The Ultimate Goal of Muslims in Life
Success and happiness in this world and the Hereafter depend on tazkiya,
the purification and nurturing of our personality.
The Quran states that true success is
only reserved for those who seek to purify themselves: {Successful
indeed is the one who purifies his whole self.} [Ash-Shams 91:9]
Our personality comprises not only the
physical body but also the mind and the heart, feelings and attitudes,
character and behavior. Proper nurturing and development of these elements of
the personality will achieve desirable goals. When goals are desirable, the
process of aspiring to, working towards and achieving them also become
desirable. This is part of human nature. It is critical, therefore, that we
recognize and understand the true nature of our ultimate goal in life.
Seeking Allah’s Pleasure and Paradise
For the Believer, the most coveted
goal in life is to seek the good pleasure of Allah and Jannah or Paradise. Our
Creator has set this goal for us: {And surely
Paradise - it is the goal} [An-Nazi`at 79:41]; {Indeed
the Next abode - it is truly the life.} [Al-`Ankabut 29:64]; {The companions of Paradise - they are the triumphant
ones} [Al-Hashr 59:20].
Know, however, that attaining the pleasure of Allah takes precedence over seeking Jannah but the two are
closely connected.
Paradise can only be attained through seeking
Allah’s pleasure, and when Allah’s pleasure is gained, we will indeed be
granted Paradise. Reflect upon the following two verses in the Quran: {And there is a kind of person who would willingly give
up personal interests, seeking Allah’s pleasure; and God is Most Compassionate
towards His servants.} [Al-Baqarah 2:207]
{Indeed Allah has
purchased from the Believers their lives and their possessions, promising them
Paradise, in return.} [At-Tawbah 9:111]
The Consequences of Our Ultimate Goal
The alternative to attaining Paradise
in the Hereafter is to be placed in Jahannam or Hellfire and to receive
its punishments.
The Quran states: {But in the life to come: [it is either] severe
suffering, or God's forgiveness and His goodly acceptance.} [Al-Hadid 57:20].
What is it that makes a person
deserving of such a suffering? The answer is to be found in the second part of
the same verse: {For the life of this world is
nothing but an enjoyment of self-delusion} [Al-Hadid 57:20].
Jahannam therefore, is for those who
seek as their ultimate goal in life, not the pleasure of Allah or Paradise, but
the enjoyment of worldly gains.
The pursuit of worldly gain is but a
mirage. All worldly gains are left behind when you die. All that is on earth is
bound to perish while Allah and His good favor will remain forever. It is for
this reason that the Quran advises: {Vie with one
another in seeking to attain to your Sustainer’s forgiveness; and to a Paradise
as vast as the heavens and the earth, which has been readied for those who have
attained to faith in God and His messengers: such is the bounty of Allah which
He grants unto whomever He wills -for Allah is limitless in His great bounty.}
[Al-Hadid 57:21]
Making Paradise the Focus of Our Efforts
All your efforts in this world should
therefore be focused only on seeking Paradise. It is the Promise of the
Almighty that: {You will only be rewarded fully for
all your good deeds on the Day of Resurrection, and [on that Day] whoever will
be drawn away from Hellfire, and admitted into Paradise, will indeed have
triumphed} [Ali `Imran 3:185]
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Taken from “In the Early Hours” by Khuram Murad
