The Message of Islam

The Message of Islam

1986 4 April 5-6 The Message of Islam (496) The basic, most important fact of life is that we are in this world to be tested. This fact should always be in the back of one’s mind as one goes about life’s work. It should dominate one’s life. Our basic purpose in life is to succeed in the test of life. Only if we remember our purpose will we be able to make good both in our ephemeral and eternal destinies.

So we are in this world to be tested. What does this mean with regard to our eternal destiny? It means that whatever we have been granted in this world has been given us by God. He is the Owner of all things. We own nothing, we have no right to anything, we are just being tested in all that we possess. We should think of God as the true owner of our possessions, and realize that they will only be with us as long as our trial of life has not run its course. When it is over, everything will be taken away from us. All we will be left with will be our actions on earth. There will be no trace of the power and wealth which surround us today.

And what of this world? What are the implications of life’s trial with regard to our existence on earth? It means that just as we are free in this world, so are others free. The freedom of every individual has made this world a place of competition. With every person and every nation free to pursue their own ends, rivalry between people and nations is inevitable.

The Quran exhorts us to “race against one another in good deeds” (2:147). This shows that there is competition between humans in eternal matters just as there is in worldly affairs. Just as people set their minds on winning the race of life, so should their efforts be directed even more towards outdoing others in the good deeds which will earn them success in the next world. Those who make this world their end in life, who seek to outdo others in this world, but are blind to the hereafter and its demands, will be deemed worthless in the everlasting world of God.

All things will eventually return to God, their true and rightful owner. Those who were supported by other things besides God will have nothing left to support them when that time comes. They will be the ones who failed in the trial of life, for the simple reason that they failed to see that they were being tried on earth. They will be as worthless in the sight of God as those who are guided by intolerance and prejudice are worthless in the eyes of men. The former fail to see their life in true perspective with regard to God and eternity. The latter fail to see their life as a trial with regard to the world, and their dealings with other men.