Islam and Human Rights — Page 31
Man and the Universe 31 to Him, to do His will in all things, to win His pleasure, in short to become the manifestation of His attributes, that is to say, His image, is the purpose of man’s creation (51-57). He is the Source of all beneficence, everything proceeds from Him and is dependent upon Him, He is Independent and stands in no need of help or assistance from any other source. All sources and means proceed from Him, and nothing exists or subsists outside His control or authority. “Allah bears witness that there is no god but He, and so do the angels and those possessed of knowledge; Maintainer of Justice, there is no god but He, the Mighty, the Wise” (3:19). The Quran teaches that God has throughout affirmed and borne witness to His Existence, His Unity and His various attributes, and revealed these to mankind for the complete fulfilment of life in all spheres. The discovery of all this was not left to man. In other words, the Quran repudiates the notion that man, through the use of his intellect, progressively perfected his own concept of the Divine. Had that been so, countless generations would have perished in ignorance before a concept of God even re - motely approaching the reality could have been evolved. Thus the Quran does not countenance the thesis that man’s concept of God has evolved progressively from