In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Say, "Here is some awesome news
"That you are totally oblivious to
"I had no knowledge previously,
about the feud in the High Society" [38:69]
I did not create the jinns and humans
except to worship me alone. [52:56]
It all began a few billion years ago when one of God's high-ranking creatures, Satan, developed a supercilious idea that he could run a dominion as an independent god besides God. The vast majority of God's creatures disagreed with Satan. Yet, the minute egoistic minority that agreed with him in various degree were in the billions.
Thus, a profound dispute erupted within the Heavenly Community (38:69). As for those who agreed with Satan, they were given a chance to kill their egos and submit to God's absolute authority. While the vast majority of the guilty creatures took advantage of this opportunity, a minuscule minority consisting of about 150 billion creatures failed to take advantage of this offer (33:72).
The dispute in the Heavenly Community proves that God's creatures possess the freedom of choice; they have minds of their own. The rebellion of a minuscule minority among God's creatures has served to emphasize the wonderful fact that God's creatures serve Him because they appreciate His infinite magnificence. Without the rebellion, we would have never known that freedom is God's gift to His creatures.
The dispute in the Heavenly Community led to the classification of God's creatures into different categories
The Angels. The vast majority of God's creatures who never questioned God's absolute authority were classified as angels; they knew that God alone possesses the ability and qualifications to be a god.
The Animals. The vast majority of the rebels took advantage of God's gracious offer to re-enter His kingdom. They agreed to kill their egos, come to this world to perform a submissive role, as an expiation for their blasphemy.
The Humans. The hard-core rebels - humans and jinns - refused to denounce their crime, and opted for witnessing a demonstration of Satan's claim as a god. The half that were less convinced of Satan's point of view became classified as humans.
The Jinns. The other half of the guilty creatures, those who leaned closer to Satan's point of view and exhibited the biggest egos, became classified as jinns. We learn from the Quran that the jinns are Satan's descendants (7:27, 18:50). When a jinn being is born and assigned to a human being, the jinn remains a constant companion of the human until the human dies. The jinn is then freed, and lives on for a few centuries. Both humans and jinns are required to worship God alone (51:56).
To carry out the merciful plan of redemption, God "created death" (67:1-2).. God then assigned the first person, Adam, to the body of a human. When God informed the angels that they will be serving the humans throughout the test period - guarding them, driving the winds, distributing the rain and provisions, etc. - Satan was the only one who refused to "fall prostrate" (2:34, 15:31, 38:74). While the bodies of Adam and Eve remained empty or soulless, their souls, the real persons, resided in Heaven. Adam and Eve remained in Heaven for as long as they upheld God's commandments. Once they listened to Satan instead, they reflected a flawed human nature in all of us, and they immediately belonged to Satan's dominion down on Earth - "their bodies became visible to them" (7:20, 20:121). The rest is history.
In addition to a built-in instinct to worship God alone, God sent messengers to help us redeem ourselves. With all these elements in view, we can appreciate the fact that the only unforgivable offense (if maintained until death) is idol worship: believing that anyone besides God possesses any power.
We have offered the responsibility (freedom of
choice)
to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains,
but they refused to bear it, and were afraid of it.
But the human being accepted it;
he was transgressing, ignorant. [33:72]
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