We are conscious beings who have the ability, created in us by Allah, to distinguish between right and wrong. As a result, we can understand His great power and the proofs for His existence, as well as the real purpose of this life and our life in the world to come.
But these abilities entail certain responsibilities. Anyone who can conceive of all these things is aware that Allah is the only power Who must be served, and that there is no other deity besides Him. Also, he is aware that our basic responsibility in this world is to have faith in Allah. In the Qur'an, Allah says this of Himself to His servants:
He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth. How could He have a son when He has no wife? He created all things and He has knowledge of all things. That is Allah, your Lord. There is no god but Him, the Creator of everything. So worship Him. He is responsible for everything. (Surat al-An’am, 101-102)
Plainly, the foundation of a happy and successful life lies upon a person's knowing his responsibility and serving only Allah. This attitude also provides for balance in society as a whole. If it were otherwise—that is, with an increased number of those who deny Allah's existence and do not fear the final punishment He will give—this balance would be ruined. If people forget they are Allah's servants and turn to other creatures, there are serious consequences, such as the degeneration of morals in society and the degradation in human relationships. In such a situation, relationships are based on profit. The powerful oppress the weak; and mercilessness, cruelty, hypocrisy and hostility find an easy place to grow. As a result, family and social life, national well-being and even world peace are endangered.
In the Qur'an, Allah says that those who reject His commandments to follow their own desires will cause serious degeneration among humanity.
If the truth were to follow their whims and desires, the heavens and the earth and everyone in them would have been brought to ruin. No indeed! We have given them their Reminder, but they have turned away from it. (Surat al-Muminun, 71)
Today, a large number of people do not realize that the causes of the degradation they live in and complain about constantly arise from their following their own passions and setting up partners beside Allah. For this reason, they look for remedies in various places. They believe that if only they made some economic, social and cultural changes, their nation's wealth would increase, and developing technology would solve all their problems. But these initiatives can have no effect unless people purify themselves entirely from putting other objects of worship beside Allah and come to a firm faith in Him alone. Even though new solutions are being developed all the time, they are of no avail since people keep acting in opposition to the high standards of morality enjoined by Allah.
There is only one way for people to escape the dark and frightening lifestyles they live and enter a content, secure environment. This is to get free from the clutches of the "religion" of worshipping people that pervade society, to have faith only in Allah and to obey the commands and prohibitions He has given in the Qur'an. This would result in happiness and salvation for all peoples, in as much as Allah, having created human beings, knows best what the human spirit needs. This fact is revealed in the Qur'an:
By it, Allah guides those who follow what pleases Him to the ways of Peace. He will bring them from the darkness to the light by His permission, and guide them to a straight path. (Surat al-Ma'ida, 16)