Q67 :Is anything mentioned in the Qur’an regarding
the purpose of our birth? It seems that we are born to eat, work, sleep
and get married, and perhaps pray but to create problems for others as
well. Are we, Muslims, doing anything good for the benefit of human
beings, as the West is doing? It looks as if we are living our lives
without any specific purpose or goal.
A67 : You may be true about the condition of
Muslims nowadays, the large majority of whom do not seem to have any
specific purpose in life. But that is their own fault as they seem to
neglect looking into their main sources of faith to determine their
duties and their mission in life. However, it is clearly mentioned in
the Qur’an that God has created us to put us to a test so that we may
prove who of us can utilize his life to the best purpose. God states in
the Qur’an: “He is the One who created the heavens and the earth in
six days. His throne rises over the water, so He may test you: Who is
finest in action.” (11;7) In the system of God’s creation, there are
the angels who can do only what is good. At no time can an angel do
something evil or disobey God. On the other hand, Satans are the
opposites: They can do only evil. Man is given the power of choice and
he determines for himself whether to follow the guidance provided by
God through his messengers or to indulge in satisfying his wanton
desires. The test is made clear for man right from his early years and
the chance to rectify his attitude and choose what is good for him is
offered at every juncture. In fact, if he errs, he can at any moment
correct his error, repent and turn to God for forgiveness. If he does
so, then he is forgiven. When people abandon God’s guidance, their
lives on earth seem to be nothing more than eating, drinking and
self-indulgence. God says in the Qur’an: “God will admit the ones who
believe and perform righteous deeds into gardens through which rivers
flow, while those who disbelieve will enjoy themselves and eat just as
animals do, and the fire will be their lodging place.” (47;12) You add
that some people who pray also create problems for others. I am afraid
that not many people do pray, but quite many of them are guilty of
mischief, and try to take advantage of others, paying no attention to
other people’s interest. You ask whether we do any good for the
benefit of other human beings, citing the example of Westerners as
do-gooders. I can say that as a netmunity, a nation, or followers of a
great faith, most of us do not do much good. However, some of us, in
our little way, do a great deal for other people. Nevertheless, the
example you have chosen does not serve your purpose well. In order to
be clear, I acknowledge without hesitation that as individuals, the
majority of Western people are good in their own way. But when we speak
of a society and a government, then it is the West which has spent and
is still spending so much on arms of mass destruction, selling them to
countries in the Third World and encouraging them to make their
countries experimental battle fields, thus sapping their resources and
keeping them in continuing poverty. I realize that we should not blame
the West for our own mistakes, but when we speak of the West as
governments and societies working for the benefit of mankind, then our
argument may be heavily lopsided.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )