“I only created jinn and humans so they could worship Me” (Qur’an, Surat al-Dariyat 51:56) وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ wa-ma khalaqtu l-jiina wa-l-ins illa li-ya’buduni . One of the foremost authorities on Qur’anic commentary among the companions, Ibn ‘Abbas, was reported by his student Mujahid to have stated that “so they could worship Me” means “so they could know Me (li-ya’rifuni). (There is another isnad that includes Ibn Jurayj and stops at Mujahid and does not include Ibn ‘Abbas.) This report of Ibn ‘Abbas is part of the textual justification commonly given by Sufis to support their contention that the purpose of the creation is to gain direct experience of God (ma’rifa). Often it is cited together with the hadith qudsi, where God said, “I was a hidden treasure and I loved to be known, so I created creation in order to be known (li-yu’rafa).”

I’ve gotten permission from Dr. Alan Godlas (Abdul Haqq), who is a professor at the University of Georgia for Islamic and Sufi studies, to repost his Facebook postings on Islam and Sufism. All translations are done by Abdul Haqq Godlas unless otherwise noted.