Man, the Favourite of God

Makhdum Yahya Maneri writes:

 “The creations of God are many and varied, but none finds favour in the eyes of God like this clod of dust blended with water (Man). When God willed to create man out of clay, whom He desired to crown as His representative, the angels said: ‘Will You place there in those who will make mischief therein and shed blood?’ (Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:30).”

The reply received by the angels was meant to convey the ardent love and mercy that God has for the human being. The reply, given by God dropped the hint: Of what use is your prayer and glorification, if not acceptable to Us? What is the harm done by the sins if Our grace wipes out the slate clean? (If God forgives an individual’s sins, it is as if he/she has never sinned) We have already ordained: ‘Allah will change their evil deeds to good deeds.’ (Quran, Surah Al-Furqan, 25:70, condition is that a person should repent)

 ‘Surely’, said God to the angels, ‘you take the right path while they can go astray but whenever We shall desire Our mercy shall unfold the path of virtue for them and remove the signs of transgression from their faces! You very well know that We are the object to their heart’s yearning (since every human is born on fitrah of Islam, his/her heart demands closeness to Allah. Today people try to fill this vacuum with other objects and yet they are restless) but what you do not know is that We also love them!

 “A poet has correctly said:

Dear to One’s heart, when commits a mistake,

A thousand commendations his virtues make.”

 (The poet means when someone beloved makes a mistake, people try to sing praises of his/her good deeds in order to hide the mistake. This is sometimes the case with parents when speaking about their children. This is also the case with Allah if one observes in Qur’an and Hadith, Allah is always looking for an excuse to forgive us and grant us jannah through some good deed.)