The Purpose of Life
Figure 1: The universe captured by a space telescope. The visible and near-infrared light spectrum collected from Hubble’s ACS and WFC3 instruments over a nine-year period. Every spot and smudge in this image is a galaxy, NASA, ESA.
We are meant to be here
We are meant to exist on the Earth
The Earth orbits the Sun in our Solar System. Our Sun is one star among billions of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. Our Milky Way Galaxy is one among the billions of galaxies in our Universe. This endless, complex and magnificent universe is controlled by precise laws of physics.
Who created this vast universe and who has set up the precise physical laws that control it? Isn’t the huge Universe, a testimony pointing to an intelligent, powerful Creator? God says in the Qur’an:
“In the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day, are signs for people of understanding.” (Quran 3:190)
Paul Davies, the professor of physics at Arizona State University, concluded that “the design, order, and complexity of the universe and the world around us are evidence of a perfect designer who meant for us to be found on the Earth” (1).
So, if God ordained for billions of humans to live on the Earth, what would be their purpose of life? This is what we will try to analyse in this article.
The need for a divine answer
Everyone of us during our life must have asked himself what the purpose of life is. In fact, this might be considered the most important question asked by humans throughout the ages.
Although it is easy for anybody to know why one eat, work, sleep, marry, etc., when it comes to the purpose of life people get confused. The famous and best-known philosophers, scientists, writers, politicians and intellectuals at different times have already, tried hard to understand the clue of the purpose of life and they have failed to find a convincing answer. They have ended up with guesses and speculations. Some of them, honestly, have admitted that they were clueless.
Therefore, logically the only way to know the purpose of life is to return to God, Who created us, and consequently, must have had wisdom behind our creation.
The purpose of life in the Qur’an
The purpose of life is explicitly mentioned in the Qur’an in the following verse:
“And I did not create the jinn and humankind except to worship Me” (Quran 51:56)
After creating the universe, God created Adam and after him, He created billions of people for the purpose of worshiping Him. To worship God we should submit to Him and reform our lives in line with His laws.
On the other hand, this life is a test for each one of us. If we worship God by submitting to Him and if we live according to His revealed laws, He will reward us in the Hereafter. On the contrary, if we do not worship God and submit to Him, He will punish us.
“Blessed is He in whose hand is the sovereignty, and Who has power over everything. He who created death and life—to test you—as to which of you is better in conduct. He is the Almighty, the Forgiving.” (Quran 67:1-2)
Is this purpose of life specific only to today’s Islam?
No, not really. Because the religion revealed from God to humanity has always been the same—Islam; which means complete submission to the law of God.
When God created Adam, He commanded him to abstain from eating a certain fruit. This was the law of God for Adam then. After Adam and Eve ate from the tree and descended to the Earth, God sent a chain of different prophets over the years to guide people to believe in God and submit to His law. Examples of these prophets are Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, peace be upon them. The chain of the prophets ended up with the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon all of them). Examples of the divine revelations to these prophets are the originals of the Torah of Moses, the Gospel of Jesus and the Qur’an of Muhammad (peace be upon them).
Why is the purpose of life different in Christianity?
Today’s Christianity claims that Jesus is the divine son of God and the savior of humanity, who has reconciled God and the humanity after Adam’s disobedience.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
“That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).
However, to assume that the purpose of life is to believe in Jesus as a savior and reconciling son of God creates several problems.
First, this purpose of life was not taught by any of the prophets before Jesus like Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jacob.
Second, how would God reconcile with those people who lived for thousands of years before the ministry of Jesus?
Third, and most importantly, the above verses were mentioned by Paul in his Epistles and not by Jesus and these verses basically contradict with what was conveyed by Jesus.
In the following verse, we find Jesus emphasizing the importance of the fulfillment of the purpose of life through the commitment to the law of God.
“None of those who call me ‘Lord’ will enter the kingdom of God, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)
Therefore, from this verse, we learn that the purpose of life in the Jesus’ Christianity is to submit to the law of God to fulfill the purpose of life. In other words, today’s Christians do not apply the teachings of Jesus and they apply the false teachings of Paul. Therefore, today’s Christians are not fulfilling the purpose of life as conveyed by Jesus Christ, peace be upon him.
The broad meaning of worshiping God in Islam
According to Islam worshiping God has a very comprehensive meaning and is not limited only to the performance of some rituals. Worshiping God in Islam means obeying the laws He revealed in all the aspects of our lives. In this way, all our actions are considered acts of worship, once they are in accordance with the law of God. Therefore, we are rewarded for them as we are rewarded for rituals like charities and prayers. This meaning is clear in the following saying of the Prophet Muhammad:
“Greeting a person is a charity. Acting justly is charity. Helping a man with his steed is charity. A good word is a charity. Every step taken on the way to performing prayers is a charity. Removing an obstacle from the road is charity.” (Narrated by Bukhari)
However, to turn our actions into acts of worship, we should always have the intention to please God.
The broad meaning of worship of God in all the actions of the life of the Muslim brings him closer to God, and therefore, he gets spiritual nourishment and a peaceful life.
“Those who have faith and whose hearts find peace in the remembrance of God, truly it is in the remembrance of God that hearts find peace.” (Quran 13:28).
In addition, since God is our Creator and He knows the best for us, His divine law for every sphere of life is reflected on us physically, and positively reflected on the whole society.
Does God need our worship?
God does not need our worship. If all of us or none of us worship God, we would not take away or add anything to His Glory.
“I need no provision from them, nor do I need them to feed Me. God is the Provider of all sustenance, the Possessor of mighty power.” (Quran 51:57-58)
“…But God is the Rich, while you are the poor…” (Quran 47:38)
To God is our return
Life is a test and eventually, every one of us will die and return back to God. We will be resurrected and judged at the Day of Judgement. Shall one go back to God as a disobedient, because, he did not fulfill the purpose of life and face a severe punishment? Or shall he go as an obedient servant of God and enjoy the promised Garden of Bliss?
“On the Day when some faces will be whitened, and some faces will be blackened.
As for those whose faces are blackened: ‘Did you disbelieve after your belief?’ Then taste the punishment for having disbelieved. But as for those whose faces are whitened: they are in God’s mercy, remaining in it forever.” (Quran 3:106-107)
1. Davies, P. (1984). God and the new physics. Simon and Schuster.