Gardens of the Righteous — Page xii
xii. INTRODUCTION ‘After praise of Allah and calling down blessings on the Holy Prophet I proceed. Allah has affirmed: I have created men, high and low, so that they might worship Me. I desire no support from them, nor do I desire that they should feed Me (51. 57-58). These verses clearly establish that the purpose of man's creation is that he should obey God. It is, therefore, imperative that he should keep this purpose constantly in mind and should pay no attention to worldly adornment and ornament, for this home is not eternal and this is not a place of permanent abode. This world is merely a means of conveyance to the hereafter. This is not a place of joy and happiness. The highway of this life will abandon one at a certain turn, it will not keep one company forever. Then those are awake who pass their life in worship and obedience, and those are wise and reasonable who make righteousness their rule of life. "The Holy Quran describes the transitory character of the hither life in the following terms: The life of this world is like water that We send down from the clouds, then the vegetation of the earth, of which men and cattle eat, mingles with it and the earth is embellished and looks beautiful, and its owners believe that they are its complete masters; then by day or by night, Our command comes to it and We convert it into a mown-down field, as if nothing had existed there the day before. Thus do We expound the Signs for a people who reflect (10. 25). *There are numerous verses in the Quran to the same purpose. A poet has said in the same context: There are many wise servants of Allah who have withdrawn from the world being apprehensive of its trials and tribulations. When they looked deeply into the world they realized that it was not man's true home. They took it as a deep ocean and raised in it the anchors of vessels equipped with righteous deeds. 'Thus the world being transitory and the purpose of our creation being such as I have set out, it becomes the duty of every wise adult Muslim to follow the way of the chosen ones and adopt the methods of men of wisdom and understanding and to be occupied in preparing for the attainment of the purpose to which I have drawn attention, keeping in mind that which I have pointed out. The best and most correct way to be adopted for the attainment of this purpose is total obedience to the Holy Prophet. 'God has commanded: Assist one another in piety and rectitude (5. 2); and the. Holy Prophet has said: So long as a Muslim occupies himself with helping a brother, Allah, the Exalted, occupies himself with helping him (Muslim,. Tirmidhi and Nisai). He has also said: He who directs another towards good will have such merit as the one who follows his direction; and has said: If a person calls another towards guidance he will have as much merit as the one who follows his direction, without there being the least diminution in the merit of either (Muslim and Abu Daud). 'It is reported that the Holy Prophet said to Ali: Should Allah guide one person along the right path through thee, that will be better for thee than many red camels (Bokhari and Muslim).