By Babatunde Jose
“Our Lord is the one Who endowed all things with a particular form of creation.” Quran 20:49 “
He it is Who spread out the earth and raised the mountains upon it. He made the rivers course and brought forth every kind of fruit, and He created all things in pairs. He covered the bright day with the dark night. Certainly, in these matters are clear proofs for the thoughtful of the power of the Creator.” Quran 13:3)
These days, our busy lives have become so frenetic, many of us find no time for contemplation, for reflection, for taking in the Big Picture, and for asking the Big Questions. Our work, study, sport, recreation, and family life keep us constantly engaged. But we must occasionally step outside this routine. We must reflect and ponder what might seem imponderable.
We enjoy learning about the natural world, watching documentaries on National Geographic and Nature. We look at the world around us, from the microcosmic to the macrocosmic, from spinning electrons in the realm of quantum physics to those spectacular galaxies viewed through the Hubble telescope.
And we ask where did all these come from? How did the cosmos begin? Where will it end, and most compelling of all questions, why? Why are we here? What is the purpose of life? What’s the point of my life? An individual human life, set out on the enormous canvas of space and time, appears to be so infinitesimally small and insignificant. What is my own place in the great cosmic scheme of things? What happens to me when I die? Is death just a big black hole, or is there some form of conscious existence after death? Is this really important? Do I care? Should I care? Or should I just push these thoughts out of sight?
Now, we can bury those big questions under so many immediate priorities of daily life. But, like a nagging headache, they lurk in the back of our minds, and they resurface, time and again. Why am I here? What is the purpose of my life?
Science is very good at telling us how things work, but the why part is another matter. A lot of questions agitating the mind are still unanswered because there are many things we do not understand.
Programmes on science and astronomy, and natural history films tell us about the fragile, complex relationships that sustain life on our planet. But they don’t tell us why we’re here. That question belongs to the realm of philosophy and faith. “Why” is probably the most difficult question to answer if we rely entirely on our limited human resources.
We manufacture things and they fulfil the purpose for which they were made. But what about human beings? What about us? What is the purpose of human life?
Some people might well ask, does life have any purpose at all? Are we not simply the product of some chance encounter, a random collision of atoms and molecules? Surely there’s no place for God in this equation! Some would argue, there’s no proof that God exists! Life has no higher purpose, they say. These are all musings from ancient books of religion, with no relevance today!
When we consider the finely tuned laws of physics and biology that sustain life on our planet, the dozens of chemical and biological processes that are at work, we find it hard to believe it all began by chance. It is inconceivable to believe that a completely random and chaotic beginning could produce so much order, so much beauty and balance without an Intelligent Creator behind it.
The mathematical probability of creating so much order, design, and harmony from an utterly chaotic and cataclysmic event, just boggles the mind.
It seems much more rational and reasonable to believe that everything around us is the result of a conscious, deliberate act of creation, not simply a cosmic accident. This crucial argument is what separates believers, people of all faiths on one hand, from non-believers or atheists on the other.
In the final analysis, we have a choice: to believe or not to believe. And, as with every other choice we make in our lives, there are consequences.
Are we here just because God was bored, so He created us for idle sport, or are we part of a purposeful creation?
The Holy Quran tells us, 51:56: “I have not created Jinn and Mankind except that they should worship me.” In Quran 17:70 Allah says: “I have truly honoured the Children of Adam, giving them mastery over land and sea, and over a greater part of My creation…”
These 2 verses confirm that God created the world for our enjoyment, and He created us to thank Him, to worship Him. The word for faith, Iman in Arabic, also has a strong connotation of gratitude. The word kafir connotes ingratitude, and describes one who denies God, who denies faith and therefore refuses to thank Him.
Worship in Islam is a wider concept that has formal and informal dimensions. Formal worship is regular prayer, 5 times a day, fasting, charity and pilgrimage to Mecca. Informal worship is any good deed, however small, that is done purely out of love and gratitude to Allah.
There must be no ulterior motive, no eagerness to make an impression, no vanity, no desire to massage the ego. Sincerity is the key.
In one narration of Prophet Muhammad, God, describes three people whose good deeds will take them to hellfire: A martyr who sought martyrdom to impress people, a scholar who sought knowledge to be admired by people and a philanthropist who gave generously so that people could say, “there goes a generous man.”
All three incurred Divine displeasure because they lacked sincerity. They were massaging their egos. They did good deeds for the wrong reasons. If we want to earn Allah’s good pleasure, our actions must be absolutely selfless and sincere.
This relationship between us, our creator and the natural world, our biosphere, is a crucial one. Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad, a Cambridge scholar, uses a good analogy. He describes Allah as the generous Landlord who gives us the keys to His property.
He wants us to enjoy the property on one condition: that we acknowledge who owns it, and that we treat all the other tenants with courtesy and respect. And for rent, He only wants us to say, thank you.
Barka Juma’at and happy weekend
Babatunde Jos
