This article is to be read together with the preceding article: "People have a right to know". For those of you who haven't please take a minute to read the article before reading this one.

In the Name of Allah the most Gracious the most Merciful.

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It all began when the Lord said to the angels,
"I will create a vicegerent on earth." They said: "Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood?- whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?" He said: "I know what ye know not."
And He taught Adam the names of all things; then He placed them before the angels, and said: "Tell me the names of these if ye are right." They said: "Glory to Thee, of knowledge We have none, save what Thou Hast taught us: In truth it is Thou Who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom."
He said: "O Adam! Tell them their names." When he had told them, Allah said: "Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth, and I know what ye reveal and what ye conceal?"
And behold, We said to the angels: "Bow down to Adam" and they bowed down. Not so Iblis: he refused and was haughty: He was of those who reject Faith.
We said: "O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden; and eat of the bountiful things therein as (where and when) ye will; but approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression."
Then did Satan make them slip from the (garden), and get them out of the state (of felicity) in which they had been. We said: "Get ye down, all (ye people), with enmity between yourselves. On earth will be your dwelling-place and your means of livelihood - for a time."
Then learnt Adam from his Lord words of inspiration, and his Lord turned towards him; for He is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.
We said: "Get ye down all from here; and if, as is sure, there comes to you Guidance from me, whosoever follows My guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. 
        "But those who reject Faith and belie Our Signs, they shall be companions of the Fire; they shall abide therein."  Qur'an: 2:30-39
 
The above verses are taken from the Qur'an. The verses open with a dialogue between Allah and the Angels prior to Adam's creation. We learn of the Angels' pre-conceived ideas about man, which is challenged by Allah, and we  are made to understand that though man is prone to mischief, man has been empowered by Allah with knowledge: "We said to the angels: "Bow down to Adam" and they bowed down."

The verses also hold some other good news for the children of Adam. They show that though we live on earth we have had our beginnings in Paradise.

Iblis's (Satan) jealousy of Adam and how his jealousy and arrogance drove him to disobey Allah is a long story and those who are interested in it can seek that knowledge in the Qur'an, Hadith, or elsewhere on their own.
What is important for us here is that, despite all the knowledge that had been invested in them, Adam and Hawa did fall into error.  In the Qur'an, Allah holds them both guilty for the act of disobedience.  Qur'an does NOT single out Hawa (Eve) for blame. Both parties had sinned and by the Grace of Allah, once they saw their error, they both repented to their Lord and both were equally pardoned: "They said: 'Our Lord! We have wronged our own souls: If thou forgive us not and bestow not upon us thy Mercy, we shall certainly be lost.'" (Qur'an: 7:23)

Nor does Qur'an consider man as inherently evil. Every child is born innocent and blameless and each and everyone is responsible for his or her own actions. What happened to Adam and Eve in the garden was their own doing and their offspring have no part in that blame. 

Now comes the consequence of Adam and Hawa's error: Loss of Paradise.

We said: "Get ye down all from here; and if, as is sure, there comes to you Guidance from me, whosoever follows My guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve."

And so down to earth and to a life of sweat, toil and trials. What's interesting here is that this life was to be only of a temporary nature, " On earth will be your dwelling-place and your means of livelihood - for a time."
The real abode is the Hereafter. And life on earth is nothing but a test.  It's in Allah's wisdom that man go through this period of probation, before he is finally returned to his final abode. A believer does not question Allah's wisdom.

To pass the test, man was not left without assistance. Although man walks on two legs and his needs are not that different from that of the animals, man was also the recipient of a beautiful spirit. To know this part of him, to survive gracefully on earth and return to his Maker in grace, man needed to be guided. 

The body he is told, is of matter, made from clay and as all matter the body is apt to disintegrate after a given span of time, over which man has absolutely no control. It's the eternal part of man that is lasting.  Both body and spirit are, however, necessary for man to walk on earth and both are to be nourished if man is to exist a natural life on earth.

According to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, The Almighty Lord had sent some 124,000 prophets to humanity, and Muhammad, peace be upon him, was the last of a long line of Prophets. He is the Khatim al Anbiyaa, the seal of Prophet-hood, and Qur'an is the Word of Allah, the culmination of Allah's message to humanity.     

Although they had been sent at different times and to different nations and only Allah knows the time between Adam and Muhammad, these Prophets and Messengers had all come with the same core Message: No god but God. The teachings of Islam is replete with their stories and struggles. We are talking here about 124,000 prophets and not a single one of them talked about being sent by anyone but Allah (the-God). Unfortunately, not all the revelations they received are with us. But suffice it to say that the final message IS right here with us.

No Muslim is a believer unless he believes in all the Messengers of the Lord. Nor would a Muslim put one Messenger or Prophet above the other.  Believers simply says:  We hear and we obey, our Lord. You alone is the knowner of the Unseen. Nor would a true believer indulge in heresy or say anything but of the truth about Allah or his Messengers. A believer would sooner die than set partners with Allah.

The Qur'an is the final Message to humanity. The Almighty had preserved this message for humanity and this message is going to remain exactly in the way it has been revealed over1400 years ago. Every chapter, every verse, every letter is to remain exactly the way it was revealed until the Last Day.

Qur'an says: "Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from Error. Whoever rejects Evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks." 2:256

According to the Messenger Muhammad's teachings, there are two angels on the shoulders of every human and it's their job to record every little action and word uttered. So we are never alone. We are being constantly observed and our actions recorded. 

We also know that life is just too short. We have only one life. People are leaving this earth every day. They are going somewhere and it is incumbent on each and everyone of us to know where we are going from here.

The Muslim who truly knows his religion is very firm in his belief and is saved from doubts and worries. This is by no means to slight anyone, but this is the truth. I have met many nice people who are sure about everything else about this temporary life, but when you talk to them about their faith, they suddenly grow apprehensive and uncertain.

Some people work so hard in their day to day affairs. They pass exams with flying colors, put themselves through college, put all their efforts into their dream jobs, buy the best possible life insurance for a life that hangs in the balance. Yet the affairs of the eternal life isn't given even a fraction of the attention due to it.

Many of us simply follow the herd, and we are all guilty of that. This is a common malady. We all suffer from it. It is human nature to feel secure in the world we know best. And when we are asked why we are doing what we are doing: our answer is:  Well, we found our fathers doing it! By doing this we are all being clannish, thinking that our clans must be the best there is: That is the danger. Hence the compartmentalization of religion, where everyone holds dear only that version that he inherited from his folks. This is the work of Satan and humanity is falling for it. 
But let's not get disheartened for Allah the Most High is the Creator of all. And no people or sect or race has made a special pact with Him. We are all His slaves. And it is to Him that we owe our lives.
"Say,He is Allâh, (the) One and Only.
Allâh, the Eternal, Absolute.
He begets not, nor is He begotten
And there is none like unto Him."

(Qur'an: 112)

It took idolatrous Arabia many years to digest this simple message. It took lives and sacrifice and struggle on the part of the Prophet of Islam and those who surrounded him to establish this simple TRUTH on the face of the earth.

If man takes a few minutes to ponder his life he will see that he is not his own boss. He did not make himself. His parents did not make themselves, nor did any of the creatures that populate this earth make themselves. Man knows not of the unseen, nor does he know what tomorrow holds for him, nor does he know of in what land he will die.

Allah is not an alien Being. He is the very same Maker who has put the very tips of our fingers together. And He is the One holding our lives in his Hands. It is dogmatism that separates man from his Lord.

Our father Adam had a direct connection with this Lord; the last Message to humanity simply redirects man's energies to his Lord and Lord alone.  

"When my Servants ask thee concerning Me,

I am indeed close (to them):
I listen to the prayer of every
Supplicant when he calleth on Me,
Let them also, with a will,
Listen to My call, and believe in Me:
That they may walk
In the right Way."

(Qur'an: 2:186 )
(c) Safi Abdi...2003