every single second. Within that paradigm, people reach the conclusion that there is no justice and
therefore either there is no God or God is not Just (wa athu billah, I seek refuge in God). It’s like a
person who concludes that there must be no God because they had a bad dream. But why don’t we
give the experiences of our dreams much weight? After all, some dreams are horrifying to live
through—and very often do happen to ‘good’ people. In our dreams, do we not experience extreme
terror or bliss? Yes. But why doesn’t it matter?
Because put in context of our real life, it is nothing.
In the second world view (the Islamic paradigm) the purpose of creation is not maximizing pleasure
and gain in a life that is nothing more than a dream. In that world view, life’s purpose is defined by
God who tells us: “I have not created jinn and humans (for any purpose) except to worship me,”
(Qur’an, 51:56).
It is important to note the special construction of this statement. It begins with a negation: ‘I have not
created jinn and humans (for any purpose) [...]’. First Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala (exalted is He)
negates ALL other purposes before He states the one and only, singular purpose: ‘except to worship
Me’. This means that as a believer I know that there is no other purpose of my existence except to
know, love and get closer to God. This is the one and only reason why I was created. And this is the
most essential realization, as it defines everything else I do or believe. It defines all things around me,
and everything I experience in life.
So returning to the meaning of ‘good’ and ‘bad’, we find that anything that brings us closer to our
ultimate purpose is Good and anything that takes us away from our ultimate purpose is Bad, in an
ultimate sense. In a relative sense, for those whose goal is this material world, worldly things define
their ‘good’ and ‘bad’. For them, things like gaining wealth, status, fame, or property is necessarily
‘good’. Losing wealth, status, fame, or property is necessarily ‘bad’. So in that paradigm, when an
innocent person loses every material possession they own, this is a ‘bad’ thing happening to a ‘good’
person. But that is the illusion that comes as a result of a flawed worldview. When the lens itself is
distorted, so too is the image seen through it.
For those of the second worldview, anything that brings us closer to our purpose of nearness to God’s
love is good; and anything that takes us away from that purpose is bad. Therefore, winning a billion
dollars may be the greatest calamity ever to happen to me if it takes me away from God—my ultimate
purpose. On the other hand, losing my job, all my wealth, and even falling ill, may in fact be the
greatest blessing ever given to me if it brings me closer to God—my ultimate purpose. This is the
Reality that is spoken about in the Qur’an when Allah (swt) says:
“It may happen that you hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that you love a thing
which is bad for you. Allah knows, you know not.” (Qur’an 2:216)
As a believer, my criterion is no longer gain or loss in a material sense. My criterion is something
higher. What I have or do not have in a worldly sense is only relevant in as much as it brings me
closer or farther from my Aim: God. This dunya (life) becomes nothing more than that dream that I