The human personality | The Sunday Guardian | 4th, September 2011 | Page 15
The chapter entitled Al-Tin (The Fig) of the Quran is a description of the human personality. It is a relatively short chapter of just eight verses, but it has a great lesson.
The translation of this chapter is as follows: "The Fig is a witness and the Olive is a witness, and Mount Sinai is a witness, and this secure land is a witness that We have indeed created man in the best of moulds, then We cast him down as the lowest of the low, except for those who believe and do good deeds — theirs shall be an unending reward! What then after this can make you deny the Last Judgement? Is not God the greatest of the judges?" (95:1-8)
According to this chapter, man has two quite opposite futures. On the one hand, he is doomed to utter failure and on the other hand he will be rewarded with the best eternal reward. God has created man with great potential and, at the same time, He has given him complete freedom of choice. It is this freedom that divides people into two categories — those who misuse their freedom and the others who use it properly.
The potential of man is bestowed by the Creator directly, but it is the duty of man himself to turn this potential into a reality. Herein is the destiny of man. The crux of this divine scheme is that man should apply his reason and common sense, he should follow his conscience, he should discover the laws of nature, he should study the divine scriptures revealed to the prophets, he should try to find out his purpose in life, and God Almighty's design regarding his creation. After taking into account all these facts, he should build his future.