What Is The Purpose Of Life ?
They say that a fool lives to eat and a wise man eats to live. But
then the question remains: for what purpose does the wise man live?
Living is not an end by itself. There has to be a purpose for man to
live for. So what is this purpose?
Where from? Where to? And Why?
Any ignorance, however great, could be forgiven except for man to be
ignorant about the secret of his existence, his aim in life and what
will be his outcome after death. Some thinkers express these questions
in simple words: where from? Where to? And why? Meaning: where did I
come from? Where am I going? And why am I here?
Those who only believe in the material world and who do not believe in
a Creator- the atheists- only believe in sensory data. They say that
this universe and everything in it came by itself. All its order is
simply due to blind coincidence. They say that man is simply like an
animal or a plant and that he will exist for a short period and then
end like any other animal or plant.
An Arab Poet, Elya Abu Madhi (a born-Christian), not long ago
expressed his uncertainty about the purpose of life in his Arabic poem
Al-Talasim, meaning "puzzles," which I have translated into English.
He says in his poem:
I came not knowing from where, but I came.
And I saw a pathway in front of me, so I walked.
And I will remain walking, whether I want this or not.
How did I come? How did I see my pathway?
I do not know!
Am I new or am I old in this existence?
Am I free and unrestrained, or do I walk in chains?
Do I lead myself in my life, or am I being led?
I wish I know, but...
I do not know!
And my path, oh what is my path? Is it long or is it short?
Am I ascending in it, or am I going down and sinking?
Am I the one who is walking on the road,
or is it the road that is moving?
Or are we both standing, but it is the time that is running?
I do not know!
Before I became a full human, do you see
if I were nothing, impossible? Or do you see that I was something?
Is there an answer to this puzzle, or will it remain eternal?
I do not know ... and why do I not know??
I do not know!
This feeling of doubt and confusion about the presence of a Creator
and whether He sent messengers and prophets to guide mankind must be
quite painful because it deprives the Atheist and the Agnostic of
tranquility, security and peace of mind. The unbelievers do not have
credible answers to the purpose of one's existence. And thus they say
that man lives for himself and for the pleasures of this life. So what
happens when life turns sour? What happens when one goes through
hardships? It is no coincidence then that the largest number of
suicides takes place amongst Atheists, Agnostics and people who do not
know their purpose in life. Do you know which country has the largest
number of suicides? It's Japan. In the year ending March 2000, there
were 33,000 suicides in Japan. That is 91 suicides per day or 1
suicide every 15 minutes! This despite Japan being the second largest
economy in the world wherein people do not have to worry about
providing a roof over their heads or about food or medical care.
What if you find a Watch in the Sand?
To the Atheist and the Agnostic the Muslim says: "Suppose you find a
watch in the middle of a desert. What would you conclude? Would you
think that someone dropped this watch? Or would you suppose that the
watch came by itself? Of course no sane person would say that the
watch just happened to emerge from the sand. All the intricate working
parts could not simply develop from the metals that lay buried in the
earth. The watch must have a manufacturer. If a watch tells accurate
time we expect the manufacturer must be intelligent. Blind chance
cannot produce a working watch.
But what else tells accurate time? Consider the sunrise and sunset.
Their timings are so strictly regulated that scientists can publish in
advance the sunrise and sunset times in your daily newspapers. But who
regulates the timings of sunrise and sunset? If a watch cannot work
without an intelligent maker, how can the sun appear to rise and set
with such clockwork regularity? Could this occur by itself?
Consider also that we benefit from the sun only because it remains at
a safe distance from the earth, a distance that averages 93 million
miles. If it got much closer, the earth would burn up. And if it got
too far away, the earth would turn into an icy planet making human
life here impossible. Who decided in advance that this was the right
distance? Could it just happen by chance? Without the sun, plants
would not grow. Then animals and humans would starve. Did the sun just
decide to be there for us?
The rays of the sun would be dangerous for us had it not been for the
protective ozone layer in our atmosphere. The atmosphere around the
earth keeps the harmful ultraviolet rays from reaching us. Who was it
that placed this shield around us?
We need to experience sunrise. We need the sun's energy and its light
to see our way during the day. But we also need sunset. We need a
break from the heat, we need the cool of night and we need the lights
to go out so we may sleep. Who regulated this process to provide what
we need?
Moreover, if we had only the warmth of the sun and the protection of
the atmosphere we would want something more - beauty. Our clothes
provide warmth and protection, yet we design them to also look
beautiful. Knowing our need for beauty, the designer of sunrise and
sunset also made the view of them to be simply breathtaking.
The creator who gave us light, energy, protection and beauty deserves
our thanks. Yet some people insist that he does not exist. What would
they think if they found a watch in the desert? An accurate, working
watch? A beautifully designed watch? Would they not conclude that
there does exist a watchmaker? An intelligent watchmaker? One who
appreciates beauty? Such is God who made us."
Did people always believe in a Creator?
It is a fact that throughout history and throughout the world, man had
been found to worship and to believe in a Creator. Specialists in
Anthropology, Civilizations and History are unanimous on this. This
led one of the great historians to say: "History shows that there had
been cities without palaces, without factories and without fortresses,
but there has never been cities without houses of worship." Since time
immemorial, man believed that he was not created simply for this life,
for this short period, and he knew that he would ultimately depart to
another resting-place. We see this evidence with the early Egyptians,
thousands of years ago, when they mummified their dead and built great
pyramids (as graves) and even placed the treasures of the dead in
their graves in addition to drinks and mummified food! From the
earliest recorded history, mankind had been unanimous, with very few
exceptions, that there is a Creator and that there is life after
death. However, they differed about the essence of this Creator, how
to worship Him and the description of the life after death. For
example, Hindus believe in reincarnation and that after death one's
soul would then go into a human body or an animal, depending on
whether one did good or bad in his life, and that this process would
continue without end until the soul reaches perfection and unites into
one with its Creator. People of other religions like Jews, Christians
and Muslims also believe in life after death, but not in reincarnation
like the Hindus. All three - Jews, Christians and Muslims -however
have different views about what happens to the soul after one's
death.
The fact that all nations and communities throughout history believed
in a Creator (with the exception of insignificant few) made the
mission of all prophets in all ages concentrate on guiding their
people away from the worship of creations to the worship of the one
and only Creator God, i.e. rather than having to prove His existence.
Why did People turn away from God?
The situation now in the world is different because there are now a
very large number of people who do not believe in a Creator or in life
after death - for example two surveys in the Czech Republic in 2000
found in one only 13% believe in life after death and in the other
only 17% believe in God. A major reason for this in the last century
was the so-called theory of evolution by Darwin (other reasons include
the impact of totalitarian communism rule on people's faith.) The
theory of evolution says that man evolved from the ape, rather than
being created by a Creator. Although this theory has no academic or
scientific substance, it gained favor with so many people because it
appealed to the doubts they had about the God that they were told to
believe in. This is not surprising. If you give an educated person a
description of a Creator that is illogical and unreasonable and then
ask that person to believe in Him as his God, he would refuse. This
unfortunately is the situation right now, especially in the west. The
Christian Doctrines advocate the trinity, that God manifests Himself
in three distinct and equal persons, and that God came down to earth
in the form of a man (that is Jesus) and that He was crucified and
died as a vicarious sacrifice for the so-called sin of man. So the
Christians believe that Jesus was God in human form, God-incarnate.
But how can the Creator die?
Some of the most important doctrines of Christianity - the doctrines
of the Trinity, the Divinity of Jesus, the Divine-Sonship of Jesus,
the Original Sin and the Atonement are neither rational nor in
conformity with the teachings of Jesus. These dogmas took shape long
after Jesus, as a result of old pagan influence. For example we find
in Hinduism, the "Triad" (the trinity): there is Brahma, the creator
god, Vishnu, the preserver god, and Shiva, the god of destruction.
Modern Hindus take Krishna the son of Divachi, the virgin, as Vishnu
incarnate. Krishna is the savior who as a sacrifice for their sin, had
to suffer. He was crucified, died and then was raised from death. In
Buddhism we find the Buddhist gods: Guatama (the holy spirit), Maya
(the virgin mother) and Buddha, the son (who was conceived when Maya
was filled by the holy spirit) and who is the savior who died and was
raised from death. It may be interesting to mention that the 25th of
December is not the birthday of Jesus. It is the birthday of Krishna
in Hinduism, and of Nimrod, the divine son (a Babylonian god), and of
Mithra, the god of light (one of the gods of the Greeks and the
Romans)!
The religion revealed to the prophets of various nations was the same,
but in the course of time it had been misinterpreted and become mixed
up with superstitions and degenerated into magical practices and
meaningless rituals. The concept of God, the very core of religion,
had become debased by (a) the anthropomorphic tendency of making God
into a being with a human shape, needs and human deficiencies, (b) the
association of other persons with the one and only God in His Godhead
(as in Hinduism and Christianity), (c) by the deification of the
angels (e.g., the Devas in Hinduism, the Yazatas in Zoroastrianism
and, perhaps also, the Holy Spirit in Christianity), (d) by making the
Prophets into Avatars or incarnations of God (e.g., Jesus Christ in
Christianity, the Buddha in Mahayana Buddhism, and Krishna and Rama in
Hinduism), and (e) by the personification of the attributes of God
into separate Divine Persons (e.g., the Christian Trinity of the
Father, the Son and Holy Ghost, the Hindu Timurtri of Brahma, Vishnu
and Shiva, and the Amesha Spentas of Zoroastrianism).
Due to major religions distorting the oneness and essence of God,
pupils in the West are now being taught in schools to accept, as fact,
Darwin's theory of evo1ution. As a result, more and more students of
school and university age are now Atheists. They even ridicule those
who believe in God saying: "they are either stupid or lack confidence
and so need something to give them security!"
I was recently attending a lecture in a Western country given by a
Muslim to a group of retired men and women - more than 65 years of
age. The lecturer in the beginning asked the group: which of you
believe in God? They all raised their hands except two men. Then the
lecturer asked: which of you do not believe in God? The remaining two
elderly men then raised their hands. However, one of them paused and
immediately interrupted the lecturer. He said: "Tell me what do you
mean by God so that I can answer you!" After the session, I said to
the lecturer: this man is intelligent because at first he said he did
not believe in God, most probably because of the Christian concept of
God, but then he was willing to have an open mind and rethink his
position based on the concept of God that could be presented by the
Muslim.
Why are we created?
Those who believe in the Creator can answer the questions: where from?
And where to? They know that they have come into existence by being
created by the Creator and they also know that there is an eternal
life after death. But what about the answer to the third question,
that is: why have we been created? If we had been created by the
Creator, shouldn't we expect that He would tell us the purpose of our
creation? Shouldn't He tell us on what basis He is going to judge us
on the Day of Judgment?
What is the Islamic view?
Muslims say they know the answers because they have the Quran. But
people of other religions also have their own scriptures, so what is
so special about the Quran? The Quran is basically a book of divine
guidance in areas that cannot be covered by the human senses or
intellect, such as faith, acts of worship, a moral code and a code
that governs the transactions between people. These are the four basic
foundations of religion, an area in which man always needs divine
guidance. Muslims contend that the Quran is the last revealed
scripture by Allah (Allah is the proper name of God and is not used to
denote any other being. Therefore, I shall use the name Allah in
preference to the word God). The Quran is the recorded words of Allah
Himself dictated verbatim to the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)
in installments, verse by verse or a group of verses, through the
angel Gabriel over a period of 23 years between 610 and 633 AD. It is
divided into 114 units, each called a surah. Muhammad (P.B.U.H)
received revelation of the Quranic surahs as and when Allah chose to
bestow on him new revelation. At times several surahs, particularly
the longer ones, were being revealed to him concurrently. Muhammad
(P.B.U.H) used to have a group of scribes entrusted with committing
immediately whatever was revealed to him to writing. Those scribes
used parchment, pottery, date palm leaves, flat stones, tree bark,
wood, dried animal skins and even the shoulder blades of sheep or
camels to write on; and the revealed verses were memorized by heart as
the mere recitation of the Quran is in itself an act of worship, and
as Muslims used these verses in their judgments and in their daily
five prayers. In this manner, the verses of the Quran were preserved
in the hearts of Muslims, as well as written down, during the lifetime
of the Prophet. Muhammad (P.B.U.H) was instructed by angel Gabriel
where to place every new passage in the surahs. The surahs were named
by divine decree, and Muhammad (P.B.U.H) recited the whole of the
Quran in front of Gabriel more than once in the last year of his life.
Similarly, the arrangement of the surahs in a specific order was given
by the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) who indicated it mostly by reading
the surahs, particularly in prayer, in a specific order. No revealed
book has ever enjoyed the authenticity of the Quran or had the
cherishing, reverence, surveillance and care of its followers as the
Quran. The whole Quran has been memorized by a large number of Muslims
in the lifetime of Muhammad (P.B.U.H).
After Muhammad's (P.B.U.H) departure, the first Caliph, Abu Bakr,
asked one of the original scribes, Zaid ibn Thabit, to be in charge of
collecting the original writings of the Quranic revelations and
writing down the whole Quran. Zaid produced a whole copy of the Quran
written on pages of leather. It was arranged in the order we have
today. This was done in the first two years after the Prophet's death,
since Abu Bakr ruled for less than two years. This copy was then
entrusted with the second Caliph, Omar, and finally with the third
Caliph, Othman. During the reign of Othman, the Arabs came to know the
paper industry from China and Othman called on Zaid to head a
committee of four Quranic scholars who would take on the task of
making seven copies. Those seven copies (written 14 years after
Muhammad's (P.B.U.H) death) were distributed to the various centers of
the Muslim state to be the reference copy in each center. At least
three of those original copies of the Quran are still intact, one in
Tashkent, one in Istanbul, and one in Cairo. They do not differ in one
letter from the millions of copies of the Quran that are in the hands
of people today. This authentication of the last revelation is in
itself miraculous. The Quran is the oldest book within the hands of
humanity that has been kept intact in exactly the same language of
revelation word for word and letter for letter. That is why the Quran
is unique, because it is the word of the Creator in its purest
divinity.
Muslims believe in the authentic original revelations given to
Prophets Moses, David and Jesus, but none of these original
revelations is found intact, and none is found in the original
language of revelation, and here the Quran stands unique in its divine
purity. Again the Quran is different from any human writings because
it is neither prose nor poetry. It came to the Arabs when they were at
their peak in eloquence and challenged them to produce one single
chapter of it, or similar to it, or to produce ten similar chapters or
even a book like it. This challenge still exists today and no
challenger is forthcoming. The early scholars of the Quran thought
that its miraculous nature was due mainly to its style and beautiful
expression. The beauty of expression is really unique and cannot be
paralleled by human writings. That is why the early commentators of
the Quran concentrated on its eloquence and style. Yet being the word
of the Creator, any area that has been covered in the Quran must be
unique. If you look at jurisprudence the Quran is unique, in the area
of worship, the Quran instructs people how to worship Allah. The
concepts of Divinity, prophet hood, and morality are all unique in the
Quran. If we look at the narration of history of previous nations, one
after the other, and how they received the divine message, their
reaction towards it and what their reward or punishment was, at a time
when there was no form of regular documentation whatsoever. The Quran
talks about these successive nations without a single mistake, and
modern archaeological discoveries are a testimony to this.
Is the Quran credible?
Besides religious guidance, the Quran contains hundreds of verses that
speak of the universe, its components and phenomena such as the Earth,
the sun, the moon, the stars, mountains, wind, running water, plants,
embryological animals, and the successive stages of development of the
human being. More than 1,000 verses relating to cosmic facts or cosmic
phenomena can be counted in the Quran. During the early days of the
Quran, scientific knowledge of the universe was limited and it was not
easy to elaborate on the verses relating to the universe or its
phenomena except within the limitations of the time. However, we now
know about the laws of the universe much more than before and that is
why reviewing the 1,000 or more verses relating to the cosmos, man and
his surroundings can be one of the most obvious miraculous aspects of
the Quran. This is because of the precedence of the Quran, which was
revealed more than 14 Centuries ago, with many of the scientific
facts, at a time when people had no knowledge whatsoever of such
facts. The Quran has addressed so many of these facts in a language
that is more precise, accurate and concise than scientists have ever
been able to do. Nothing in the Quran contradicts any established
scientific facts. These cannot be all covered in a short article and
hence I have chosen only five verses that can testify to the
miraculous nature of the Quran from a scientific point of view:
1) The creation of the universe is explained by astrophysicists in a
widely accepted phenomenon, popularly known as the "Big Bang." It is
supported by observational and experimental data gathered by
astronomers and astrophysicists for decades. According to the "Big
Bang," the whole universe was initially one big mass (Primary Nebula).
Then there was a "Big Bang" (Secondary Separation), which resulted in
the formation of Galaxies. These then divided to form stars, planets,
the sun, the moon, etc. The origin of the universe was unique and the
probability of it occurring by "chance" is zero. The Quran contains
the following verse, regarding the origin of the universe:
«"Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the
earth were (once) a joined entity, then We separated them and made
from water every living thing? Then will they not believe? "» [21:30]
The striking congruence between the Quranic verse and the "Big Bang"
is inescapable! How could a book, which first appeared in the deserts
of Arabia 1400 years ago, contain this profound scientific truth?
2) In 1925 an American astronomer by the name of Edwin Hubble provided
observational evidence that all galaxies are receding from one
another, which implies that the universe is expanding. The expansion
of the universe is now an established scientific fact. This is what
the Quran says regarding the formation of the universe:
«"And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are
[its] expander."» [51:47]
Stephen Hawking, in his book A Brief History of Time, says: "The
discovery that the universe is expanding is one of the great
intellectual revolutions of the 20th century." The Quran mentioned the
expansion of the universe before man even learnt to build a
telescope!
3) Scientists say that before the galaxies in the universe were
formed, celestial matter was initially in the form of gaseous matter.
In short, huge gaseous matter or clouds were present before the
formation of the galaxies. To describe initial celestial matter, the
word "smoke" is more appropriate than gas. The following Quranic verse
refers to this state of the universe by the word dukhan which means
smoke:
«"Then He turned to the heaven when it was smoke... "» [41:11]
Again, this fact is a corollary to the "Big Bang" and was not known to
mankind during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H). What then,
could have been the source of this knowledge?
4) It was thought that the sense of feeling and pain was only
dependent on the brain. Recent discoveries prove that there are pain
receptors present in the skin without which a person would not be able
to feel pain. When a doctor examines a patient suffering from burn
injuries, he verifies the degree of burns by a pinprick. If the
patient feels pain, the doctor is happy, because it indicates that the
burns are superficial and the pain receptors are intact. On the other
hand if the patient does not feel any pain, it indicates that it is a
deep burn and the pain receptors have been destroyed. The Quran gives
an indication of the existence of pain receptors in the following
verse:
«"Indeed, those who disbelieve in Our verses (i.e. signs, proofs) - We
will drive them into a Fire. Every time their skins are roasted
through We will replace them with other skins so they may taste the
punishment. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted in Might and Wise. But those
who believe and do righteous deeds - We will admit them to gardens
beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide forever."» [4:56-57]
Prof. Tagatat Tejasen, Chairman of the Dept. of Anatomy at Chiang Mai
University in Thailand, had spent a great amount of time on research
of pain receptors. Initially he could not believe that the Quran
mentioned this scientific fact 1400 years ago. He later verified the
translation of this particular Quranic verse. Prof. Tejasen was so
impressed by the scientific accuracy of the Quranic verse, that at a
medical Conference in 1985 he proclaimed in public the Shahadah
(Islamic Declaration of Faith), i.e. he embraced Islam.
5) The source of iron (Fe); we read in the Quran:
«"Indeed, We have sent down iron in which there is great (military)
might and benefits for the people."» [57:25]
It has recently been proven that all iron, not only in our planet but
also in the entire solar system, was obtained from outer space. This
is because the temperature of the sun cannot generate iron. The sun
has a surface temperature of 6000 degrees Celsius and a central
temperature of about 20 million degrees Celsius. There exists much
hotter stars, which are known as novae, or super novae where
temperatures can reach 100s of billions of degrees Celsius and it is
in these stars that iron is formed. When the percentage of iron
reaches a certain proportion of the mass of the star it explodes and
these exploded-particles travel in space until they are captured by
the gravitational fields of other heavenly bodies. This is how our
solar system all obtained its iron and it is an established fact today
that all the iron in our solar system was not generated or created
within the system but has come to it from outer space.
One wonders why the Quran comments on matters like these, things that
were not known to anyone at the time of revelation or even for
centuries afterwards, unless Allah knows in His eternal knowledge that
the time will come when man will then immediately realize that the
Quran is the word of Allah and that Muhammad is His last messenger.
Allah says in the Quran:
«"We shall show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves
until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth."» [41:53]
Prof. Tejasen accepted Islam on the strength of just one scientific
"sign" mentioned in the Quran. Some people may require ten signs while
some may require hundred signs to be convinced about the Divine origin
of the Quran. Some would be unwilling to accept the Truth even after
being shown a thousand signs. The Quran condemns such a closed
mentality:
«"Deaf, dumb and blind- so they will not return [to the right
path]."» [2:18].
Also:
«"The example of those who disbelieve is like that of the one who
shouts at what hears nothing but calls and cries [i.e. cattle or
sheep] - deaf, dumb and blind, so they do not understand."» [2:171].
And:
«"Then do they not reflect upon the Quran, or are there locks upon
[their] hearts?"» [47:24]
What is the Purpose of Life?
So what does the Creator, Allah, tell us about our purpose in life?
Allah states in the Quran that He created man to be His Khalefah, His
trustee on earth (Quran 2:30). Mankind's basic trust, our
responsibility, is to believe in and worship Allah:
«"And I did not create the Jinn and mankind except to worship
Me..."» [51:56-58]
Very simple! The purpose for man's creation is to worship the Creator.
The essence of Allah's message through all of the prophets also was:
«"O mankind, worship Allah, you have no deity other than
Him."» [7:59].
Allah further states that He made this life in order to test man so
that every person may be recompensed after death for what he has
earned:
«"[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is
best in deed - and He is the Exalted in Might, the
Forgiving."» [67:2]
But in order to worship Him, we have to know Him well otherwise we may
form a distorted concept of Him and then go astray. In the Quran Allah
tells mankind what He is and what He is not. For example, in response
to a question about Allah that was posed to the Prophet Muhammad
(P.B.U.H), Allah instructs Muhammad (P.B.U.H) to give the following
reply:
«"Say : He is Allah [Who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He
neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any
equivalent."» [112]
It is clear from this that Muhammad (P.B.U.H) is not the author of the
Quran otherwise he would not have shown that someone is dictating to
him what to say.
Also, Allah has to tell us how He wants to be worshipped, which He
does in the Quran. He also tells us in the Quran that all Prophets
came with the same identical message to their people - that is to
believe in Allah and to worship Him. He also tells us in the Quran
that all the people of other religions have deviated from the original
teachings of their prophets. This is due to two reasons. The first is
that earlier scriptures were not preserved simply because of the
absence or scarcity of writing paper and so the teachings were
transmitted orally and with time became distorted. The second reason
is because the clergy of various religions introduced doctrines that
were never there (e.g., the Christian trinity creed was introduced
only after the council of Nicea in 325 AD and the Council of
Constantinople in 386 AD). Because of the changes that crept into
earlier religions, Allah tells us that He sent the Prophet Muhammad
(P.B.U.H) as the last and final prophet and guidance to mankind with a
scripture that He promised would be preserved forever. Allah provides
a test to prove that the Quran is from Him. Allah says:
«"Then do they not reflect upon the Quran? (i.e. its meanings and its
objective) If it had been from [any] other than Allah, they would have
found within it much contradiction "» [4:82]
The Quran is available for scrutiny and investigation by any person to
try to find even one error or contradiction in it. In fact this test
must be applied to any other scripture that claims it is the word of
God.
Is there any "blind faith" in Islam?
Islam is not a religion of "blind faith" but is a religion that
strongly calls on man to use his logic, reasoning and intellect. Allah
in the Quran stresses the importance for people to think, to reason
and to use their mind and intellect. The word "mind" or "reasoning" is
mentioned 49 times in the Quran (in Arabic Ta'qiloon 24 times,
Ya'qiloon 22 times, and A'qal, Na'qil and Ya'qil one time each). Also
Allah refers to "people of understanding" 16 times in the Quran (in
Arabic Ulu Al-AlBab or Uli Al-Albab). Allah also refers to "those of
intelligence" two times in Chapter 20 by the Arabic term Uli Al-Nuha.
Allah also refers in many chapters in the Quran to the mind by the
Arabic word Al-Fuad. Also in many verses in the Quran, Allah uses the
term heart (in Arabic Al-Qalb) in place of the word Al-Fuad (mind) to
mean the same thing. In one place in Chapter 89 verses 53 & 54, Allah
refers to the mind by the Arabic word Al-Hijr. The Quran also, in tens
of verses, strongly calls and emphasizes the need to "contemplate" and
to "give thought" (in Arabic Fikr or Tafakkor). Also in tens of
verses, the Quran draws attention to the importance for man to
"remember" and to "recall" (in Arabic Tazakkor). The significance of
the two being: to "give thought" is to increase or acquire new
knowledge, whereas to "remember" is to recall and remind oneself of
relevant knowledge and events that may have been forgotten, but which
are important for one's faith.
Allah praises people who use their mind:
«"Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the
alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of
understanding - Who remember Allah while standing or sitting or
[lying] on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens
and the earth, [saying], "Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly;
exalted are You [above such a thing]; then protect us from the
punishment of the Fire."» [3:190]
About the Quran, Allah Says:
«"[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O
Muhammad], that they (i.e. people) might reflect upon its verses and
that those of understanding would be reminded."» [38:29]
In the Quran, the words that can be formed from the term "know" or
"knowledge" (root 'elm in Arabic) is to be found 865 times. In one
verse Allah says:
«"Are those who know equal to those who do not know? Only they will
remember [who are] people of understanding."» [39:9]
Also:
«"And so those who were given knowledge may know that It (i.e. the
Quran) is the truth from your Lord and [therefore] believe in it, and
their hearts humbly submit to it. And indeed is Allah the Guide of
those who have believed to a straight path."» [2:54]
On the other hand, the Quran strongly rejects certain mentalities that
are driven by myths, illusions, absurdities, ignorance, blind
imitation of others, assumption (conjecture), prejudice, whims and
desires. In fact, Allah in the Quran confirms that most people on
earth have gone astray because they follow assumption, conjecture and
ignorance. Allah says:
«"And if you obey most of those upon the earth, they will mislead you
from the way of Allah. They follow not except assumption, and they are
not but falsifying (out of ignorance, conjecture and assumption)."
» [6:116]
Is there Life after Death?
All the prophets of God called their people to worship God and to
believe in life after death. They laid so much emphasis on the belief
in life after death that even a slight doubt in it meant denying God
and made all other beliefs meaningless. The very fact that all the
prophets of God have dealt with this metaphysical question of life
after death so confidently and so uniformly - the gap between their
ages in some cases, being thousands of years - goes to prove that the
source of their knowledge of life after death as proclaimed by them
all, was the same, i.e. divine revelation. We also know that these
prophets of God were greatly opposed by their people, mainly on the
issue of life after death, as their people thought it impossible. But
in spite of opposition, the Prophets won many sincere followers.
The question arises: what made those followers forsake the established
beliefs, traditions and customs of their forefathers, notwithstanding
the risk of being totally alienated from their own community? The
simple answer is: they made use of their faculties of mind and heart
and realized the truth.
Did they realize the truth through perceptual consciousness? They
couldn't, as perceptual experience of life after death is impossible.
God has given Man besides perceptual consciousness, rational,
aesthetic and moral consciousness too. It is this consciousness that
guides man regarding realities that cannot be verified through sensory
data. That is why all the prophets of God while calling people to
believe in God and life after death, appeal to the aesthetic, moral
and rational consciousness of man.
The Quran very clearly says that the disbelievers have no sound basis
for their denial of life after death. It is based on pure conjecture:
«"And they say, "There is not but our worldly life; we die and live
(i.e. some people die and others live, replacing them) and nothing
destroys us except time." And they have of that no knowledge; they are
only assuming. And when Our verses are recited to them as clear
evidences, their argument is only that they say, "Bring [back] our
forefathers, if you should be truthful." Say, "Allah causes you to
live, then causes you to die; then He will assemble you for the Day of
Resurrection, about which there is no doubt." But most of the people
do not know."» [45:24]
The explanation that the Quran gives about the necessity of life after
death is what the moral consciousness of man demands. Actually, if
there is no life after death, the very belief in God becomes
meaningless or even if one believes in God, it would be an unjust and
indifferent God, having once created man and now not being concerned
with his fate. Surely, God is just. He will punish the tyrants, whose
crimes are beyond count - having tortured and killed hundreds or
thousands of innocent people, created great corruption in society,
enslaved numerous persons to serve their whims, etc. Because man has a
very short life span in this world and because numerous individuals
are affected by one's actions, adequate punishments and rewards are
not possible in this life. Could the good and the righteous be equated
with the wicked and evil? Moral, aesthetic and rational faculties of
man reject this logic and endorse the possibility of the life after
death. Allah confirms this truth in the Quran:
«"Then did you think that We created you uselessly and that to Us you
would not be returned?"» [23:115]
Also:
«"And We did not create the heaven and the earth and that between them
aimlessly. That is the assumption of those who disbelieve, so woe to
those who disbelieve from the Fire. Or should We treat those who
believe and do righteous deeds like corrupters in the land? Or should
We treat those who fear Allah like the wicked?"» [38:27]
Also:
«"Or do those who commit evils think We will make them like those who
have believed and done righteous deeds - [the evildoers being] equal
in their life and their death? Evil is that which they judge [i.e.
assume]. And Allah created the heavens and earth in truth and so that
every soul may be recompensed for what it has earned, and they will
not be wronged."» [45:21]
Also:
«"And We did not create the heavens and the earth and that between
them in play. We did not create them except in truth, but most of them
do not know. Indeed, the Day of Judgment is the appointed time for
them all."» [44:38]
The Quran emphatically states that the Day of Judgment must come and
that Allah will decide the fate of each soul according to his or her
record of deeds:
«"But those who disbelieve say, "The Hour (i.e. the Day of Judgment)
will not come to us." Say, "Yes, by my Lord, it will surely come to
you. [Allah is] the Knower of the unseen." Not absent from Him is an
atom's weight within the heavens or within the earth or [what is]
smaller than that or greater, except that it is in a clear register -
That He may reward those who believe and do righteous deeds. Those
will have forgiveness and noble provision. But those who strive
against Our verses [seeking] to cause failure (i.e. to undermine their
credibility) - for them will be a painful punishment of foul
nature."» [34:3]
The Day of Resurrection will be the Day when God's attributes of
Justice and Mercy will be in full manifestation. God will shower His
mercy on those who suffered for His sake in the worldly life,
believing that an eternal bliss was awaiting them. But those who
abused the bounties of God, caring nothing for the life to come, will
be in the most miserable state. Drawing a comparison between them, the
Quran says:
«"Then is he whom We have promised a good promise which he will meet
[i.e. obtain] like he for whom We provided enjoyment of worldly life
[but] then he is, on the Day of Resurrection, among those presented
[for punishment in Hell]?"» [28:61]
The belief in life after death not only guarantees success in the
Hereafter but also makes this world full of peace and happiness by
making individuals most responsible and dutiful in their activities:
«"Every soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good
as trial; and to Us you will be returned."» [21:35]
Why should one read the Quran?
No person can afford to be ignorant of the Quran, for it is the
constitution revealed by Allah to regulate and govern human life. It
speaks with the perfect knowledge of the Creator about His creation.
It exposes the truth and invites man to the way of truth. It contains
important information about human destiny and that of the individual.
It educates and raises men to the highest moral, intellectual and
social level when they strive to comprehend it and apply its teachings
to life.
Moreover, it is the actual words of Allah - not created, but revealed
by Him through the angel Gabriel to a human messenger, Muhammad , for
the benefit of humanity. It is an eternal miracle given to the final
prophet, Muhammad , as proof of his prophet hood and a challenge to
all succeeding generations. It is of unique and inimitable quality.
Revealed fourteen centuries ago, it remains today completely intact
and unaltered in its original Arabic form.
What does one discover when he understands the meanings of the Quran?
The answers to this question can be classified in four main
categories:
1) That he can know his Creator as He has described Himself
2) That he can know the purpose of life on this earth and what is
expected of every person during this life
3) That he becomes aware of the consequences of his attitudes and his
behavior
4) How he should relate to all things - to Allah by worship and
obedience, to his fellow man by justice to all, and to the universe in
general by putting those things under his control to good use.
This divine message was revealed to confirm and renew the relationship
between man and his Creator and to reinstate the sincere and correct
worship of the one true God, Allah, who says:
«"Then let them respond to Me and believe in Me that they may be
[rightly] guided."» [2:168]
Why Islam?
Islam is not a new religion; it is not a different religion. It is in
essence the same religion that Allah (or "God"😉 sent to all mankind
through all His prophets at different times in history - the religion
that had unfortunately been changed through human adulterations,
theology and philosophy. That is why the Prophet Muhammad came as the
last and final prophet and messenger of Allah. He needed to come to
remove all the riddles and confusion in the lives of people. He
corrected matters of diversion in belief that were introduced by
confusing human philosophy and theology. He restored the pure
monotheistic belief of our Creator and brought the most perfect and
most noble understanding of Allah (or "God"😉.
The purpose of life is to know Allah, to believe in Him and to worship
Him according to how He wants to be worshipped, this includes that we
live our lives according to His commands. In the Quran, Allah tells us
that since the messages of all prophets before the Prophet Muhammad
have been distorted, none of these objectives could be achieved
correctly except through His last and final message, and therefore He
will judge people on the Day of Judgment based on whether they
believed and followed Islam. Allah says:
«"Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam."» [3:19]
In the same chapter Allah declares:
«"And whoever desires other than Islam as religion - never will it be
accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers
(in the Hellfire)."» [3:85]
Muslims believe that the present life is a trial in preparation for
the next realm of existence. Muslims know that man was not created
merely for this worldly life; rather this world was created for man.
So, if a fool lives to eat and a wise man eats to live, then a
believer lives to worship Allah.
How Does Someone Become a Muslim?
To become a Muslim a person simply needs to say the Shahadah
(Declaration of Faith) with sincere conviction: "Ash-hadu al-la elaha
illa-Allah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasulu Allah" one becomes a
Muslim. This saying means, "I testify that there is no deity [worthy
of worship] except Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger
of Allah."
Author : Mostafa Malaekah
Source : Islam Guide
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