08/10/2020
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***PURPOSE OF LIFE IN ISLAM (AIM OF OUR LIFE)***
**The most important question in life is " what is the purpose of life?"
# # # As Muslims the answer is clear and simple. Allah tells us in Quran that He created us to worship Him.
"And I (Allah) did not create the jinn and humankind except to worship Me'" (Quran 51:56)
**That is it! The sole purpose of being on this earth is to only worship Allah. There is no ambiguity in this or in anything else in Islam.
**But how can we be in worship of Allah 24/7 (all the time). We are human, we need to eat, work, sleep and do other things to function. Well, the Islamic understanding of worship, allows all actions of our life to be acts of worship.
*If we follow the Guidance of Allah and live our life accordingly than even the most enjoyable actions (such as the intimate relation with one's spouse) of our life will be considered as acts of worship and will be rewarded accordingly in the Hereafter. This is perfection, the highest level (in terms of piety) a Muslim can reach or to the very least aim to reach.
*So, all actions (our daily mundane stuff) of our life have the potential to be acts of worship if those are done (1) sincerely for the sake of Allah (that is to please Him) and (2) according to Allah's Guidance. If a Muslim fulfills the above two conditions in every aspect of his life, he is deemed to be worshiping Allah all the time.
*For example, when a Muslim sleeps fulfilling the above two conditions, his sleep is considered as an act of worship. When he wakes up and cleans (using bathroom) himself for the preparation of early morning prayer, if he does those fulfilling the two conditions, the entire session is counted as act of worship. Then the actual ritual worship of morning prayer (Fajr Salah) must be done fulfilling the 2 conditions. Then if he goes out to do some morning exercise to keep his body (which is a gift and trust from Allah) healthy and eats his breakfast fulfilling the two conditions, then all these will be considered as acts of worship. In this way a Muslim can always be in the state of worship to Allah.
**By doing the obligatory ritual worships (the daily five prayers, yearly fasting, etc.) and staying away from the major sins, a Muslim fulfills the minimum requirement of his purpose of life.
*In our daily life there are always opportunities in everything we do to be considered as an act of worship, as Allah's messenger Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
"...To judge justly between two persons is regarded as Sadaqa (meaning Charity-an act of worship), and to help a man concerning his riding animal by helping him to ride it or by lifting his luggage on to it, is also regarded as Sadaqa, and (saying) a good word is also Sadaqa, and every step taken on one's way to offer the compulsory prayer (Salah in the mosque) is also Sadaqa and to remove a harmful thing from the way is also Sadaqa." (Sahih al-Bukhari 2989)
# # # Why do we worship Allah?
**(1) The primary and number one reason that we worship Allah because he is the only one worthy of being worshiped. Allah is worthy of worship because of Who He is. Even if He did not create us or the heavens, He would still be worthy of worship. Allah is worthy of worship because He is the Most Beautiful, Most Perfect, Most High, Most Majestic, etc (the 99 most beautiful names and attributes of Allah that we know of). When there was nothing He was worthy of Worship and when there will be nothing He would still be worthy of worship. Allah being worthy of worship is independent of who is worshiping Him.
**(2) We worship Allah because He has created us, blessed us with our lives, with our wealth, with our families and with everything else that we have.
**(3) We worship Allah because worship brings Taqwa (righteousness, awareness and fear of Allah). Taqwa brings everything else, such as stability, meaning, values, morality, etc. in our life.
**(4) We worship Allah because in the worship of Allah we will gain His pleasure. And as a reward out of His mercy Allah will grant Jannah (Paradise) to those whom He is pleased with. Allah said in Quran:
"O mankind, worship your Lord (Allah), who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous (al-Muttaqwun)" (Quran 2:21)
" Nay! But worship Allah (Alone and none else), and be among the grateful." (Quran 39:66)
" And give good tidings to those who believe and do righteous deeds that they will have gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow.." (Quran 2:25)
# # # How do we worship Allah?
**We worship Allah according to His guidance and instructions, which are found in Quran and in the Sunnah (the way) of His Prophet (Pbuh). And that means we have to study our religion to have knowledge of Allah's Guidance. And only with proper knowledge and sincerity (only for the sake of Allah) we can perfect our worship.
*There is no room for blindly following and repeating rituals without knowledge and sincerity in Islam. People who have knowledge are the ones who truly fear (are aware/conscious of) Allah. As Allah said in Quran:
"...Only those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge..." (Quran 35:28)
# # # Finally,
**Allah does not need our worship. Allah does not get any more Majestic or any more Greater through our worship. Our worship do not quench Allah's thirst or hunger or anything else we may think of. What it does is, it pleases Allah to see that we are in total submission to Him, even when we are given the choice and free-will to disbelieve and disobey Him.
**This life is a test for us from Allah to see if we are able to fulfill the purpose we were created for. To submit to Him alone and follow His Guidance to the best of our ability with proper knowledge and sincerity. Allah should be worshiped at all times, in times of hardship and in times of ease and only through this we can be successful in this life and Hereafter. Allah said in Quran:
" Who (Allah) has created death and life, that He may test you which of you is best in deed. And He is the All-Mighty, the Oft-Forgiving;" (Quran 67:2)
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# # # MUST WATCH VIDEO:
The Aim of Our Life by Dr. Yasir Qadhi:
