Self Development: Principles And Purpose Of Life
1. What are the principles you believe in?
2. What is you purpose in life?
3. How can you set you principles and goal in life?
4. Benefits of having principles and purpose
Principles are rules or beliefs governing one’s behaviour , they are morally correct behaviour or attitudes.
Meaning, our principle is our moral code, what we deem wrong or right. As individuals we all believe in certain things, things that are not particularly tethered to religion or culture, just our common senses, our guts telling us this is wrong or right.
I was reading stories of muslim converts and a lot of them said that they became muslims because Islam spoke their morality. Islam has the principles of life and so much more.
What are the principles you belief in? ( for instance, I believe that you don’t have to like someone but you have to treat them like a human, I believe people change, those are my stance. )
The general principles of life that all humans belief in are things that will bring a healthy and peaceful life; truthfulness, kindness, love, generosity etc. Granted it’s not practiced by everybody, along the line we get greedy and dishonest and what have you but even when we fail to practice we still want it to be done to us. We want people to approach us with honesty, we want people to share their generosity with us.
But non of you truly believe until you love for you brother what you love for yourself.
Bukhari and Muslim
A quote from an article I read, he said,“I think you know the principles. Everybody does. But 99% of all people dont do what they know.”
The question is, what are your principles, your moral code? How often do you compromise them? How has compromising them effected you?
Very often we forget and we compromise our principles, for a friend, for family, for a job. To please them or to go with the trend. Until one day we look in the mirror and we realize that we’ve stripped ourselves from our beliefs. And who are we without our beliefs, since our beliefs are what shape our characters and our view and mentality towards things. What is left of us when we strip off our belief? An unhealthy life of regrets! There is nothing peaceful about that. Take a moment to reflect where you stand, what your beliefs are, how to achieve them and let Allah guide you.
What is our purpose in life?
You, me and the whole universe was created for is a reason.
The above verse explicitly states that we are created to worship Allah. Which means that Allah is our core and centre. When we rise from sleep we rise to worship and obey Him.
But does that mean we can’t enjoy from what He has created, travel around the world in search of knowledge or beauty? Does that mean that our jobs are interfering with our worships? Or that we shouldn't do anything in our lives other than recite the Quran, pray, give sadaqa etc?
No! that is contrary to what it means. To worship Allah means to know Him, to know Him we have to acquire knowledge, to serve humanity, to build a brotherhood and to enjoy from His bounties. Worshiping Allah is an entire domain, there is so much to it. We are ordered to pray, fast, love our neighbors, respect our parents, to treat our wives rightly, to treat our husbands with respect, to abstain from fornication, to be patient, modest — all these are part of worshiping.
Islam is a way of life, and as muslims we know that this dunya is merely a transit before reaching our destination. But Allah in His infinite mercy cleared a path for us to worship Him and enjoy His bounties in this dunya without transgressing. Therefore, it is misleading to think that this dunya doesn’t deserve to be worked on. The misconception that people who are successful in this dunya are weak in iman is judgmental and sinful. Someone could be successful in this dunya and their success goes in the way of Allah. Allah knows best.
Allah took His time to guide us in every accept of our lives, He gave us a manual and a guide. We are told how to sleep, how to eat, what not to wear, we were even told a prayer before having a relation with our spouse. Subahanallah, how beautiful is Islam? How mercifully Is Allah? He doesn’t just make things easy for us, He gives us reasons why. He is Allah, He doesn’t have to, he created us, He could order us without reasons having every right to do so. But he chose to give us one.
And the ultimate reason being to attain taqwa- piety and taqwa is our guide to jannah.
How do we set our principles and goals?
Since we know that the reason for our creation is to worship Allah. How do we go about it?
It is no doubt that Islam is a way life and it’s no doubt that Allah has knowledge over all. In as much as we were all created on the fitrah, with the ability to do good we still have in ourselves the ability to do bad. Sometimes common sense isn’t common, sometimes things seem ok to us but Allah knows best. Allah’s principles are what guides us, Allah’s plan is perfection and His choices are just.
Thus, whatever plans or goal we make, whatever our principle are, they should be on the accord of Islam.
Do you know that in every aspect of our living we can strive to increase our taqwa and live our lives to the fullest? Yes we can,
1. Is it halal
2. By intending to do so
3. By invoking Allah in every aspects of our lives
First, is it halal? If it is, then the sky is way below your limits.
Allah is Al Karim- The bountiful and generous. And His bounties and generosity is Al Wasi- boundless and vast. And He is Al Mujib- the responsive. So whatever it is we desire He is more than capable. Make a decision and have faith.
Secondly, our intensions make the difference. Because regardless what we do, regardless how elevated in rank the deeds we do are, it is pointless and detrimental if our intentions are not because of Allah; to please Him, to gain His mercy. So, to achieve a life of purpose is to have a clear intension.
You can eat with the intension of getting mentally, emotionally, and physically sound so that you could have right energy to indulge in your spiritual act. You could go to an educational gathering that you are not interested in but you attend because Allah said we should seek for knowledge. You don’t even want to but since Allah said so, ok.
We should learn to rewire our brains to formulate the right intensions. You want to shower, tell yourself cleanliness is a virtue in Islam, smile because it’s sunnah, be good to people even when that person is your least favourite person, do it because you want Allah’s goodness. So in other words you are doing it for yourself. That’s the only kind of selfish that is allowed.
There are things we can’t navigate but we are only humans, our knowledge is limited, regardless, we have to put it at the back of our minds that it’s all for Allah.
However, that does not mean we should take a haram act and put the right intention on it. It doesn’t negate that its haram. Yes our actions are judged according to our intensions and our actions influence our intentions.
The hadith of Nu’man ibn Bashir, ‘The halal is clear and the haram is clear’
Thirdly, we should moisten our lips with the remembrance of Allah. Say Allahamdulilah and Subuhanallah to Allah’s mercy upon you.
We could go through our whole day putting Allah in everything. At work you see something beautiful, you say ma sha Allah, you praise Allah. Something extraordinary, you say Allah Akbar. Every moment is a chance for us to call on to Allah, developing and strengthening our relationship, with the potential to increase our ranks in taqwa. There is no act that is too small.
In difficult times invoke him, in good spirits thank Him.
And at the end of the day all we do comes back to us. We do good by ourselves and by Allah we see goodness from Allah. Goodness in the dunya and akhira.
Benefits of having principles and a life of purpose
You would see a poor person striving in the way of Allah, with so much happiness.
I saw a video of a woman- a street hawker telling her story. She said she lost everything, her husband, her country was under war attacks, she had to migrate with some of her children and leave some because she couldn’t afford it. Her mother was ill and needed a surgery that cost $4000. She said it was hard but Allahamdulilah, “I could have had psychological distress, things could have been worse but Allahamdulilah”. She was not contradicting the fact that she was in a tough place, she knew she was but Allah gave her contentment as she held on to Him. He gave her peace as she strived to better her living.
That is what putting Allah in our lives does to us. Our purpose is to worship Him. Putting Him in our lives guides us, it gives our lives purpose, we dont just work for this dunya, we work for beyoud.
It gives us hope; knowing that He would not burden us with what we can’t handle.
It gives us peace even in tough times because with difficulty comes ease and He tries those He love the most.
It gives contentment knowing the bigger the trial, the bigger the reward,
yet the courage to strive to be better.
And What better way to live a happy and healthy life?
