Allah, who is the Creator, the Ruler and the Lord of the universe, has created man and provided him with a temporary home in that part of His vast kingdom which is the earth. He has endowed man with the faculties of thinking and understanding and has given him the power to distinguish right from wrong. Islam teaches not only about this worldly life’s achievements, but it also teaches mankind to be God-conscious (Taqwa).
لَتُبْلَوُنَّ فِي أَمْوَالِكُمْ وَأَنفُسِكُمْ وَلَتَسْمَعُنَّ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ وَمِنَ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا أَذًى كَثِيرًا وَإِن تَصْبِرُوا وَتَتَّقُوا فَإِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ
“You will certainly be tested in your wealth and yourselves. And you will certainly hear from those who were given the Book before you and from those who associate partners with Allah hurtful things many, and if you are patient and consciously revere (Allah) then indeed, that (is) of the matters of determination.” (Surah Al-Imran 3:186)
Allah provides us with a complete picture of our existence in the Quran. Man must not think himself free and must realize that this earth is not his permanent abode. He has been created to live on it only for a probationary period and, in due course, he will return to his Lord, to be judged according to the way he has spent that period. Allah says:
الْمَالُ وَالْبَنُونَ زِينَةُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْبَاقِيَاتُ الصَّالِحَاتُ خَيْرٌ عِندَ رَبِّكَ ثَوَابًا وَخَيْرٌ أَمَلًا
“The wealth and children (are) adornment (of) the life (of) the world. But the enduring good deeds (are) better near your Lord (for) reward and better (for) hope.” (Surah Al-Kahf 18:46)
In Islam, man’s entire individual and social life is an exercise in developing and strengthening his relationship with Allah. The final Book of Allah and His final Messenger stand today as the repositories of this truth. Everyone who agrees that the concept of Reality stated by the Prophet, and the Holy Book is true, should step forward and surrender himself to the will of Allah. It is this submission that is called Islam. Allah says:
وَمَا هَٰذِهِ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا لَهْوٌ وَلَعِبٌ ۚ وَإِنَّ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ لَهِيَ الْحَيَوَانُ ۚ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ
“This worldly life is nothing but diversion and amusement. Verily, the home of the Hereafter is the true-life if only they knew.” (Surah Al-Ankabut 29:64)
Our purpose of life is to worship The Almighty who gave us life and to please Him which we’ll lead us to Jannah. This world is indeed a temporary place for us to live in. We are like a traveller. Our destination is Jannah where we’ll live forever. InsyaAllah. And Dunya is a pit stop that we take, to make preparations, and well it is where we are tested, to test our faith. His sole objective should be to merit the approval of Allah. Allah says:
رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
“Our Lord, give us goodness in this life and goodness in the Hereafter and save us from the punishment of the Hellfire.” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:201)
Allah has even tested the people before us, among them are all the prophets and the people who were with them. We are all to be tested. All these rewards and ease in Dunya are actual tests. Ease is a more difficult test than hardships are… Allah tests us whether we are grateful to Him or if we have patience, and tests us whether we still remember Him through all the temptations and rewards.
The life of this world is merely the enjoyment of delusion:
- Islam is a way of life that transcends race and ethnicity
- Islam’s teaching shows that all innocent life is sacred
- Islam has no schisms between human beings
- Islam establish peace and justice in society
- Islam encourages people to be generous
- Islam has the dignity of all human being
- Islam forbids hateful words and actions
- Islam considers all life forms as sacred
- Islam has infinite value for all
- Islam has the sanctity of human life
- Islam has the dignity of all human being
- Islam commands love, mercy, and peace
- All happens, occurs with the divine decree
- Islam enjoins upon its believers in purifying
- Never spread rumours and do not listen to them
- Never let trivialities be the cause of your destruction
- Never lose heart by a lack of any other material thing
- Allah the Exalted created humanity to carry His trusts
A man has always been greedy by nature and has wished for more than he should own. No wonder why the world is constantly moving in the direction of increased acquisitiveness. Confronted with the reality of limited time in this life, therefore, and to acquire and enjoy this life’s resources, we plant the seeds of greed and dissatisfaction within us that in turn lead to injustice, deprivation of the rights of people, to the misuse of power and authority, and so on. Islam does not expect us to withdraw ourselves from the world. Allah says:
يَا قَوْمِ إِنَّمَا هَٰذِهِ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا مَتَاعٌ وَإِنَّ الْآخِرَةَ هِيَ دَارُ الْقَرَارِ
“O, my people! Only this, the life (of) the world, (is) enjoyment, and indeed, the Hereafter – it (is the) home, (of) settlement.” (Surah Ghafir 40:39)
Generally speaking, the majority of the people perceive, practice and propagate, that we should do our best to make our worldly lives better and strive to gain more for bringing comfort, wealth, enjoyment, and ultimately peaceful retirement. If we believe (from the core of our heart) in one God, we should seek guidance about the purpose of our creation and prioritise the way of our lives, not according to our very limited and deceptive vision about worldly life. Allah says:
إِنَّمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا لَعِبٌ وَلَهْوٌ وَإِن تُؤْمِنُوا وَتَتَّقُوا يُؤْتِكُمْ أُجُورَكُمْ وَلَا يَسْأَلْكُمْ أَمْوَالَكُمْ
“[This] worldly life is only amusement and diversion. And if you believe and fear Allah, He will give you your rewards and not ask you for your properties.” (Surah Muhammad 47:36)
This life to a brief passing enjoyment, play, amusement, and a deception. In the eyes of Allah, Man is only valid when it entails the complete surrender of one’s will and freedom of choice to the will of Allah. It is a state of thought and action, coming from the heart, wherein man submits himself fully to Allah, renouncing all claim to his supremacy.
All these facts are described in the Holy Quran, Allah Almighty says:
- “Indeed successful are the believers.” (Quran 23:1)
- “Let not then this present life deceive you.” (Surah Fatir: 5)
- “…We all belong to Allah and Him, we shall return.” ( Al-Baqarah: 2:156)
- “The life of this world is merely the enjoyment of delusion.” (Quran 3:185)
- “And take provision, verily the best of provisions is at-taqwa.” (Quran 2:197)
- “ And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” (Quran 51:56)
- “You who believe! Heed Allah and let each self look to what it has sent forward for Tomorrow. Heed Allah. Allah is aware of what you do.” (Surat Al-Hashr: 18)
- “O, My People! The life of this world is only temporary enjoyment, while the abode of the hereafter is everlasting.” (Surah Al Mumin: 39)
- “And those who believe and do righteous good deeds, they are dwellers of paradise, they will dwell therein forever.” (Al Baqarah: 82)
God is the Most Just; He will establish justice among all His creatures and no one can escape from God. This world is one big attraction, making those who in reality are meagre and full of weakness look strong and mighty, making those who are ignorant seem intelligent, and portraying those who have been misguided and enslaved to their desires as being the most guided of people. Allah says:
وَقَالُوا إِنْ هِيَ إِلَّا حَيَاتُنَا الدُّنْيَا وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمَبْعُوثِينَ
“And they said, “Not it (is) except our life (of) the world and not we (will be) resurrected.” (Surah Al-Anam 6:29)
God created people and made them responsible for their actions. A person who is focused on successes or failures in this world alone will be concerned with the benefits and harms that come to him in this life only. He may be reluctant to do good deeds that have no worldly benefit. Allah says:
يَوْمَ تَجِدُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا عَمِلَتْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ مُّحْضَرًا وَمَا عَمِلَتْ مِن سُوءٍ تَوَدُّ لَوْ أَنَّ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَهُ أَمَدًا بَعِيدًا وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللَّهُ نَفْسَهُ وَاللَّهُ رَءُوفٌ بِالْعِبَادِ
“(On the) day will find every soul what it did of good – presented, and what it did of evil, it will wish [if] that between itself and between it (evil) (was) a great distance. And Allah warns you (against) Himself, and Allah (is) Most Kind to (His) [the] slaves.” (Surah Al Imran 3:30)
The Quran is the book that Muslims believe to be the direct and literal words of God and it is God’s greatest gift to humanity. We may not be prepared to stop doing a wrong act that will not harm us in this world. Belief in the next world instils in one the desire to do well and avoid the wrong.
There are Seven Stages of Life in Islam:
- Stage: Life in Lau Ho Mahfuz
- Stage: Life in the mother’s womb
- Stage: Life in this world
- Stage: Death
- Stage: Resurrection on the Judgment day
- Stage: The end-stage for the disobedient soul is to enter Hellfire
- Stage: The end-stage for the obedient soul is peaceful to enter paradise
Islam, therefore, places great emphasis on having the absolute assurance of the Hereafter. A believer will be confident that God will reward him in eternal life and that would be the real success. In contrast, for a believer, all that pleases God is good and all that invokes His displeasure and wrath is evil. A good act for a believer will remain good even if it brings no personal benefit in this world. Allah says:
وَيَوْمَ نَبْعَثُ فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْهِم مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَجِئْنَا بِكَ شَهِيدًا عَلَىٰ هَٰؤُلَاءِ وَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ تِبْيَانًا لِّكُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ
And the Day We will resurrect among every nation a witness over them from themselves. And We (will) bring you (as) a witness over these. And We sent down to you the Book (as) a clarification of everything and a guidance and mercy and glad tidings for those-who-submit/Muslims.” (Surah An-Nahl 16:89)
Islam does not say that one should live a simple life to the extent that it goes back to the Stone Age, rather it only stresses having a modest life so that the greed and lust of getting more and more may not make one forget about its real-life, i.e. hereafter. Allah says:
الَّذِينَ تَتَوَفَّاهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ طَيِّبِينَ يَقُولُونَ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمُ ادْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
“Those who take them in death the Angels (when they are) pure saying, “Peace (be) upon you. Enter Paradise for what you used (to) do.” (Surah An-Nahl 16:32)
A true Muslim should consider the worldly life as short-term, and act within the Islamic philosophy of existence, which will bring about the ultimate success in the hereafter. On the Day of Judgment, the entire record of people from the age of puberty will be presented before God. God will weigh everyone’s good and bad deeds according to His Mercy and His Justice, forgiving many sins and multiplying many good deeds.