Nafsiya Reflections: Our Purpose in Life

What does it mean to have purpose? Is a sense of purpose dedicating oneself to achieving a goal? What fuels us to continue striving for our purpose?

Purpose helps one prioritize importance in life and allows one to stay motivated. Purpose shapes an individual’s behavior and how they attain it. Crucial questions that one should ask themselves are: what’s the purpose of our life? Why have we been created? Why are we here in this world?

When we don’t understand the above questions or have a sense of purpose it can lead to feelings of depression, resentment, emptiness, or being idle. Allah (swt) gave us instructions on how to attain our purpose by the implementation of the Quran in our daily life. We can see from these Ayat which states,

[وَمَا خَلَقۡتُ الۡجِنَّ وَالۡاِنۡسَ اِلَّا لِيَعۡبُدُوۡنِ‏ * مَاۤ اُرِيۡدُ مِنۡهُمۡ مِّنۡ رِّزۡقٍ وَّمَاۤ اُرِيۡدُ اَنۡ يُّطۡعِمُوۡنِ‏]

I created the jinn and humans for nothing else but that they may serve Me * I desire from them no provision, nor do I want them to feed Me. [Surah Adh-Dhariyat, Ayat 56-57]

Allah (swt) has created this world and humankind for His worship and we should always remember Allah Almighty because He is the One Who created day and night, heavens and earth and all other things that we see in this world. He didn’t create anything without purpose; everything is created due to some reason and has some purpose in life. Many people have become accustomed to the robotic rituals they perform that they don’t have Khushuu. People can often wonder if the only reason he/she was created was for the sole purpose of praying, fasting, giving Zakaat, etc. The answer is No! We often forget that caring or spending - on our families, studying, forbidding the evil (Munkar) and enjoining the good (Khair), looking after one’s parents, joining in on Dawah work for the sole intention to please Allah (swt) is worship. Anything done for the sole intention to please Allah (swt) is the purpose.

The Prophet (saw) said:

قُلْتُ‏:‏ "يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، دُلَّنِي عَلَى عَمَلٍ يُدْخِلُنِي الْجَنَّةَ، قَالَ‏:‏ أَمِطِ الأَذَى عَنْ طَرِيقِ النَّاسِ‏."‏

Abu Barza al-Aslami said, "I said, 'Messenger of Allah, show me an action by which I will enter the Garden!" He said, 'Remove harmful things from people's path.'"

SubhanAllah, removing a harmful thing from the road can grant a person Jannah if the intention was for pleasing Allah. Allah (swt) did not create us to cause us hardships but created us to worship Him and continuously seek His forgiveness. When we fully grasp what our Purpose is we would know how to handle tests from Allah (swt). One can be so occupied with worldly matters that it can be forgotten that our Blessings are a test as well. Maybe the wealth that we have is an actual form of sinning; out of love from Allah (swt) He causes man to lose that wealth in order to protect him from Hell. We can’t grasp the mercy that Allah (swt) has on His slaves. If we fully understood our Purpose on Earth we would swallow our tests and blessings far more easily.

Allah Almighty says in Quran:

[أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَـٰكُمْ عَبَثًۭا وَأَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا تُرْجَعُونَ ]

“Did you think that We had created you in play (without any purpose) and that you would not be brought back to Us?” (Surah Al-Mu'minun :115)

We as Muslims have to empower ourselves from within by asking the right questions and fully comprehend that certain factors are not in our hands, such as looks, who our parents are, health, etc. We should look at challenges in a positive outlook on how we can learn from them or how it has shaped me as a Muslim. Muslims can’t escape the struggle but having a purpose will always soften the blow. The understanding of Purpose allows motivation and puts meaning in life helping to achieve his/her ultimate Purpose in Life which is pleasing the All-Mighty and gaining His Heavens. We should always strive to please Allah (swt) with Ihsaan and excellence. May Allah (swt) enable us to implement our Purpose here on Earth with excellence.

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