Man attains his highest distinction only when he
leads a purposeful life. Such a life characterises the
most advanced stage of human development. This
does not mean that by taking up just any task which
is apparently significant man’s life becomes truly
purposeful. A really purposeful life is one in which
man discovers his supreme status; a life in which
his personality makes manifest its unique
distinctive quality. An animal strives to obtain food;
a bird flies in search of a better country when the
seasons change; a wasp busies itself building up its
own home from tiny particles of earth; a herd of
deer takes measures to protect itself from wild
beasts of prey. All of these appear to be purposeful
actions. But when the phrase ‘a purposeful life’ is
applied to man, then it does not refer to efforts of
this nature. Without doubt arranging for one’s food,
clothes and habitation are some of the tasks that
man has to perform in this world; but this is a level
of purposefulness in which men and animals, being
concerned only with bare survival, are equal. Its
true application in relation to man can only be one
in which he appears in all his dignity. Man’s life
becomes purposeful only when it goes beyond
common animalism and takes the form of superior
humanism.
God’s creations in this world fall into two
categories: animate and inanimate. Obviously,
animate objects enjoy a certain superiority over
inanimate objects. The former can be divided into
three classes: the vegetable, the animal and the
human. Modern scientific research has shown that
plants also possess life, in that they nourish
themselves, they grow and they have feelings.
But animals and men surely represent a higher form
of life. In what way does man excel animals? Many
theories have been advanced in answer to this
question over the ages, and great minds are still
studying it. But modern biologists have come to the
conclusion that it is man’s capacity for conceptual
thought which distinguishes him from other lifeforms.
Animals lack this quality, whereas man is
conscious of the fact that he is thinking. He
consciously forms a plan of action in his mind; in
his everyday life his actions are determined by
himself. Whereas this is not the case with animals.
Though many of their actions appear to be like
those of men, they are not the result of thought;
they all stem from pure instinct. Animals are simply
led intuitively by their desires and their needs in a
certain direction. Their actions are governed by
environmental stresses from without and physical
pressures from within.
It is in terms of this unique conceptual quality of
man that we can conceive of what his higher
purpose in life should be. The latter can only be one
which does not result from the pressures of desire
or of immediate exigencies. It must emanate from
his own urge to worship God.
Man’s true purpose in life can only be one which
reflects the higher side of his personality; one which
displays him as the superior being he is.
If one pauses at this stage to take note of what the
Qur’an has to say, one will find that it gives us clear
guidance in this matter. Man’s purpose in life has
been explained in the Qur’an in the following
words:
I created mankind and the jinn that they might
worship me. I demand no livelihood of them, nor
do I ask that they should feed me. God alone is the
Munificent Giver, the Mighty One, the Invincible.
Ref - The Moral Vision
- by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
