The Spirituality in Islam

on his rights. He will live as a harmless individual, contributing to society in positive and meaningful ways. It is, therefore, the responsibility of every individual to uplift himself spiritually and realise the Creator. And then lead his life in accordance with God’s creation plan. The main reasons for them not doing so are their forgetfulness of the Hereafter, and their obsession with worldly pursuits. Then man lives his life in the remembrance of God. He begins to feel the presence of God. Everything serves to remind him of God. God’s remembrance is never absent from his heart and mind. His mornings and evenings are spent as if he is living in God’s neighbourhood. Just as rain replenishes the crops, so does he remain ever immersed in the remembrance of God. The concept of God in Islam provides man with an ideology in which loss is turned to gain and in which adversity brings with it good tidings. And it is in submission to God and living a God-oriented life that man finds complete fulfillment and purpose of life. When he discovers God and worships Him, when he remembers Him, when his mind is turned towards Him with full concentration, when he makes a request or a plea, he establishes a contact with his Creator. In the words of the Hadith, at that particular moment he comes to whisper with his Lord. He has the tangible feeling that he is pouring his heart out to God and that God in turn is answering his call. This is the beginning of living a God-Oriented Life and the development of a positive personality. It is, therefore, in submission to God that man and the rest of the universe find its purpose. While the rest of the world submits to God compulsively, without having a choice; God desires that man should submit to Him of his own free will, without being compelled to do so. This is the test of man. When man submits to God and starts living a God-oriented life based on the principles of life laid down by his Creator, he starts developing his personality on positive lines and becomes a purified soul. It is souls such as these, who, in the life Hereafter, will inhabit paradise. Our most compassionate Lord will say: “O soul at peace, return to your Lord, well-pleased, well pleasing. Join My servants; Enter My Paradise.”