Islam Guidance

Quest for the philosophy of life and its aim

Quest for the philosophy of life and its aim

It is a matter of great satisfaction that here and there some new voices have arisen in this very world enamoured of production and consumption. They give rise to the hope that perhaps time has come for the deliverance of the man of our age from the shackles of this economic myth. It is more gratifying that these voices pertain to the youth rather than the middle‑aged or the aged people.

 For some time the youth throughout the whole world have been showing practical reaction and saying loudly that they find their life meaningless and vulgar in the magnificent palace which has been furnished for them.

 They want to know:

 If people generally are happy in this magnificent palace.

 If the boat of their life filled with all sorts of comforts and travel equipment shall carry them to the shore of peace and content.

 Whether this splendid civilization attaches any importance to man himself.

 Whether all the gadgets invented to facilitate life really serve man, or they themselves have appropriated all his mental and physical capabilities.

 Whether this splendid civilization which has so much reduced distance between various cities, continents and planets, and converted them into just a big house, has also brought the hearts of its inmates closer to each other, or in spite of reduction in distances their hearts have gone further apart, or even worse than that, they no longer possess any hearts, as man now has only brain and hands exclusively devoted to serve his stomach, to satisfy his lust and to help him seek pelf, position and similar other objects:

 It is true that such voices strike only in the lands where people lead an economically prosperous life and are not preoccupied with the worry of obtaining such primary necessities as bread and butter.

 It is also true that in most parts of the world there are still large masses of people who are stricken with poverty and they themselves, their families, their dependents and their neighbors are leading a life below subsistence level. Their only hope now is a bloody revolution that may put an end to their material and economic privation.

 But the correct foresight makes it necessary that the efforts of these under‑privileged people should be channeled in such a direction that they may not have to face such a fate.

 Anyhow, it is certain that the people have more or less awakened and have got rid of the charm of material and economic prosperity. Both the big camps of the modern world now see clearly that:

 Though for centuries man has been making efforts to secure the best possible means of living a better life, at present in both the big camps of the East and the West men are being sacrificed ruthlessly in the grand industrial temples at the feet of the deity of industry. Except empty slogans there is nothing left of human dignity, human freedom and real choice in either of the two camps. Both the systems have deprived man of his dignity on the pretext that that is the requirement of the speedy running of the wheels of the complex modern industry and economy.

 Anyway, the man of our age is no longer willing to be taught by means of industry and technology how to lead his life.

 He persistently insists that he should know what the aim of his life is.

Contrary to what the pessimists think, the voices which are now being raised in protest or otherwise, may be a fore­runner of the happy and propitious self‑realization. They may give rise to human self‑awakening and a renaissance of human society. They may induce man not to take mechanical development for human evolution, and to rediscover the real goal of his life with deeper insight. They may lead him in the direction of real human bliss. What does the Qur'an say in this respect?

 The Qur'an emphasizes as a principle that all the pomp and show of life is meaningless, if it is devoid of faith and spirituality and is not consistent with the aim befitting a human being. A man enamoured of such a life is a loser and all his efforts are in vain.

 "Know that the life of this world is only a sport and pastime, pageantry and cause of boasting among you, and a quest for more wealth and more children. It is like the vegetation springing out after rain, delights the farmers, but it withers and you see it turning yellow, and then becoming worthless stubble". (Surah al‑Hadid 57:20).

 At another place Allah has been described as the light of the heavens and the earth, the truth and the directing spirit of the whole world.

 Then there is a mention of the meritorious and worthy men whom their trade and the efforts to earn their. livelihood do not beguile into forgetting of Allah and do not divert them from the basic goal of their life. They consequently secure the best results. Their efforts are always fruitful and conducive to virtue and excellence.

 The Qur'an describes the fate of those who have no aim in life and are forgetful of Allah:

 "As for those who disbelieve, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert. The thirsty man thinks that it is water, but when he comes to it, he finds that it is nothing. There he finds only. Allah, who pays him his account in full, and Allah is swift at reckoning. Or as darkness in a deep ocean covered with dashing waves and overcast with clouds. Several kinds of darkness, one upon another. If one stretches his hand, he can hardly see it. Indeed the man from whom Allah withholds His light, can find no light at all". (Surahal‑Nur 24: 3 9 ‑ 40).

 Consider these verses well. They contain a truth, which has become far more evident following the great scientific and industrial progress and the expansion of the dimensions of human life.

 Purely material life is as good as a mirage. The efforts of a greedy and covetous man bear no fruit, for they are devoid of a direction and a meaning. There is darkness all around. The people are puzzled and submerged in vulgarity. The question still remains: What is the meaning of life and what is its goal?

 According to the Qur'an the real cause of all this confusion and vulgarity is that human life has been bereft of the element of iman and man is concentrating his efforts on material progress. He has entered an era of production for consumption and consumption for production. Such people may succeed to the utmost degree in achieving their material ends but beyond that they fail in securing what is worthy of a human being:

 The Qur'an says:

 "Those who want the life of this world and its pomp, shall be fully recompensed according to their deeds during their lifetime. They shall not suffer any loss here. But in the Hereafter they shall have nothing but the fire. All they have done here shall have no value and all their deeds shall be null and void". (Surah Hud, 11 : 15 ‑ 16).

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