The Quest of a Curious Muslim — Page 144
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LIFE? 144 between a man and a woman, Huzoor says that the acts of walking together, expressing love, private conversations, and intercourse, when done with one’s spouse are a means to gain reward from Allah. But when a man does the same things with a woman who he has not married, it becomes something worthy of punishment. The acts are the same, but in one case they are rewarded and in the other case they are punished. This means that acts themselves are not worship. Worship (‘ ibadat ) is essentially obedience to God ( ita’at ). 73 Life holds great value in Islamic philosophy. As creatures of God, human beings enter a world where the potential to advance in both spiritual and worldly terms is endless. Humans do not have the authority to appoint the true purpose of their life, as they did not enter this world with their own will nor will they depart with their own will. Simply put, the purpose of life for God’s creation is to find God and lose oneself in Him. This can be accomplished by two means. Firstly, humans must strive to attain absolute moderation in their worldly pursuits and work tirelessly for the service of humanity. And secondly, humans are to use the