Re: Islam and the Aim of Life
- From: "Torpedo" <guest@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2006 01:35:24 +1100
....to be a suicide bomber.
"Islam Will Replace Collapsing Amerikan Empire"
<islam_to_replace_amerikan_empire@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:KXpBf.4337$ft2.108330@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Islam and the Aim of Life
>
> What is the purpose of life?
>
> What is the purpose of my life? What is the purpose of your life? What is
> the purpose of our lives? Such questions occur frequently to thinking
> people.
>
> People answer these questions in different ways. Some people believe the
> purpose of life is getting wealthy. However, what will be the purpose of
> their life after collecting millions of dollars? If the purpose of life is
> to become wealthy, there will be no purpose after becoming wealthy.
>
> In fact, here lies the problem of some people in the last stages of their
> lives. After they have collected the money which they dreamt of, their
life
> loses its purpose and they live in tension, restlessness and suffer from
the
> panic of nothingness.
>
> Can attaining Wealth Be an Aim?
>
> We often hear of wealthy people committing suicide; sometimes, it is not
the
> wealthy person himself but members of his family - his wife or children.
The
> question is: Can aiming for wealth bring happiness to the individual? In
> most cases, the answer is 'No'. Is the purpose of collecting wealth a
> long-standing purpose?
>
> As we know, a five-year-old child does not look for wealth: he prefers a
toy
> to a million dollars. An 18-year-old adolescent does not dream of wealth
> because he is busy with things that are more important. A 90-year-old does
> not care for money; he is more worried about his health. This proves that
> wealth cannot be a long-standing purpose in all the stages of an
> individual's life.
>
> Wealth can do a little to bring happiness to a disbeliever, because he is
> not sure about his end or 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 surely
> loses himself.
>
> Worshipping Allaah as an Aim:
>
> On the other hand, faith in Allaah gives the believer the purpose of life
he
> needs. In Islam, the purpose of life is to worship Allaah. The term
> "worship" covers all acts of obedience to Allaah. The Islamic purpose of
> life can withstand the test of time. The true Muslim sticks to this
purpose
> through all the stages of his life, whether he is a child, adolescent,
adult
> or an old man.
>
> Worshipping Allaah makes life purposeful and meaningful, especially within
> the framework of Islam. According to Islam, this worldly life is just a
> short stage of our lives. After this, there is the other life -- the
> Hereafter. The position of the person in the Hereafter depends on his
deeds
> in this first life. At the end of the death, stage comes the Day of
> Judgment. On this day, Allaah will reward or punish people according to
> their deeds.
>
> The First Life as an Examination:
>
> Hence, Islam looks at the first life as an examination or a test of man.
> The Day of Judgment is similar to the day of announcing the results of the
> examinees. The second life (the Hereafter) 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 then the Day of Judgment, and then the second life. With this clear
> line of life, a Muslim has a clear purpose in life.
>
> A Muslim knows that he has been created by Allaah. He also knows that he
is
> going to spend some years in this first life, during which he has to obey
> Allaah, because Allaah will question him and hold him responsible for his
> public and private deeds, because Allaah knows all deeds of all people. A
> Muslim knows that his deeds in this life will determine the type of his
> second life. He knows that his life is a very short one -- a hundred
years,
> more or less, whereas the second life is eternal.
>
> The Eternity of the Second Life:
>
> This concept of eternal nature of the second life has a tremendous effect
> on the Muslim during his first life, because the Muslim believes that his
> first life determines the shape of his second life. In addition, this will
> be decided through the Judgment of Allaah, the All Just and Almighty.
>
> With this belief in the Hereafter and the Day of Judgment, a Muslim's life
> becomes as purposeful and meaningful as possible. His Muslim's
long-standing
> purpose is to go to Paradise by pleasing his Creator.
>
> In other words, a Muslim's continuous purpose is to obey Allaah, to submit
> to Him, to carry out His orders, and to keep in continuous touch with Him
> through prayer (five times a day), through fasting (one month a year),
> through charity (either obligatory or voluntary as often as possible), and
> through pilgrimage (once in one's life if he is able).
>
> The Need for a Permanent Purpose:
>
> People have different purposes at different stages in their lives such as
> collecting money and property, indulging in sex, eating and dancing.
> However, all these purposes are temporary, they come and go. 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
> question to himself: what next?
>
> Then What?
>
> However, Islam saves those who follow it sincerely from the troubling
> question: what is the aim of life? Islam makes it clear to the Muslim,
from
> the very beginning, that the permanent purpose of life is to worship
Allaah.
> We should know that the only way for our salvation in this life and in the
> Hereafter is to know the Lord who created us, believe in Him, and worship
> Him alone.
>
> From: Islamic Education Foundation
>
> Tuesday : 24/01/2006
>
> http://www.islamweb.net/ver2/engblue/article.php?lang=E&id=111781
>
>
.
- References:
- Islam and the Aim of Life
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