The Primacy of Humanity in Creation: The Mystery behind the Harmony between the World of Creation and Humankind
In the Holy Quran, God states, “It is He who created for you everything on earth”
[1]. This means that all elements of the universe have been arranged in accordance with the very structure of human existence so that they may serve our growth and perfection. Throughout history, this fundamental question has continuously occupied the minds of scholars: Why does the human being hold such an exceptional position among all created beings?
The primacy of humanity in creation is not merely a religious claim; rather, it is rooted in the very structure of existence and the ultimate purpose of our creation. The universe, fashioned through divine wisdom, is structured in such a way that all its levels—from the material realm to the supra-rational—are oriented toward the cultivation, education, and flourishing of the human being.
From the viewpoint of Islamic philosophy, the world has been created for the human being so that we may organize our physical and spiritual needs within it, and by making proper use of the natural and spiritual resources of existence, traverse the path of perfection toward reflecting the names and attributes of God. This world is the arena of our growth and our test—an environment whose every dimension is aligned with our existential faculties and needs, so that through encountering it and choosing righteous deeds, we may actualize the human virtues in ourselves.
The harmony between the structure of the created world and the human being is neither accidental nor without purpose; rather, it signifies that creation possesses a human-centered system and aim. Every phenomenon in the universe plays a role in fulfilling our worldly and otherworldly needs, enabling us to use these resources to advance on the path toward perfection and reflect the names and attributes of God. The world is a vast school of divine cultivation—where the laws of nature, blessings, limitations, and even hardships are all designed and arranged as instruments to help us attain the very purpose for which we were created.
On this basis, our discussion begins with the question: What is the relationship between the structure of our existence and the overall structure of the cosmos, and how does this precise harmony create the conditions for our growth and development? In this article, we will attempt, step by step, to show that the world’s compatibility with our being and the primacy of humanity in creation are profound ontological matters whose understanding necessitates self-knowledge, comprehension of the purpose of creation, and the discovery of our true place in the realm of creation.
Our Viewpoint on the World of Creation: Re-examining the Primacy of Humanity in Creation
Our view of the world determines how we understand it and the manner in which we use it. If one sees the world merely as a collection of lifeless objects and natural laws, one misses its true reality, for in the logic of creation, the world is a stage formed on the basis of the primacy of creation. In this view, creation follows the existence of the human, not precedes it. In other words, the world was brought into being from the very beginning according to the needs and capacities of our existence, such that everything within it is designed to support our journey toward perfection.
From this viewpoint, no phenomenon in the universe is disconnected from us or foreign to our existence. We share an existential relationship with the world and everything in it; from soil and plants to the forces of nature, all things acquire meaning in relation to the structure of our being. Everything in creation reflects some aspect of our needs, growth, and elevation. When God designed the order of existence, He embedded within creation all the necessities of life, along with every tool and resource required for our development. This divine arrangement extends not only to our present life, but continues until the Day of Judgement—and even beyond.
Thus, every phenomenon in the world is not merely a consumable tool for meeting our material needs, but a bridge that can elevate us to higher levels of existence. Every conscious encounter with things becomes an opportunity to move toward eternity—an opportunity for refinement, understanding, and drawing nearer to our true reality. From this perspective, the primacy of humanity means feeling responsible for making proper use of the world; since the universe has been created for our flourishing, we must seek the path of our perfection through the way we make use of it.
Examining the Structure of Existence and Its Relationship to the Human Being
What we mean by the primacy of humanity in creation is not limited to biological compatibility or the ability to survive in material conditions. Rather, it refers to a proportionate and coherent system throughout existence—one that establishes a correspondence between the structure of the human being and the structure of creation. In this view, the world is not merely a place in which we live; rather, all its components have been formed within such an order that they provide the conditions for our growth and elevation.
This precise harmony indicates that existence has been modeled on us; the human is a microcosm of the macrocosm. The same system and interconnections that operate throughout the universe are present within us—except that in the human being, they exist in a concentrated form, while in the cosmos, they appear in an expansive and detailed manner.
The laws governing nature, the balance of temperature and elements, the alternation of night and day, the equilibrium of cosmic forces, and more, are all parts of a wise design that makes human life possible. This physical structure also provides the ground for the emergence and flourishing of the soul, for the soul cannot actualize itself without a suitable body. Thus, the primacy of humanity in creation does not mean that humans consciously participated in designing the universe; rather, it means that the structure of the universe was arranged and fashioned from the very beginning in such a way that it meets the needs of every dimension of human existence since the universe has been created in accordance with the needs of the human being—from physical necessities to intellective and supra-rational potentials.
Therefore, when we say that the world is compatible with the human being and that the world of creation is founded upon the primacy of humanity, we mean that the components of existence are in harmony with the levels of our being. It is this very harmony that enables us to know the inner order of the universe and to move toward fulfilling the purpose of our creation. Hence, the structure of existence is not a random phenomenon.
The World as the Ground for the Manifestation of Human Perfections
The primacy of humanity in creation does not merely mean that the world has been arranged to meet our material needs; rather, it signifies something far greater—that the entirety of existence serves as a stage for the emergence and growth of the human being’s inner perfections. In reality, the cosmos functions as an expansive arena in which the latent capacities and potentials of the human being are brought into manifestation.
Every component of the universe—from the smallest particle to the vastest galaxies—is not simply a phenomenon, but an opportunity for the expression and actualization of the hidden potentials within us. This viewpoint is directly tied to the primacy of humanity in creation because the world has been structured in such a way that human potentials can flourish and the ultimate purpose of our creation—namely, the realization of human perfection—can be fulfilled.
The universe, with all its material and spiritual dimensions, is a dynamic arena for the revelation of our boundless capacities. From the firmness of mountains and the turbulence of seas to the precise composition of atoms and the harmony of natural laws, every aspect of the world can serve as a setting for the manifestation of one of the human qualities. In this view, the world is like a vast school in which we learn, experience, and advance on the path of self-improvement and reflect the names and attributes of God.
In this relationship, the human being—by making proper use of the resources and laws of the world—actualizes their inner potentials because just as the universe has been created for the flourishing of the human being, it is the human’s responsibility to discover their path to perfection through the way they engage with it.
Failure to Make Proper Use of the World of Creation: The Human Being’s Distance from the Truth of Existence
If God has created all elements of the universe for us and for our journey toward human perfection, why do we fail to make proper use of this immense potential? The answer lies in the type of our relationship with the world. We often perceive the universe as something external to ourselves, as though a wall of estrangement separates us from the material world, yet in reality, there exists a living and purposeful bond between us and the created world—a world fashioned for our growth and perfection, not one whose absence would nullify our very meaning.
The fundamental problem is that we have become strangers to creation. For years, we have been accustomed to engaging with phenomena only at the level of appearances and material benefit, without seeking the meaning and existential purpose embedded within them. This habit itself is the great veil between us and the truth of the world.
When we are unable to establish an existential connection with a flower, tree, or bird, we cannot receive the manifestations of the Creator present within them. Habit has made our vision shallow and limited. To rediscover creation, we must lift this veil and cultivate a deeper, more constructive way of seeing.
Another reason is the absence of self-knowledge. A person who lacks a true understanding of the levels of their own existence cannot correctly discern their relationship with other created beings. The primacy of humanity in creation becomes meaningful only when the human knows themselves because self-knowledge is the key to understanding the world. As long as a person does not know from which level of existence they originate and for what purpose they were created, they cannot grasp the true function of things. Without self-knowledge, the human being reduces the world to a tool for consumption rather than benefiting from it in a constructive and purposeful way. A return to a vibrant, intimate relationship with the world becomes possible only when we know ourselves—when we know who we are and view the world as a field for our own spiritual growth and perfection.
This article showed that the primacy of humanity in creation is a foundational principle embedded in the structure of existence. From the beginning, the universe has been organized according to the needs, talents, and levels of human existence, so that every part of it may play a role in our growth and flourishing. This centrality places the human being at the heart of creation—but not in the sense of domination or authority. Rather, in this relationship, the world is a divine school whose laws serve as instruments of our development, and we are its students journeying along the path of perfection.
From this viewpoint, the danger that threatens us is adopting a superficial view of a world that was created for our growth. Whenever the human being fails to grasp this relationship or lacks a proper understanding of their own levels of existence, the world becomes for them a lifeless collection. Attaining the truth of the world of existence depends on self-knowledge, for knowing oneself is the key to knowing the world and its Creator. An aware human does not see the material world merely as a field for exploitation, but as an instrument for attaining perfection. Through the proper use of the world, such a person draws nearer to the purpose of creation—namely, reflecting the names and attributes of God and the realization of true human perfection.
References
[1]. Quran, 2:29