If a person reflects closely and deeply, they will find that truly, it is Allah Almighty alone to whom all praise and quality belongs, and no human being or any other creation, in the true sense, is really worthy of praise and admiration. If an individual observes, pure of any vested motives, it shall become clearly evident to them that any individual who is declared worthy of praise can only be deserving if at some point in time, when nothing of existence or matter was to be found, they created those things. Another reason could be that in an era when nothing existed and when there was no knowledge of the means and elements that are required to bring a thing into existence, preserve it, safeguard its health and maintain its life, someone furnished all these necessary means. Or perhaps at a time, when this creation could have been prey to a multitude of afflictions, someone had mercy on it and protected it. Further still, someone could be worthy of praise if, for example, they saved from being wasted the effort of one who works and bestows the rights in full of those who labour. Although, apparently, fulfilling the rights of a labourer is nothing more than just recompense, such a person can be deemed a benefactor who also fulfils the rights of others in full. These are the noble attributes which make someone deserving of praise and admiration. Now if you are to reflect on this, you will see that in the truest sense, all of these praiseworthy qualities are due to Allah the Exalted alone, Who is the Possessor of these attributes to the highest level of perfection. No one else truly possesses these qualities.
Firstly, observe God’s attribute of creation and providence. One could think that these attributes are to be found in mothers, fathers and other benefactors as well. However, if an individual reflects more deeply, they will come to know that a mother, father and other benefactors have certain aims and motives that move them to show favour. The proof of this, for example, is that if a healthy, beautiful and energetic baby is born, parents express joy, and if the baby is a boy, their joy is even greater; they rejoice and celebrate. However, if a girl is born, the home becomes a place of mourning as it were, and the day of the baby’s birth becomes a day of sorrow; parents feel that they cannot even show their faces in shame. Often, certain foolish people will even kill their daughters through various contrivances or they will show less care in their upbringing. Then, if the child is born crippled, blind, or with some other disability, parents wish that the child would die, and on many occasions, unsurprisingly, they will even kill them with their own hands, considering the child to be a burden. I have read that the Greeks would intentionally kill such children; in fact, it was a royal mandate that any baby who was born handicapped, disabled or blind, etc., be put to death immediately. This manifestly demonstrates that although humans do possess the nature to care and support, their thoughts are adulterated with personal and selfish motives. However, Allah the Exalted has no selfish motive whatsoever in giving life to and nurturing His vast creation (which is so innumerable as is beyond one’s ability to fathom, and difficult for the tongue to articulate, and which fills the heaven and earth). Unlike parents, God does not desire service and provision in return; in fact, He has given life to His creation due to the demands inherent in divine providence. Any person would accept that to plant a seed, water it, look after it and protect it until it grows into a fruitful tree, is an act of great benevolence. Hence, if one contemplates the nature of man, his state and the manner in which he was supported and maintained, you will see how great a favour God Almighty has done, by supporting man through countless transformations and changing stages of helplessness.
The second aspect that I have just alluded to relates to the full availability of such means as are necessary for human coexistence and the use of human faculties even before our coming into being. You can observe that even before we were born, God created the means necessary to support us. If the brilliant sun that is raised above us—owing to which there is light far and wide, and the day shines forth—did not exist, would we be able to see? How else would we reap the benefits and advantages that we are able to gain through light? If the sun and moon, and other forms of light did not exist, the faculty of sight would be futile. Although the eyes possess an ability to see, they are completely useless without outer and external light. So how great a favour is it that, in order to make use of our faculties, God has furnished the necessary means in advance, and how great a mercy is it that He has granted us such faculties and then vested them with inherent capacities that are absolutely imperative for the perfection of man and in reaching the ultimate objective? The qualities that have been vested in the brain, muscles and veins are put to use by man and he can perfect them. For at the same time, God Almighty has also created the means that perfect man’s faculties. This is the state of the internal system whereby each and every faculty is geared to the objective and interest that results in man’s prosperity. Even in the external respect, there is an established system whereby each and every individual who is skilled in an art has, at their disposal from the very beginning, the raw materials and tools that are required for their craft. For example, if there were no leather and thread, from where would a cobbler produce these things and how could he perfect his craft? Similarly, if there was no cloth, how would a tailor sew anything? This is the case with every human being. A physician, irrespective of how skilled and knowledgeable he may be, can do nothing if medicines were not available. He would write a prescription after extensive thought and reflection, but if the medicine was nowhere to be found in the shops, what would he do? What a great bounty it is that on the one hand, God has given us knowledge, and on the other hand, He created plants, minerals and other living organisms that are helpful to those suffering from illness, and has vested these creations with diverse properties and qualities that come to use in every era when unexpected needs arise.
Therefore, nothing that God Almighty has created is without benefit or useless—even ticks and lice are not without their benefit. It is written that if someone is unable to pass urine, on certain occasions, the insertion of lice into the urethra, can induce urination. Is it within anyone’s power to even fathom the extent to which human beings benefit from these things?
Then, fourthly, there is the recompense of efforts. This too requires the grace of Allah. For example, just observe how much effort and toil man undertakes in agriculture. If it were not for the help of God Almighty, how could a farmer return home with harvested grain? It is by the grace and bounty of God that everything takes place at its appropriate time. As such, the people might well-nigh have perished in the recent dry season, but God sent down rain by His grace and saved a large part of His creation. Therefore, first and foremost, it is God Almighty Who intrinsically, more than anyone else, is supremely deserving of praise. In comparison to Him, no other being possesses any such inherent right.
(Malfuzat [English], Vol. 2, pp.185 – 188)