WHAT IS LIFE?

I just lost a colleague a couple of months back – he passed away as a result of a stroke. One weekend, while driving home from a golf range, he lost consciousness. His friend rushed him to a nearby hospital and a few days later, he died. He had a wife and beautiful children and what I heard is that he has just bought a bigger house and a luxury car.

He was my age – and his untimely death makes me ponder about my life. I know for a fact that I don’t lead a healthy lifestyle and most of my time is spent at the office, while my weekends are basically reserved for my books, studies etc.

Given the short life that I have … am I living a meaningful life? So, I seek solace to the very basics of Islamic way of living …

Islam was revealed as a balanced way of living. Allah swt created all human race with what is called 'Fitrah' (a natural state/desire). Islam recognises that within this Fitrah there are motivations that influence a man's role on earth.

Islam is the perfect control for the Fitrah. It provides a divine method that elevates man above animals and the rest of creation. Humans lack perfect knowledge as well as perfect wisdom. No matter how hard we try, we will never attain the perfect way of life by our own thinking and interpretation. This is the reason why Allah swt sent us the Holy Quran and the Prophet Muhammad saw to show us this practical and organised way of life.

Allah swt perfected a complete way of life for us. He has set His limitations and rules, all of which are beneficial to mankind, and therefore, do not need changing:

"These are the limits set by Allah, so do not transgress them"
(Surah al-Baqarah 2:229)

The inclinations and desires of the Fitrah are not to become the objective in life, rather they are to be taken in a stabilised manner. Allah swt has given us the detailed descriptions of a levelled approach. This levelled approach gives mankind the perfectly balanced pleasure in this worldly life.

I hope to attain the balance between worldly affairs and the hereafter – as I’ve said earlier, whenever one gets astray, go back to the basics of Islam and you will find your answers and peace of mind.