and use that knowledge for innovation. Above all, man is a being
who is answerable to God for his deeds. In a verse of the Qur’an,
God conveys the following:
It is He Who created the heavens and the Earth in six days
when His Throne was on the water, in order to test which of
you has the best actions… (Qur’an, 11:7)
As the verse says, man is responsible to God:
Then [He] formed him and breathed His Spirit into him and
gave you hearing, sight and hearts... (Qur’an, 32:9)
This conveys that man is given a “soul” by God, and will have
to account for his deeds in this world. Birds and other animals do
not have this responsibility; they merely have to carry out the tasks
God has inspired in them and are instruments through which we
may witness His supreme power. In a verse of the Qur’an, God de-
clares the following:
Do you not see that everyone in the heavens and Earth glo-
rifies God, as do the birds with their outspread wings?
Each one knows its prayer and glorification.
God knows what they do. (Qur’an, 24:41)
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