But this discovery of self does not mean that he should find...

But this discovery of self does not mean that he should find out what his name is; what his father's name is; in which year he was born; which country he belongs to; with whom he has married or how many children he has. This self is the same thing which has been given the name of 'Divine spirit'. To know this self means that man should be conscious of his dignity and nobility and should apprehend that his indulgence in any kind of meanness is far below his high position.

He should realize his own sacredness so that the sacred, moral and social values may have a meaning for him. When the Holy Qur'an says that man is a chosen being, it wants to make it clear that he is not an accidental being brought into existence by certain blind and deaf incidents like the accidental combination of atoms! The Holy Qur'an says that he is a chosen being, and for that reason has a mission and a responsibility.

There is no doubt that in this terrestrial world man is the strongest and the most powerful being. If we compare the earth and all that exists on it to a manor, we can say that man is the lord of this manor. But let us see whether man has been chosen to be the lord or he has imposed himself on the world by means of some force or fraud. Various schools of material philosophy assert that it is a mere accident that man has come to power.

It is obvious that with this presumption the question of any mission and responsibility becomes meaningless. From the viewpoint of the Holy Qur'an man has been selected to be the lord of the earth by virtue of his competence and fitness. He has not come to power by force or as the result of any struggle. He has been chosen by the highest competent authority, which is none other than Allah, the Almighty, and as such, like any other selected being he holds a mission and bears a responsibility.

His mission being from Allah, his responsibility is also towards Him. The belief that man is a chosen being and has been brought into existence with a purpose, produces one kind of psychological effects in the individuals, and the belief that he is the outcome of a number of aimless accidents produces another kind of psychological effects. Self-consciousness means that man should realize his real position in the world. He should know that he is not merely a terrestrial being.

He has a reflection of Divine spirit in him. Man should know that he is ahead of the angels in cognition.