Badges mark quoted or attributed material (Qur'an, hadith, another author, an opposing view). Unbadged passages are Maulana Wahiduddin Khan's own words.
The Miracle of Creation
M
an is a masterpiece of the creative power of God. In this vast universe no creature like man exists. This has been mentioned in the Quran in different ways. We learn from the Quran that “We have honoured the children of Adam … and exalted them above many of Our creatures.” (17.70). In the same vein God says: “We have indeed created man in the best of mould.” (95:4) Furthermore: “He shaped you, formed you well, and provided you with good things.” (40:64)
A human being undoubtedly is the greatest masterpiece of divine creation. If you apprehend your existence in this way, you will have a great surge of feelings of acknowledgement of God. In your inner self, you will feel that God’s blessings upon you are so great that to describe it, no human words are sufficient. This discovery will give you a great point of reference for prayer. You will call out: “O God, you showered me with such great blessings in this world, will you deprive me of Your blessings in the world Hereafter? Will You consign Your masterpiece to hellfire?”
But it is strange how people have failed to recognize themselves as masterpieces of divine creation. Everyone attributes all greatness to himself—as a matter of personal achievement. As a result, everyone lives in and for his own self. Everyone takes the high ground of pride. Everyone, consciously or unconsciously, thinks that he is all in all. There are other types of people who are given to the cult of personalities. When they see greatness in their saints or gurus, they attribute it to those human beings and then start worshipping or revering them. The greatness that they should have attributed to the Creator they have attributed instead to the creature. As a result, they have stooped to the worship of the creation rather than the Creator.