09449789   
   db777854   
   From: chrishelms2@gmail.com   
      
   On Feb 10, 10:47 am, BV BV  wrote:   
   > ISLAM and the AIM of LIFE   
   > What is your purpose in life? What is the rationale behind our life?   
   > Why do we live in this life? These questions frequently intrigue   
   > people who try to find accurate answers.   
   > People provide different answers to these questions. Some people   
   > believe the purpose of life is to accumulate wealth. But one may   
   > wonder: What is the purpose of life after one has collected colossal   
   > amounts of money? What then? What will the purpose be once money is   
   > gathered? If the purpose of life is to gain money, there will be no   
   > purpose after becoming wealthy. And in fact, here lies the problem of   
   > some disbelievers or misbelievers at some stage of their life, when   
   > collecting money is the target of their life. When they have collected   
   > the money they dreamt of, their life loses its purpose. They suffer   
   > from the panic of nothingness and they live in tension and   
   > restlessness.   
   > Can Wealth Be an Aim?   
   > We often hear of a millionaire committing suicide, sometimes, not the   
   > millionaire himself but his wife, son, or daughter. The question that   
   > poses itself is: Can wealth bring happiness to one’s life? In most   
   > cases the answer is NO. Is the purpose of collecting wealth a standing   
   > purpose? As we know, the five-year old child does not look for wealth:   
   > a toy for him is equal to a million dollars. The eighteen-year old   
   > adolescent does not dream of wealth because he is busy with more   
   > important things. The ninety-year old man does not care about money;   
   > he is worried more about his health. This proves that wealth cannot be   
   > a standing purpose in all the stages of the individual's life.   
   > Wealth can do little to bring happiness to a disbeliever, because he/   
   > she is not sure about his fate. A disbeliever does not know the   
   > purpose of life. And if he has a purpose, this purpose is doomed to be   
   > temporary or self destructive.   
   > What is the use of wealth to a disbeliever if he feels scared of the   
   > end and skeptical of everything. A disbeliever may gain a lot of   
   > money, but will surely lose himself.   
   > Worshipping Allah as an Aim   
   > On the contrary, faith in Allah gives the believer the purpose of life   
   > that he needs. In Islam, the purpose of life is to worship Allah. The   
   > term "Worship" covers all acts of obedience to Allah.   
   > The Islamic purpose of life is a standing purpose. The true Muslim   
   > sticks to this purpose throughout all the stages of his life, whether   
   > he is a child, adolescent, adult, or an old man.   
   > Worshipping Allah makes life purposeful and meaningful, especially   
   > within the framework of Islam. According to Islam this worldly life is   
   > just a short stage of our life. Then there is the other life. The   
   > boundary between the first and second life is the death stage, which   
   > is a transitory stage to the second life. The type of life in the   
   > second stage a person deserves depends on his deeds in the first life.   
   > At the end of the death stage comes the day of judgment. On this day,   
   > Allah rewards or punishes people according to their deeds in the first   
   > life.   
   > The First Life as an Examination   
   > So, Islam looks at the first life as an examination of man. The death   
   > stage is similar to a rest period after the test, i. e. after the   
   > first life. The Day of Judgment is similar to the day of announcing   
   > the results of the examinees. The second life is the time when each   
   > examinee enjoys or suffers from the outcome of his behavior during the   
   > test period.   
   > In Islam, the line of life is clear, simple, and logical: the first   
   > life, death, the Day of Judgment, and then the second life. With this   
   > clear line of life, the Muslim has a clear purpose in life. The Muslim   
   > knows he is created by Allah. Muslims know they are going to spend   
   > some years in this first life, during which they have to obey God,   
   > because God will question them and hold them responsible for their   
   > public or private deeds, because Allah knows about all the deeds of   
   > all people. The Muslim knows that his deeds in the first life will   
   > determine the type of second life they will live in. The Muslim knows   
   > that this first life is a very short one, one hundred years, more or   
   > less, whereas the second life is an eternal one.   
   > The Eternity of the Second Life   
   > The concept of the eternity of the second life has a tremendous effect   
   > on a Muslims during their first life, because Muslims believe that   
   > their first life determines the shape of their second life. In   
   > addition, this determines the shape of their second life and this   
   > determination will be through the Judgment of Allah, the All just and   
   > Almighty.   
   > With this belief in the second life and the Day of Judgment, the   
   > Muslim's life becomes purposeful and meaningful. Moreover, the   
   > Muslim's standing purpose is to go to Paradise in the second life.   
   > In other words, the Muslim's permanent purpose is to obey Allah, to   
   > submit to Allah, to carry out His orders, and to keep in continues   
   > contact with Him through prayers (five times a day), through fasting   
   > (one month a year), through charity (as often as possible), and   
   > through pilgrimage (once in one's life).   
   > The Need for a Permanent Purpose   
   > Disbelievers have purposes in their lives such as collecting money and   
   > property, indulging in sex, eating, and dancing. But all these   
   > purposes are transient and passing ones. All these purposes come and   
   > go, go up and down. Money comes and goes. Health comes and goes.   
   > Sexual activities cannot continue forever. All these lusts for money,   
   > food and sex cannot answer the individual's questions: so what? Then   
   > What?   
   > However, Islam saves Muslims from the trouble of asking the question,   
   > because Islam makes it clear, from the very beginning, that the   
   > permanent purpose of the Muslim in this life is to obey Allah in order   
   > to go to Paradise in the second life.   
   > We should know that the only way for our salvation in this life and in   
   > the hereafter is to know our Lord who created us, believe in Him, and   
   > worship Him alone.   
   > We should also know our Prophet whom Allah had sent to all mankind,   
   > believe in Him and follow Him. We should, know the religion of truth   
   > which our Lord has commanded us to believe in, and practice it …   
   > Those in search of truth   
   > Who have an open mind and heart,   
   > Islamic Education Foundation   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)