﴿ إِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ فِى سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍۢ ثُمَّ ٱسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى ٱلْعَرْشِ يُغْشِى ٱلَّيْلَ ٱلنَّهَارَ يَطْلُبُهُۥ حَثِيثًۭا وَٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ وَٱلنُّجُومَ مُسَخَّرَٰتٍۭ بِأَمْرِهِۦٓ ۗ أَلَا لَهُ ٱلْخَلْقُ وَٱلْأَمْرُ ۗ تَبَارَكَ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ ﴾

“VERILY, your Sustainer is God, who has created the heavens and the earth in six aeons, and is established on the throne of His almightiness. He covers the day with the night in swift pursuit, with the sun and the moon and the stars subservient to His command: oh, verily, His is all creation and all command. Hallowed is God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!”

God is the Creator of the earth, the sky and all things. This creation could have been haphazard, i.e. all things could have been created, then left in confusion. But He did not do so. He linked all things in an absolutely perfect, well-organised and wisely regulated system, and activated them in such a way that everything kept working exactly in the manner in which it ought to, if it had to serve the collective interest. Man is also a small part of this world. Then, what should be his role in this well-formed environment? His role should be the same as that of all other things. He should devote himself to the Creator’s plan, in the way that the whole Universe has surrendered itself to this plan in all obedience. All things of the universe take part in the plan of God with the utmost degree of efficiency (ihsan). So, man should also devote himself to this to the same degree. Here nothing exceeds the prescribed limits. So, it is necessary also for man not to exceed the limits of justice and Truth prescribed by God. Furthermore, man has the additional attributes of the power of speech and consciousness. So, even at the level of speech and consciousness, the expression of his surrender to his Lord is also necessary. The recognition and realisation of God should be so deeply embedded in man that they come to be expressed again and again. He should call out to God as a subject calls out to his Creator and Lord. He should be so conscious of God’s godhead that nothing except God should remain at the centre of his hopes or fears. He should fear only God and link his hopes to Him alone. To associate one’s fears and hopes with God is the ultimate stage of obedience to God.