Our life and the purpose of our existence

We know that the One God exists and we know that we are a product of
His creation. But we often forget to remember that we were created for
a specific purpose. If ten of us try to find out what our purpose is
on our own, without considering the Revelation, we might find ten
different purposes. However, if welook at the Qur'aan, we will find
out that the purpose of our lives is clearly defined.
Allah The Most High says,"O Mankind! Worship your Lord (Allah), Who
created you and those before you so that you bay become Al-Muttaqoon
(i.e. those who have taqwaa)." Al-Baqarah (2):21
And He said, "And I created not the Jinns andmen except that they may
worship Me (Alone)."Adh-Dhaariyaat (51):56
Allah Ta`aalaa also says inthe Qur'aan: "Blessed be He in Whose Hand
is the dominion, and He is able to do all things. Who has created
death and life, that He may test which ofyou is best in deed. And He
is the All-Mighty, the Oft-Forgiving." Al-Mulk (67):1-2
These verses where revealed to us by Allah in order to inform us of
why we are here on the Earth, what we should bedoing and where we are
heading. Not to benefit Himself, or because He needs our worship.
Rather, because we are in need of Him.
Allah Ta`aalaa says, "O mankind! It is you who stand in need (who are
poor) of Allah, but Allah isRich (Free of all needs), Worthy of all
praise." Faatir (35):15
What is meant by "to test which of you is best in deed"? Al-Fudayl Ibn
`Iyyaad said, "The best deed is that which is most devoted and most
proper." He was asked,"How should it be most devoted and most
proper?", and he responded, "For if the deed was devoted but was not
proper it would not be accepted, and if it was proper but was not
devoted it would not be accepted; the devoted is to be for Allah
alone, and the proper is to be in compliance with As-Sunnah."
We were created for this one reason: to worship Allah and to strive to
be the best in deed. It is not only a matter of how many deeds we do,
it is also a matter of quality. Should we take for granted that our
deeds are accepted or should we strive to perfect them and make them
pure for Allah's sake and in accordance to the Sunnah of the Prophet
(peace be upon him)?
Allah Ta`aalaa says in the Qur'aan: "Say (O Muhammad): "Shall We tell
you the greatest losers in respect of (their)deeds? Those whose
efforts have been wastedin this life while they thought that they were
acquiring good by their deeds?" al-Kahf (18):103-104
And He said, "Verily, Allah accepts only from those who are
al-Muttaqoon (i.e. those who have taqwaa)." Al-Maa'idah (5):27
A scholar said, "there are those who think that this Universe has
founded itself or it came to exist by co-incidence. This necessitates
that man"has no goal to fulfill" because he came into being without a
defined goal! Consequently, a moral or a value system becomes
meaningless. Accordingly, man is just a responding "tool" for"mother
nature" which, according to Darwin himself, "acts haphazardly"! This
way of thinking is aimlessness, and it occurswhen man does not
recognize his relation with the One who had created life and death,
the Universe, and everything around man, all in due proportion."
We have to remember that Allah created death and life so that we may
worship Him (i.e. obey Allah Ta`aalaa in all which He commands through
the tongue of the Messengers, performing all that Allah loves and is
Pleased with from statements and actions - both inner and outer), and
perform that worship in the best manner. That is what our objective
should be. Instead of contradicting the purpose of man's existence and
acting for the sake of perishable worldly interests, we must fulfill
its completion. This worship includes all our acts, our sleep, our
studies, our recreation and specific forms of worship definedby the
Qur'aan and Sunnah. Our period here is short and being slave to
worldly gains results incorruption of our souls, constant difficulty,
worry and poverty.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Allah says: Son of Adam: fill
your time with My worship and I will fill your heart with richness,
and end off your poverty.But if you do not, I wouldmake your hands
fully busy (i.e. in worldly affairs) and I would not end off your
poverty." (At-Tirmidhee, hasan hadeeth)
Moreover, Allah has givenus choice and has not forced us to do our
acts. He says, "Then whosoever wills let him believe, and whosoever
wills let him disbelieve." al-Kahf (18):29
Clearly, we have been informed of our purpose and were shown the wayto
achieve it. The choice is ours.