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