THE TIMES OF INDIA | March 24, 2024
The Quran, in chapter Al-Nahl (Bees), refers to God’s three special blessings for man in these words:
“He created man out of a [mere] drop of sperm: yet he shows himself to be openly contentious! He has created cattle for you: from them you derive food and clothing and numerous other benefits; how pleasant they look when you bring them home in the evenings and when you take them out to pasture in the mornings. They carry your loads to places which you could otherwise not reach without great hardship—surely, your Lord is compassionate and merciful— He has created horses, mules and donkeys, so that you may ride them, and also so that they may be put on show, and He creates other things beyond your knowledge.” (16:4-8)
These verses refer to three blessings that in the entire universe have only been given to man. Man should acknowledge these blessings and give the required response to them. It is this response by a man that will be mainly responsible for earning him a seat in Paradise. Acknowledging these divine blessings inculcates a positive personality in a person, and it is this positive personality that will be held deserving of being settled in Paradise.
The first blessing is that God created man and gave him a unique personality. This kind of personality is an exceptionally rare gift to man. Nothing in the universe shares in with this gift. The second blessing is given here in terms of the modes of transport, or in other words, means of communication. This is mentioned here as symbolic of the various other blessings of this kind. That is, it refers to all those blessings that have been given to man in the form of the life support system, both in the form of movable and immovable things. The third blessing is mentioned in these words: “He creates what you do not know.” This third blessing was referred to here as a prediction. When in the seventh century the Quran was revealed this blessing had not come into existence; it was to appear in the future. This blessing constitutes the various components of the industrial civilization, which was present in nature in the potential sense at the time of the revelation of the Quran. After a long process of thousand years, this blessing became an actuality, and we now know it as the civilization produced by the industrial and scientific revolution.
God Almighty is the giver of these blessings and man is the recipient. What is required of man is to consciously acknowledge these blessings, without any compulsion. Acknowledgment means deep appreciation of a gift. This kind of acknowledgment is the greatest human quality. It shapes the entire personality of a human being. It is this acknowledgment that makes a person a positive person.
The above Quranic verses call man to discover the bounties of God Almighty and respond to them with a great sense of acknowledgment. This will develop in a person a high kind of personality. It is this personality that will prove to be a deserving candidate for Paradise in the eternal life of the Hereafter.
Source: Quranic Wisdom
