According to the Qur’an, God has created mankind for their own happiness and this can only be achieved through remembering Him, that is, to turn towards Him and to prevent anything that distracts us from Him. God has also made everything in the skies and the earth manageable to us so that we can responsibly benefit from them for our self-development.
Throughout history there have always been pious and virtuous role models even in the darkest ages of ignorance and under the most tyrannical and despotic governments. Lady Asiya, the wife of Pharaoh, is a good example.
Thus, personal progress has always been an available option, but there are also positions available for mankind as a species or as a community that need preparation and other aspects to come together for them to be achieved.
In other words, happiness, which has always been possible to attain, would not be possible for society at large unless other aspects are in place. In a just and supportive society, it is the masses, and not sole individuals, who can easily find their way to happiness. There are also are aspects of happiness that cannot be achieved unless there is a virtuous society in which people’s relations are based on divine values and are free of egoism. Witnessing a virtuous society is far more attractive and effective than witnessing virtuous individuals.
Providing happiness to humanity as a whole with the complications of social life is no simple task. It requires a just system for fair distribution of good and opportunities, and a great deal of knowledge and wisdom. Therefore, God’s second plan to provide humanity with maximum opportunities for happiness is through the establishment of an ideal society.
Source:
[1] IMAM HUSAYN THE HEIR OF PROPHET ABRAHAM: By Mohammad Ali Shomali [Vol. 1, P 3-4].
