, psychological and nervous composition, both of them are made to respond to the desires of each other and both are made to be in harmony in the process of producing new generations. The souls of both are enriched with these feelings and their relationship is filled with comfort for the soul and nerves, peace for the body and mind, stability for the life and subsistence, familiarity for souls and conscience and a tranquillity for the man and woman on an equal basis.

Allaah then chose the believers among mankind and made them his friends. He made them obey Him and work for Him according to his Laws in order to make them qualify to live in His Paradise. He chose among them Prophets, Messengers, saints and martyrs and blessed then in this world with the best favour that human souls can enjoy: worshipping Allaah, obeying Him and supplicating to him. He also distinguished them with great favours – that others cannot get – among which are: peace, tranquillity and happiness, and greater than all this is the fact that they know the truth that was brought by the Messengers and believe in it. Allaah then keeps for them – in the Hereafter – the everlasting bliss and great success that befit His generosity, glory be to Him. He will also reward their belief in Him and their sincerity to Him and will give them more out of His Bounty.

The position of woman:

In Islaam, the woman is accorded a high position which she was not accorded in any of the previous religions and which no nation will accord her but Islaam. This is because, the honour that Islaam conferred on mankind is shared by both man and woman on equal basis. Mankind are equal before rules of Allaah in this world as they will be equal as regards His reward and recompense on the Last Day. Allaah says,

“And indeed, We have honoured the children of Adam.”[51] 

He also says,