islam and the aim of life
<blockquote>
What
is your purpose in life? What is the rationale behind our life? Why do
we live in this life? These questions frequently intrigue people who try
to find accurate answers.
People
provide different answers to these questions. Some people believe the
purpose of life is to accumulate wealth. But one may wonder: What is the
purpose of life after one has collected colossal amounts of money? What
then? What will the purpose be once money is gathered? If the purpose
of life is to gain money, there will be no purpose after becoming
wealthy. And in fact, here lies the problem of some disbelievers or
misbelievers at some stage of their life, when collecting money is the
target of their life. When they have collected the money they dreamt of,
their life loses its purpose. They suffer from the panic of nothingness
and they live in tension and restlessness.
is your purpose in life? What is the rationale behind our life? Why do
we live in this life? These questions frequently intrigue people who try
to find accurate answers.
People
provide different answers to these questions. Some people believe the
purpose of life is to accumulate wealth. But one may wonder: What is the
purpose of life after one has collected colossal amounts of money? What
then? What will the purpose be once money is gathered? If the purpose
of life is to gain money, there will be no purpose after becoming
wealthy. And in fact, here lies the problem of some disbelievers or
misbelievers at some stage of their life, when collecting money is the
target of their life. When they have collected the money they dreamt of,
their life loses its purpose. They suffer from the panic of nothingness
and they live in tension and restlessness.
<blockquote>
Can Wealth Be an Aim?
We
often hear of a millionaire committing suicide, sometimes, not the
millionaire himself but his wife, son, or daughter. The question that
poses itself is: Can wealth bring happiness to one’s life? In most cases
the answer is NO. Is the purpose of collecting wealth a standing
purpose? As we know, the five-year old child does not look for wealth: a
toy for him is equal to a million dollars. The eighteen-year old
adolescent does not dream of wealth because he is busy with more
important things. The ninety-year old man does not care about money; he
is worried more about his health. This proves that wealth cannot be a
standing purpose in all the stages of the individual's life.
Wealth
can do little to bring happiness to a disbeliever, because he/she is
not sure about his fate. A disbeliever does not know the purpose of
life. And if he has a purpose, this purpose is doomed to be temporary or
self destructive.
What is the use of
wealth to a disbeliever if he feels scared of the end and skeptical of
everything. A disbeliever may gain a lot of money, but will surely lose
himself.
Worshipping Allah as an Aim
On
the contrary, faith in Allah gives the believer the purpose of life
that he needs. In Islam, the purpose of life is to worship Allah. The
term "Worship" covers all acts of obedience to Allah.
The
Islamic purpose of life is a standing purpose. The true Muslim sticks
to this purpose throughout all the stages of his life, whether he is a
child, adolescent, adult, or an old man.
Worshipping
Allah makes life purposeful and meaningful, especially within the
framework of Islam. According to Islam this worldly life is just a short
stage of our life. Then there is the other life. The boundary between
the first and second life is the death stage, which is a transitory
stage to the second life. The type of life in the second stage a person
deserves depends on his deeds in the first life. At the end of the death
stage comes the day of judgment. On this day, Allah rewards or punishes
people according to their deeds in the first life.
The First Life as an Examination
So,
Islam looks at the first life as an examination of man. The death stage
is similar to a rest period after the test, i. e. after the first life.
The Day of Judgment is similar to the day of announcing the results of
the examinees. The second life is the time when each examinee enjoys or
suffers from the outcome of his behavior during the test period.
In
Islam, the line of life is clear, simple, and logical: the first life,
death, the Day of Judgment, and then the second life. With this clear
line of life, the Muslim has a clear purpose in life. The Muslim knows
he is created by Allah. Muslims know they are going to spend some years
in this first life, during which they have to obey God, because God will
question them and hold them responsible for their public or private
deeds, because Allah knows about all the deeds of all people. The Muslim
knows that his deeds in the first life will determine the type of
second life they will live in. The Muslim knows that this first life is a
very short one, one hundred years, more or less, whereas the second
life is an eternal one.
islam and the aim of life
The Eternity of the Second Life
The
concept of the eternity of the second life has a tremendous effect on a
Muslims during their first life, because Muslims believe that their
first life determines the shape of their second life. In addition, this
determines the shape of their second life and this determination will be
through the Judgment of Allah, the All just and Almighty.
With
this belief in the second life and the Day of Judgment, the Muslim's
life becomes purposeful and meaningful. Moreover, the Muslim's standing
purpose is to go to Paradise in the second life.
In
other words, the Muslim's permanent purpose is to obey Allah, to submit
to Allah, to carry out His orders, and to keep in continues contact
with Him through prayers (five times a day), through fasting (one month a
year), through charity (as often as possible), and through pilgrimage
(once in one's life).
islam and the aim of life
The Need for a Permanent Purpose
Disbelievers
have purposes in their lives such as collecting money and property,
indulging in sex, eating, and dancing. But all these purposes are
transient and passing ones. All these purposes come and go, go up and
down. Money comes and goes. Health comes and goes. Sexual activities
cannot continue forever. All these lusts for money, food and sex cannot
answer the individual's questions: so what? Then What?
However,
Islam saves Muslims from the trouble of asking the question, because
Islam makes it clear, from the very beginning, that the permanent
purpose of the Muslim in this life is to obey Allah in order to go to
Paradise in the second life.
We should
know that the only way for our salvation in this life and in the
hereafter is to know our Lord who created us, believe in Him, and
worship Him alone.
We should also know
our Prophet whom Allah had sent to all mankind, believe in Him and
follow Him. We should, know the religion of truth which our Lord has
commanded us to believe in, and practice it …
Those in search of truth
Who have an open mind and heart,
Islamic Education Foundation
Welcome You.
Objectives: -
To Convey the message of Islam
To Educate Muslims about Islam
To keep in close contact with new Muslims.
Activities:
Offering Courses and presenting lectures about Islam in several languages.
Teaching Islam and Arabic.
Teaching new Muslims to receive the Holy Quran.
Helping Non- Muslims embrace Islam and complete the required
procedures
We
often hear of a millionaire committing suicide, sometimes, not the
millionaire himself but his wife, son, or daughter. The question that
poses itself is: Can wealth bring happiness to one’s life? In most cases
the answer is NO. Is the purpose of collecting wealth a standing
purpose? As we know, the five-year old child does not look for wealth: a
toy for him is equal to a million dollars. The eighteen-year old
adolescent does not dream of wealth because he is busy with more
important things. The ninety-year old man does not care about money; he
is worried more about his health. This proves that wealth cannot be a
standing purpose in all the stages of the individual's life.
Wealth
can do little to bring happiness to a disbeliever, because he/she is
not sure about his fate. A disbeliever does not know the purpose of
life. And if he has a purpose, this purpose is doomed to be temporary or
self destructive.
What is the use of
wealth to a disbeliever if he feels scared of the end and skeptical of
everything. A disbeliever may gain a lot of money, but will surely lose
himself.
Worshipping Allah as an Aim
On
the contrary, faith in Allah gives the believer the purpose of life
that he needs. In Islam, the purpose of life is to worship Allah. The
term "Worship" covers all acts of obedience to Allah.
The
Islamic purpose of life is a standing purpose. The true Muslim sticks
to this purpose throughout all the stages of his life, whether he is a
child, adolescent, adult, or an old man.
Worshipping
Allah makes life purposeful and meaningful, especially within the
framework of Islam. According to Islam this worldly life is just a short
stage of our life. Then there is the other life. The boundary between
the first and second life is the death stage, which is a transitory
stage to the second life. The type of life in the second stage a person
deserves depends on his deeds in the first life. At the end of the death
stage comes the day of judgment. On this day, Allah rewards or punishes
people according to their deeds in the first life.
The First Life as an Examination
So,
Islam looks at the first life as an examination of man. The death stage
is similar to a rest period after the test, i. e. after the first life.
The Day of Judgment is similar to the day of announcing the results of
the examinees. The second life is the time when each examinee enjoys or
suffers from the outcome of his behavior during the test period.
In
Islam, the line of life is clear, simple, and logical: the first life,
death, the Day of Judgment, and then the second life. With this clear
line of life, the Muslim has a clear purpose in life. The Muslim knows
he is created by Allah. Muslims know they are going to spend some years
in this first life, during which they have to obey God, because God will
question them and hold them responsible for their public or private
deeds, because Allah knows about all the deeds of all people. The Muslim
knows that his deeds in the first life will determine the type of
second life they will live in. The Muslim knows that this first life is a
very short one, one hundred years, more or less, whereas the second
life is an eternal one.
islam and the aim of life
The Eternity of the Second Life
The
concept of the eternity of the second life has a tremendous effect on a
Muslims during their first life, because Muslims believe that their
first life determines the shape of their second life. In addition, this
determines the shape of their second life and this determination will be
through the Judgment of Allah, the All just and Almighty.
With
this belief in the second life and the Day of Judgment, the Muslim's
life becomes purposeful and meaningful. Moreover, the Muslim's standing
purpose is to go to Paradise in the second life.
In
other words, the Muslim's permanent purpose is to obey Allah, to submit
to Allah, to carry out His orders, and to keep in continues contact
with Him through prayers (five times a day), through fasting (one month a
year), through charity (as often as possible), and through pilgrimage
(once in one's life).
islam and the aim of life
The Need for a Permanent Purpose
Disbelievers
have purposes in their lives such as collecting money and property,
indulging in sex, eating, and dancing. But all these purposes are
transient and passing ones. All these purposes come and go, go up and
down. Money comes and goes. Health comes and goes. Sexual activities
cannot continue forever. All these lusts for money, food and sex cannot
answer the individual's questions: so what? Then What?
However,
Islam saves Muslims from the trouble of asking the question, because
Islam makes it clear, from the very beginning, that the permanent
purpose of the Muslim in this life is to obey Allah in order to go to
Paradise in the second life.
We should
know that the only way for our salvation in this life and in the
hereafter is to know our Lord who created us, believe in Him, and
worship Him alone.
We should also know
our Prophet whom Allah had sent to all mankind, believe in Him and
follow Him. We should, know the religion of truth which our Lord has
commanded us to believe in, and practice it …
Those in search of truth
Who have an open mind and heart,
Islamic Education Foundation
Welcome You.
Objectives: -
To Convey the message of Islam
To Educate Muslims about Islam
To keep in close contact with new Muslims.
Activities:
Offering Courses and presenting lectures about Islam in several languages.
Teaching Islam and Arabic.
Teaching new Muslims to receive the Holy Quran.
Helping Non- Muslims embrace Islam and complete the required
procedures
