Say: "The angel of death who is given charge of you shall...

Say: "The angel of death who is given charge of you shall cause you to die, then to your Lord you shall be brought back" (32:10-11); From it We created you and into it We shall send you back from it will We raise you a second time (20:55).

The verses will be explained when we shall come to them; they have been quoted here only to show that man is a part of the earth, he was created from it, gradually developed until he grew into "another creation"; this "another creation" proceeds on the path of his perfection; then the angel of death completely removes this "man" from the body; and he returns to Allâh. This is the path which the man has to take to.

The divine decree has planned the universe in such a way that every thing is related to every thing else; there is a constant action and reaction between it and the rest of the creation. Man too influences, and is in turn influenced by, all that exists in the earth and in the heavens - the elements and their characteristics, the animal world, the vegetable world, the minerals, the water, the air and, in short, every creation of nature.

The fact is that the scope of man's activities is much greater, and his circle far bigger than anything else's. He has been given thinking and rea­soning powers, and, as a result of this unique gift of Allâh, he influences the other creatures, manages them, arranges and re­arranges them, manipulates them, destroys them, amends them and perfects them, on a scale unheard of outside his circle. Every creature is under his domain.

Sometimes he imitates nature by creating synthetic items for his needs; at other times he sets some forces of nature against the others. In short, he obtains, by all possible means, whatever he wants from whatever he wants. Passage of time has further strengthened his hands; now he has deeper insight in the working of nature, and manipulates the system even more effectively.

That is so that Allâh may establish the reality by His words, and so that the truth of His speech may be seen even more clearly: And He has made subservient to you whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, all, from Himself (45:13). The verse following the verse under discussion, that is, 2:29, states the same fact: He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth, and He directed Himself to the heavens, so He made them complete seven heavens.