THE PURPOSE OF LIFE…
Unfortunately, when you ask most people the question: "What is the purpose of life?" (Such a fundamental and important question), they will not tell you what they have concluded through observation or analytical reasoning. Rather, in most cases, they will simply tell you what someone else said, or they will tell you what is "commonly presumed" by others.
If
we ask anyone about the purpose of eating or why do we eat, everyone
will say that it is for nutritional purposes, because nutrition sustains
life. If we ask anyone why they work, they will say because it’s a
necessity in order to support them and to provide for the needs of their
families. If I ask anyone why they sleep, why they wash, why they
dress, etc, they will answer with appropriate answers, for these are
common necessities for all human beings. We can follow this line of
questioning with a hundred questions and receive the same or similar
answers from anyone in any language from any place in the world.
Then why when we ask the question, "What
is the goal and purpose of life?" that we get many different answers?
It is because people are confused; they don't really know. They are
stumbling in the dark, and rather than say, "I don't know"; they just
offer any answer they have been programmed to give.
Think
about it! Is our purpose in this world simply to eat, sleep, dress,
work, acquire some material things and enjoy ourselves? Is this our
purpose? Why are we born? What is the object of our existence? What is
the wisdom behind the amazing creation of man and this tremendous
universe? Think about those questions.
God mentions to us in the Holy Quran
“Do
they not think deeply about themselves? God has not created the heavens
and the earth and all that is between them except with truth and for an
appointed term.”(Quran 30:8)
“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 God
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.”(Quran 3:189-191)
In
these verses, God draws our attention to the creation of the heavens
and earth, the alternation of the night and the day, the creation of the
universe. He calls our attention to their creation and their precision,
and mentions those who contemplate the wonders of creation and realize
that this was not created for any foolish purpose, [that God is exalted
above doing such a thing] and they seek refuge with God from the
punishment of Hell. Truly, when you see the design of all that God
created, you realize it is very powerful and very precise. Something
very powerful and very precise; something beyond your own calculation
and imagination, cannot be foolish.
When
you see a bridge, a building or an automobile, you automatically
consider the person or company that constructed it. When you see a large
ship, an airplane, a rocket, a satellite; you also think about how
incredible it is. [You know by itsdesignit has a maker.] When you see a
super international airport, nuclear plant or an orbiting space station
you have to be thoroughly impressed with the engineering dynamics that
are involved. Yet, these are just things that are manufactured by human
beings. So what about the human body with its massive and intricate
control systems? Think about it, who made that?
Think
about the brain: how it thinks, functions, analyzes, retrieves and
stores information, as well as distinguishes and categorizes information
in a millionth of a second, all of this constantly. Think about the
brain for a moment! This is the brain that made the automobile, the
rocket ships, the boats, and so on. Think about the brain and who made
that! How is it we say the airplane for example was created and yet the
brain, something much more complex with many more purposeful functions
came about by chance!! Think about it!
Think
about the heart. Think about how it pumps continuously for sixty or
seventy years [taking in and discharging blood throughout the body]
maintaining steady precision throughout the life of the person.
Think
about the kidneys and the liver and the various functions they perform.
The purifying instruments of the body that perform hundreds of chemical
analyses simultaneously and also control the level of toxicity in the
content of the body. All of these are done automatically without us
having to regulate that.
Think
about your eyes, the human cameras, that adjust, focus, interpret,
evaluate, and discern color automatically, naturally receiving and
adjusting to light and distance.
Then
consider all these systems coming together in 1 body working together!
Think about it, who created that? Who has mastered their design and
function? Who plans and regulates their function? Did Human beings do
this? Is it co-incidence? No, of course not.
“Verily
in the heavens and the earth are signs for the believers. And in your
creation, and what He scattered of moving creatures are signs with
people of sure faith,”(Quran 45:3-4)
The
theory of evolution claims that everything came about from nothing
without a cause. But if we examine a computer, we know the parts did not
come together with such intricacy even if we waited a billion years,
nor even its basic parts! Yet we are made to think that something
millions of times more complex could come together somehow with such
design and purpose, without cause or architect, purely by chance!! Think
about it………
What
about this universe? The universe is governed by basic laws of physics
such as gravity, electromagnetic forces, mass, energy etc. If these laws
or the calculations they are based on were out by a fraction then it
would lead to the destruction of the whole universe. Yet it is in
perfect harmony and order.
“Indeed
God grasps the heavens and the earth lest they move away, and if they
were to move away, there is not one that could grasp them after Him.
Truly He is Ever Most-Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving.”35:41
“God
is He Who raised the heavens without any pillars you can see. Then He
rose above the Throne. He subjected the sun and the moon each running
for a term appointed. He regulates the affair, explaining the signs in
detail that you may believe with certainty in the meeting of your Lord.”(Quran 13:2)
Think
about the oceans, the fish, the insects, the birds, the plants,
bacteria, and chemical elements that have not yet been discovered and
cannot be detected even with the most sophisticated instruments. Yet
each of them has a law that they follow. Did all of this
synchronization, balance, harmony, variation, design, maintenance,
operation, happen all by chance? Do these things function perfectly and
perpetually also by chance? No of course not! That would be totally
illogical and foolish.
We
must admit that The Being, The Almighty Power, God, The Creator who has
the knowledge to design and proportion created all of this and is
responsible for maintaining it. If I were to give each one of you one
hundred dollars for no reason, just for being here, you would at least
say thank you. So what about your eyes, your kidneys, your brain, your
children, and your life: Who gave you all of that? Is He not worthy of
praise and thanks? Is He not worthy of your worship, obedience, and
recognition?
“Is then He who creates, as one who creates not? Will you not then remember?”(Quran 35:41)
“And
if you (O Muhammad) ask them: Who has created the heavens and the
earth, they will surely reply ‘God’. Say: All praises and thanks be to
God! But most of them know not.”(Quran 31:25)
That is the goal and purpose of this life. God said in the Holy Quran
“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me”(Quran 51:56)
Our
purpose in this life is to recognize The Creator, to be grateful to
Him, to worship Him, to surrender ourselves to Him and to obey the laws
that He has determined for us. This all-encompassing worship is our
purpose in life.
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