أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَٰكُمْ عَبَثًا وَأَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا تُرْجَعُونَ
Important Words:
عبثاً (for no purpose) is infinitive noun from عبث (‘abitha) which means, he indulged in amusement; he joked and jested. عبث means, to do a thing which has no known good or benefit and has no object or purpose. They say فعل ذالک عبثاً i.e. he did a thing which had no purpose or object in it (Aqrab & Lane).
Commentary:
After bringing home to disbelievers the iniquity of their behaviour and of their persecution of Divine Messengers and joking and jesting with their followers, God reprimands them by reminding them that the manner in which they lead their lives shows that they think that man’s life has no object or purpose and that this great universe of which he is at once the axis and centre and the aim and object, has been created without purpose. The reprimand implies the answer that man has been created to serve a great purpose, a noble object. It is to become God’s Vicegerent on earth and to develop and reflect in his person Divine attributes, particularly the four attributes mentioned in the next verse. He has been endowed with a divine personality and is manifestly the central point of creation or at least that part of creation which is related to our universe and it is to help him to reach the great goal which he is destined to attain that God sends His Messengers. The verse further signifies that man’s life having a great purpose to fulfil will not end with his departure from this world and with the soul’s flight from its physical habitat. The human soul will continue its never-ending journey in a new world, a new form and in a new body. The very idea that with the dissolution of its physical tabernacle the human soul suffers death militates against God’s wisdom and against His whole design and purpose in creating universe.
Man has been created to serve a great purpose––to develop and reflect in his person Divine attributes. He has been endowed with a Divine personality and is manifestly the central figure in the whole creation or at least that part of the creation which is related to our universe. Having a great purpose to fulfil, his life will not end with his departure from this world and with the soul’s flight from its physical habitat. The human soul will continue its never-ending journey in a new world, in a new form and a new body. The very idea that with the dissolution of its physical tabernacle the human soul suffers death militates against God’s wisdom and His whole design and purpose in creating the universe.