Sunday Guardian | June 09, 2024

God created men and women with special blessings. These blessings are basically of two kinds. One of these, pertaining to His creation, is a human being having been created “in the best of mould” (95:4). And another blessing, indicated in the Quran, is expressed thus: “He has given you all that you asked of Him.” (14:34)

Ahsan-e taqweem, that is, ‘in the best of moulds’ has been differently worded thus in another verse of the Quran: Surat-e-hasan, “in the best form” (40:64). This means man has been given the best body. The human body is a combination of many organs, for instance, the organs of sight, of hearing, of breath, of speech, of digestion, of circulation of the blood, of motion, etc. When a person grows old, one-by-one the organs become dysfunctional. Many of the systems malfunction until the time comes when all the systems stop functioning and this results in one’s death.

Other systems are those which have been provided in the external world, external to the human existence. For instance, the systems of light and heat, of oxygen, of air, of the supply of oxygen, of water and rains, etc. All these external systems are essential for human life. If these systems were to become wholly or even partially nonfunctional, the whole of life would come to an end.

This external system is known as the ‘life support system’. The former system can be called the ‘organ support system’. Human life is based on these two arrangements. A deeper knowledge of these two systems opens the door to man for God-realization. As a result, noble feelings of thanksgiving are engendered which cause all the exemplary qualities to develop in a person; for instance, modesty, seriousness, acknowledgement of truth, etc.

Source: Discovering the Quran