Introduction
Have
you ever thought about the fact that you did not exist before you were
conceived and then born into the world and that you have come into existence
from mere nothingness?
Have you ever thought about how the flowers you see in your living room
everyday come out of pitch black, muddy soil with fragrant smells and
are as colourful as they are?
Have you ever thought about how mosquitoes, which irritatingly fly around
you, move their wings so fast that we are unable to see them?
Have you ever thought about how the peels of fruits such as bananas,
watermelons, melons and oranges serve as wrappings of high quality, and
how the fruits are packed in these wrappings so that they maintain their
taste and fragrance?
Have you ever thought about the possibility that while you are asleep
a sudden earthquake could raze your home, your office, and your city to
the ground and that in a few seconds you could lose everything of the
world you possess?
Have you ever thought of how your life passes away very quickly, and
that you will grow old and become weak, and slowly lose your beauty, health
and strength?
Have you ever thought about how one day you will find the angels of death
appointed by Allah before you and that you will then leave this world?
Well, have you ever thought about why people are so attached to a world
from which they will soon depart when what they basically need is to strive
for the hereafter?
Man is a being whom Allah furnishes with the faculty of thought. Yet,
most people do not use this very important faculty as they should. In
fact, some people almost never think.
In truth, each person possesses a capacity for thought of which even
he himself is unaware. Once man begins to use this capacity, facts he
has not been able to realise until that very moment begin to be uncovered
for him. The deeper he goes in reflection, the more his capacity to think
improves, and this is possible for everyone. One just has to realise that
one needs to reflect and then to strive hard.
The purpose of this book is to invite people to "think as they should"
and show ways of "thinking as they should". Someone who does
not think will remain totally distant from truths and lead his life in
self-deception and error. As a result, he will not grasp the purpose of
the creation of the world, and the reason for his existence on the earth.
Yet, Allah has created everything with a purpose. This fact is stated
in the Qur'an as follows:
We did not create the heavens and the earth and
everything between them as a game. We did not create them except with
truth but most of them do not know it. (Surat ad-Dukhan: 38-39)
Did you suppose that We created you for amusement
and that you would not return to Us? (Surat al-Muminun: 115)
Therefore, each person needs to ponder the purpose of creation,
first as it concerns him himself, and then as it pertains to everything
he sees in the universe and every event he experiences throughout his
life. Someone who does not think, will understand the facts only after
he dies, when he gives account before Allah, but then it will be too late.
Allah says in the Qur'an that on the day of account, everybody will think
and see the truth:
That day Hell is produced, that day man will remember;
but how will the remembrance help him?
He will say, "Oh! If only I had prepared in advance for this life
of mine!" (Surat al-Fajr: 23-24)
While Allah has given us a chance in the life of this world to reflect
and derive conclusions from our reflections, to see the truth will bring
us great gain in our life in the hereafter. For this reason, Allah has
summoned all people, through His prophets and books, to reflect on their
creation and on the creation of the universe:
Have they not reflected within themselves? Allah
did not create the heavens and the earth and everything between them except
with truth and for a fixed term. Yet many people reject the meeting with
their Lord. (Surat ar-Rum: 8)
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