Jinn & Men Created for Worship or for Hell?

Jinn & Men Created for Worship or for Hell?

Article:

In one of his articles[1]

Mr. Jochen Katz has pointed out a contradiction in Al-Zaariyaat 51: 56

and Al-Aa`raaf 7: 179.

Al-Zaariyaat 51: 56 reads as:

I have not created Jinn and men but for worshipping Me.

While, Al-Aa`raaf 7: 179 reads as:

And We have raised many among the Jinn and Men for Hell.

Mr. Katz writes:

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.

As far as the first cited verse is concerned, its implication is quite clear.

It declares that God created Jinn and men for the purpose of worshipping Him.

However, the confusion has been caused by a misinterpretation of the Arabic

prefix “”

– translated as ‘for’ – in the second cited verse. Mr. Katz has,

apparently, interpreted it to imply ‘for the purpose of’, in exactly the

same way, as it has been implied in the first cited verse. This interpretation

has resulted in a conflict of the contents of the two cited verses, as,

according to this interpretation, both the stated verses mention the purpose of

the creation of men and jinn and the mentioned purpose in one verse is different

from that mentioned in the other.

However, it is important to note that the Arabic prefix ““,

very much like its English counterpart ‘for’ is used in extremely diverse

implications. One of the many implications of “”

is ‘For the ultimate destiny of’. This usage is clearly supported in the

following poetic verses:

Behold, all that are born are born for [the destiny] of death. I have not

seen any living being, who is born for eternal living.

In another verse, a poet says:

For [the ultimate destiny of] death do the girls raise their children; just

as for [the ultimate] desertion are the houses constructed.

Ali Ibn Abi Talib (ra) has said in one of his poetic verses:

Many an angel calls out to [remind] you every day: You give birth for [the

ultimate destiny of] death and you construct buildings for [ultimate destiny

of] desertion.

Keeping the foregoing explanation in perspective, a mere correction of the

translation of the two cited verses should resolve the contradiction pointed out

by Mr. Katz.

The first cited verse should be translated as:

I have not created Jinn and men but for the purpose

of worshipping Me.

While the second cited verse should be translated as:

And We have raised many among the Jinn and Men for the

ultimate destiny of Hellfire.

The first verse stipulates the purpose of the creation of Jinn and men, while

the second verse informs us that a large number of Jinn and men are destined for

the growling fires of hell.