What Faith Asks of Us

I once asked someone, “Why did God create us?” They replied, “To pray and obey His commands, of course.” But the answer did not satisfy me. God had already created angels who worship and obey Him. Why, then, create human beings?

The question stayed in my mind, so I turned to God and asked. The response I felt was this: You are not Musa, so this will not be a conversation like his—but you can listen through the Qur’an. Open it, read it, reflect on what you learn, and search there for your answer.

When I began to read the Qur’an with reflection, I returned to the story of Adam. When God announced that He would place human beings on Earth, the angels asked whether He would create those who would spread corruption and shed blood. God replied that He knew what they did not know.

I then thought of Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him. After waiting many years for a child, he was blessed with Ismail. Imagine how beloved that child must have been. Yet when Ibrahim was tested with the command to sacrifice his son, he submitted to God’s wisdom even through unimaginable pain.

I also remembered Iblees. He looked at Adam, saw clay, compared it with the fire from which he had been created, and judged himself superior. He placed his ego and reasoning above God’s command. When arrogance reached its test, he refused to submit.

That contrast helped me understand something. Perhaps part of the human purpose is revealed through free will: a person who can question, fear, and desire can still choose to trust God’s wisdom beyond the limits of personal understanding. Even in pain or confusion, the faithful can say, “I trust my Lord. I do not place myself between God and His decree.”

Tawakkaltu ‘ala Allah: I place my trust in Allah. Perhaps suffering sometimes reveals whether our trust resembles Ibrahim’s surrender or Iblees’s pride.

Then I returned to Surah Al-Asr, which tells us that humanity is in loss except for those who believe, do righteous deeds, encourage truth, and encourage patience. Mere knowledge of God’s existence is not the whole of faith. Iblees knew of God, the prophets, and the Day of Judgment, yet that knowledge did not lead him to obedience.

So what defines true imaan?

Surah Al-Asr offered me clarity. The path of truth can bring hardship and resistance. The command to uphold truth is joined with the command to remain patient: patient through difficulty, patient in obedience, and patient while trusting God’s wisdom.

Perhaps that is what imaan asks of us.