Living The Quran
From Issue: 625 [Read full issue]
The Finest Form
Al-Tin (The Fig) - Chapter 95: Verses 4-6
"We indeed have created man in the finest form, then We brought him down to the lowest of the low, except for those who believe and do good deeds; for theirs shall be an uplifting recompense."
God has perfected all His creation; and the special emphasis laid here and elsewhere in the Quran on man's being endowed with perfect form shows clearly that man has enjoyed extra divine care. God's care is most clearly apparent in the moulding of man's highly complicated physical structure and his unique spiritual and mental make-up.
As man abuses his mind and body for evil, notwithstanding his creation in the best mould, God lets him pursue the evil path, which ultimately renders him as the lowest of the low. This is commonplace in our society. Those given to vices such as geed, lust, selfishness, unlawful sexual gratification, drinking, meanness and anger sink to the abyss of degradation. This is true of nations and communities who behave worse than beasts as they fight against one another. A beast kills only its prey for food; it does not indulge in mass slaughter. However, man is liable to committing genocide. A beast draws upon only its teeth and claws for attack. In comparison, man abuses his mental faculties for manufacturing a plethora of deadly weapons for wiping out entire cities. A beast only kills and injures. Yet, man has invented perverted and chilling forms of torture, all of which are unthinkable for a beast. Man sinks himself to such depravity that for taking revenge he makes naked women parade publicly, commits gang rape, molests women before the eyes of their fathers, brothers and husbands and kills children in front of their parents. Mothers are forced to drinking the blood of their children; men are burnt and buried alive. No beast can sink to such depths. While committing such evils, man proves himself to be the lowest of the low. He debases even faith, the most sacred thing for man. His abuse of faith consists in elevating trees, stones, animals and even male and female reproductive organs to godhead. He keeps prostitutes in temples and has illicit sex with them. Nor does he spare his gods and goddesses, as he attributes to them such indecent and obscene acts as may even put a degenerate person to shame.
Those who profess faith and do righteous deeds are exempted from being reverted to the lowest of the low. Thus the importance of faith in human life becomes clear. Faith is the elevating path through which upright human nature ascends to its ultimate perfection. It is the rope stretched between man and his Maker. It is the light showing him where to step along the elevating path. When the rope is cut and the light put out, the inevitable result is the fall down the steep path into the lowest of the low. The clay element in man's make-up separates from the spiritual element and man, along with stones, becomes the fuel for hell-fire.
Compiled From:
"In The Shade of The Quran" - Sayyid Qutb, pp, 255-257
"Towards Understanding the Quran" - Sayyid Abul Ala Mawdudi, Part 30, pp. 186-189