Finding the true goal and the purpose of life is all important otherwise we could waste our lives chasing trivialities.
With the name of Allah, most Beneficial ever Merciful.
Thinking, pondering and planning are the first steps to any activity. We do not go into a university and enroll ourselves into the first course that is available. We have to consider our preferences, our options, our needs before making such decisions.
How much time we spend planning and thinking about a decision depends on how great an impact this decision is going to have on us. No one takes months to decide on what toothpaste to use, but one is more likely to spend more time choosing a marriage partner.
The question arises: What is the most important decision in life and what should we therefore spend the most amount of time planning and pondering about? What is the purpose of life?
Most of us, at present, spend the most amount of time on studying for a career. Our secular education system is mainly designed to train and educate a person for a career. We spend years training for a career. After that we end up working, followed by spending the money we earn on building a house, investing and so forth.
Realistically, just how important is all of this? A career can never be the purpose of life because it is just a means to an end. We work so that we could earn so that we could buy food to survive. In short, we work so that we can get the things we need to survive.
Animals do this naturally without much training.
Is survival perhaps the purpose of life? This can never be, because we are ultimately going to die.
Perhaps life has no purpose.
Study every little part of our body or every little element in our environment, or every little action in nature and we would see that everything has a purpose. There is deep planning and wisdom in everything. Nothing is for nothing.
Ponder and study something in nature that you think has no purpose, and you would finally realise its purpose. If such is the case in everything around us then how can our lives have no goal? We have to find out what the purpose of life is.
“Not for (idle) sport did We create the heavens and the earth and all that is in between.” Al Quraan 21:16
Logically, the most important decision in life would be to fulfill the purpose life that we were created for otherwise our whole lives could be wasted.
So who am I, and what is the purpose of my life? should be the all important question that everyone should be thinking of constantly and once we have realised our purpose then we should strive towards this.
The Quraan offers beautiful answers as to who we are and what should be our purpose in life.
Of all of creation in the heavens and the earth, man has the opportunity of becoming Allah’s best creation but, if we fail in this duty then he becomes lower than the lowest.
Apart from the normal blessings of sight and so forth, Allah SWT has blessed man with special favours such as: His Spirit breathed into him “When I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My Spirit, fall you down in obedience unto him” Al Quraan 15:29 also Al Quraan 38:72,
Then, We are blessed with the faculty of understanding which animals do not possess and we can use this to do amazing things. “…and He gave you (the faculties) of hearing and sight and understanding….” Al Quraan 32:9.
Allah made us rule over everything “…and cattle He has created for you….and he created horses, mules and donkeys …and He created other things of which you have no knowledge. Al Quraan 16:4-8,
Allah SWT has even sent guidance to us “…and We showed him (man) the way..” Al Quraan 76:3 and Al Quraan 96:4-5 and showed us model behavior in the form of the Prophet (SAW) “You have indeed in the Messenger of Allah an excellent example…” Al Quraan 33:21.
Allah SWT gave us honor above all creations in heaven and earth by making us His representative on earth. “It is He who has made you the inheritors of the earth: He has raised you in rank…” Al Quraan 2:30 also Al Quraan 6:165.
Moving onto the Purpose of life. We must have a very important role to play because Allah SWT has blessed us with so many special favors. It’s as if the whole universe revolves around us.
Islam teaches us that the greatest thing for us to strive towards is to attain ’emaan’ which is to know about Allah SWT so as to develop belief in Him.
The thing about attaining ’emaan’ is that it involves us perfecting our characters and learning to CONTROL our passions or carnal desires to become masters of ourselves. All this amounts to us developing our spirituality which is the most important power of us humans, even more important than our cognitive skills. It is through our spirituality that we would get to know Allah SWT without a shadow of doubt.
Our souls, which is what spirituality is all about, has already made a promise to Allah SWT to recognize His Sovereignty. Although we will not remember this with our cognitive skills, we will certainly know this in our deep inner soul or intuition.
“When the Lord drew forth from the children of Adam – from their loins – their descendants, and made them testify concerning themselves, (saying): “Am I not your Lord (who cherishes and sustains you)? They said “Yea! We do testify! (To this)” lest you should say on the Day of Judgment: “Of this we were never mindful.” 7:172
If Allah so wished he could make us all believers. “If it had been your Lord’s will, they would all have believed….” Al Quraan 10:99. Our true greatness comes about, when after having freedom, we strive to nature our souls so as to eventually know Allah SWT. This striving to know our Lord is what makes us special from all of creation.
Every proof we need to believe is present, every guidance we need is present, but it all depends on us. If we truly and deeply within us want guidance then it will definitely come to us guaranteed. The choice is with us. We have to want it.
When we will be questioned in the Hereafter there will be no excuse such as we did not know or we were not guided.
As we said, the main goal in Islam is to attain ’emaan’ or faith which is all about getting to know Allah SWT and we can only acheive this by our spirituality which we need to grow. Knowing Allah SWT is not by using our brain or our physical senses. So our focus must be growing our spirituality.
“By the soul, and the order and proportion given to it, and its inspiration as to its wrong and its right: truly he succeeds that purifies it, and he fails that corrupts it.” 91:7.
Purifying our souls is all about focusing on knowing Allah SWT (attaining ’emaan’) by firstly controlling our passions such as to seek out recognition for our piety, knowledge, wealth, children and so forth. This is like a child showing off a toy.
Seeking recognition is having pride and Allah SWT hates this. All praises belongs to Allah SWT only and we must never seek this. In controlling this aspect we will grow into a well adjusted, contented person and this leads towards inner peace and fulfillment.
On a secondary level we also have to control our other passions, our anger, jealousy, spite, greed. And yet, on an even lower level, we have to control our eating, earning, spending and so forth.
O youth, instead of mastering a game, and going on and on about a career, take on the real challenge of life by learning about ourselves and mastering our spiritual skills so that we may truly fulfill the purpose of life and live life to its fullest. The experience is challenging, truly amazing and deeply fulfilling. End.
Peace and Blessings be upon Muhammad Salallahu Alayhe Wasallam.
Published by Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi.
Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi was foundered by Dr Hakim Hazrath Khwaja Sayed Shareef Ahmed Ali Shah RA (lovingly known as Hazrath Poona Wale Shah Saib RA)
Author: Mohammed Hassan Gaffoor (WhatsApp +27849101486l)