Mankind

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In Islam it is described that God created everything. But why? Why does He create mankind to see if they believe and worship Him and to see if they are good or bad? Why didn't He just leave us in the dark and uncreated?

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 1 year ago

Allah, The Most Merciful, The Most Compassionate created us to shower on us His Mercy. Allah does need us and never gets any benefit from our worshiping Him. The benefits are for us only. Allah says in Quran: Except those on whom Your Lord Has bestowed His Mercy, and for that He did create them.(Sura 11, Verse 119).

Wassalam.

110641

Angels . Earth . Mankind . Jihad . God (Allah)

How did the angels know that humans will fight on Earth at the time when Allah was creating Prophet Adam (a)?

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 1 year ago

Some people say it is because Allah had created the jinn first, and the angels had seen the jinn fighting so knew that a new species with free will would also fight.

Some say that there were other humanoids (nasnas), and they had fought, and so they deduced from this that a new species with free will would also fight.

These two views are reinforced by a narration from Imam al-Sadiq (A) in which he says that the angels could not have known that humans would cause bloodshed if they hadn't seen the precedent of earlier creatures on earth.

Some simply say that they understood this from looking at human nature, or by looking at the nature of life on earth and the challenges of living as an earth-based being (for instance, competition for food, water, reproduction, and land).

Since the earth (dunya) is considered the basest or lowest level of creation, vis-a-vis the heavenly realms, perhaps it also didn't make sense to instill Allah's vicegerency in an earthling.

Maybe there are other reasons too which relate to the nature of the angels and their existence outside of the earthly realm which would give them access to knowledge or a perspective that human beings generally lack.

103502

Earth . God (Allah) . Mankind

Why did Allah SWT create the Earth and humans? Why did He want to test us when we did not ask to be tested?

Allah, The Glorious Has created us to bestow on us His Mercy. He never needs anything and did not create the creatures for any need by Him but He created us and all the creatures to shower on us His Mercy. We read in Quran (Except those on whom your Lord has bestowed His Mercy, and for that (Mercy) He created them). Sura 11, verse 119.
The most valuable thing for us and for every human being is our life. That is why people sacrifice everything they have for the sake of saving their life. This life is a gift from Allah out of His Mercy on us.

'Wassalam.

100637

Jinn . Mankind

Is it true that all humans are created with their own Jinn?

The idea that every human being is created with its own associated jinn, called a qareen or hamzaad, is mentioned in Sunni hadith. This jinn is usually considered to be an inherently satanic spirit, and its job is to misguide people (except for the Prophet (S), who is said to have tamed and converted his). In the Sunni tradition, this idea is typically taken as an interpretation of Qur'an 43:36.

To my knowledge, there are no hadith through Shi'i chains which speak of the qareen. (These hadith appear in Bihar al-Anwar, but they are the Sunni hadith, not separate Shi'i hadith.) Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi dismisses the idea of the qareen as superstition.

This is not to say that no single Shi'i person accepts the idea of the qareen, as some Shi'is may embrace these hadith. However, it isn't considered a fundamental belief or requirement in Shi'ism to believe that people have a qareen or to interpret that Qur'anic verse as speaking of a qareen.

As with most matters of the unseen world, God knows best.

Jinn . Mankind

Is it true that all humans are created with their own Jinn?

No it is not true to claim that.

Human beings do not have their own Jinn.

Jinn have their own world of Jinn.

We read in Quran that those men who try to seek help from the Jinn suffer more. Sura al-Jinn, verse 6.

Wassalam.

96112

Mankind . Evolution

In the fossil record there seems to be evidence that there were different species of humans in the past, and that humans changed and evolved over time. Does this contradict our belief in Adam (a)?

Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 2 years ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. Evolution of the human race and other species doesn't contradict our belief in Prophet Adam (as), as it is a development of the physical body according to factors in nature. However, if by evolution you mean evolution across species like from a monkey to human, such a transition is not established, even if it has been theoretically purported and as such doesn't present a challenge to the traditional understanding of Adam being endowed with a human body, as it remains on the level of theory without complete evidence.

May you always be successful

95329

God (Allah) . Mankind . Tribulation

Are the afflictions we face from God or because of our own actions and those of other humans?

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. The answer is all three although the believer is never in a situation that is not good for them. Sometimes afflictions are a recompense for our sins which we face in this world rather than the next. At other times we face difficulties because of the actions of others, but in these kinds of tests if we are faultless then our patience is rewarded. And at times we face tests from God in order to raise us to levels that we cannot achieve with our own actions. To understand the philosophy of trial according to our scriptural sources please see these short podcasts:

https://anchor.fm/zoheir-ali-esmail/episodes/Episode-75-51-261-263-Ordeals-part-1-of-3-eb0tbj

https://anchor.fm/zoheir-ali-esmail/episodes/Episode-76-51-264-268-Ordeals-part-2-of-3-eb29it

https://anchor.fm/zoheir-ali-esmail/episodes/Episode-77-51-269-276-Ordeals-part-3-of-3-eb3rb7

May you always be successful

93771

Mankind . Imamah . Ghayba (Occultation)

If the Imams are necessary in order for the religion not to be corrupted, then why would the twelfth Imam go into occultation? Doesn't that inevitably lead mankind astray?

The existence of the Infallible Imam is necessary, but it is not necessary for every one to meet him, especially when certain circumstances of danger require him to be away from eyes of the enemies.

Prophets like Prophet Musa (AS) and Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) and Imams like Imam Musa Al-Kadhim (AS) other Imams during jail periods, were in occultation during times of crisis.That did not mean that they were not existing during such periods of occultation. They always had their own ways to guide people even during being away from the public life.

Imam Al-Mahdi (AS) is also in touch with the Ummah through sincere believers who are entitled to meet him and receive his guidance. Imam Al-Mahdi (AS) is in occultation but he is never absent. His guidance to the Ummah is the guarantee of saving Muslim Ummah from going astray.

Wassalam.

91564

Human . Evolution . Mankind . Prophet Adam

What is Islam's view on human evolution and the different species of humans that is said to have existed, Does it contradict Islam's belief in Adam (as) as the first human?

The claim of Darwin in evolution is not correct. Many scientists refuted his claim and written books proving his claim to be not authentic and not scientifically established.

Allah (SWT) mentioned in Quran how first human being (Adam) was created from clay and granted spirit from Allah then immediately existed in this life.

There is no question of evolution of man from other animals.

The Prophetic Hadeeth says: Allah has created Adam on the existing shape of human beings.

Wassalam.

73293

Earth . Mankind . Planets . Qiyama

I believe it says in the Quran that on the Day of Judgement everything on Earth will be eradicated including all of mankind. What would happen to any human beings who are present on other planets, such as Mars, or on the International Space Station?

Abbas Di Palma, Shaykh Abbas Di Palma holds a BA and an MA degree in Islamic Studies, and certifications from the Language Institute of Damascus University. He has also studied traditional Islamic sciences in... Answer updated 2 years ago

as salam alaikum

Yawm al-Qiyamah is not limited to planet earth and its effects as described in the Qur'an will be manifest in the whole universe and everything in it.

With prayers for your success.

76743

Planets . Earth . Hereafter . Mankind

Why did Allah create so many other galaxies and planets if Earth and the world of the hereafter are all that is of relevance to mankind?

Allah (SWT) Has the All and Absolute Knowledge and Wisdom, while we have very little knowledge if we have any. He knows the wisdom of creating whatever He created from the nucleus and atom to the galaxies. No doubt , there is a great wisdom which is known to Him, but not to us as our knowledge is very limited. We are in this universe like a small kid who sees huge library with thousands of books and wonders why these books were written.

Wassalam.

71203

Mankind . Salah (Prayers)

If humans reached another planet other than Earth, how and when will the prayers be conducted since the day and night timings will be different?

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. Some have opined that the obligation would be to pray in the direction of Earth, according to the timings on the celestial body the person was on. However, such questions and answers are purely hypothetical at this stage and it would be upon the jurists at the time to answer these questions according to valid legal frameworks in their context if the need ever arose.

May you always be successful