FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’S DESK
Prof Farida Khanam is an author, editor, translator, public speaker and former professor of Islamic Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Among her books are ‘A Simple Guide to Islam’ and ‘A Study of World’s Major Religions’. She has translated into English many books authored by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. Currently the chairperson of CPS International, she is a regular contributor of articles to various publications. Prof Khanam has edited Maulana’s English translation of the Quran and has also translated his Urdu commentary on the Quran into English. She can be reached at [email protected]
REALIZING THE TRUE PURPOSE IN LIFE
WHEN a person works, makes money, builds a house, and makes an effort to improve his standard of living, he appears to be engaged in efforts towards some worthy end. But a life of this nature cannot be called a purposeful life, for these activities do not demonstrate man’s unique status. It might seem as if they are the result of deliberation, but if one looks at the matter in depth, one will see that the motive force behind these actions is the same urge that motivates an animal in various ways, i.e. its concern for its own survival. It is the driving force of one’s desires, the pressure of one’s needs, and the wish to fulfill the demands of one’s self that underlie such a life. These are the considerations which, in fact, guide a person in his search for his livelihood.
There are certain material needs without which man cannot live. He requires food, clothes, a place to live; he requires a reliable source of income to sustain him throughout his life. He is forced by these considerations to obtain these things. Then, upon observation he finds that those who have an abundance of these material things enjoy respect and apparently possess every form of happiness and luxury in this world. Thus, he is driven on to do more than just seek a livelihood; he desires to earn to a degree greatly in excess of his actual requirements.
In bustling markets, grandiose offices, and opulent buildings, he is not really guided by deliberate thought. Rather, he is being guided by inflated ideas of his own needs, desires, longings and ambitions to achieve fame and high status in this world. For this reason, these activities cannot be considered as being directed towards the purpose, which sets man apart from the animals and lends him a higher distinction.
Man’s greater dignity cannot be based only on a purpose which emanates from inner desires and pressures of environment. His true purpose in life can only be one which reflects the nobler side of his character; one which represents him as the superior being that he is.
Ramadan, the month of fasting, is the month which reminds us of our true purpose in life. Life of this world is temporary. We all witness death every day. Life is so unpredictable. However, death is not the end of a person’s life. It is only the beginning of the next stage of life. Death is that interim stage when man leaves this temporary world of today for the eternal world of tomorrow. He goes out of the temporary accommodation of the world to enter the eternal resting place of the Hereafter. The coming of this stage in the Hereafter is the greatest certainty in one’s life. No one can save himself from this fate in the Hereafter.
In the above context, the month of fasting is a month to help us in our spiritual pursuits by rising above the materialistic pursuits. By abstinence from even basic needs of food and water for a few hours, one tries to keep desires under control and undertakes the hardship voluntarily. During the rest of the eleven months this training should assist in not immersing oneself in just materialistic goals. In the following pages of this magazine there are articles elucidating the spirit of the fasting which will instil in us sincerity to live a God-oriented life with a staunch belief in our accountability in the Hereafter as to how we spent our life on earth.
May God give us the true benefit of this month and save us from just observing it in a superficial form as witnessed in the present culture! It is a month of abstinence and control, not a month of indulgence after a few hours of ritualistic hunger and thirst.
