Actions!
|
|
 |
|
|
|||
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||
 |
|
 |
|||||
|
|||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
Purpose
of Life
When man ponders on the world that exists, he finds that all things have a
purpose and are regulated. The sun and the moon mark out the days and months.
The greenness of leaves facilitates photosynthesis. The stars assist in the
navigation. They are all regulated by certain laws. The rotation of the sun and
the moon are regulated and follow submissively. Man thus ponders about his
existence, and wonders about his purpose and how he should regulate his actions.
All things are created in this world. Man is no different He came into being and
so too will he cease to exist. Man comes from his Creator and will surely
return. It is thus Allah's prerogative to define the objective of life.
I created man and jinn for no reason, other than to worship me. [Az-Zariyat
- 56]
The concept of worship in Islam means to perform an action that is in accordance
with Allah's decree. Thus the whole of one's life must be in a state of
submission. Islam addresses all of mans needs and functions. For a Muslim there
can be no deen and dunya. Islam came as a deen to regulate the actions of this
dunya.
Concept of Spirituality
All actions performed by man are worldly in nature, since they go to satisfy his
instinct or an organic need. Allah (Subhana wa ta ala)created man weak and
needy. Man thus needs to cover, feed, and revere something. All people will do
this whether they are a Muslim or a non-Muslim.
What makes an action spiritual is when the person connects the action with the
hereafter. Before he performs an action, he asks, "Will Allah be pleased or
not?" This can be known by finding out if the action is permitted and
whether the purpose it is being conducted for, is also permitted.
Thus when a person drinks a glass of mango juice to quench his thirst, it is in
essence a worldly action. There is no difference between a Muslim doing it and a
non-Muslim. However, what makes it spiritual is by knowing that the action is
something Allah (Subhana wa ta ala) has permitted. By undertaking an action in
this way, Allah is pleased. A non-Muslim would drink without a care if the
action performed was permitted by Allah or not. Therefore, even for a mundane
action like drinking, a Muslim makes it a spiritual action. He quenches his
thirst as well as being worthy of Allah's (Subhana wa ta ala) pleasure.
To work to earn money to fulfil ones obligation towards his dependants is an
action of this world, but is a spiritual action if it is done with his
accountability in mind. One thus earns money as well as reward from Allah (Subhana
wa ta ala).
All actions a Muslim performs should be spiritual, i.e. actions connected to the
akhira. This is not just limited to the ibadaah actions of praying and fasting,
but transcends all actions whether they be social, economic or political.
Dunya Action
A worldly action is any action performed for the purpose of benefiting oneself
in this life alone. So if a man prays for pride, it is an action done so people
in this world are pleased with him. If a person pursues wealth, even by
restricting himself to the halaal means, to gain power and prestige, this action
would be a worldly action, devoid of any benefit in the hereafter. This is
because even though the action was halal, the objective was not. This is clearly
shown in the following hadith
One the day of judgement three people will come in front of Allah, a Mujahid,
a rich man and an Alim. The Mujahid will claim he died for Allah's sake, but
Allah will reply, 'No, you did it so people would say you are brave. They said
it and that is what you earned. You did not do it for me and I have nothing for
you…[Hadith]
(for more info contact: loveislam@aol.com)