A Positive Outlook Most people will agree that having a strong self-esteem and a positive outlook on life is conducive to achieving happiness and success. Unique among the religions of the world, Islams view of both the nature of the human being and the purpose of life are extremely positive. Islams view of the nature of the human being is balanced. On the one hand they are not viewed as being inherently evil, but on the other they are not considered to be perfect - nor are they expected to be so. According to the teachings of Islam, every human being, man or woman, is born with a clean slate and is equally capable of both good and evil. Since God has bestowed limited free-will on human beings, they will ultimately be held responsible for their actions. Believing that salvation is based on faith alone reduces human life to a near meaningless and fatalistic existence. The teachings of Islam make it clear that human beings, since their nature is basically good, are capable of positive action in this life, and that the best way to achieve a balanced, happy and fulfilled life is complete submission to Almighty God. Certainly, no person can completely submit to God by simply wanting to do so, but by first realizing that none has a right to be worshipped and obeyed except for Almighty God, and then making a reasonable effort to follow Gods commands, all human beings can fulfill their reason for existence - which is to worship God alone. . The Holy Quran tells us that man was created weak and thus falls into sin often. On the other hand, man is not to think of himself as so evil and corrupt so as to despair of Gods mercy. As a recourse to this, and since Islam condemns self-righteousness, a pious life can only be lived by trusting in God -- since there is no power or strength except through God. As such, spiritual felicity is achieved by a combination of both faith and action. As such, the most righteous person is not one who thinks that repentance is unnecessary, but the one who admits and realizes his mistakes - and then repents. According to the word of Almighty God as revealed in the Holy Quran, mankind is Gods trustee on earth; and as such the life of this world is a test, not a punishment. Even before God created the first man, He knew that he would sin, however God created man in spite of this. According to the Quran, God has bestowed on human beings a great trust and given them dignity. It is only by worshipping Almighty God, directly and without intermediaries, that a human being can fulfull their true innate nature and purpose of existence. In short, Islam is realistic. It portrays human beings just as they are and the life of the world just as it is. Since the outlook of Islam is divinely revealed is not based on wishful or negative thinking, but simply on reality. Islam also has a positive view of mankind in general, since it teaches that the best person in the sight of God is the one who is most God-conscious. In this way the truth of Islam and the universality of Gods message transcends all of the barriers of race, nationality, ethnic group and economic status.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 09:30:00 +0000
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