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The Islamic Bulletin
The Purpose Of Life
that conclusion. Many other non-Muslims came to the
same conclusion. People such as Benjamin Franklin,
Thomas Jefferson, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Winston
Churchill, to name a few. Many more and I could go
on, and on, and on. They came to the same conclu-
sion. Whether they accepted Islam openly, or not.
They came to that conclusion-- that there is no other
literature in the world as profound as the Quran, a
source of wisdom and healing and direction.
Now that we have settled the issue of au-
thenticity of the Quran, let us turn to another subject
matter: the basic themes of the Quran. The supreme
oneness of Almighty God, which includes His names,
His attributes, the relationship between God Almighty
and His creation, and how human beings should
maintain that relationship. The continuity of prophets
and messengers, their lives, their messages, and their
overall mission. The insistence upon following the final
and universal example of Muhammad (pbuh), the Seal
of the Prophets and Messengers. Reminding human
beings of the shortness of this life and calling them
towards the eternity of the life hereafter. Life hereafter,
meaning after here. Hereafter, you leave this place
and you’re going somewhere; I don’t mean tonight.
But after you die and you leave this Earth, you are go-
ing somewhere, whether you accept it, or don’t know
about it; You’re going there, and you are responsible,
because you have been told-- even if you have reject-
ed it. Because the object of this life is not for you to
sit here, and after this do nothing and have no effect.
Every cause has an effect! And you came into this life
for a cause and a purpose, and it must have an effect!
It must warrant some sort of effect! You don’t go to
school to just stay there! You don’t go to work not to
get paid! You don’t build a house and don’t move into
it! You don’t get a suit made and don’t wear it! You
don’t grow up as a child and don’t become an adult!
You don’t work without expecting a reward! You
cannot live without expecting to die! You cannot die
without the expectancy of the grave! And you cannot
expect that the grave is the end. Because that would
mean that God has created you for a foolish purpose.
And you have not gone to school, worked, or done
anything, or have chosen a wife, or chosen the name
of your children for a foolish purpose. How could you
assign to God something less than yourselves?
In an attempt to capture and convince the
imagination and faculties of reasoning, the Quran goes
through great length and beauty to expound upon the
oceans and rivers, the trees and plants, the birds and
insects, the wild and domestic animals, the mountains,
the valleys, the expansion of the heavens, the celestial
bodies and the universe, the fish and the aquatic life,
the human anatomy and biology, human civilization
and history, the description of paradise and hell, the
evolution of the human embryo, the missions of all
the prophets and messengers, and the purpose of life
on Earth. And how could a shepherd boy, born in the
desert, who grew up illiterate and could not read--
how could he expound upon things that he was never
exposed to? The most unique aspect of the Quran,
however, is that it serves to confirm all the previous re-
vealed scriptures. And, after examining the religion of
Islam, you should decide to become a Muslim, you do
not have to consider yourself changing your religion!
You are not changing your religion…You see, if you
lost some weight, you wouldn’t throw that $500 suit
away--of course you wouldn’t! You would take it to
a tailor and say, ‘Listen, take this in a little bit for me,
please. Make some alterations to this because I like
this suit.’ Likewise, with your belief, your honor, your
virtue, your love of Jesus Christ, your attachment to
God, your worship, your truthfulness, and your ded-
ication to Almighty God - you don’t change that and
throw it away! You hold on to that! But, you make
alterations where you know that the truth has been
revealed to you! That’s all!
Islam is simple: to bear witness that there’s
none to be worshiped except Almighty God. If I asked
any of you to bear witness that your father is your
father--how many of you would say, ‘Yes, my father
is my father; My son is my son; My wife is my wife; I
am who I am.’ Then how is it that you hesitate to bear
witness that the Almighty is One and the Almighty
God is the only One, and that the Almighty God is
your Lord and your creator? Why are you arrogant to
do this? Are you being glorious? Do you possess some-
thing that God doesn’t possess? Or, are you confused?
That’s the question you have to ask yourself.
If you had the chance to put things straight
with your conscience, and to put things straight with
God, would you do so? If you had the chance to ask
God to accept the best of your deeds, would you do
so? If you had the chance to do this before you died,
and you thought that you would die tonight, would
you not hesitate to bear witness that there’s only one
God? If you thought that you would die tonight and
that in front of you was paradise and in your back was
hellfire, would you not hesitate to bear witness that
Muhammad is the final messenger of God and repre-
sentative of all the prophets? You would not hesitate
to bear witness that you are one of those who would
like to be written down in the book of God as those
who submit!
But, you think you’re gonna live a little while.
And of course, you’re not ready to pray every day!
That’s because you think you’re gonna live a while.
But how much is ‘a little while?’ How long ago was it
when you had a full head of hair? How long ago was it
when your hair was all black? You got aches and pains
in your knees and elbows and in other places! How
long ago was it when you were just a child, running
and playing without a care? How long ago was it? It
was yesterday! Yes. And you’re gonna die tomorrow.
So how long you wanna wait?