Khilafat Centenary Souvenir 1908-2008 — Page 117
Khilafat Centenary Allah the Almighty brought about the universe through infinite steps. In it He placed, in perfect proportions, everything required for its continuation. The creation of the earth culminated in the design of man, whom He assembled from the best of material. Allah fashioned human beings in His own image, and placed man as guardian of other forms of life and inanimate objects. The process of creation is an ever- continuous one. The Holy Qur'an, the last and the perfect divine Book, provides comprehensive guidance for man on how to carry out his responsibilities. After man's duties to his Creator, the most repeated theme prevalent in the Holy Qur'an is his relationship with his surroundings. While the Qur'an contains only about 250 verses in respect to Islamic laws and jurisprudence, more than 7 50 verses - or approximately one-eighth of this Mighty Book - speak of the natural world and man's environment. 13 The Holy Qur'an repeatedly exhorts mankind to reflect upon God's creation and maintain balance of nature. For instance, we read, "Veri(y, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and in the alternation of the night and the day, and in the ships which sail in the sea with that which profits men, and in the water which Allah sends down from the sky and quickens therewith the earth after its death and scatters therein all kinds of beasts, and in the change of the winds and the clouds pressed into service between the heaven and the earth - are indeed Signs for the people who use their understanding. " 74 And, "Those who remember Allah standing, sitting, and (ying on their sides, and ponder over the creation of the heavens and the earth; and say, 'Our Lord, thou hast not created this universe in vain. Ho(y art Thou; save us then from the punishment of the Fire. " 15 Balance in the universe has been termed meezan in the Qur'an (from the root wazn, or weight), and we are admonished, "So weigh all things with justice and fall not short of the perfect