YOU ARE GOD'S VICEROY ON EARTH. He Wants To See How You Behave!

 

You Are God’s Viceroy

On Earth. He Wants To See

How You Behave!

(M. Javed Naseem)

“Then We made you successors in the

land after them so that We may

observe how you will do.”

(al-Quran 10:14)

We are special! We are the masterpiece of God’s Creation – the best in the universe. When Allah thought about creating a human being, He held us in high esteem and granted us honor and respect, even above His angels. He gave us splendor.

“And had We willed We could have set among

you angels to be viceroys in the earth.”

(al-Quran 43:60)

Allah is the almighty and has power over all things. He creates and installs whatever He likes. He could have made angels responsible for running all the affairs concerning us on this earth. But no; He chose Man over Angels to entrust this responsibility. Unfortunately, we are proving that we were not worthy of it. Allah, the Almighty, created us and told us via scriptures how to behave and run the affairs of this world. In other words how to behave as His Viceroy on earth. He also warned us of dire punishment if we failed to do justice; failed to uphold the sanctity of his Message (the Truth) but we are ignoring all warnings.

“And it is He who has made you successors

upon the earth and has raised some of you

above others in degrees (of rank) that

He may try you through what He has given

you. Indeed, your Lord is swift in penalty;

but indeed, He is Forgiving and Merciful.”

(al-Quran 6:165)

The above verses from the Holy Quran tell the truth about us – humans. If Allah had wanted, He could have appointed some other creation to rule and control us. But He chose Man and exalted his status. Alas! Most of us are trying to prove that it was not a wise decision. We are opposing what Allah wanted for us. We are revolting against Him and His decisions. Unfortunately, we are so helpless that we cannot do anything to Him. We can only hurt ourselves!

“Behold, your Lord said to the angels: ‘I will

create a viceroy on earth.’ They said:

Will You place therein one who will make

mischief therein and shed blood whilst we do

celebrate Your praises and glorify Your holy

(name)?’ He said: "I know what you know not."

(al-Quran 2:30)

Vow! So amazing! Ponder upon the above verse of the Quran and look at the depth of knowledge, the vision, the insight or the farsightedness of the angels! God had just floated the idea of creating a man but the angels knew immediately what that man was going to do in the earth! And the man was not even created yet! Allah-o-Akbar! The angels knew that man would be a trouble-maker. He would spread corruption and bloodshed in the earth. And they were absolutely right!

Allah created Man as His Khalifa (Viceroy) in the Earth. Therefore, man is the “Vice-Gerent” (Deputy Manager) of God on earth but he rules the world and behaves like Devil. Since the time Iblis disobeyed Allah and refused to fall in prostration in front of Adam, Allah had declared him as a devout enemy of man. The irony is that man knows it and acknowledges it too but still follows the Devil. This is revolt and merits punishment. It is more than simple disobedience.

When we claim to be Muslims and then arrogantly go against the commands of Allah, openly or discretely, it constitutes hypocrisy (Munafiqat) in Islam. And Allah has promised Munafiqeen (hypocrites) a grave punishment in the lowest part of Hell. Do we really understand that? I doubt. We don’t fear the wrath of Allah.

Today, Muslims in general and Muslim leaders in particular, are considered corrupt, inapt and incompetent because corruption flourishes in all Arab countries and other Muslim states. All politicians are trying to make easy money and live of others. They are so shameless that they even extort money in the name of charity (hospitals, dispensaries, schools, food, medicines, humanitarian projects, etc., etc.) and then transfer that money to their off-shore bank accounts overseas. Thus they are set for a luxury life. Others are plundering it while abusing authority and power. They don’t even think for a moment that they are going to die tomorrow and will be facing a Day of Judgment!

And that shows what kind of Muslims they are; how much they fear Allah’s wrath; how much they care about others; and how much importance they give to justice and fair-play in their society! They care about themselves only. Allah tells us in the Quran in very plain words: “Remember Me, I’ll remember you!” And if you don’t remember Him in this world, He’ll not remember you in the Hereafter! Simple as that!

That’s not the Man Allah had created to play His Viceroy in the earth. That man probably does not exist any more. The poet-philosopher of the East, Dr. Muhammad Iqbal (or Allama Iqbal) said:

Where Is The Man?

“My ancestors were Brahmins. They spent

their lives in search of God. I am spending

my life in search of Man.”

 
― Dr. Muhammad Iqbal

When the Man becomes a beast, he starts killing other living creatures including human beings. Adam’s son showed us that with the first murder and his grand-grand-children are repeating the fete today in Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan, Libya, Kashmir, Burma, Yemen, etc., etc. The earth has become the killing fields.

Man has lost his splendor.

What happened to all the education, research and knowledge? All knowledge is useless if not used for the betterment of mankind; and if not used by man to connect to his Creator, the Almighty.

All Knowledge Is Useless Until …

“Look at the evils of the world around you and protect

yourself from them. Our teachers give all the wrong

messages to our youth, since they take away the natural

flare from the soul. Take it from me that all knowledge

is useless until it is connected with your life, because

the purpose of knowledge is nothing but to show you

the splendors of yourself!”
― Dr. Muhammad Iqbal.

Man is capable of performing incredible fetes. He can catch the stars and dwell at moon. He can travel through galaxies. He can conquer the universe but cannot conquer his own desires and emotions! What a contrast! Simply put: If you are disconnected from your base, you are lost. You become nobody!

We are living in this world with fake pride, fake ideology, fake love, fake character, fake news and fake leaders. We have lost our direction and that’s why we have lost all respect, dignity and honor. It hurts to see that we have lost our splendor. We are fallen.

Stagnation is Death. Enter Another Dimension!

“Let this be our beautiful departure from stagnation!

Let our minds come alive; enter another dimension;

go beyond the stars eagerly struggling to find that

which our naked eyes did not know existed!

Rise like a falcon born to soar and not be alone

but be present amongst others.”

 
― Dr. Muhammad Iqbal.

We are one community and are supposed to help each other in times of need. As human beings we should feel for others because we are all parts of one great body and pieces of one big jigsaw puzzle. One without the others is nothing. People who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, most money, or the most awards and medals. They are the people who care; who touched your heart and soul; who were there with a kind and encouraging word when you were down. And that makes the difference.

Now, you try to be one of those and touch somebody’s soul. Make a difference! Leave your footprints on somebody’s life. And do it with a smile!

Rumi says:

Strip away your pride, and put on humble clothes!

Wait for the illuminating openness,

As though your chest were filling with light,

As when God said,

“Did We not expand you?” (al-Quran 94:1)

Don’t look for it outside yourself.

You are the source of milk. Don’t milk others!

There is a milk fountain inside you.

Don’t walk around with an empty basket!

You have a channel into the ocean, and yet

You ask for water from a little pool!

Beg for that love expansion. Meditate only

on THAT! The Quran says:

“And He is with you.” (al-Quran 57:4)

There is a basket of fresh bread on your head,

And yet you go door to door asking for crusts!

Knock on your inner door! 

No other!

 

Mankind is one community. The best among us is not the one who has achieved top position in sports, education, science, technology or arts. These honors are good for one’s personal satisfaction. If one cannot use his knowledge, expertise, skills and wealth for the benefit of other human beings, it is worthless.

If we want to get rid of evil/corruption, we should strive for a welfare society based on social justice. We should have a firm belief that there is God up there and one day we will be answering questions while standing in His court. That God-fearing spirit is developed only when you believe that you are answerable to a Higher Authority than your corrupt government. So, raise your level and educate yourself!

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