Sura 51:56I have only created Jinns and men, that they may serve Me. (Yusuf Ali),

Sura 7:179 : "Many are the Jinns and men we have made for Hell: They have hearts wherewith they understand not, eyes wherewith they see not, and ears wherewith they hear not. They are like cattle,- nay more misguided: for they are heedless (of warning).

Jochen Katz states :

It would be no problem to say that all of them were created to worship and serve God, but because they have free will and some or many decided to disobey they will be punished in Hell. But to state that many were made for Hell is an obvious contradictions to the first statement - or else we must conclude that they were created in order to serve Allah in Hell, but this would require a serious shift in the understanding of the meaning of Hell as well as the issue of justice in who is sent to hell.

Firstly I am very happy that the allegation is made with the supposed understanding of the Islamic system of Heaven and Hell. I would like any reader of this article to read the following and you will find that there is no such contradiction. There is only the overzealousness of Christian missionaries, and the lack of an explanation of heaven and hell in the Bible.

We read in the Quran:

"And I have not created the Jinn and the men but that they may worship Me" (Al Quran Chapter 56 verse 57)

Actually, Chapter 56:57 says:

It is We Who have created you: why will ye not witness the Truth?

A Freudian slip Mr. Ali?

Sura 51: 56 says:

I have only created Jinns and men, that they may serve Me. (Yusuf Ali)

Important words:

(They may worship me) is derived from ('abada). (abadallah) means, he served, worshipped or adored God alone or he rendered to God humble obedience. (Aboda) means he , he was or became a slave, his forfather having been so before him. ('abbada) means, he enslaved him; he subdued him so that he did the work of slaves (Lane, Aqrab &Mufradat)

The primary signification of the word ('Ibadat) as shown above, is to subject oneself to rigorous spiritual discipline, working with all ones inherent powers and capacities to their fullest scope, in perfect harmony with and obedience to God's design, so as to receive the Divine impress and thus be able to manifest in oneself God's attributes. This is as stated in the present verse, the great and noble aim and object of man's creation and this is exactly what worship of God means. The external and internal endowments of human nature give us clearly to understand that of God-given faculties the highest is the one which awakens in man the urge to search after God and incites in him the noble desire completely to submit himself to His will. This being the great object of man's existence the Quran has not failed to prescribe ways and means to attain it.

Yada, yada, yada.

The verse does not at all mean that men and Jinn were created to be thrown in Hell. The use of the word "many" also belies that inference.

No one said that all were destined for hell! Please read Sura 7:179 : Many are the Jinns and men we have made for Hell.

In other words, God created beings which are/were destined for hell. This is really an argument between free will and predestination and it appears that some unfortunate men and jinns were, and are, predestined to burn in hell. Is this the work of a just and merciful God?

Their creation, infact is intended to serve a great purpose (see above 56:57). The present verse thus has nothing to do with the object of man's creation but only mentions the regrettable end of life of many a man and Jinn, the latter word also meaning a special class of men i.e. rulers or chiefs of great men. They lead and evil life, the inevitable result of which is Hell.

No, these men and jinn were "made for hell". How can their punishment be the result of the life decisions when they were condemned to hell the very moment that God made them? To reinforce the idea of predestination, Bukhari tells us (Narrated 'Imran) :

I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Why should a doer (people) try to do good deeds?' The Prophet said, "Everybody will find easy to do such deeds as will lead him to his destined place for which he has been created.' Volume 9, Book 93, Number 641

But in Christianity men are born sinners, Adam was the father of all sinners, his wife Eve was the greatest of all sinners according to the bible of course :

I am a sinner. Are you willing to stand before God and say that you are not a sinner and are worthy to be in His presence? I am not worthy of God's forgiveness. It is only through the death a resurrection of Jesus that I am saved from my sins, certainly not through anything that I can do.

Andrew Vargo

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