Have you ever asked yourself questions like
- Why are we here?
- What is the purpose of life?
- Where are we headed?
Everyone is faced with these questions at some point to their life. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala (referred to as SWT) talked about the purpose of life in the Quran in clear terms.
“And I did not create the jinn and humankind for anything but to worship Me.” Quran 51:56
Worshipping Allah (SWT) is the purpose of our life and our creation. Worship in the Islamic sense is not limited just to the ritualistic actions. It includes all actions that are done sincerely for the sake of Allah (SWT) and according to the sunnah (way or tradition) or the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. This includes giving up what is haram(prohibited), giving everyone their rights (spouses, parents, children, relatives, neighbors etc.), doing good and forbidding evil.
“Have you seen him who takes his own lust (vain desires) as his ilah (god), and Allah knowing (him as such), left him astray, and sealed his hearing and his heart, and put a cover on his sight. Who then will guide him after Allah? Will you not then remember?”
Quran 45:23
The Qur’an invites the believers to ponder and reflect on its verses. In this verse, Allah (SWT) is asking us to reflect on the condition of the one who takes his own vain desires as a “god”. True freedom is not following whatever we desire. If one does so, then he is only a slave of his/her desires. And our desires (nafs) can command us to do things that have a negative impact on us in the long term. Allah is our Creator and as such we must follow His laws to attain true happiness. If we replace Allah with our desires, money, power or any other “gods”, we will suffer.
This life is a test for us, to determine whether we will obey Allah or follow the path of satan. We will know the results of our test on the day of judgement. No matter what the situation in life we should follow the commandments of Allah to be truly peaceful and successful (in this life and next).
We all have an inclination to worship One God, this is built within us. If we go against this and follow our desires instead of the Creator’s, we end up being miserable. Disobedience to Allah affects our heart and our heart affects our mind and our body as a whole.
Let us all fulfill the purpose of our lives for which we were created.
“Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.” – Quran 13:28
Please feel free to comment or reach out if there are any questions or things that need further clarifications.
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