Purpose of Life

In the Qur’an, Allah says, “inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un” (2:156), meaning, “Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.”

This verse refers to the journey of any human. Our origin is Allah and our final return is to Him. Between the origin and the return or destination is life on earth. Mawlana Hazar Imam has often reminded us that life in this world is temporary and only the soul is eternal. Thus, din (faith) and duniya (world) are inseparably intertwined, meaning that we are responsible for both our acts of worship and submission to Allah, known as ‘ibadah, and our ethical actions towards Allah’s creation.

Jalaluddin Rumi, the Persian Sufi mystic and poet once explained that a boat needs water to ensure it can reach its destination. But, if the boat takes in too much water, if there is no balance in the boat, then the water is a detriment. In the same way, our worldly life is needed in order to make our journey, such as our efforts in education, in family life, in our work. However, it must not overcome our lives without an awareness of what is everlasting on this journey.

It is in striving to return to our origin that we engage in a search for spiritual enlightenment, seeking to draw closer to Allah.

For more explanation, please visit: https://iicanada.org/resources/faith-traditions/searching-purpose-and-meaning