In Islam, life is sacred and one of the greatest gifts and blessings of Allah (swt). Every moment of life has great value and is irreversible. Therefore, it must be appreciated and protected; even if it has a poor quality. Life is a brilliant demonstration of Allah’s wisdom and knowledge, a vivid reflection of His art and power. He is the Giver and Creator of life. Nothing comes to existence by chance, and nobody creates himself or anybody else. Even if life does not have a pre-determined purpose, this need not mean that it cannot have a purpose. Even in the most absurd, painful, and dispiriting of circumstances, life can still be given a meaning. What is it that we want out of life? Where are we going? What are we doing? What should we be doing? What is the purpose of Allah (SWT)sending us to this world? What exactly is our aim in life? People answer these questions in different ways. Some people’s aim in life is to collect money, property, to have perfect careers and perfect families, whilst other people desire name, fame and power. However, as there is no permanence to our world the nature of our worldly desires is also transitory. In other words all these aims are temporary and lusts for wealth, power, name, fame, and family can never wholly satisfy an individual. Despite what many people believe, the acquisition of wealth, power, prestige and fame does not bring happiness. We often hear of famous celebrities who have attempted suicide or suffer from depression. This is because all worldly pleasures are ephemeral and self-destructive. Vain pursuits wear out the soul. Those who pursue transitory worldly pleasures exhaust themselves, working for them day and night. The culture of wanting more and more for the sake or more can literally occupy a person for life. The needs of the seeker of worldly pleasures are insatiable. So what should our aim in life be? One of our ultimate aims should be love for Allah (swt), and love for the sake of Allah (swt), so that we are able to recollect the covenant that we made in another world to one we love.Before creation Allah (SWT)gathered all of humanity; the people of the past, present and future and asked us all one question: “Am I not your Lord”. We all answered “Yes, we do testify” (that you are our Lord, the one we love). This consciousness about Allah (swt), this realization and understanding is embedded deep within our souls. Our inner person, who took this oath with Almighty Allah, was then attached to the physical body and was sent to Earth, so that its love may be tested.The purpose of the soul descending to this lowest level of realms is so that it should seek to return to its previous closeness with its Beloved Creator, whilst being trapped between the form of flesh and bone. However, on Earth we forgot about the oath that we made in the other world and occupied ourselves with the transitory worldly love of wives, children and wealth. We have entered a state of heedlessness, forgotten our purpose, our function, our promise to Him while living in this world. We have allowed ourselves to love the ephemeral aspects of the world to the point that it surpasses our spiritual yearnings. Many of us today are choosing a way of living that is allowing divine signs to pass by. The Holy Qur’an warns that Satan seeks to adorn things before the human eye, so that we do not see things for what they truly are.A true Believer however, looks beyond himself and focuses on Allah (swt). By doing so, he move’s towards fulfilling the purpose for which he was created, and thus is able to attain peace with his Creator and within himself.It is said that no man was allotted two hearts in his breast; this means that we are unable to feel two things at the same time. We are also unable to simultaneously pursue two things at the same time, especially when they are at two opposing poles in the Universe.Hence those who make worldly pleasures their objective do so at the expense of the hereafter, such people suffer in this world and in the hereafter. Our Holy Prophet (saw) has said “If anyone’s intention is to seek the hereafter and Allah (SWT)pleasure then, Allah (SWT)will place sufficiency in his heart and will order his affairs and the world will approach him submissively, but if anyone’s intention is to only seek worldly benefits, Allah (SWT)will place poverty before him and disorder in his affairs”. According to Imam Ghazzali, the desire for the quests for the provisions of the hereafter appears in the one who knows that the world causes misery and is but of a few days in duration, while the hereafter is pure and everlasting. It is not difficult for him to exchange something despicable for something valuable. In order to reaffirm to ourselves the real purpose of our existence we need to seek the company of the righteous and develop special attachments with them. It is recognized in virtually all traditions and cultures that the company one keeps has inroads to ones heart and morality.When a person is surrounded by people who are sincere and pious, and has no ulterior motive out of his association; he only stands to benefit from them. Scholars have always encouraged visiting the righteous people as part of the protocol of the spiritual ascendancy. Hadhrat Isa (AS) once said “Do not sit with the dead people”. When he was asked who are the dead people, he replied “Those who desire this world”. According to some linguists, the Arabic word for human being is insan, which means to forget. This suggests that one of the characteristics of man is forgetfulness. This implies that we need to be reminded often. Which is why the importance of attaching ourselves with the righteous, who are always busy in the remembrance of Allah (SWT)can not be emphasised enough.When sitting in the company of the righteous, feelings of peace and wellbeing wash over us. A dim flame within us flickers and lights up. Our souls faintly recollect a covenant that was made in another world to one we love. For a short moment, we feel disgusted with ourselves for occupying ourselves with petty, trivial worldly affairs; these feelings strike a chord inside us and we reaffirm to ourselves the real purpose of our existence. These blessed individuals are described as being the perfume of Allah (SWT)upon this world, however only the true, sincere believers have noses to smell them. They smell that beautiful perfume and follow that smell. That perfume creates a yearning in their hearts for their Lord, and as a result the sincere believers increase their pace, efforts and devotions. To sum up, our beloved Prophet (saw) knew what would come when He said “my pain is for my beloved people who will come in later times”. We are living is such a time in which the abnormal is seen as normal. We have forgotten the true purpose of our existence, and are in a state of Ghafla (heedlessness). We need to reaffirm to ourselves the true objective of human life, which is the Raza (pleasure) Allah (swt). This can be achieved by permanent attachment with those who are Allah (SWT) friends. Only then will we be blessed with the yearning and longing to return to the true home.One must bear in mind that patience, perseverance, and persistency are indispensable in the quest of Allah’s (SWT)Raza (pleasure).
Islam accepts worldly happiness within the practical constraints of monotheism – that is, to be wholly devoted to God. According to the Qur’an, man gains his happiness only from God, and it is He who fills all the gaps in his life and satisfies him. The Qur’an says: ‘Those who have faith and their hearts are tranquil in thinking of God know that all hearts find peace by remembering God’ (13:28).
It is said that he who seeks something and is industrious shall find it, and he who knocks at the door and is persistent shall enter. A person should also remember that one always reaches whatever they desire-only to the extent that they pursue it.“And We did not create the heaven and the earth and what is between them for sport.” (21:16)“What! Did you then think that We had created you in vain and that you shall not be returned to Us?” (23:115)These verses lay stress over the point that the creation of this life is not without an aim. So if this world was not created purposelessly, then what is the aim of life? The Holy Qur’an answers this question:“And I have not created the jinn and the men except that they should serve Me.” (51:56)We will come to this point later after discussing some related aspects. We will first discuss briefly the aim of prophetic missions, and man’s inherit nature with capabilities and potentials which is conducive to this goal.We observe that every created being has some inherited or innate capabilities. It starts with a primary stage and ends at the excellence for which it was created. A seed when sown and properly taken care of results in a full grown tree. The achievement of this perfection for any being – of which man is not an exception – is possible only in a conducive environment which helps in attaining and realizing this perfection. The realization of natural talents and potentialities for man is not possible without knowledge and purification of soul. As the Holy Qur’an says, “Even as We have sent among you a Messenger from among you who recites to you Our communications and purifies you and teaches you the Book and the wisdom and teaches you that which you did not know.” (2:151)Ayatollah Murtadha Mutahhari writes: “Naturally, the mission of the prophets, too, is believed unanimously to facilitate man’s perfection and to aid him to remove the deficiencies which neither he, as an individual, nor his society is able to remove. It is only with the aid of Divine revelations that he can advance towards enhancing perfection. Accordingly, every individual must see what he can be after identifying his potentialities, so as to bring them to fruition.”The knowledge works as a guide in this voyage of seeking the goal of life, and purification of soul stands guard against satanic temptations. When both of these factors are present, the purpose of creation becomes clearer:“Those who remember Allah standing and sitting and lying on their sides and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: ‘Our Lord! Thou hast not created this in vain! Glory be to Thee; save us then from the chastisement of the fire.’” (3:191)This realization of the purpose leads to recognition of the Great Creator, of His high status. Thus, the purpose of knowledge and purification is to know Allah, and after knowing Him, to worship and serve Him. Hence, knowledge or spirituality is only a means to reach Allah. He is the goal, and He is the destination. To conclude the discussion, we quote Ayatollah Mutahhari again:“Thus the goal and ideal that Islam offers is God, and everything else is preparatory to it, and not of an independent and fundamental importance. In the verses where the Qur’an mentions perfect human beings, or speaks on their behalf, it says they have truly understood the goal of life and endeavored to attain it. It says for Ibrahim (‘I have devoted my worship to Him who has created heaven and earth, and I am not a pagan.’ (6:80) This Sura also says: ‘My prayer, worship, life and death are for God, who is the Lord of the Universe.’ (6:163) “This monotheism of the Qur’an is not merely an intellectual one, thinking that the origin of universe is one thing and its Creator is another. It includes the faith and conviction of man that there is only one Creator, and his goal, which is the only worthy one, is He alone. All other goals are the product of this one and subsidiary to it. “Thus, in Islam everything revolves round the axis of God, including the goal in the mission of prophets and individuals’ goal of life. Islam accepts worldly happiness within the practical constraints of monotheism – that is, to be wholly devoted to God. According to the Qur’an, man gains his happiness only from God, and it is He who fills all the gaps in his life and satisfies him. The Qur’an says: ‘Those who have faith and their hearts are tranquil in thinking of God know that all hearts find peace by remembering God’ (13:28). Only God brings repose to the anxious and inquisitive hearts of man. Other things are subsidiary and preliminary matters, not the final stage. The same is said of worship: ‘To remember God, pray.’ (20:14) Also, the following verse says: ‘Prayer checks wickedness and denial, and remembering God is the most important.” (29:45). Islam thinks of man as created to worship God, to seek proximity to Him, and to know Him, all of which give him power. But knowledge and power are not the ultimate goal, nor is self-purification.”May Allah (SWT)give us the ability to reaffirm to ourselves the real purpose of our existence and may He keep us in the company of those Blessed individuals whose hearts are illuminated with His (SWT)light. Aameen.
(The authors write regularly on Islamic topics exclusively for the opinion pages of “Kashmir Horizon”. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the authors and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”)
Dr. Bilal A Bhat
Intizar Ahmad
