Paradise Is the Goal, but What Is the Purpose? - Part 1

 

Most Muslims will tell you, without hesitation, that the goal of life is Jannah. That answer is correct—but incomplete. Wanting paradise is easy. Understanding the purpose that leads us there is where the real work begins.

Islam does not call us to vague spirituality or blind hope. It calls us to responsibility, awareness, and obedience. To understand our purpose, we must return to the very beginning of human creation.

Allah informed the angels that He would place a successor on earth—a vicegerent entrusted with responsibility.

Allah says in the Qur’an (2:30) – interpretation of the meaning:

“Indeed, I will place upon the earth a successive authority.”

Human life was never meant to be accidental or self-serving. It was purposeful from the outset.

When Adam (peace be upon him) was created, Allah commanded him not to approach a specific tree. The test was not merely about eating—it was about obedience. Adam and Hawwa (peace be upon them) knew Allah, yet in a moment of forgetfulness, they slipped.

From this moment, we learn something essential about ourselves. Human beings sin for three primary reasons:

• forgetfulness,
• ignorance,
• or arrogance.

Forgetfulness is human and corrected through repentance. Ignorance requires learning. Arrogance, however, is the most dangerous—it is rejecting the truth once it is known.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ explained:

“The one who has even a mustard seed of pride in his heart will not enter Paradise.”
Pride, he said, is rejecting the truth and looking down on people. (Sahih Muslim)

Speaking about the religion without knowledge, or refusing correction, is also a form of pride.

Conclusion

The question is not whether we sin—we all do. The question is why we sin, and whether our lives align with the purpose Allah created us for. Paradise may be the prize, but purpose is the path that leads us there.

 

There is much required of us to bring back justice to this world. However, while collectively we neglect Allah’s commands, we must take responsibility for the state of this world. The Palestinian issue gives us a reminder. What improvements have we made individually, as a society and as an ummah?

see part  2: The Cape Muslim Dialogue: Paradise Is the Goal, but What Is the Purpose? - Part 2

The Soft Underbelly

 

Can you imagine what paradise is like? Do you take time out to imagine you being in paradise? To reach paradise you must die a worldly death to attain the everlasting pleasure of paradise. And what better death than being a martyr.

We are present in this holy month which witnessed the Battle of Badr but who of us would have been in the company of the Muslims during that battle, had we lived then? Of course, Allah designed and decreed that we live in this era, the here and now. We are armchair spectators to one of the worst, if not the worst, atrocity in the history of mankind. It is the life of today to be spectators. Everything around us creates the atmosphere for “viewing” and little about taking action. Islam has never been a religion of inaction and passiveness. Rather, Islam is built on faith and action. The bare minimum is to carry out the five pillars of Islam, viz. To bear testimony in the worship of Allah alone and that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is His final messenger. But your faith will never be complete unless you love for your Muslim brother what you love for yourself. Your faith will never be complete when his pain is not also your pain. So, when you see a wrong, you change it with your hands, and if you are unable, then with your speech and if you are unable, then with your heart (in prayer) but the latter is the weakest form of faith (as per the hadith of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ)¹. Of course, justice is not reserved for Muslims and Muslims are obligated to ensure justice for all.  There is always a group that are downright sell-outs and then there is the majority that believe battles are won with slogans, petitions and court-cases. Yes, we must speak out. Yes, we must make dua. But more than that we must act. The weakness in our words and prayers strongly suggest we must reform. Perhaps in our reformation to the pristine Islam taught by Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and practised by the first three generations, we will be favoured with being part of the solution and victory. Victory is inevitable, it is just whether we are part of it.

Everybody is good at so many things, but not so good at proclaiming the religion of Allah, Islam. And not so good at making meaningful changes in their lives and to implement the changes which will augment the fight for justice and rid the world of evil and oppression.

1.      Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever among you sees evil, let him change it with his hand. If he cannot do so, then with his tongue. If he cannot do so, then with his heart, which is the weakest level of faith.” [Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 49]

 

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