Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The believer who believes in Allah and the Last Day believes that this life has a great purpose and there is sublime divine wisdom behind it.
As for the disbeliever, he believes that this life is pointless and without purpose, and there is no wisdom behind it.
Hence this disbeliever follows his whims and desires and seeks pleasure without any guidelines or control, and he wants to take from this world everything he can, by any means, because he sees it as an opportunity that cannot be missed, and he thinks that whatever he does in this life, he will never be brought to account for it. He sees death as the end, after which there is no existence, only oblivion.
If he is stricken with some difficulties in this life that prevent him from that pursuit of pleasure, such as poverty, sickness or loss of a loved one or a friend, he will develop psychological and mental illnesses, and become depressed and anxious, or he will turn to crime, drugs and perversion.
What is the reason for all of that?
It is because he does not believe in what comes after this life, so he thinks that he has been deprived of joy and pleasure and he does not believe in the Last Day, when he will be compensated for what he has missed out on in this life. Hence he feels very sad and sorry for himself.
As for the believer, his faith in Allah and his belief in Islam guides him to the answers to the most important questions in a person’s life, and his entire life and his hereafter are based on that.
These questions are: Where did I come from? Where am I going? Why and how?
Only Islam can answer these questions correctly.
Where did we come from? We came from Allah, for it is He Who created us by His might and will.
Where are we going? We are going to Allah, for we will inevitably return to Allah so that He may bring us to account for what we did in this world, then all people will be divided into two groups: one group will be in Paradise and the other in Hell.
Allah, may He be Exalted, says:
{Did you think that We created you without purpose, and that you would not be brought back to Us?
So exalted be Allah, the True Sovereign; there is no god worthy of worship except Him, Lord of the magnificent Throne} [Al-Mu’minun 23:115-116].
Why did Allah create us? What is the purpose behind human existence? The purpose behind that is so that we will worship Allah, may He be Exalted, in the broadest sense, which covers all aspects of human life. Allah, may He be Exalted, says:
{And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me} [Adh-Dhariyat 51:56]
{Say: Verily, my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are all for Allah, the Lord of the worlds;
No partner has He. Thus I am commanded, and I am the first of those who submit to Allah [in Islam]} [Al-An`am 6:162-163].
How can man obey Allah? How should he live his life in this world, and what is the sound way of life?
The answer is: the divinely ordained way is the only sound way of life, whereby man lives with mindfulness of Allah at every moment, so that he may worship Him, obey Him, remember Him and do all his activities on this earth in accordance with the laws and guidelines ordained by Allah.
The cause of human suffering today is that most of them do not believe in Allah, hence they believe that life has no purpose.
If we look at the West today, we will see that they are the nations that indulge most in the pleasures of life, yet despite that, they are the nations with the highest levels of crime, perversion, mental illness, anxiety and depression, which leads many people to insanity or suicide.
The crime rate in Western nations is worked out by the second, hence they speak of how many crimes are committed every second! Crimes of murder, rape, robbery and so on.
The believer – and only the believer – is the one who lives with comfort and reassurance in this worldly life. Allah says:
{Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allāh hearts are assured} [Ar-Ra`d 13:28].
And He, may He be Glorified, says:
{Then when guidance comes to you from Me, whoever follows My guidance will not go astray or suffer wretchedness } [Ta-Ha 20: 123].
What is meant is that he will not go astray in this world or in the hereafter, and he will not suffer wretchedness in this world or in the hereafter.
{But whoever turns away from My Reminder [the Qur’an] will have a miserable life, and on the Day of Resurrection We will raise him up blind.
He will say: O my Lord, why have You raised me up blind, when I was able to see before?
Allah will say: Just as Our revelations came to you and you disregarded them, so will you, on this day, be disregarded}[Ta-Ha 20:124-126]
that is, he will live a life of constriction, hardship and wretchedness..
Allah, may He be Exalted, says:
{Whoever does righteous deeds, male or female, and is a believer, We will surely grant him a good life, and We will surely grant them their reward according to the best of their deeds} [An-Nahl 16:97].
A good life in this world is the reward of the believer who does righteous deeds.
Secondly:
“Every son of Adam is prone to error, and the best of those who err are those who repent.” This is what the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said.
So there is no one who does not commit sin, and there is no one who does not make mistakes, but the difference between the believer and others is that if the disbeliever stumbles and falls, he will end up sinking in mud, and he will never be able to get up again.
As for the believer, even if he stumbles and falls on the path, he will get up and brush off the dust, and continue to follow the path of Allah with steadfastness, seeking Allah’s help. If he stumbles and falls again, he will get up again, and if he stumbles and falls a third time, he will get up a third time, and so on until he comes to Allah walking on the path and not falling without being able to get up again.
Allah, may He be Exalted, says:
{for Allah loves those who do good;
and those who, if they do something shameful or wrong themselves, remember Allah and ask for forgiveness for their sins – for who can forgive sins except Allah? – and do not knowingly persist in what they have done.
For such their reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and gardens through which rivers flow, to abide therein forever; how excellent a reward for those who work [and strive]!} [Al `Imran 3:134-136].
The doers of good seek Allah’s forgiveness after committing sin; they repent to Him and they do not persist in their sin.
And Allah, may He be Exalted, says:
{Verily, those who fear Allah, when an evil suggestion comes to them from Shaytan, remember and immediately begin to see clearly} [Al-A`raf 7:201].
An evil suggestion may come from the Shaytan to those who fear Allah, but they remember Allah and turn back to Him, then they strive to repent and be righteous, at which time you will see the value and purpose of life.
We ask Allah, may He be Exalted, to guide us all to the straight path.
And Allah knows best.
