The life of this world
What is the life of this world? A fleeting pleasure punctuated with a lot of pain. We are born, we live, and we die. People distract themselves endlessly to forget this reality, but sooner or later death catches up to them. There is no escape; all things are born, mature, and die.
This article is an excerpt from my book “Will You Not Reason?” which can be downloaded for free here. I give credit to Brother Gerrans for a lot of ideas presented in this work. You can read and download his entire work for free. All translations used in this article are from The Qur’an: A Complete Revelation.
It is a strange thing, then, that the same man who strives day and night to acquire wealth, prestige, and honor remains blind to the fact that he will lose all come death. There is no permanence. This is the state of those who deny the Hereafter. The verses below are true for the generality of mankind — most people do not really believe in a life after death.
Say thou: “If the abode of the Hereafter with God be for you to the exclusion of other men, then wish for death, if you be truthful.”
But never will they wish for it because of what their hands have sent ahead; and God knows the wrongdoers.
And thou wilt find them the greediest of men for life. And of those who ascribe a partnership: one of them wishes to be granted life of a thousand years, but it will not remove him from the punishment were he to be granted life; and God sees what they do. (2:94-96)
It is therefore unreasonable to put all our efforts towards this temporal life. A far better strategy would be to work towards the betterment of our afterlife, which is eternal. God gives us the truth regarding this temporal life.
Every soul will taste death; and you will but be paid in full your rewards on the Day of Resurrection. And whoso is removed from the Fire and made to enter the Garden: he has attained; and the life of this world is only the enjoyment of delusion.
(3:185)
Wherever you be, death will overtake you, though you be in castles built high. And if good befalls them, they say: “This is from God”; and if evil befalls them, they say: “This is from thee.” Say thou: “All is from God.” Then what ails these people that they scarcely understand a statement?
(4:78)
Have they not reflected? Their companion is not possessed; he is only a clear warner.
Have they not considered the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and what things God has created, and that it may be that their term has drawn nigh? And in what narration after this will they believe?
(7:184-185)
The likeness of the life of this world is but like water We send down from the sky, and the plants of the earth mingle with it, whereof men and cattle eat: when the earth has taken her decoration, and is made fair, and its people think they have power over it, Our command comes by night or by day, and We make it reaped as if it had not flourished the day before — thus do We set out and detail the proofs for people who reflect.
(10:24)
And strike thou for them the similitude of the life of this world: — as water which We send down from the sky, then the vegetation of the earth mingles with it; then it becomes dry stalks which the winds scatter. And God is omnipotent over everything.
(18:45)
We will inherit the earth and whoso is thereon, and to Us will they be returned.
(19:40)
They know an outward part of the life of this world, but of the Hereafter they are heedless.
(30:7)
Know that the life of this world is only play and diversion, and adornment, and mutual boasting among you, and competition for increase in wealth and children. As the likeness of a rain, it impresses the atheists with its growth; then it withers and thou seest it turn yellow; then it becomes debris. And in the Hereafter is severe punishment, and forgiveness from God, and approval. And the life of this world is only the enjoyment of delusion.
(57:20)
Glorify thou the name of thy Lord, the Most High,
Who created and fashioned,
And who determined and guided,
And who brought forth the pasture
Then made it blackening decaying herbage
(87:1-5)
The truth is, you prefer the life of this world
When the Hereafter is better and more enduring.
(87:16-17)
What is our purpose?
Having established that it is God who created us, the natural question is, “To what purpose?” Most men assume that their purpose in life is to accumulate wealth and to enjoy themselves. But no matter how much they hoard, buy or experience, the contentment and peace they so ardently desire eludes them. That is because we are created not to serve our vain desires but to serve God.
And I created the domini and the servi only that they should serve Me.
(51:56)
Serving God means not only to worship Him but to also do good works. In the religion of Islam, all emphasis is placed on the performance of ritual prayers while the doing of good works is, for the most part, ignored. This is a dangerous idea considering God’s many exhortations to the believers to do good works.
Say thou: “Shall We inform you of the greatest losers in deeds?
“Those whose effort is astray in the life of this world when they think that they are doing good work;
“Those are they who deny the proofs of their Lord and the meeting with Him; so their works are in vain, and We will assign to them on the Day of Resurrection no weight.
“That is their reward — Gehenna — because they denied and took Our proofs and Our messengers in mockery.
“Those who heed warning and do righteous deeds, they have the Gardens of Paradise as a welcome,
“They abiding eternally therein. They will not desire any change therefrom.”
(18:103-108)
It is not virtue that you turn your faces towards the East and the West. But virtue is: one who believes in God, and the Last Day, and the angels, and the Writ, and the prophets, and gives wealth in spite of love of it to relatives, and the fatherless, and the needy, and the wayfarer, and those who ask, and to manumit slaves; and who upholds the duty, and renders the purity; and those who keep their covenant when they make a covenant; and the patient in affliction and adversity, and during conflict: those are they who are sincere; and it is they who are those of prudent fear.
(2:177)
They believe in God and the Last Day, and enjoin what is fitting, and forbid perversity, and compete in good deeds; and those are among the righteous.
(3:114)
And He it is that created the heavens and the earth in six days, — and His Throne was upon the water — that He might try you, which of you is best in deed. And if thou sayest: “You will be raised up after death,” those who ignore warning will say: “This is only obvious sorcery.”
(11:7)
We made what is upon the earth an adornment for it, that We might try them, which of them is best in deed.
And We will make what is thereon barren ground.
(18:7-8)
In that are proofs; and We are testing.
(23:30)
And We created not the heaven and the earth and what is between them to no purpose. That is the assumption of those who ignore warning. And woe to those who ignore warning from the Fire!
If We make those who heed warning and do righteous deeds like the workers of corruption in the land:[…]. — Or if We make those of prudent fear like the licentious:[…].
(38:27-28)