I’m very honored to have this opportunity to address you here. And I want to say that this is not a lecture…I don’t think that I’m prepared to lecture. But it’s sort of…advice to myself. Because I see myself sitting in these chairs in front of me. Just a few days ago, few years ago, just a little while ago - I was sitting right there where you are, whatever nationality - it doesn’t matter. A human being that was not aware of Islam. And at that particular time, I was someone who did not really understand… the purpose of life!
So with that note, I would request you to think of what I’m saying to you just as information and as advice - not a lecture. The information which I wish to share with you, it may seem a bit extensive. When you consider the capacity of the human brain and the amount of information it can store and that it can decipher - then with the few pages of information today, I’m sure it will not overburden you.
It is my responsibility to address the topics of our discussion today - what is the purpose of our life? And also ask the question - “What do you know about Islam?” I mean - what do you really know about Islam? Not what you’ve heard about Islam; Not what you’ve seen as actions of some Muslims, but - what do you know about Islam?
I’m honored to have this opportunity, and I would like to begin by saying that all of you have an equal responsibility… And that responsibility is to read or listen - with an open heart and an open mind.
In a world filled with prejudice and cultural conditioning it is very hard to find people that are able to take a moment to think. To think about life objectively, to try to arrive at the truth about this world and the real purpose of our lives. Unfortunately, when you ask most people the question - “What is the purpose of our life?” which is such a fundamental and important question, they will not tell you what they have concluded through observation or analytical reasoning. In most cases, they will certainly tell you what someone else said... Or they will tell you what is commonly presumed by others. What my father said the purpose of life is, what the minister of my church said the purpose of life is, what my teacher in school said, what my friend said.
If I ask anyone about the purpose of eating, “Why do we eat?” Most people will answer, in one word or another, “It’s for nutrition!” Because nutrition sustains life… If I asked anyone why they work? They will say, because it’s necessary in order to support themselves and to provide the needs of their family. If I asked anyone why they sleep, why they wash, why they dress, etc., they will answer - “This is a common necessity for all human beings.” We can follow this line of questioning with a hundred questions, and receive the same or similar answers from anyone, in any language, in any place in the world, simple! “Why is it, that when we ask the question, ‘What is the goal and the purpose of life?’, that we get so many different answers?” That’s because people are confused, they don’t really know. They’re stumbling in the dark. And rather than saying, “I don’t know,” they just offer any answer that they’ve been programmed to answer.
Let’s think about this. Is our purpose in this world simply to eat, sleep, dress, work, acquire some material things and enjoy ourselves? Is this our purpose? Why are we born? What is the object of our existence, and what is the wisdom behind creation of man and this tremendous universe? Think about that question!
Some people argue that there is no proof of any divine origin, there is no proof that there’s a God, there’s no proof that this universe has come about through any divine purpose. There are people who believe this way - and they say that perhaps this world came about by chance. A big bang, and this whole great world with all of its orchestration just came together. And they argue that life doesn’t have any definite purpose and that there’s nothing that can be proven through either logic or science that there is a God, or purpose, or any divine reason behind this world.
Here I would like to mention a few verses from the Quran that address this subject.
“Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding, who remember Allah standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the creation of the heavens and the earth, (and conclude), “Our Lord! You have not created all this without purpose, glory to You! Grant us salvation from the torment of the Fire.” [Quran 3: 190-191]
In the above verses, Allah has mentioned very clearly to us, by first drawing our attention to the creation of our own being. The different postures of the human body, the different attitudes of people. He draws our attention to the heavens. The alternation of the night and the day. The firmament, the stars, the constellations… And then He says to us that He has not created all of this for any foolish purpose! Because when you see the design of it, you know that the design of it is very powerful and very precise. And something very powerful and very precise that is beyond our own calculation and imagination - it cannot be foolish. It cannot be just thrown together.
For instance, if you took ten marbles and numbered them one to ten. And all of them were different colors. And you put them inside of a bag and you shook the bag. And then, closing your eyes, reached inside that bag and I told you, “Pull out marble number one. And then pull out marble number two. And then pull out marble number three, in order.” What’s the chance of you pulling out those marbles in order? Do you know what the chances are? Twenty six million to one! So what are the chances of the Heavens and the Earth being thrown in a big bang, and being orchestrated like they are? What’s the chance of that?
My dear respected guests- we have to ask ourselves one more question… When you see a bridge, a building, or an automobile - you automatically consider the person or the company that constructed it. When you see an airplane, a rocket, a satellite, or a large ship - you also think about how incredible a vehicle that it is. When you see a nuclear plant, an orbiting space station, an international airport equipped with everything, also if you consider other structures that exist here, in this country - you have to be thoroughly impressed with the engineering dynamics that are involved.
Yet, these are just things that are manufactured by human beings. What about the human body with its massive and intricate control system? Think about it! Think about the brain— how it thinks, how it functions, how it analyzes, stores information, retrieves information, distinguishes and categorizes information in the millionth of a second! The brain does all of it constantly. Think about a brain for a moment. This is the brain that made the automobile, the rocket ship, the boats, and the so and so. Think about the brain and who made that. Think about the heart, how it pumps continuously for sixty or seventy years – in taking and discharging blood throughout the body, and maintaining that steady precision throughout the life of that person. Think about it! Think about the kidneys - what kind of function they carry? The purifying instrument of the body, which performs hundreds of chemical analyses simultaneously and also, controls the levels of toxicity in the blood. It does this automatically. Think about your eyes - the human camera that adjusts focus, interprets, evaluates, and applies color automatically. The natural reception and adjustment to light and distance – all automatically. Think about it - who created that? Who has mastered that? Who plans that? And who regulates that? Human beings - themselves? No… of course not.
What about this universe? Think about this. The Earth is one planet in our solar system. And our solar system is one of the systems in the Milky Way. And the Milky Way is one of the constellations in that galaxy. And there are millions of galaxies like the Milky Way. Think about that. And they are all in order. They are all precise. They are not colliding with each other; they are not conflicting with each other. They are swimming along in an orbit that has been set for them. Did human beings set that into motion? And are human beings maintaining that precision? No, of course they’re not.
Think about the oceans, the fish, the insects, the birds, the plants, and bacteria, the chemical elements that have not been discovered and cannot be detected even with the most sophisticated instruments. Yet, each one of them has a law which they follow. Did all of this synchronization, balance, harmony, variation, design, maintenance, operation, and infinite numeration - did this happen by chance? And also, do these things function perpetually and perfectly also by chance? And do they keep on reproducing themselves and maintaining themselves also by chance? No, of course not.
To think so would be illogical and foolish. At the very least it would indicate that however it came to be, it is totally outside the realm of human capabilities. We would all agree to that. The being that is deserving of praise and gratitude is the almighty power - God. God created all of this, and is responsible for maintaining all of this. Therefore, God is the only one that deserves of praise and gratitude.
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