God almighty has created man to test him and make him move towards perfection through undergoing divine tests.
[1]إِنَّا خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ نَّبْتَلِيهِ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا
Translation: Indeed, We created man from a sperm-drop mixture that We may try him; and We made him hearing and seeing.
Human beings in general have been created from a liquid considered impure in religion. If man reflect on the material from which he has been created then he would not be arrogant before God and will confess to his weakness and triviality in comparison to God’s majesty.
Creating man from such worthless matter and entrusting him with these many abilities and faculties is a clear evidence of God’s omnipotence and omniscience.
How arrogance it would be of man not to think of his creation and testify to the glory of God. The fact that God has created a perfect human being from a very basic material and turned it into a complex of organs each of which needs years of study to acquire expertise in shows the utmost power of God.
The verse continues and says God has created man to put him under test. Testing someone could be for reaching one of these objectives:
1) Sometimes the test is applied so that to remove the ignorance of the agent who tests. For example a teacher puts his students under test to know whether they have studied their lessons or not. Such examination could not be ascribed to God because He is omniscience and nothing is hidden from him.
2) Sometime the test is exerted to make the person who is under the test aware of his ignorance. For example a person may have worshipped God for a while and now he thinks he has reached a high status and has his desires and whims under control. God puts him under examination to inform him of his false belief and also prevent him from being overcome by haughtiness and conceit. Such test which many people are engaged with is in fact a bounty and gift from God.
3) Making others aware of the virtues of the person under test is another reason for the tests some people undergo. Such people have a high status before God but others do not know or cannot accept because they do not know why God has given them such status. God test them so that other people understand the reason for their unique position before God.
4) Making progress and achieving perfectness is another reason because of which people may undergo a number of tests. Sometimes God almighty puts his servants under test so that they move up to higher levels in the ladder of ascension towards God in perfectness.
Many traditions and verses signify that man is under God’s test during the whole of his lifetime. So one should always ask God to help him to succeed in these tests.[2]
Footnotes:
[1] 76:2.
[2] http://zitova.ir/index.aspx?fkeyid=&siteid=68&pageid=7597&newsview=324014