The Purpose of Life

[pir_Rokhan]

from an Islamic perspective its 2 serve and worship God

God does not need our service or worship,if you consider the abarahmaic abstract concept of God. That is why it is the Ma'amalaat [interactions whether social or economic with fellow humans] from a Islamic Jurisprudence point of view and not Ibadaat [Rituals] which are the first in the priority list.

Secondly the verse of the Quran:
" wa ma khalaqtul jinna wal insa illa liyabuddon" ( I have created Jinn and Humans to idealise me) should also not be taken out of context and in a limited sense. It talks about the "Ibadat" from an aesthetic point of view and hence points towards idealisation which means no other concept other than an abstract concept of God has to be idealised to satisfy the innate ure in the unconscious mind of the human beings.

Thirdly those who consider that Worship is for the betterment for human themselves have to consider that a much broader meaning for Abodiyat [servitude] than mere some rituals and religeous customs as is clear from quite some verses even in the Quran and Sayins of Prophet like

" Fa ama man yanfaoon naas fayamkuso fil ardh" (translation: Only that endures which is of use to humanity)

or the saying of the prophet of Islam:

Khair un naas man yanfaoon naaas" ( translation: The best among you is the one who benefits people). He could have said that the best among you is the one who prays five times or supplicates a lot and so on.

Fourthly from a pure socio-psychological point of view praying might impart peace of mind as it is a good hygenic and psycholoigcal therapy however it is not a direct contribution to the human society.

Hence Muslims even from their religeous point of view have to think more of benefitting humanity than to focus on their individual acts of worship.

[pir_Rokhan]

Pir you hit all the philosophical points out but you left our religious.

Though the word religion is not there in my article but if you read it carefully I have included the point of view of muslim scholars too. One might disagree with it due to beleiving in a different concept of religion however it is taken care of.

From an Islamic as well a non islamic point of view the ultimate aim [as their can be interim aims in life] is SELF ACTUALISATION OR SELF REALISATION. This needs explanation and understanding and thats why I floated this article to provoke the thought process among our freinds.

One should not be shy to express one's mind as even if someone knows the ultimate aim or purpose of his/her life but unless s/he doesnt understands it properly ,it is of no use. The reason is that aim and purpose is supposed to motivate you to work, put effort and struggle and know your real self by having a sense of achievement instead of cramming some words however sacred they might be.

[MeemWawMeemNoon]

God does not need our service or worship,if you consider the abarahmaic abstract concept of God. That is why it is the Ma'amalaat [interactions whether social or economic with fellow humans] from a Islamic Jurisprudence point of view and not Ibadaat [Rituals] which are the first in the priority list.

Being oblivious of our Creator would not serve the purpose of our creation.

Secondly the verse of the Quran:
" wa ma khalaqtul jinna wal insa illa liyabuddon" ( I have created Jinn and Humans to idealise me) should also not be taken out of context and in a limited sense. It talks about the "Ibadat" from an aesthetic point of view and hence points towards idealisation which means no other concept other than an abstract concept of God has to be idealised to satisfy the innate ure in the unconscious mind of the human beings.

How can you worship God if you do not know His existence; and without knowing His existence, how can you fulfill your purpose?

Thirdly those who consider that Worship is for the betterment for human themselves have to consider that a much broader meaning for Abodiyat [servitude] than mere some rituals and religeous customs as is clear from quite some verses even in the Quran and Sayins of Prophet like

" Fa ama man yanfaoon naas fayamkuso fil ardh" (translation: Only that endures which is of use to humanity)

or the saying of the prophet of Islam:

Khair un naas man yanfaoon naaas" ( translation: The best among you is the one who benefits people). He could have said that the best among you is the one who prays five times or supplicates a lot and so on.

There is huququllah and huququli'bad. There are different and both must be fulfilled.

Fourthly from a pure socio-psychological point of view praying might impart peace of mind as it is a good hygenic and psycholoigcal therapy however it is not a direct contribution to the human society.

Hence Muslims even from their religeous point of view have to think more of benefitting humanity than to focus on their individual acts of worship.

How would you describe the revolution that Hadhrat Muhammad (saw) brought to the ignorant people of Arabia via the institution of prayer?

[pir_Rokhan]

1) Being oblivious of our Creator would not serve the purpose of our creation.

2) How can you worship God if you do not know His existence; and without knowing His existence, how can you fulfill your purpose?

3) There is huququllah and huququli'bad. There are different and both must be fulfilled.

4) How would you describe the revolution that Hadhrat Muhammad (saw) brought to the ignorant people of Arabia via the institution of prayer?

1) Well it is a fair comment to be aware about the creator for those who consider themselves as creation and want to serve the purpose of their creation. I encouragge you to be aware about the existence of the creator and get out of the state of oblivion. Once you have the knowledge of your creator you should carry on with your purpose.

In short I do not have any reservations over a person's evolution from agnosticism to self realisation.

2) Those who want to worship God have to answer this very important question.

3) I know that my friend. What I said was that for Muslims,the Huqooqul Ibad are more important. I am sure you know that too.

4) As you are making this claim so I think it would be fair to ask you to enlighten us about this "revolution through prayer". However what I am interested is how can we bring the revolution in Afghans even if their institution of prayer is weak and how can they just use institutionalisation to bring about the revolution of Afghan glory back to Afghanistan.

[MeemWawMeemNoon]

1) Well it is a fair comment to be aware about the creator for those who consider themselves as creation and want to serve the purpose of their creation. I encouragge you to be aware about the existence of the creator and get out of the state of oblivion. Once you have the knowledge of your creator you should carry on with your purpose.

In short I do not have any reservations over a person's evolution from agnosticism to self realisation.

Dearest Pir Rokhan, once you are aware of your Creator should you not follow his intructions?

2) Those who want to worship God have to answer this very important question

. What do you mean, I was referring to your post, dear brother.

3) I know that my friend. What I said was that for Muslims,the Huqooqul Ibad are more important. I am sure you know that too.

How can you fulfill huququl'ibad without knowing what it is?

4) As you are making this claim so I think it would be fair to ask you to enlighten us about this "revolution through prayer". However what I am interested is how can we bring the revolution in Afghans even if their institution of prayer is weak and how can they just use institutionalisation to bring about the revolution of Afghan glory back to Afghanistan.

Prayer has nothing to do with directly revolutionizing a society. Prayers revolutionizes human beings from within and in turn when their faculty of conscience and morality are awaken it then seeps to benefit the society.

Afghan lack this. There is no fear of Allah in the Afghan society. It is all about power and who you know.

[MazloomYarMasud]

The Purpose of life

Birth, reproduce, contribute, develop and then die

its a cycle.

[spogmai shaglay]

you are implying that allah desires to be worshiped. This is false. Our worship is a means for us to go to paradise. We are told to do so, so we can earn our place in paradise. Its not like allah needs anything. It is us who are the needy.

Manana Sangar.... agreed that we are needy.........but as u mentioned that Allah doesnt wishto be worshipped.,... it is our means to go to paradise... so we will go to paradise only when we please Allah.... Allah will be pleased when we worship him......

will Allah not be pleased if the purpose of our lives is serving human kind, helping the needy....making a difference in the lives of people, inwhose life we can make a difference... so why only worshipping Allah be the only Purpose.....

no question, it should be one of the purposes but other worldly deeds cant be ignored at all....

Allah is pleased even when you smile at your parents...or rather prayer 5 times and tahajud tooo, recite quran, follow all sunna but dont be good to ur family, parents and others...are we going to paradise then?????

[muhsina]

Momin Khana

What I understood from Pir article is that in case you believe in religion you may have your concept of purpose of life and you need to follow it however while followin you just need to make sure that you dont impose your concepts on others and also the gist of your purpose at the end of the day should be directly related to human beings in such a way as to benefit them and contribute your part. This is simple and straight forward and he backed his argument by westren as well as eastren thinkers. As you are obsessed with religion and that too the juvenile concepts of your school of thought that is why you want to shove your ideas down the throat of everyone without getting them scrutinised through your or their mind..

May I suggest that instead of participating in a critique of the various purposes of life like those of sophists,pessimists,utlilatrianists etc you started teaching us the manifesto of Hizbut Tahrir like the stereotype clones called Tablighis who even divert any topic to their self conceived 6 points even if they want to talk about the correct way to ease themselves.

I hope you keeps tings in their correct perspective.

[MeemWawMeemNoon]

Who is shoving their belief down whose throat?

[ayub]

the purpose of life is to have FUN FUN FUN!!

[MeemWawMeemNoon]

I'm confused Momin what do you mean?

I was referring to the post above mine. My post had nothing to do with the thread. I was simply responding to a lame accusation the person above made.

[Tamara]

the purpose of life is to have FUN FUN FUN!!

The purpose of life is, that we live the Islamic way, with Quran and Sunnah. Which teach us, that we need to try our best. To be good humans in this life, worship Allah, gain knowledge and help the poor, etc... Allah won't ask you, "did you have fun, I created the world for fun".

[ayub]

^ how do you know what Allah will ask?

Interestingly no mainstream religion say that the purpose of life is to have fun. However, when we see practical life, we feel that humans keep doing things in their life that make them feel good. Even when we feel that the person is doing some thing due to some other reason it is for the sake of enjoyment, fun and satisfaction that person is doing that activity. Most of times people are motivated by just fun and lead their life accordingly. It is seen that in spite of all religions prohibiting drinking, humans all over the world enjoy their cup of alcohol. Sex is another activity which is prohibited by religions, but people enjoy sex, which is seen in the growing population of the world.

[Saifullah]

"Know that the life of this world is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children. (It is) like a rain (Ghayth), thereof the growth is pleasing to the tiller; afterwards it dries up and you see it turning yellow; then it becomes straw. But in the Hereafter (there is) a severe torment, and (there is) forgiveness from Allah and (His) pleasure. And the life of this world is only a deceiving enjoyment." [57:20]

So ayub the Quran says life is play and amusement. But use your brain and then understand.

[IamDZJ]

the purpose of life is by all means, avoiding the path which leads to it's purpose. for once discovered, it tends to give life a dull shade of a helpless and pointless state of being and truth be told, almost no one deserves to live in a state as such...