REVISITING YOUR ROLE IN LIFE
By: Khurram Murad*
A Muslim Scholar and writer
The most important questions in life are those that deal with the meaning and purpose of man’s existence.
The Qur’an explains that the human being has been placed on this earth to utilize his enormous potential to conduct himself in a manner which will fulfill his purpose in life.
الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ
Who created death and life that He may try you– which of you is best in deeds, and He is the Mighty, the Forgiving, (QS: Al-Mulk: 2)
The Qur’an further explains that man’s role on earth is to live as his Creator desires him to live: in surrender and worship to Him alone.
This is not because Allah in any way needs his worship, but because man needs to worship only his Creator and none else so that his own nature is not perverted and corrupted, and so that he does not live in opposition to his intrinsic character. Only by so living will his earthly life be set on the right path and prosper, bringing him peace and happiness.
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ
And I have not created the jinn and the men except that they should serve Me. (QS: Adh-Dhariyat : 56)
مَا أُرِيدُ مِنْهُمْ مِنْ رِزْقٍ وَمَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ يُطْعِمُونِ
I do not desire from them any sustenance and I do not desire that they should feed Me. (QS: Adh-Dhariyat : 57)
إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الرَّزَّاقُ ذُو الْقُوَّةِ الْمَتِينُ
Surely Allah is the Bestower of sustenance, the Lord of Power, the Strong.(QS: Adh-Dhariyat : 58)
إِنَّا خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ نَبْتَلِيهِ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا
Surely We have created man from a small life-germ uniting (itself): We mean to try him, so We have made him hearing, seeing. (QS: Al- Insan : 2)
أَلَمْ نَجْعَلْ لَهُ عَيْنَيْنِ
Have We not given him two eyes. (QS: Al-Balad : 8)
وَلِسَانًا وَشَفَتَيْنِ
And a tongue and two lips. (QS: Al-Balad : 9) as well as the capacity to reason and discern between right and wrong in using his freedom of will.
Given freedom of will, judgment is inevitable. The human being must give an account of his conduct and must face the consequences of how he lives his life.
Obviously, to be judged fairly, this judgment must be made only after his earthly life has come to an end, and only by the One who gave this life, who knows everything, and who is All-powerful and All-just. Only then can he be judged fairly, and duly rewarded and punished, for everything from his innermost thoughts to the consequences of his conduct that extend far and wide, and beyond his life for generations to come.
أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ عَبَثًا وَأَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا تُرْجَعُونَ
What! did you then think that We had created you in vain and that you shall not be returned to Us? ( QS: Al-Mu’minun : 115).
فَتَعَالَى اللَّهُ الْمَلِكُ الْحَقُّ ۖ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْكَرِيمِ
So exalted be Allah, the True King; no god is there but He, the Lord of the honorable dominion. (QS:Al-Mu’minun : 116)
A person’s ultimate destiny, therefore, lies in the Life to Come, in the Akhirah, Everyone will be judged there by due process of justice, fairly and equitably, mercifully and kindly. No one will be wronged or dealt with unjustly even by an atom’s weight.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَظْلِمُ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ ۖ وَإِنْ تَكُ حَسَنَةً يُضَاعِفْهَا وَيُؤْتِ مِنْ لَدُنْهُ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
Surely Allah does not do injustice to the weight of an atom, and if it is a good deed He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward. (QS:An-Nisa: 40)
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَا تَعْتَذِرُوا الْيَوْمَ ۖ إِنَّمَا تُجْزَوْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
You who disbelieve! do not urge excuses today; you shall be rewarded only according to what you did. (QS: At-Tahrim: 7)
Thus, everything in our lives is being recorded. Even the smallest of incidents will be replayed before our eyes on the Day of Judgment. That Judgment will be final and one from which there will be no escape. Paradise will be the reward for excellence in doing good, while Hell-fire will be the penalty for those who were ungrateful and indulged in evil:
مَثَلُ الْجَنَّةِ الَّتِي وُعِدَ الْمُتَّقُونَ ۖ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ ۖ أُكُلُهَا دَائِمٌ وَظِلُّهَا ۚ تِلْكَ عُقْبَى الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا ۖ وَعُقْبَى الْكَافِرِينَ النَّارُ
A likeness of the garden which the righteous are promised; there now beneath it rivers, its food and shades are perpetual; this is the requital of those who guarded (against evil), and the requital of the unbelievers is the fire. (QS: Ar-Ra`d : 35)
The delights and pleasures of the Hereafter, as well as, the penalty for those who condemn themselves to darkness and the wrath of Allah are described in such great detail in the Qur’an that almost one quarter of it is related to the Akhirah. This is what the Prophet came to convey and this is what instills meaning and purpose to our lives. (T/Imt/R04)
This article published at www.onislam.net
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
