A HISTORY OF INTELLECTUAL PERVERSION
A Curb on Freedom of Choice
ACCORDING to the Quran, God has created the universe with a certain purpose. All its parts which are strictly under His control are carrying out His divine scheme without the slightest deviation. Similarly, man too has been created with a certain purpose. Yet man, on the contrary, is totally free in his choices. He can do what he wants by his own decision. However, in spite of this freedom he is being watched constantly by God, for He does not allow any such deviation in human history over a long period as would nullify His very creation plan.
A Custom-made Universe
The universe made by God is so vast that, despite the enormous
progress made by human beings in their attempts to fathom the
universe, many of its secrets still remain unknown. The planet Earth,
made by God as part of the cosmos, was and still is unique in the entire
universe, in that it has been endowed with an atmosphere and all the
other factors which are essential to make it habitable for man.
After bringing into existence a favourable world in the form of Earth,
God created the first man Adam, and his feminine counterpart Eve.
Although the precise date of this event is unknown, Adam and Eve were
the first pair of human beings to set foot on Earth.
Adam was the first man as well as the first Prophet. The way of God is to select a man as His messenger from amongst human beings themselves in order to send His revelations to humankind. Therefore, God revealed to Adam through an angel the purpose of man’s inhabiting the Earth. According to this plan, God created a special creature in the form of man, upon whom He bestowed freedom. Amongst the entire universe that functions compulsorily under the will of God, man is the only creature that has been granted free will. The rest of the universe has no choice but to submit to the will of God, it is desirable for man also to opt for this divine plan of his own free will.
This plan of divine will is based on two basic principles—monotheism and being a well-wisher of humanity. Monotheism holds man to worshipping one God alone, and not associating anyone or anything in this worship. Being a well-wisher holds man to adhering completely to ethical principles in dealing with other human beings and refraining from all kinds of injustice and oppression.
Along with this, God informed man that, although he appeared to be free, he was fully accountable to Him. God has a complete record of man’s actions. In the eternal life after death God would judge everyone according to this record. One who exercised his freedom wrongly would be thrown into eternal hellfire.
Adam prepared tablets of clay on which he engraved the basic divine teachings, then heated them in a fire, thus preserving this divine guidance for the coming generations. It is believed that these divine teachings were written by Adam in the Syriac language.
God has a complete record of man’s actions. In the eternal life after death God would judge everyone according to this record. One who exercised his freedom wrongly would be thrown into eternal hellfire
Deviation from the True Path
God subsequently sent Noah as His messenger. He was granted
an exceptionally long life of nine hundred and fifty years. During
this extended period, he continued to show people the right path,
generation after generation. Only a few people heeded his words. The
rest persisted in their sinful ways. Then, in accordance with the ways
of God, a huge flood engulfed them by way of punishment. Noah and
his small band of followers were saved in an ark, while all the rest were
drowned.
The Reasons for Perversion
What were the reasons for this continued transgression? There were
two main reasons; one, political absolutism; another, ignorance about
the world of nature.