Once, someone asked “Why do you prevent people from participating in sports…”
Purpose in life
Mankind is the best of creation, and the believer holds an even
more special status in the eyes of Allah Ta`ala. Thus, his primary
purpose of creation was not to graze sheep and cattle, clean their
dung and feed them fodder. Will he be fulfilling the purpose of his
creation only through these actions? Did Allah Ta`ala create you
only to graze cows? No! Allah Ta`ala has created you to serve His
deen, lead your life according to the sunnat of Nabi _, learn the
Qur’aan, teach the Qur’aan and spread the message of deen
throughout the four corners of the world.
If we need to attend to these worldly activities for the benefit of
deen, then there is no harm in it, but to make these actions the
objectives of our lives is a deception. This fallacious reasoning needs
to be rectified. We have not been created for the sole purpose of
advancing in trade and farming. Yes, we will pursue these matters,
but according to our needs and requirements.
Once, someone from Calcutta asked me, “Why do you prevent
people from participating in sports and other harmless activities? Do
we not have a right to engage in these activities?”
I explained, “Brother, ponder for a minute over the purpose of
your creation. I will explain this through an example. A certain
village is about to be annihilated by the enemy and, in order to save
the people, someone is dispatched with a lorry or a truck to load the
people and take them to safety. Before he reaches the village, he sees
a few youngsters playing hockey or cricket, and he thinks to himself,
‘Don’t I also have a right to indulge in these amusements?’ What
will we tell him?
“We will say, ‘Your duty was to take these people to a place of
safety, not to play cricket!’
Similarly, Allah Ta`ala has sent us here to
save others and ourselves from the fire of Jahannum. This is the
purpose of our creation and we must strive to achieve this purpose.”
The Qur’aan, hadeeth, tafseer, tableegh, etc., are taught and
practised upon so that we obtain and comprehend the true purpose
of our creation. We have not been created solely to breed animals,
engage in trade and construct monumental buildings. We have been
created to learn deen, practise deen and teach others deen. Every other
facet of life, be it the businesses, farms, houses, cars, etc. are to be
compliant to the orders of Allah Ta`ala, and not the other way
around.
الدنيا خلقت لكم وأنتم خلقتم للآخرة
Indeed the world has been created for you and you have been created for the
aakhirah [hereafter].
The dunya has been created to serve us and we have been created
to serve Allah Ta`ala. However, when man becomes oblivious and
unmindful of the orders of Allah Ta`ala, then he becomes enslaved
to his desires. He becomes the slave of his farm, his business, his
work and duties, his house and his family, culminating in becoming
the slave of Shaitaan. When we remove the ‘shackles’ of enslavement
from Allah Ta`ala, then every creation of Allah Ta`ala will enslave
us, but if we remain in the enslavement of Allah Ta`ala, every
creation will be subjected to us. Every creation will fear us because
He is their Master.
D i s c o u r s e s o f F a q e e h – u l – U m m a t