الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينة ونستغفره، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا، ومن سيئات أعمالنا ، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ، وأشهد أن سيدنا محمداً عبده ورسوله ، اللهم صلِّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه  ومن تبعه إلى يوم الدين

 This talk and may be the next few ones will, inshallah, discuss talks that I gave few years back, but I want to repeat as means of review and update.  The theme of the talks is: “Your Life in Light of Eternity”

We and the rest of Muslims have been reading the Quran, studying the life of the Prophet, listening to lectures, and witnessing the coming and the passing of many of the blessed months of Ramadan.  We fast, give charity, and perform many voluntary prayers, but it seems that our undesirable condition remains at a standstill and thus everyone must ask himself/herself the following questions:

1. How do all these activities impact my life? 
2. Does the approach I chose to live my life change or remain the same? 
3. Is my life driven by guilt, regrets, resentment, anger, fear, unrealistic expectations, materialism or need for approval, or is my life driven by something else that is nobler and greater?
4. Do I know the eternal truths based on which I should build my life?
5. Do I have clarity regarding the purpose of my life? 
6. Do I use Allah for the fulfillment of my purpose, or do I use my life for the fulfillment of Allah’s purpose? 
7. Even if I have noble goals for my life and know the true purpose of my life, do I have the proper traits and attributes to live my life?  

The proper answer to all these questions can only be found in Allah’s revealed words, as documented in the Quran and the authentic statements of the Prophet (PBUH).  In order to see the real change in our lives, we need to be serious and sincere about learning and living our religion and not just going through the motion of performing its rituals.

The one reason that the Quran and the Sunnah do not transform many Muslims is that most people are not willing to take the time to seriously consider and apply what they read or listen to. We often focus on the quantity rather than the Quality of what we do. We want to finish reading the Quran in a month or less, we want the Imam to finish the prayer in two minutes or less, and we want the speaker to finish his talk in ten minutes or less.  Obviously, this was not the attitude of the early Muslims whose lives were fully transformed by hearing far less than what we have heard or read about Islam. 

Equipped with the same teachings that we have, the most backward tribes of Arabia were transformed to be the world leaders in knowledge, morality, spirituality, human brotherhood, and equality.  Khalifa Omar said that we did not move from one verse in the Quran to another unless we understood what it meant for us and how we could apply it.  In order to get value from the Quran, you don’t just read it, but you must learn the message to apply it.

Equipped with the same information that we have, early Muslims succeeded in few years in establishing the greatest civilization history has ever known.  Let us start by affirming that our responsibility as Muslims has been assigned to us by Allah Who said in His Holy Book:

كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ

“You are the best nation that has been raised for mankind.  You enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong and you believe in Allah” (Al-Imran 3-110). 

وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا

 “And thus, we have made you a moderate nation, so that you will be witnesses over the people and the prophet will be a witness over you.” (Al-Baqara 2:143).

The responsibility of Muslims is to take the Prophet (PBUH) as their role model and to set the example for others.  This responsibility is emphasized by the Prophet’s saying:  “Be the best, be the most virtuous among all people.”

Every Muslim has been honored by the responsibility to be the best among all people, so he/she can be worthy of setting the right example for them.  This responsibility sets the ultimate test and the absolute criterion to evaluate the Muslim’s actions.  You are the only one who can answer this question: Am I worthy of being a role model for others? 

If you are going to call yourself a true Muslim and meet the responsibility that Allah has assigned to you, you must be a leader, not a follower; you must be a teacher, not a student; you must be strong, not weak; you must be a winner, not a loser; you must be a giver, not a receiver; you must be knowledgeable, not ignorant; you must be kind, not cruel; you must be generous, not greedy; you must be the best, not an average; and you must be successful, not a failure.  However, Muslims cannot achieve their God given role on this earth unless they have clarity regarding the purpose of this life, its nature, and its requirements as well as the qualities that they must develop to serve as role models.  The main objective of these talks is to present a modest attempt to answer four fundamental questions that are pre-requisites for Muslims’ ability to advance and fulfill their obligations.  These questions are:

1. What is the purpose of our lives on earth?
2. What is the nature of this life?
3. What is required to fulfill this purpose?
4. What are the traits and qualities that we must possess in order to fulfill these requirements?

As an analogy to these questions, you can ask a student who is in college:

1. What is your purpose for going to college? The answer will likely be to prepare myself for the job market.
2. What is the nature of life in college?  The answer may be testing of my competency in the subjects on my specialty.
3. What do you need to do to fulfill this purpose?  The answer may include actions such as attending classes and studying.
4. What are the traits and qualities that you must possess to be successful student?  The answer may be intelligence, diligence, promptness, honesty, etc.

The Purpose of Life

Having a clarity regarding the purpose of our life is extremely important because knowing the purpose of our life gives it meaning, simplicity, focus and motivation. Understanding the meaning of our life allows us to cope with its difficulties, gives us the foundation on which we can make decisions, allows us to concentrate our efforts and energy on what is important, and makes us avoid being distracted by minor issues.   Without knowing the purpose of our life, life becomes trivial, confusing, and pointless.  

It is unfortunate that most Muslims have no clarity regarding their purpose in life and unfortunately, they impose the same lack of clarity on their children at a young age because they begin at the wrong starting point by asking them self-centered questions like:

          What do you want to be?

          What should you do with your life?

          What are your goals and your dreams?

Focusing on ourselves will never reveal the purpose of our life.  If we want to know why we were placed on this planet, we must begin with the Creator, Allah.

We must know that we are not an accident, our parents may not have planned us, but Allah did.  Long before we were conceived in our mothers’ womb, we were conceived by Allah.  Allah created us many thousands of years ago.  Allah tells us about our first creation during the time of Adam, as He said in Surah Al-Araf:

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ

“We created you and shaped you, then We said to the angels:  prostrate before Adam” (Al-Araf 7:11)

Also, in Surah Al-Araf, Allah presents to us another scene for our original birth as He said:

وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنْ بَنِي آدَمَ مِنْ ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ قَالُوا بَلَى شَهِدْنَا أَنْ تَقُولُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَذَا غَافِلِينَ

“(Recall) when your Lord brought the descendants of the children of Adam (meaning you and I) from their loins and made them bear witness about themselves (by asking them) Am I not your Lord?  They said: Yes, indeed, we bear witness.” (Al-Araf 7:172)

In Surah Al-Kahf, Allah describes a similar scene to that of the first creation when we will stand in front of Him again in the Day of Judgment as He says:

وَعُرِضُوا عَلَى رَبِّكَ صَفًّا لَقَدْ جِئْتُمُونَا كَمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ بَلْ زَعَمْتُمْ أَلَّنْ نَجْعَلَ لَكُمْ مَوْعِدًا

“And they will be presented lined-up before your Lord, (with the announcement), “Now you have come back to Us as We created you the first time; yet you thought We would not make any appointed time for you.” (Al-Kahf 18:48)

How were we brought to a life from lions to stand in front of Allah and testify that He is our Lord is not the subject here, but what we need to know is that at that time Allah had already prescribed every single detail about every one of us.   He deliberately chose your race, the color of your skin and every other feature of your body. Allah chose your parents with the right genetic makeup to custom make you.   He also determined the natural talents you would possess and the uniqueness of your personality.  He even created the world with great precision to be uniquely suited for your existence, to make your life possible.

Allah has a reason for everything and because of that reason, He decided the exact time and place of your birth and your death, and He planned how long and where you would live on earth. Nothing in your life is arbitrary, it is all for a purpose.  Allah did not create you because He was lonely, but he wanted to make you because He has a purpose for you.   Allah made you for a reason; Allah says in Surah Al-Mu’minun:

أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ عَبَثًا وَأَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا تُرْجَعُونَ

“Do you think We created you for nothing, and that you would not be returned to us.” (Al-Mu’minun 23:115)

So, when we ask what is the purpose of our life on earth?  The answer will be to prepare ourselves for the eternal life when we return to the Creator.  This point is emphasized in many verses in the Quran as Allah said that when we return to Him again after our short stay on earth, He will ask:

يَا مَعْشَرَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنْسِ أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ رُسُلٌ مِنْكُمْ يَقُصُّونَ عَلَيْكُمْ آيَاتِي وَيُنْذِرُونَكُمْ لِقَاءَ يَوْمِكُمْ هَذَا قَالُوا شَهِدْنَا عَلَى أَنْفُسِنَا

“O you assembly of Jinn and humankind, haven’t you received Messengers from amongst yourselves who used to relate My verses to you, and used to warn you of the meeting of this Day?” They will say: “We testify against ourselves.” (Al-Anaam 6:130)

 The purpose of this life on Earth is to prepare ourselves for this return and this preparation is very important because while on earth we have many options, in the eternal life we will have only two options:  Heaven or Hell.   The purpose of preparing for eternity should be far greater than our personal fulfillment and happiness.   Being successful and fulfilling your life purpose are not the same.  You could reach all your personal goals, becoming a raving success by the world’s standard and still miss the purpose for which you were created by Allah. 

Life on earth is just a dress rehearsal before the real production.  Just as the nine months you spend in your mother’s womb were not the end in themselves but preparation for your life, this life is a preparation for the next.  Tragically, many people will have to endure eternity without the company of Allah because they chose to live without Him on Earth.

While a person’s life on earth seems long, it is actually extremely short, when compared to a single day in the hereafter, as Allah says:

وَإِنَّ يَوْمًا عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ كَأَلْفِ سَنَةٍ مِمَّا تَعُدُّونَ

“Verily a day with your Lord is like a thousand years from what you count (on Earth).” (Al-Hajj 22:47)

So, even if you live on Earth 100 years, they are merely equivalent to about 2 hrs of one of the days in eternity. And Allah emphasizes this point in many places in the Quran, as He says:

كَأَنَّهُمْ يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَ مَا يُوعَدُونَ لَمْ يَلْبَثُوا إِلَّا سَاعَةً مِنْ نَهَارٍ

“On the Day when they see what had been promised them, they will realize that their life on Earth has only been a mere one hour of day. (Al-Ahqaf 46:35)

The purpose of your life on Earth is to prepare for eternity.  Recognizing that you live on Earth in the light of eternity, your values will be noble, your use of time and money will be wiser, and you will place a higher premium on character instead of wealth and fame.  Living in the light of eternity, many of your problems will appear to be trivial. 

To make the most of your life, you must keep the vision of eternity continuously in your mind and the value of it in your heart.   If you have this vision, you will never fear death because you will know that death is not the end of life, but it is the birthday into an eternal life.  While the capacity of our brains cannot handle the wonders and greatness of heaven, Allah has given us in the Quran glimpses of eternity in words that we can understand. 

The Nature of this Life

The way we see our life shapes our life.  If you ask someone, how do you picture your life?  It is most likely that he will express his life in a metaphor, and you will note this metaphor has far more influence on his life than he thinks. As an example:

1. If a person sees his life as a party, you will find that his primary value is to have fun.
2. If a person sees his life as a race, you will note that he values speed and he is always in a hurry.
3. If a person views his life as a marathon, you will note that he values endurance.
4. If a person sees his life as a battle, you will note that winning is the most important thing in his life.

But for a Muslim, the Quran offers us three metaphors that represent the eternal truths about the nature of this life and they should be the foundation based on which we should live our lives. They will also allow us to explain everything happening around us.  The three metaphors that should shape the life of every Muslim are:

1. Life is a temporary assignment
2. Life is a test
3. Life is a trust

 We will stop here and continue next time, inshallah.

We pray to Allah that He makes us among those who hear and follow the best.

DUA