format_quote Originally Posted by
oceanbreeze
I have studied Islam, and I have learned that the Quran says Allah created us to worship Him. I also have been told that Allah does not need our worship, rather the worship is for our benefit.
However, I am still not clear as to [I]why[\I] Allah created us. If Allah is without need, then why did He make a race of human worshippers in the first place? I would appreciate your insight!
we may note that the entire universe has been created by Allah in order that His names and attributes might be manifest, that is, in order that He might be known, for He says,
“Nor did I create jinn and men, except to worship Me” (Qur’an 51:56).
(al-Baghawi, Mujahid [ibn Jabr al-Makki (d. 104/722)], said this means ‘except to know Me’ which is a sound interpretation, since if He had not created them, they would not have known His existence and His oneness (Ma‘alam al-tanzil, 5.230).
Now, the divine names, such as, al-Rahman ‘the All-merciful’, al-Karim ‘the Most Generous’, al-Rafi‘ ‘He-Who-Raises’, al-Khafid ‘He-Who-Lowers’,al-Sabur ‘the Most Patient’ al-Muntaqim ‘the Avenger’, and the others, entail and comprise the existence of the entire spectrum of human conditions—but particularly, ultimately, eternally, and at their fullest manifestation—the outcomes of paradise and hell.
... From the point of view of manifesting the divine attributes and names—their ultimate outcomes consisting in the destinies of human beings, without which they would remain unmanifest
Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller