The Moral Vision
Recognizing Oneself
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RECOGNIZING ONESELF
God has a special purpose for every individual
human being. To be born into this world is to make
a promise to God that one will spend one’s life
fulfilling the purpose that God intends for one. The
worth of every human being lies in his faithfulness
to this promise.
God has endowed every individual with certain
talents. These talents may be inborn, or they may
develop at a later stage in life. It is for every human
being to recognize where his talents lie, and then
make use of them, thereby enacting the role that
God has singled out for him. One who recognizes
himself in this way has taken up his true place in
God’s pattern of creation, while one who fails to do
so will find himself at odds—not only with
himself—but with the whole of creation.
This can be illustrated by the respective cases of two
companions of the Prophet Muhammad. Abu
Huraira was one of the companions, and Khalid, the
son of Walid, another. No less than 5,374 traditions
(sayings of the Prophet) have been related on the
