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<\/a><\/h2>\nWhat is the Purpose of Life?<\/strong><\/h2>\nWhy are we here?<\/strong><\/h2>\nWell, why are we here? To amass fame and fortune? To make music and babies? To be the richest man or woman in the graveyard for, as we are jokingly told, “He who dies with the most toys wins?”<\/p>\n
No, there must be more to life than that, so let’s think about this. To begin with, look around you. Unless you live in a cave, you are surrounded by things we humans have made with our own hands. Now, why did we make those things? The answer, of course, is that we make things to perform some specific function for us. In short, we make things to serve us. So by extension, why did God make us, if not to serve Him?<\/p>\n
If we acknowledge our Creator, and that He created humankind to serve Him, the next question is, “How? How do we serve Him?” No doubt, this question is best answered by the One who made us. If He created us to serve Him, then He expects us to function in a particular manner, if we are to achieve our purpose. But how can we know what that manner is? How can we know what Almighty Allah expects from us?<\/p>\n
Well, consider this: God gave us light, by which we can find our way. Even at night, we have the moon for light and the stars for navigation. God gave other animals guidance systems best suited for their conditions and needs. Migrating birds can navigate, even on overcast days, by how light is polarized as it passes through the clouds. Whales migrate by reading the earth’s magnetic fields. Salmon return from the open ocean to spawn at the exact spot of their birth by smell<\/em> if that can be imagined. Fish sense distant movements through pressure receptors that line their bodies. Bats and blind river dolphins see by sonar. Certain marine organisms (the electric eel being a high-voltage example) generate and read electric fields, allowing them to see in muddy waters, or in the blackness of ocean depths. Insects communicate by pheromones. Plants sense sunlight and grow towards it (phototrophism); their roots sense gravity and grow into the earth (geotrophism). In short, Almighty Allah has gifted every element of His creation with guidance. Can we seriously believe he would not give us guidance on the one most important aspect of our existence, namely our raison d’etre<\/em>\u2014our reason for being? That he would not give us the tools by which to achieve salvation?<\/p>\nAnd would this guidance not be . . . revelation?<\/p>\n
Think of it this way: Every product has specifications and rules. For more complex products, whose specifications and rules are not intuitive, we rely upon owner’s manuals. These manuals are written by the one who knows the product best, which is to say the manufacturer. A typical owner’s manual begins with warnings about improper use and the hazardous consequences thereof moves on to a description of how to use the product properly and the benefits to be gained thereby and then provides product specifications and a troubleshooting guide whereby we can correct product malfunctions.<\/p>\n
Divine Manual<\/strong><\/h2>\nNow, how is that different from revelation?<\/p>\n
Revelation tells us what to do, what not to do and why; it tells us what God expects of us, and shows us how to correct our deficiencies. Revelation is the ultimate user’s manual, provided as guidance to the one who will use us\u2014ourselves.<\/p>\n
In the world we know, products that meet or exceed specifications are considered successes, whereas those that don’t are \u2026 hmm \u2026 let’s think about this. Any product that fails to meet factory specifications is either repaired or, if hopeless, recycled; in other words, destroyed. Ouch. Suddenly this discussion turns scary and serious. This is because, in this discussion, we are the product, the product of creation.<\/p>\n
Why are we here?<\/strong><\/h2>\nWell, why are we here? To amass fame and fortune? To make music and babies? To be the richest man or woman in the graveyard for, as we are jokingly told, “He who dies with the most toys wins?”<\/p>\n
No, there must be more to life than that, so let’s think about this. To begin with, look around you. Unless you live in a cave, you are surrounded by things we humans have made with our own hands. Now, why did we make those things? The answer, of course, is that we make things to perform some specific function for us. In short, we make things to serve us. So by extension, why did God make us, if not to serve Him?<\/p>\n
If we acknowledge our Creator, and that He created humankind to serve Him, the next question is, “How? How do we serve Him?” No doubt, this question is best answered by the One who made us. If He created us to serve Him, then He expects us to function in a particular manner, if we are to achieve our purpose. But how can we know what that manner is? How can we know what Almighty Allah expects from us?<\/p>\n
Well, consider this: God gave us light, by which we can find our way. Even at night, we have the moon for light and the stars for navigation. God gave other animals guidance systems best suited for their conditions and needs. Migrating birds can navigate, even on overcast days, by how light is polarized as it passes through the clouds. Whales migrate by reading the earth’s magnetic fields. Salmon return from the open ocean to spawn at the exact spot of their birth by smell<\/em> if that can be imagined. Fish sense distant movements through pressure receptors that line their bodies. Bats and blind river dolphins see by sonar. Certain marine organisms (the electric eel being a high-voltage example) generate and read electric fields, allowing them to see in muddy waters, or in the blackness of ocean depths. Insects communicate by pheromones. Plants sense sunlight and grow towards it (phototrophism); their roots sense gravity and grow into the earth (geotrophism). In short, Almighty Allah has gifted every element of His creation with guidance. Can we seriously believe he would not give us guidance on the one most important aspect of our existence, namely our raison d’etre<\/em>\u2014our reason for being? That he would not give us the tools by which to achieve salvation?<\/p>\nAnd would this guidance not be . . . revelation?<\/p>\n
Think of it this way: Every product has specifications and rules. For more complex products, whose specifications and rules are not intuitive, we rely upon owner’s manuals. These manuals are written by the one who knows the product best, which is to say the manufacturer. A typical owner’s manual begins with warnings about improper use and the hazardous consequences thereof moves on to a description of how to use the product properly and the benefits to be gained thereby and then provides product specifications and a troubleshooting guide whereby we can correct product malfunctions.<\/p>\n
Divine Manual<\/strong><\/h2>\nNow, how is that different from revelation?<\/p>\n
Revelation tells us what to do, what not to do and why; it tells us what God expects of us, and shows us how to correct our deficiencies. Revelation is the ultimate user’s manual, provided as guidance to the one who will use us\u2014ourselves.<\/p>\n
In the world we know, products that meet or exceed specifications are considered successes, whereas those that don’t are \u2026 hmm \u2026 let’s think about this. Any product that fails to meet factory specifications is either repaired or, if hopeless, recycled; in other words, destroyed. Ouch. Suddenly this discussion turns scary and serious. This is because, in this discussion, we are the product, the product of creation.<\/p>\n
And would this guidance not be . . . revelation?<\/p>\n
Think of it this way: Every product has specifications and rules. For more complex products, whose specifications and rules are not intuitive, we rely upon owner’s manuals. These manuals are written by the one who knows the product best, which is to say the manufacturer. A typical owner’s manual begins with warnings about improper use and the hazardous consequences thereof moves on to a description of how to use the product properly and the benefits to be gained thereby and then provides product specifications and a troubleshooting guide whereby we can correct product malfunctions.<\/p>\n