This is the text version of the talk delivered by Mr. Khalid Yasin (an American citizen and a convert to Islam) to a group of non-Muslims.. Through the verses of the Noble Qur’an, Shaykh Khalid Yasin expounds upon the creation of the universe and this amazing world we live in – and how it came to be. With his logical style of argument, the Shaykh answers these questions with much wisdom. It forces a logical mind to stop for a while and think where we are heading with our lives.
The Purpose of Life
The information which I wish to share with you may seen a bit extensive, but when you consider the capacity of the human brain and the capacity that it can store, I am sure that a few pages this article will not overburden you.
I am honored to have this opportunity and I would like to begin by saying that all of you have an equal responsibility. That responsibility is to listen with an open heart and an open mind. In a world filled with prejudice and cultural conditioning, it is very hard to be able to find people to take a moment to think about life objectively and 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 life?” (such a fundamental and important question), they will not tell you what they have concluded through observation or analytical reasoning. Rather, in most cases, they will simply tell you what someone else said, or they will tell you what is “commonly presumed” by others, i.e., What my father said 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, etc. If I ask anyone about the purpose of eating or why do we eat, everyone will say [in one word or another] that it is for nutritional purposes, because nutrition sustains life. If I ask anyone why they work, they will say because it’s a necessity in order to support themselves and to provide for the needs of their families. If I ask anyone why they sleep, why they wash, why they dress, etc., they will answer with appropriate answers, for these are common necessities 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 from any place in the world. Then I ask you the question: Why, when we ask the question, “What is the goal and purpose of life?” that we get many different answers? It is because people are confused; they don’t really know. They are stumbling in the dark, and rather than say, “I don’t know”; they just offer any answer they have been programmed to give. Think about it. 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? What is the wisdom behind the creation of man and this tremendous universe? Think about those questions. Some people argue that there is no proof of any diving origin; no proof that there is a god and there is no proof that this universe has come about through any divine purpose. There are people who argue this way, and they say that perhaps this world came about by chance. A big bang, and this great world [with all its orchestration] just came together. They argue that life doesn’t have any definite purpose, and that there is nothing that can prove [either through logic or science] that there is a god, or a purpose or any divine reason behind this world.