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| Philosophy of Life Reflections from Islamic Perspective |
Philosophy of Life
Neither am I a philosopher familiar
with the mysteries of the universe nor a man of discovery to disclose the covered
facets nor of an extraordinary detective sense which penetrates the hidden
realities. However, today I needed to clarify the philosophy of life for some research
work. The entire research spans a long period, in which the material and
spiritual aspects of the philosophy of life and its external and internal
phenomena will be discussed in detail in letter and spirit. With the completion
of the main points of this research, I will continue to embellish the paper,
inshaAllah. For now, I am writing the basic outlines to determine the point of
origin in this regard to start the research on related issues in the light of
Islamic doctrines and theories. Therefore, these philosophical lines are the
initial introductory features of the philosophy of life from an Islamic point
of view.
Introduction
There are many literal, lexical, and
terminological definitions of the word "philosophy". If these
definitions are examined, then according to the concept derived from them as a
common value, philosophy can be summed up as "knowledge of the
facts", that is, knowing the reality of things. Of course, like all
sciences, philosophy is a complete science, and like all other sciences, it has
its own rules and regulations, but at the same time, we would like to confine
ourselves to this common denominator that is derived out of the said
definitions.
Therefore, according to this general
concept, the philosophy of life is to know the reality of life.
Islamic Concept of Life
The universe is on a continuous
journey which can be called the evolutionary journey of the universe which is
an endless series starting from the creation of the universe and continuing
till eternity. In this cosmic journey, just as the whole universe is making a
collective journey as one unit, similarly each created thing is making an
individual journey of its own in terms of its duration of existence, and in
this way i.e. together with the all travels of all creatures, the overall
journey of cosmic life is formed. The life and death of the creation are also
part of this constant journey.
Allah Almighty says:
{الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا} [الملك: 2].
{the One who created death and life to test
which of you is best in deed}.
Therefore, the life that runs in the veins of the universe is also in a continuous journey, whether this life is seen collectively as a unity in the universe in the broadest context or we talk about the individual lives of the creatures, both kinds of life, collective and individual, are in a continuous journey.
However, the difference between them is
that the individual life of the creatures in this world is for a very short
time. Reaching the Hereafter, a new cycle of life begins, which is the starting
point or the initial milestone of the endless journey toward another type of life.
The Islamic Concept of Human Life
If we talk further about the
individual life of man in this world specifically, then the individual life of
man is a journey in which he travels distances and destinations. The real
purpose of some human beings is to cover distances, but for this, they have to
cover certain destinations, whereas, on the contrary, the real purpose of many others
is to cover the destinations for which they have to cover long distances. In
any case, man is passing the moments and hours of his life while covering the
destinations and distances, and when the period of his life is completed, his
self and existence are hidden from the manifestation of the worldly life and he
moves toward the life of the Hereafter where he gets a full account of his
deeds in his worldly life and gets reward or punishment accordingly.
It is because creation has not been
given authority over the collective life of the universe, nor will any created thing
be questioned about the collective life, course, and decisions of the universe.
However, as far as the individual life of every creation is concerned, many
created beings have been given certain powers, and obligated creation is
obliged to use these powers for the sake of the Almighty Creator’s pleasure according
to His will and intention. For guidance in this regard, the revelation was
revealed to the Holy Prophets (peace and blessings be upon Them) and divine
books were revealed. The last divine book was revealed to the Holy Prophet Hazrat
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon Him) which is a clear guide for all
mankind and jinn till the Day of Resurrection. Believing in it is the key to
success in this world and it is the ascension to the hereafter.
Therefore, in this world, man must
spend his life for the sake of the pleasure of Allah Almighty following the way
of life prescribed by Him, so that reward of ease and comfort may be created
for him in the Hereafter. As Muslims, we believe that the religion of Islam is
the preferred way of life in the sight of Allah Almighty.
Allah Almighty said:
{الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا} [المائدة: 3].
This day, I have perfected your Din for you, and have completed My blessing upon you, and chosen Islam as Din for you.
In the blessed verse of Surah Aal-Imran:
{إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الْإِسْلَامُ} [آل عمران: 19].
Truly, the (only accepted) way of life with Allah is Islam.
Therefore, it has been clarified in another blessed verse of Surah Aal-Imran that:
{وَمَنْ يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَنْ يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ } [آل عمران: 85].
Whoever seeks a Din (way of life as a faith and religion both in beliefs and actions) other than Islam, will never be accepted from him, and he will be one of the losers in the Hereafter.
According to this
concept, the attainment of human life is to follow the religion of Islam
sincerely with faith and righteous deeds. Walking on this path, everyone has to travel through worldly life and reach the destination of the
Hereafter. In this journey, everyone should have the best hope from Allah
Almighty that by His mercy He will take him to the destination of success in
the Hereafter. This travelogue of the journey of worldly life is beautifully
described in a hadith.
It is narrated in a narration of Sahih Bukhari:
عن عبد الله بن عمر رضي الله
عنهما، قال: أخذ رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بمنكبي، فقال: «كن في الدنيا كأنك
غريب أو عابر سبيل». وكان ابن عمر يقول: «إذا أمسيت فلا تنتظر الصباح، وإذا أصبحت
فلا تنتظر المساء، وخذ من صحتك لمرضك، ومن حياتك لموتك».
On the authority of Abdullah bin
Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, he said: The Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless Him and grant Him peace, took hold of my shoulder, and said: “Be in
this world as if you were a stranger or a wayfarer.” Ibn-e-Umar used to say:
“If you are in the evening, do not wait for the morning, and if in the morning,
do not wait for the evening, take from your health for your illness, and from
your life for your death.”
It is narrated on the authority
of Sunan-e-Ibn-e-Maja:
«كن في الدنيا كأنك
غريب، أو كأنك عابر سبيل، وعد نفسك من أهل القبور».
“Be in this world as if you were
a stranger, or as if you were a wayfarer, and count yourself among the people
of the graves.”
May Allah Almighty guide us to success
and triumph in the journey of life and take us to the best destination of the
Hereafter. Aameen.
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