The Purpose of Life

Contents

Why did God 'create'?

Creation is what the Creator does

The ultimate Creator of everything

The created is not the Creator!

Everything that happens, whether pleasing or displeasing, is by God's will

By creation He manifests His mercy

To err is human, and God knows that!

He manifests justice through creation

By the Grace of God...

What is the purpose of MY life?
The remembrance of God

Shaping up for the test

Befriending and Loving God

[Based on an article by Dr. Bilal Philips]

    "Why was I created?
    Why am I here?
    What am I doing in this world?
    Why did God create me?"

These are questions which each and every one of us reflects on at some point during our lives. We have some answers, which are given generally, but usually these answers don’t satisfy us, they seem somewhat simplistic. We still wonder. "Why me? Why here?"

Despite our awareness of the vastness of the universe and our own relative insignificance, it is a human weakness that we cannot stop ourselves from imagining that we are really important.

Let us suspend this notion for a moment however, and address these big questions from the perspective of the most important one, the Highest one, the Greatest one, the Tremendous one, the First and the Last, namely God.

Why did God ‘create’?

Now if we are to look, initially into the teachings, to determine why man was created, there is a deeper question that we should be asking before that. "Why did God create?" Before we even get to man, why did God create, because man is not the greatest act of creation that we should be so focused on, “why man?” The Qur’an says:

"The creation of the Heavens and the Earth is indeed greater then the creation of mankind; yet, most of mankind know not." [The Noble Qur’an, sûrah Ghâfir, verse 57]

Face it. Man is not the greatest act of creation, this universe is far more complex and far more magnificent than man. So the issue of creation should then go to, “Why create?” As opposed to simply, “Why create man?”

Creation is what the Creator does

Fundamentally, we can say that the creation is the natural consequence of the attribute of Creator. God is the Creator. That is one of His attributes. That is what He has informed us. That being His attribute, the Creator, the natural consequence or the product of this attribute is His creation.

A painter, if we are to draw a similitude on a lower level, who tells you that he is a painter, if you ask him where are his paintings and he replies I don’t have any. What kind of painter is this? The concept of a painter who doesn’t paint, there is some thing not quite gelling together here, of course God is beyond this. But if we are to understand on the simplest level, the two go together. The perfection of a painter lies in his paintings. His quality and his ability to paint, is manifest in his paintings. And God, beyond all that, as creator, this quality of creation is manifest in the creation itself. God didn’t create out of a need. No, the fact that He is the Creator, is manifest in the creation.

The ultimate Creator of everything

Furthermore, consider the act of creation, this act, with regards to God is unique. Though we use the term so and so created a table etc, actually it is in a limited sense. Human beings don’t really create, they manipulate, because they can only "create" what already exists.

When we make a chair or a table, we didn’t create the wood, we had to take it from a tree, we didn’t create the metal, which makes the screws etc, we had to melt down rocks and take the metal out. So we are not creating from nothing. We are manipulating things which God has already created in to different shapes and forms which are useful to us. We call it "creation" but the real act of creation, is creation from nothing, and this is unique to God alone.

The Created is not the Creator!

This is a concept, which many people, because they couldn’t grasp the idea of creation from nothingness, it lead them to conclude that the world is God. Those who say "inside of each and every atom is God." Because people are unable to accept the uniqueness of God’s creation, they compare the act of creation by God to human creation. That is, just as we manipulate, God took pieces of Himself and made the earth and the universe.

This is all, as I said, a product of the inability to understand the concept of creation from nothingness, which is unique to God. God says:
"There is nothing like him, and he is the hearer and seer of all." (Qur’an)
So when we try to interpret God’s creation like the way we create, then we have made Him like his creation.

When the Prophet Moses left Egypt and the people, after crossing the Red Sea, had a desire to have a god that they could see, they constructed a golden calf which they began to worship. This calf was saying "moo" like the calves do. This is what convinced them that this was the real thing! God is far greater than any estimation we might have of Him! It is not befitting for Him to constrict His greatness by adopting the form of one of His creation!
God is the Creator and everything besides Him is His creation, which He created from nothing. It is not Him, nor is He it. This is the pure concept as taught by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Everything that happens, whether pleasing or displeasing, is by God’s will

So God created this universe out of nothing, and everything that is in it is also created by Him. For example:
"God created all things, and he is the agent, upon which, all things depend." [The Noble Qur’an, sûrah 39, verse 62]
This is the reality. This is stressed for us, in order for us to realize that ultimately, all good, all harm, that takes place in the world, only takes place by the permission of God. This is not necessarily an easy idea to come to terms with. But what may appear a calamity to us at one moment may result in far greater good for us in the future. We are often blinkered by our short-sightedness.

Therefore we should not seek any other channels to protect ourselves from evil, or to gather for ourselves good, as people commonly do today. They will go to fortunetellers - this is big business today - all the magazines have forms of fortunetellers like dial a horoscope etc. in a society that has lost touch with God, this is what is open to them. God, on the other hand, has stressed to us that no calamity will befall us except by God’s permission;
"Nothing is taking place in this world except by the permission of God."

And the Prophet (pbuh) further emphasized this principle by saying;
"If the whole of mankind gathered to do some thing to help us, they could help in anything which God had not already written for us. And if the whole of mankind gathered together to harm us, then they would not be able to harm with anything which God had not already written for us."

Therefore what is required of us is to depend on God, put our trust in God – His ultimate goodness, and His overwhelming love for us. This is what we have to draw out of this attribute of God being the Creator. This creation exists because of that attribute and its practical significance to us lies in putting our trust in God.

By creation, He manifests His Mercy

There is another aspect. We can also see from what the Prophet (pbuh) has informed us, that in the creation there is manifestation of God’s attributes of mercy, forgiveness, kindness etc etc. God created man in paradise, they disobeyed God, but God had taught them how to repent, how to turn back to Him and seek His forgiveness, so that He would forgive them.

The story of Adam and Eve is the story of human existence. Human beings are given a consciousness of God. When God created all human beings, as he states in the Qur'ân, he took from Adam all of his descendents, and made them all bear witness that God is their Lord. So we are all born with that consciousness. He has also given us a consciousness of what is right and what is wrong.

"We have inspired each and every soul to an awareness of corruption and righteousness." (The Noble Qur’an, s. Shams)

God gave commandments, not to eat of the tree. However, human beings forget. And when they forget God then they fall into sin. We can absolve ourselves of that sin by means of repentance, and God forgives us when we repent sincerely. The Prophet (pbuh) said:
"The one who repents is like the one without sin."

To err is human, and God knows that!
 

The Prophet (pbuh) said:
"If you did not commit sins and turn to God seeking his forgiveness, then he would replace you with another people who would sin, ask God’s forgiveness and he would forgive them."

So in our sinning and asking God’s forgiveness, the attribute of God’s mercy and forgiveness becomes manifest. God knew what we were going to do before He created us, He knew that he was creating a species who would sin. If He didn’t wan t them to sin, if it was not His intention to permit them to sin, then He could have created angels, more angels. But He had already created angels, so He chose to create a being, that would disobey His commandments through forgetfulness or just simple disobedience, but would turn back to Him in repentance, and His attribute of forgiveness would become manifest. Similarly, his mercy;
 

The Prophet (pbuh) is quoted as saying that when God created the universe, He made an obligation on Himself, recorded in a document, kept by Him, that "My mercy precedes my wrath." He (pbuh) also was reported as saying;
"God created mercy with a hundred parts. One of which was sent down upon the jinn and human beings and other living creatures. It is out of this one part that they love each other, show kindness to one another, and even the animals treat their offspring with affection. God has reserved the remaining ninety-nine parts for his true worshippers on the Day of Judgment."

He manifests justice through creation

This is the mercy that God manifests in His creation. What is also manifested in creation, in the act of creation, the creation of man, is his attribute of justice, fairness, which comes out as the judgment at the end of this world.
 

The Prophet (pbuh) said:
"Each one of you will find it easy to do what he was created for."
 

So if you choose the evil way, you find it easy and you carry on in that way, then that was what you were created for. But ultimately it is your choice. You choose hell. The fact hat God has recorded, before anything was created, who would be in hell and who would be in heaven does not change the fact that it is we who choose. The judgment is only to manifest to those who go to hell, that they deserve to be in hell. It is only for them basically. Because if God created you, and put you in paradise, with all that is in paradise, and you see those people in hell suffering, are you going to ask God, why did you put me in paradise? No. you’re going to say, "All praise be to God!" you don’t want to question or to wonder, all you will be is ecstatic that you are of those in paradise.
 

So God has allowed us to live out our lives. So when we stand before Him, our book of deeds is spread before us, we will know without a shadow of a doubt, that we chose hell. That God’s judgment is just. There is no injustice in it, in any way shape or form. God says he oppresses no one.
 

And the only thing that remains for us, is to beg God for another chance. God says;
"If you could only see when the sinners will bow their heads before their lord, saying; O Lord, we have now seen and heard, so send us back and we will do righteous deeds. Verily, we now believe with certainty." (The Noble Qur’an)

When we die, there remains behind us a barrier, the ‘Barzakh’, none of us will come back, it is a one-way ticket.

By the Grace of God...

In the creation of man is manifest the grace of God. This is a particular point which all of us should reflect on and be thankful to God for. Muslims also believe in the grace of God. Actually it plays a major and significant role. Often it is not stressed but it is important for us to realize how the grace of God is manifest in our creation. The Prophet (pbuh) said:
 

"Observe moderation, but if you fail, try to do as much as you can moderately and be happy. For none of you will enter Paradise only because of his deeds."
Of course when the companions heard that they said;
"O messenger of God, not even you? And the prophet (pbuh) said, not even me. Were it not that God wrapped me in His mercy. And bear in mind that the deed most loved by God is one done constantly even if it is small"
 

What does this mean? It means that God’s grace is manifest in our lives in that were He to call us to account, one good deed, one evil deed, equal to each other, then we would not enter paradise, not even the prophets of God. But God through his grace and mercy has multiplied the value of the good deeds. God says;
"Whoever brings a good deed, shall the value of ten like it. And whoever brings an evil deed will be punished with one like it. And they will not be wronged." [The Noble Qur’an, sûrah Âl-'Imrân, verse 160]
This is God’s grace. Good deeds erase evil deeds.

So the creation is a manifestation of God’s attribute of being the creator. In the creation of man within the scheme of things, there is manifest God’s attribute of mercy, his attribute of justice and this is the reason for the creation of man from the point of view of God.

What is the purpose of MY life?

From human perspective, why did God create man in terms of for what purpose?

"We did not create the jinn and men except to worship us" [The Noble Qur’an, sûrah adh-Dhariyyat, verse 56)

So relative to God, we were created in a means or a way in which God has chosen to manifest His attributes of creation, mercy, grace etc and He could have chosen another one. But relative to us as human beings, we know that our purpose is to worship God. As we said, God does not need our worship, a God didn’t need to create. When He created us to worship Him, he didn’t create us, out of a need for our worship, because God has no needs. In a famous hadîth qudsî in which God says;

If all of you, jinn and mankind, were to worship like the most righteous amongst you, it would not increase the dominion of God in any way shape or form. And if all of us, jinn and mankind ...

Therefore when we look for the purpose of worship, we have to look into man. God created us to worship him, because we need to worship him. It is something he has given us as a means of benefiting ourselves. We are the ones who benefit from it. Worship has been established, fundamentally for the growth, the spiritual growth of man. This growth takes place through the remembrance of God.

The remembrance of God
 

When you look at all the different aspects of worship, you will see the core of it is focused on the remembrance of God.
"Establish the prayer for My remembrance." (The Noble Qur’an)

Worship is there for us to remember God. And it is in the remembrance of God, that we achieve that consciousness, closeness and friendship with God. In front of this consciousness and the sense of harmony with creation that remembrance brings, all the trivial worries of the world pale into insignificance. And nothing is more tragic than not having experienced that peace and tranquillity that remembrance brings.

“And the remembrance of God is the greatest thing.” (The Noble Qur’an)
“Behold! In the remembrance of God do hearts find tranquillity and satisfaction.” (The Noble Qur’an)

Shaping up for the test
 

God has said that he has created us to test us, to see which of us is best in deeds. He is not testing us to know, in the sense that He doesn’t already know, but this world is a test for us in order again that we can grow spiritually.
We cannot develop this spiritual characteristic of generosity unless some of us have more then others and then we are required to give of the wealth we have. When we give, we grow. Similarly, if we were not in a position where others had more then us then we wouldn’t have the ability to develop the higher spiritual quality of contentment, patience, satisfaction in what God has given us.

So it is all there in order to bring out the higher spiritual qualities, which enable us to attain the state, which makes us suitable and eligible to return to paradise. The paradise from which we were created, we were created in paradise and for paradise. Through our choices we have been left, in this life, in a field of testing, where we can grow to a state where we might hope for paradise.

Befriending and loving God

(source for this section: The Purification of the Soul - collected and arranged by Ahmad Farid)
By worshipping God, we earn the joy of closeness to Him, His friendship and His love, and we progress through the stages of perfection in our character.

Surely, loving God is our ultimate aim. Having attained the state of true love for God, each stage that follows it is one of its fruits and a branch from its roots - such as longing, intimacy and contentment. Each stage that precedes it - such as repentance, perseverance and doing without.

The most beautiful, the most sincere, the most elevated and the most exalted kind of love is most certainly the love of the One Whom hearts were created to love, and for Whom creation was brought into existence to adore. God is the One to Whom hearts turn in love, exhalation and glorification, humility, submission and worship. Such worship cannot be directed towards other than Him. It is the perfection of love accompanied by complete submission and humility.

God is loved for His own sake in every respect. All except Him are loved for the love they give in return. All the revealed Books, and the message of all the Prophets, bear witness to the love that is due towards Him, as does the natural impulse He has created in all His servants, the intellect He has given them, and the blessings He has poured on them.

Hearts, as they mature, come to love whomever is merciful and kind towards them. So how much greater is their love for Him from Whom all kindness springs! Every good thing enjoyed by His creation is one of His limitless blessings, and He is One with no associates and no partners:

"And whatever good you have - it is from God; and then, when misfortune comes to you, you cry to Him for help."
(Qur'an, An-Nahl 16:53)
 

And also:
"And from among mankind there are some who take for themselves (objects of worship as) rivals to God, loving them as they should (only) love God. And those who believe are stronger in their love for God."
(Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:165)

How then, can our hearts not love Him, the One who - and no other than Him - grants rewards, answers prayers, pardons mistakes, forgives sins, veils wrong actions, dispels grief and drives away sorrow?

He alone, is worthy of remembrance, worship and praise. He is the most generous to be asked, the most liberal to give, the most merciful to pardon, the mightiest to assist and the most dependable to rely on.

He is more merciful to His servant, than a mother is to her baby. He is more pleased by the repentance of the penitent sinner than a man who is overjoyed to find his riding beast, with all his provisions still on its back after he had lost it in a barren land and had given up all hope of survival.

He is pleased with the obedient servant for his obedience, even though it could not have happened without his help and assistance. He pardons and forgives even after He has been disobeyed. And yet, the rights which are due to Him are the ones which are most rejected and neglected.

He is the nearest witness, the most sublime protector, the most true to His Word, and the most just of all Judges. He knows the secrets of the selves:

"There is not an animal of whose forelock He does not have a hold."
(Qur'an, Hud 11:56)

He records the actions and decides the lifetimes of His slaves. To Him, the secrets in the hearts are known and the Unseen revealed. Everyone yearns for Him, faces humble themselves before the Light of His Face, and minds are completely incapable of understanding the Essence of His Being.

Love of God the Almighty gives life to the Heart and sustains the soul. The heart experiences no pleasure, nor feels any joy, nor tastes any success - not even life - if it does not have this love. If the heart loses this love, then the loss it suffers is more severe than that of the eye when it is deprived of its sight and the ear when it is deprived of its hearing.
Even worse than this, the decay of the heart when it is devoid of love for its Creator, Source, and True God, is far worse than that of the body when it no longer contains the soul. This truth is only recognised by the people who are (spirituall) alive, for a wound does not pain the dead.

A righteous man once said in a poem:
And love your Lord by serving Him
For lovers are but servants of the Beloved
A sage from the early days of Islam (Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak) recited:
You disobey God,
and yet you still claim to love Him.
By God, such behaviour is disgusting,
by any standard!
You would have obeyed Him had your love been true.
For the lover is always obedient to the Beloved!

The purpose of this life is the worship and friendship of God. This life is a test for us: will we turn to God, or will we forget Him? This is where life’s struggle has to begin.