By Arman Neyazi, New Age Islam
1 April 2021
“Indeed, We
have sent a messenger to every nation (saying), ‘Worship God and avoid false
gods…” (Qur’an, 16:36)
Allah says,
“I have not created men except that they should serve Me”
(Quran, 51:56).
Indeed there are many verses in the Holy Quran which
conclude that the humanity is created for nothing but the worship of Allah, the
Almighty. So, there is nothing left to ponder upon the purpose of life on this
earth except that to understand what is worship and what is it that pleases the
creator of the seven skies and the earth and everything in it.
Indeed, there is no dearth of angels who always
worship Allah, by praising Him, so the mankind is sent on this earth to worship
Allah not only by reciting the Holy Quran and performing Namaz and
observing Roza but in a way which should be called worshipping Allah
with the human ingredients, such as:
a.
Giving
Charity (Khairat)
b. Visiting The Ill (Eyadat)
c.
Helping Others (Madad)
d. Dressing Up Modestly
e. Eating Halal Food
All the above mentioned human ingredients are the one
we find in the persona of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). History is witness to our
Prophet’s life as to how he distributed charity, visited the ill, helped the
needy, dressed modestly and ate the simplest of the foods, possible.
Muslims worship Allah to obtain His kindness and
pleasure. And Allah is pleased if one follows the life and deeds of His beloved
prophet, Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Therefore if the purpose of life is to worship
Allah to obtain His love and resultantly His forgiveness, what may be better
than following the footsteps of our beloved Prophet and fulfil the purpose of
our lives?
First verse mentioned above describes the purpose of
life as the worship of the creator of the universe, and it also clearly
mentions that there is no nation to which a Prophet has not been sent, meaning
thereby that every nook and corner of this world has received Allah’s kindness
in the form of a Prophet to guide human being, to make humankind understand the
purpose of their lives, all of us therefore will be answerable on the Day of
Judgment to Allah and will not be able to say that we were not guided.
Righteous or Non-Righteous Actions of an
Individual
Righteous or non-righteous actions of an individual
will decide Allah’s love for him and ultimately His forgiveness and rewards. Righteous
people will be granted rewards and the non-righteous people will be punished as
per Allah’s will. They will not find any excuse to hide behind. Such is the
management of the God.
Everything the righteous individual does for the sake
and submission to Allah should go in favour of His creation, the human beings,
the animals, the environment and the nature, at large. Righteous people are those who take the path
of Sunnah and contribute to the welfare of the fellow human beings as guided
by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who always asked for forgiveness for all his fellow
human beings of the past, present and the future.
The Prophets and the Revealed Books
Allah has made us aware of the purpose of our lives
through His messengers, from Adam to Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) and all His Books
revealed from time to time on the prophets of the time.
Every prophet sent by Allah to guide His creation has
guided to the best of his ability and Allah’s willingness and every Book
revealed by Allah on His prophets had the guidance through which men of those
times could have understood and fulfilled the purpose of their lives.
Fulfilment of the Purpose of Life
Fulfilling the purpose of our life is not difficult if
our heart weeps for humanity and nature. Both Good and the Evil senses are
there in our intellect, it is just that we have to be true to ourselves and
listen to our religious and spiritual guides and act accordingly. For the
fulfilment of the purpose of life, human being has to be aware of his anger,
feeling of hatred and the ill feelings for fellow human beings and get rid of
them. He has to worship the God, ask His forgiveness and remain true to his
sense of humility.
Quranic Verses as a Guide
The holy Quran is Allah’s words. And there are many
Quranic verses related to the purpose of life of the human being, to guide us.
I mention some of them for our benefit and guidance:
Surah Ali Imran Verse 191 (Translation Abul Ala
Maududi)
Those who
remember Allah while standing, sitting or (reclining) on their backs, and
reflect in the creation of the heavens and the earth, (saying): 'Our Lord! You
have not created this in vain. Glory to You! Save us, then, from the
chastisement of the Fire.
Surah Al-Hadid Verse 20 (Translation Abdul Majid
Daryabadi)
Know that the
life of the world is but a play and a pastime, and an adornment and a
self-glorification among you and vying in respect of riches and children; as
the likeness of vegetation after rains whereof the growth pleaseth the
husbandmen, then it withereth and thou seest it becoming yellow, then it
becometh chaff. And in the Hereafter there is both a grievous torment and
forgiveness from Allah and His pleasure, and the life of the world is but a
vain bauble.
Surah Al-Mu'minoon Verse 115 (Translation Abul Ala
Maududi)
Did you
imagine that We created you without any purpose, and that you will not be brought
back to Us?"
Tafheem-ul-Quran - Abul Ala Maududi (Quran, 5:91)
By
intoxicants and games of chance Satan only desires to create enmity and hatred
between you, and to turn you away from the remembrance of Allah and from
Prayer. Will you, then, desist?
The last two verses clearly mention, as the other
verses of the Holy Quran that our creation is not purposeless, in addition to
this these two verses also mention that Satan misguides us in fulfilling our
aim of life and achieving the love of Allah by creating enmity and hatred among
us. We, thus need to recognise the Satan in and among ourselves and get rid of
the feelings of enmity and hatred.
And Allah knows the best.
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Arman Neyazi is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-society/islam-answer-humanity’s-search-meaning;/d/124634
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