The Divine Duty Part II
What does being a khalifah actually entail?
In the last part, we discussed the fact that Allah has given a divine duty to each and every one of us.
Essentially, God entrusted Adam and all future generations of people to look after the world and all of creation on His behalf.
That is the overall duty of humanity. That is the mission that binds all of us.
But let’s explore this a little more deeply.
What does this mean for us specifically?
Exploring the Divine Duty
Let’s see what others have said on this matter.
“Man was created for three purposes.
Man’s first purpose is in the cultivation of the earth, as is implied in the verse: He brought you out from the earth and made you inhabit it (Q. 11:61). So man must earn his livelihood, for his own sake and for the benefit of others.
Man’s second purpose is to worship God. As He says: I have not created jinn and mankind except to worship Me (Q. 51.56). This means that man should obey God’s commandments and prohibitions.
Man’s third purpose is his vicegerency, referred to in: He will make you successors in the land and then observe what you will do (Q. 7:129), and in other verses. Vicegerency is the imitation of God in accordance with one’s ability to rule by applying the noble virtues of the Law: wisdom, justice, forbearance, beneficence, and graciousness.
These virtues draw Man to Paradise and close to God Most High.”
- al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī (Book: al-Dharī‘ah ilā Makārim al-Sharī‘ah - The Means to the Noble Qualities of the Revealed Law)
According to Iṣfahānī, worship is important, and so is ‘cultivating’, meaning to earn, serve and benefit others. And the third is to apply law and order to things are in place.
Bediüzzaman Said Nursi also has a very interesting take on this divine duty.
“Humanity has a unique duty in the universe. Adam was sent to Earth with so sublime a duty that humanity was made the object of an infinite spiritual evolution, a comprehensive mirror in which all Divine Names are reflected. This duty enabled humanity to develop its full potential. If Adam had stayed in Heaven, his rank would have been fixed and humanity’s full potential would not have developed. Humanity was not created to worship God in the manner of angels, whose worship does not cause them to evolve spiritually. Divine Wisdom must have required a different world in which humanity could attain the highest ranks and fully develop its potential. This is why Adam was sent to Earth after he lapsed, which, in fact, was what fulfilling human nature requires.
It is not an evil that God created and creates devils and apparently evil and disastrous acts, for they produce good and important results. For example, angels do not rise to the higher spiritual ranks because devils cannot tempt them into deviation. Animals have fixed stations, and so cannot rise to higher stations or fall to lower ones. But human beings can acquire endless ranks or stations, all the way from the top to the bottom. There is an infinitely long line of spiritual evolution between the ranks of the greatest Prophets and saints and such people as Pharaoh and Nimrod.
Thus this world is the field, and this life the term, in which people are tested so that elevated diamond-like spirits may be distinguished from base coal-like ones. This is why devils were created and Prophets were sent with Divine commandments. Without such testing, good and evil could not be distinguished and would be treated equally: The spirit of Abu Bakr, who rose to the highest level after the Prophets, would remain at the same level as that of Abu Jahl, who fell to the lowest level. Thus the creation of devils and evil is wholly good, for they cause good and universal results to be achieved. Those who suffer because of them do so because of their own weakness, misuse of their free will, or some external circumstances that they caused to appear. As a result, all evil and misfortune that happen to people lie in themselves, not in God’s creation of them.” Said Nursi
What Nursi is saying is that carrying out this duty and the trials and tribulations that you will undoubtedly encounter along the way is the very thing that will allow man to fulfil his unlimited potential - and is a gift given to humankind that other creation did not get.
In exchange for this gift that will allow you to soar such dizzying heights, you will be tested significantly. The tests and struggles in your attempting to fulfil your specific role to the best of your abilities is what will take you to those glorious heights (and sometimes, via the deepest lows).
And of course, by design, some of us will do our roles better than others. This is how Allah then rewards accordingly.
“He it is Who appointed you vicegerents upon the earth and raised some of you by degrees above others, that He may try you in that which He has given you. Truly thy Lord is Swift in retribution, and truly He is Forgiving, Merciful.” Qur’an, 6:165
Muslims must strive to adhere to and advance God's will by establishing a society that reflects human dignity and justice. Human beings have been given the necessary intelligence, strength, and divine guidance to do one thing: ESTABLISH DIVINE ORDER.
This means putting in place Allah’s laws and systems in the way HE intended.
Adam was the first khalifah. King David is also identified by the Quran as a Khalifah since he modelled his actions on God's commands and moral laws.
Once you do this, it will raise you in rank, and will be what you need to do to fulfil your potential.
Correcting the Chaos and Getting Back to Fitrah
Shaytan’s purpose is clear = to take us off our purpose.
Shaytan’s modus operandi is to drive us to extremes (leading to chaos), but it is only by applying and implementing Allah’s laws and systems can we get back to balance, fitrah and order. The middle path is the Godly way.
In pursuit of this divine duty, we must see ourselves as leaders.
I shared in an interview once that for me, leadership means ownership. Ownership of whatever amanah (trust) you've been given. And we’ve ALL been given an amanah of some sort. It might be gifts you’ve been given (i.e. skills, experiences, expertise), it could be responsibilities you’ve been given (i.e. spouse, family, children, status, lineage) or it could even be traits (personality, passions and interests).
That amanah is part of our purpose.
Everyone is not only capable of being a leader, but divinely ordained to be.
The Prophet (SAW) said:
“You are all shepherds and you are all responsible for your flocks. The ruler is the shepherd of his people and he is responsible for them. The man is the shepherd of his family and he is responsible for them. The woman is the shepherdess of her husbands house and children and she is responsible for them. And the slave is the shepherd of his master’s property and is responsible for it. So, you are all shepherds and you are all responsible for your flocks.”
And He has given us all the tools and knowledge and experience to be able to carry out our amanah.
We all have a different role to play, in pursuit of that overall goal.
My definition of a leader in this context of someone fulfilling his God-given mission is someone who implements the law that is appropriate to their level. And once the law is implemented correctly, you will have order (hence the phrase, law and order).
And by law - I don't mean the law of the land. I mean the Quran. After all, the Quran is above all else, a book of law.
So, the leader is the one who puts order in place. If order is not put in place, it can cause chaos - even at the most micro of levels.
Imagine a mother who does not look after her child. Imagine a teacher who does not teach properly. Imagine an unethical businessman who cheats. What are the second and third order effects of this, long term?
What is the chaos you are here to correct?
What God Loves vs what God Expects
When talking to any semi-educated Muslim about the purpose of life, 9 times out of 10, the answer will be the same - quoting the Qu’ranic verse of “I have created man and jinn to worship me.”
I’ve tested this with many different people and this answer is almost programmed into people’s psyche, answered as a reflex response.
It’s not wrong per se. It just doesn’t tell the full story.
With that answer, people naturally infer we are here to only pray and fast and give charity and other acts which fall within the scope of their understanding of the word ‘worship.’
It doesn’t do it justice.
In Part I, we mentioned the creation story, and how Allah said he was creating a vicegerent. Let’s now continue with this creation story and learn some more.
And He taught Adam all the names, then showed them to the angels, saying: Inform Me of the names of these, if ye are truthful.
They said, ‘May You be glorified! We have knowledge only of what You have taught us. You are the All Knowing and All Wise.’
Then He said, ‘Adam, tell them the names of these.’ When he told them their names, God said, ‘Did I not tell you that I know what is hidden in the heavens and the earth, and that I know what you reveal and what you conceal?’
When We told the angels, ‘Bow down before Adam,’ they all bowed. But not Iblis, who refused and was arrogant: he was one of the disobedient.
We said, ‘Adam, live with your wife in this garden. Both of you eat freely there as you will, but do not go near this tree, or you will both become wrongdoers.’
But Satan made them slip, and removed them from the state they were in. We said, ‘Get out, all of you! You are each other’s enemy. On earth you will have a place to stay and livelihood for a time.’
Then Adam received some words from his Lord and He accepted his repentance: He is the Ever Relenting, the Most Merciful.
We said, ‘Get out, all of you! But when guidance comes from Me, as it certainly will, there will be no fear for those who follow My guidance nor will they grieve” [Qur’an 2:30-38]
Here’s what I learned from a scholar about this very important set of verses.
What was it that made the angels bow down to Adam?
Yes it was a command. But the key distinction between the angels and Adam (as) was KNOWLEDGE! He had knowledge they did not have, the names of things that Allah had taught him.
Knowing the names of all the things was Adam showcasing his full potential.
“I have created man and jinn to worship me” is the very basic expectation, the most basic of roles we are expected to fulfil. Worship is what God EXPECTS from us.
But what God LOVES is what he loved to see from Adam (as) - his creation demonstrating what he is truly capable of, learning and growing and fulfilling his true potential.
True self-actualisation in this way will help us to do our duties in the best way.
It is our knowledge and potential that distinguishes us from the angels!
So only when we are growing and developing do we do what Allah really loves above all else - as that was what made Him proud to show Adam to the angels and made them bow down.
The Divine Duty Job Description
So, let’s summarise this in simple terms.
Our Divine Duty: To Establish Order and Implement the Creators System on Earth
This is our overall goal, our objective.
What is the job description of this Khalifah role however?
To be Allah’s Khalifah (God’s representative / vicegerent / steward) on this Earth:
(this means that)
they worship their Lord, benefit and serve His Creation, fulfil their God-given mission (duty/purpose/role) so that they maximise their infinite potential.
What that means is four things:
To be Allah’s Khalifah (God’s representative / vicegerent / steward) on this Earth.
This means:
they worship their Lord,
benefit and serve His Creation
fulfil their God-given mission (duty/purpose/role which is unique to them)
so that they maximise their infinite potential.
IN THAT ORDER.
But what part do we have to play within that overall mission?
How exactly do we become the vicegerent Allah always intended for us?
What is our God-given mission? Knowing this is the key to us getting to stage 4, after all.
What happens if we don’t seek to fulfil this unique mission?
You can read about that in Part 3.
If you want to discover if you’re doing your divine duty justice, you can check out our free purpose life assessment below and check your score.
This is part 2 of a 3 part series. Part 1 can be found here.
