“That Home of the Hereafter We
assign it to those
who do not seek
haughtiness on earth, nor yet to
spread corruption, and the sequel is
for the
God-fearing. Whosoever shall
come (before God) with good deed
will gain further
good therefrom, and
anyone who
shall come with evil deed
- (know that) they
who do evil deeds
will not be
requited with more than
(the like of) what
they have done”
(Qur’an, 28:83-84).
God has given every human
being a certain peculiarity, but made all equal in value and gave each one a wide
scope of action under a very stable criterion that He ordained. Anyone thinking
that he or she is superior to others surely is wrong.
The equality in value comes
together with a variety in faculties and capabilities, as this is the only way for
mankind to manage a cooperation they absolutely need.
God says: “ and
We have raised some of them by degrees above others so that they might avail
themselves of one another’s help..” (43:32).
Without variety in faculties and understanding, life cannot take its course.
God says in the Qur’an: “And
had your Lord so willed, He could surely have made all mankind one single
community; but (He willed it otherwise, and so) they continue to hold divergent
views (all of them,) save those upon whom your Lord has given mercy. And to
this end has He created them (all)..” (11:118-119).
This inevitable cooperation
between people of diversity also cannot occur harmoniously unless the society
agrees upon a certain moral standard as a stable criterion.
The moral standard needed by society cannot be
established correctly without bias
for one party or another, except if it
comes from the Almighty God Who created them all. That’s why God has given
them the necessary ordinances (thorough His messengers, the last of them being
Muhammad - peace be upon them all), as a basic criterion.
If the society agrees upon
this criterion to be exercised, it means they testify that they are all equal
in rights and duty, and that God is the only deity and His ordinances should be
taken as the basic rule. Hence thinking that one person or one tribe is
superior to others should be excluded completely: “O mankind! We have indeed
created you from a male and a female, and made you nations and tribes that you
may come to know one another. Truly the noblest of you in the sight of God is
the most God-fearing among you. Truly God is Knower, Aware” (49:13).
The Qur’an ridicules those who behave haughtily with others: “And
do not walk on earth with haughty self-conceit, for, you can never rend the
earth asunder, nor attain the mountains in height” (17:37). And in fact, arrogance or insolence, or undue elation at
one’s power or capacity or one’s beauty, is the first step to many evils.
The Qur’an recounts the admonition of Luqman to his son: “And
do not turn your cheek disdainfully from people and do not walk haughtily on
earth, for, behold, God does not love anyone who, out of self-conceit, acts in
a boastful manner” (31:18). Luqman was an example of wisdom who realized
that the best and wise life in this world is based upon the highest hope in the
inner life. For him true human wisdom is also divine wisdom: the two cannot be
separated conformably from worshiping God alone. Hence we have to be good to
mankind, without feeling any haughtiness upon others.
This life is just an interlude, a preparation for the real life, which
is in the Hereafter. This world’s vanities are to be taken for what they are
worth. They should not be allowed to deflect our minds from the requirements of
the inner life that really matters.
God says: “And the life of this world is nothing but a passing delight and a
play, and the life in the Hereafter is indeed the only (true) life, if they
only knew” (29:64).
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