Inner Voice

Aim of Life

“And did you think that We created you aimlessly?” (Qur’an 23:15).

No man likes to be accused of working aimlessly. Acting without purpose is against the accepted norms of sanity. Therefore, we are confident that God never does any work without aim and purpose.

And what is the purpose of our creation, our life?

A group thinks that material well-being is the sole purpose of the human life. Their creed: “Every man should work according to his ability; and he should get according to his need”. It is the ultimate goal of their life. They see no other purpose beyond it. Alas! These people do not know the difference between means of life and aim of life.

Let me explain it. A farmer grows maize. He cultivates the land; mixes fertilizer in the earth; sows the seed; irrigates the shamba when necessary. Go and ask him: What is the purpose of cultivation? He will never say: The purpose of the cultivation is to sprinkle fertilizer and irrigate the land. He has sense enough to know that these are the means of cultivation, not its aim. Its aim is to produce maize for human consumption.

A dairy-man keeps cows. He feeds them, looks after them and protects them from harm. Ask him and he will explain that these are the means of keeping the cows alive. But is it the purpose of keeping the cows in the farm? No.! The purpose is something else – milk.

So we see that even in the worlds of maize and cows the difference between he means of life and purpose of life is fully recognized. Is it not strange to forget it when it comes to the human life? When a philosophy teaches us that bread and butter are the aim of life it ceases to be a philosophy. It becomes a fallacy.

In fact, we are alive for a higher purpose and nobler aim. The Creator himself has made it clear:

“And I did not create Jin and human beings, but so that they may know and obey me”. (Qur’an, 51:56).

Forget this basic purpose of your creation and you have degraded yourself to a level far below than that of cow a maize.