Yaqeen Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander

Revelation as a Source of Knowledge

RKQS 1030

Dr Noor Mohammad Osmani

OutlineIntroductionWhat is Life?Life as a Purposeful CreationLife in other Religions – A brief overviewPurpose of Life in IslamConclusionReferences

IntroductionWhat is Life?Where do I come from?Where will I go after Death?

These fundamental Questions need an

ANSWER!

What is Life?Very Important & Significant QuestionDifferent PerspectivesVarious definitions by different Philosophers &

Scholars.The meaning of life is deeply mixed with the

philosophical and religious conceptions of existence, consciousness, and happiness, and touches on many other issues, such as symbolic meaning, ontology, value, purpose, ethics, good and evil, free will, conceptions of God, the existence of God, the soul and the afterlife.

Life as a Purposeful CreationLife is not purposeless but is highly

purposefulEverything has a purpose & Life too has a

deep and significant purposeAnd if everything around us has a purpose

then the great asset of life cannot be purposeless

Religion is the best way to know about the Purpose of Life.

Life in other Religions – A Brief Overview

Defected or incomplete as compared to IslamHinduism – Cycle of Birth & RebirthJudaism – Almost silent on purpose of life,

Just poetry & History.Christianity – Original Sin, St. Paul,

CrucifixionZoroastrianism – Ahura Mazda & Ahriman,

PaganismBuddhism & Jainism – Renouncing the world

to get salvation.Life in Islam – The only choice

Purpose of Life in IslamTo acquire knowledge in order to understand our

status in life.Man is Dignified Being.Man is the Representative (Khalifa) of Allah on

Earth (2:30)Man has to manifest divine attributes into himselfAllah created us in order to worship Him (51:56)Life is a test to Man (61:2)He will be rewarded according in the AakhirahMan is the Best of the Creation

ConclusionLife is really a precious asset and a trust from AllahWithout knowing the purpose of life, life becomes

aimless without any final goalExcept Islam, in all other religions and philosophies, the

purpose of life is incomplete, or defected, or impractical or not moderate

Only Islam provides the complete code of life & only Islam is the universal religion belonging to all humanity

And the moment we realize our purpose in life, our status gets exalted till Allah mentions us as the best evolved people:

“You are the best of Peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah”

Refrences Books: Muhsin Khan, Dr. M., The Noble Quran, Darrusalam, (Riyadh – 1996). The Holy Quran – English Translation of the meanings and

commentary, The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Fahd Complex. Yusuf Ali, Abdullah, The Holy Quran, Goodword Books, (New Delhi – 2005). Abdalati, Hammudah, Islam in Focus, Adam Publishers, (New Delhi – 2006). Khanam, Dr. Farida, Islamic Studies Class XI (textbook), Devra Books, (New

Delhi – 2007). Sikander, Yaqeen Ul Haq Ahmad, The True Purpose of Life, Adam

Publishers, (New Delhi - 2009).  Softwares: Alim for Windows, Version 4.5, ISL Software Corporation, 1996. The Hadith Software, Version 1.0, Islamasoft Solutions.  Websites: www.purposeofcreation.com www.wikipedia.org