Signs Within

"In time We shall make them fully
understand Our signs in the farthest horizons
and within themselves, so that it will become clear
to them that this [revelation] is indeed the
truth. Is it not enough to know that your
Sustainer is a witness to everything? "

In the name of Allah,Most Beneficent, Most Merciful

Purpose of Life and the Role of Niah (proper intention) and seeking Allah's assistance. Allah SWT says:

"And I did not create the jinns and the men for anything
except that they should worship Me."
Al-Qur'an 51: 56

Please notice the 'negation' followed by the 'exception' possibly to eliminate any ambiguity. Why do people act or do?

Behind almost every human action, there is an intention, advertent or inadvertent. Intention originates from belief, which in turn may grow from socio-cultural creeds, by humanistic or economic reasons, or by pure religious cause or anything else. (The above factors are neither mutually exclusive nor exhaustive but just a few examples.) A disbeliever in Allah also believes in something, perhaps, in 'some' properties and characteristics of His creation - termed as Nature, occurrence; rationality based on one's worldly knowledge and experience, etc., but does not believe in the Creator Himself.

Belief precedes intention and intention precedes action. Belief motivates towards intention, and intention eventually leads to action. Thus, intention is the bridge between belief and action. In islamic terminology, these are Iimaan, Niah and I'baadah in broader sense.

Narrated from Umar bin Al-Khattab RA. "I heard Allah's messenger SM. saying: The reward of deeds /actions depends upon the intentions, and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So, whoever emigrates for worldly benefits or for a women to marry, his emigration will be for what he emigrated for"
Bukhari 1 : 1

This landmark hadith was told by the Prophet SM on the occasion of someone's emigration from Makkah to Al-Madinah which was not for the sake of islamic cause, rather to marry a women who had stipulated that he should emigrate if he wanted to marry her. But the general theme of the haadith is clear and evident to everybody.

Going back to the Verse [Al-Qur'an 51: 56 ], I'baadah is Allah's (Creator and Sustainer) right over His servant.

"Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds"

Al-Qur'an 1 : 2

I'baadah is devotion to Allah's absolute servitude, with none of its share intended for anything else (ikhlaas).

"You alone we worship"

Al-Qur'an 1 : 5

The above verses affirms that the purpose of creation is solely I'baadah - worshipping Allah alone. A natural question may be raised: How to render every action into some form of Ibadah?

Allah SWT granted us a limited ability to freely will (intend) which is, however, dependent on Allah's Will (this is indeed Qadr / Taqdeer issue).

He taught us to seek His assistance in every matter while putting our full effort in the accomplishment of the task at hand.

"And You alone we ask for help (for each and everything)"

Al-Qur'an 1 : 5

Shaitan, the cursed enemy of mankind, is in constant effort to spoil our deeds and intention by associating it with (vain) worldly gain. Allah SWT taught us how to seek assistance and refuge.

"Say: I seek refuge with the Sustainer of mankind (Allah),
the Supreme King of mankind, the Ilah (only God to be
worshipped) of mankind, from the evil of the whisper
(devil who whispers evil in hearts of men) who withdraws
(from his whispering in one's heart after one remembers
Allah), who whispers in the breast (mind) of mankind, of
jinns and men."

Al-Qur'an 114 : 1- 6

We need to be patient and sincere (Ikhlaas) while seeking help from Allah. It is easy for only true believers who obeys Allah with full submission, fear much from His punishment of Hell fire and hope for His promise of Jannah.

"And seek (Allah's) help in patience and prayer (Salah)
any verily it is extremely heavy and hard except for those who
fear Allah; those who are certain that they are going to meet
their Lord, and that unto Him they are going to return"

Al-Qur'an 2 : 45, 46

The following points might be emphasizeds:

I should always seek only Allah's help (Allah taught us to do so in every Rakah of salah i.e. Iyyaka nasta'een) in every action including seeking His guidance.

Before launching any action, I should evaluate my intention with sincerity whether I'm doing or going to do it for Allah's pleasure alone (no association of worldly gain/pleasure in terms of money, name, fame, etc.) directly (ritual worships) or indirectly (daily Muamalat like studies, earning, spending, interaction with others, and every other activities). I may do it by defining my needs precisely, obviously islamically, and prioritize my actions based on Allah and His Prophet's teachings (Sunnah).

If I can not justify any of my deed through Prophet's activity, I should not follow my vain desire (often spurred by devil or Nafs-i-Ammarah) in an attempt to justify my action and pass it off as islamic. I should rather confess my shortcomings to Allah, be ashamed of it, repent for what I'm committing wrongly and ask for forgiveness, and above all seek His assistance with Ikhlas so that He may make it easy for me to be able to refrain from it in the future.

In a similar vein, if I'm unable to do something which is clearly ordained on me by Allah or His Prophet, I should confess to Allah my inability, be ashamed of it, repent for not doing it in the past and finally seek for His assistance so that He may possibly make it easy for me to accomplish it in the future.

by A. Rahman Baqui Billah