HOW TO FIND PURPOSE IN LIFE?

and concluded that it was a winnowing basket. Its back was proclaimed as a platform, its tail as a snake and its trunk as a hosepipe. But in all this explanation the description of the real elephant is not there. No matter how these blind people put their findings together, they cannot arrive at the correct answer. In the same manner many people in their attempt to fathom the nature of reality in the universe have failed to draw the right conclusions, have been fumbling in the dark and just hazarding wild guesses as to the nature of their surroundings, without ever truly understanding it. There have been people in this world who have devoted their entire lives to the quest for Truth but in their desperation at being unable to find it, have taken the extreme step of putting an end to their lives. Then there are some who drew conclusions based on pure conjecture. The latter mistaking conjecture for reason, compiled their conclusions and presented them to the world as Truth, the former saw speculation for what it was, rejected it, then—anguished at their own ultimate helplessness—opted out of this mysterious world. The message of the Quran conveys that man has been given the capacity to think and understand, but this capacity is little better than an eye, which can see only so long as there is some external source of light. In pitch darkness, this self-same eye cannot see anything whatsoever. Only when a light is switched on, does everything become clearly visible. The human intellect, like the eye, needs the light—the light of God’s word. The Quran presents this concept by saying that not only God exists, but also paints an incredibly vivid picture of the Being who sustains and directs the universe. Not only does it tell us about the creation plan for this world it also tells us about the life Hereafter. It describes the Day of judgement so graphically that its horrors become deeply etched on our consciousness. There is a well known story of a Greek artist who painted such a realistic picture of a bunch of grapes that birds would come and peck at it. Just think that if a painting executed by an ordinary mortal could have such an extraordinary effect, what heights of consummate artistry could not be reached by the Lord of the Worlds in His word—the Quran? The Quran is a book of guidance showing man the path to tread. It is a Light which guides his faltering steps giving him timely reminder of God’s will, awakening the minds of the readers.