THE MISSING ITEM OF CREATION
In its Chapter 103, the Quran declares that time is a witness that man is in loss. (103:1-2). Here, “time” means history. It is a sweeping remark on the whole history of mankind. That is, everyone’s case was a case of failure. There are many persons in history who acquired great wealth, political power, fame and all kinds of good things of life, but no one was in a position to say that he achieved what he wanted to achieve. There is no record in history that refutes this remark of the Quran.
Man is born with great desires and ambitions. Everyone tries to fulfil his or her desires and achieve his or her ambitions. But it is seen that everyone fails. A person’s greatest urge is to achieve complete fulfilment, but he dies with his desires unfulfilled.
It is not only the concern of human beings; more than that it is a question mark on creation itself. The Quran claims that the universe is a perfect universe. To this effect the Quran says in the chapter Al-Mulk (The Kingdom):
God created seven heavens one above the other in layers. You will not find any flaw in the creation of the Gracious One. Then look once again: can you see any flaw? Then look again and again. Your gaze will come back to you confused and exhausted. (67:3-4).
Long scientific research has only confirmed the veracity of this statement. Science acknowledges that the universe has been intelligently designed and that there is no defect at all in the vast universe.
But apparently, there is one “defect” in the universe. And that has also been mentioned in the Quran. A verse in the chapter Al-Dhariyat (Scattering Winds) says:
We created pairs of all things so that you may ponder over it. (51:49).
Here, “pair” means complementary part. Study of nature tells us that everything has its counterpart in this world, be it the material world, the plant world or the animal world. Due to this, every entity in the world is, as though, living with satisfaction.
Man’s high hopes cannot be fulfilled except in an eternal habitat. God Almighty has prepared this eternal habitat for man in some place in the vast universe, just as He has created the present temporary world.
However, man lives in discontentment. Because, man is the only such feature of this world whose counterpart is missing. Every animal and plant is provided with its natural habitat, and they live in it with total contentment. But among all creatures man is an exception: he is deprived of his true habitat. It is due to this deprivation that man always lives in discontentment and unhappiness. Every human being dies as a case of lack of fulfilment.
This exception of the human being is not any form of discrimination against man. Instead, it is a good tiding for him. It is meant to activate his mind to think why in a world where every creature has been provided its counterpart or habitat, man is the only exception who has been deprived in this regard? If man engages in deep contemplation, he will discover that this is a result of a great divine planning.
The fact is that the present world is not an eternal world. Scientific research reports that our world is dying and a day will come when the world will become totally uninhabitable for humans. It means that even if man gets his required habitat in this world, it would certainly be for a temporary period. However, man’s high hopes cannot be fulfilled except in an eternal habitat. God Almighty has prepared this eternal habitat for man in some place in the vast universe, just as He has created the present temporary world. This fact is mentioned in the chapter Al-Sajdah (Prostration) of the Quran in these words:
No soul knows what is hidden for them of that which will refresh the eyes; a reward for what they did. (32:17)
The only condition to find an honourable seat in the eternal habitat of Paradise is one. That is, man should prepare himself as a deserving candidate for this perfect world. A day will come when man will find the missing item of creation, not in the present world, but in the world hereafter.
