The main purpose of life is not to enjoy a transient feeling of happiness; rather, it is to attain inner and profound peace by knowing and worshiping Allah.
Fulfilling this divine purpose will lead to eternal bliss and true happiness. Therefore, if this becomes our main target, it will be easier for us to confront any problem or trouble for the sake of reaching this target.
Let us imagine a person who has never experienced any suffering or pain. Owing to his luxurious life, he will forget Allah and will, thus, fail in carrying out the mission that he has been created for. Then, compare this person to another whose hard and painful experiences have led him to Allah and to accomplishing his mission in life. According to the Islamic teachings, the one whose sufferings have led him to Allah is better than the one who has never suffered and whose pleasures led him far away from Him.
In this life, everyone works on achieving a certain goal or purpose, which is mostly based on his beliefs. The thing that we can find in religion, but cannot find in science, is the cause or justification for which man strives.
The religion clarifies the cause behind creating man and life, whereas science is a means and it possesses no definition for the intention or purpose.
The thing that man fears most when approaching religion is being deprived of the worldly pleasures. It is commonly believed that religion necessarily means isolation, and that everything is prohibited except what the religion permits.
This is the mistake that was committed by many and that caused them to have an aversion to religion. However, the Islamic religion came to correct this concept showing that permissibility is the basic rule while the prohibitions and limits are only few and incontrovertible.
It throws light on the fact that religion invites man to merge with other individuals in the society and calls for achieving balance between the requirements of the soul, body, and others' rights.
One of the biggest challenges that confront the irreligious communities is how to deal with evil and with man's bad acts, as they could find nothing but imposing the most severe punishments to deter the deviants.
{Who created death and life to test you as to which of you is best in deeds, and He is the All-Mighty, the Most Forgiving...} [87] Surat al-Mulk: 2.
An exam is meant to distinguish between the students and classify them into levels and degrees before starting their new practical life. Despite the shortness of the exam, it decides the student's future towards this new life that he is approaching. The same applies to life, despite its shortness, it is an abode of affliction and trial for mankind to be classified into various degrees and levels when heading towards the Hereafter. Man leaves this worldly life only with his deeds and not with material things, thus, he must understand that he has to work in this life for the sake of the Hereafter and seek the reward there.
Man could achieve happiness by submitting to Allah and obeying Him and by being content with His decree and predestination.
Many claim that everything does not have an essential meaning and, consequently, we are free to find a meaning to ourselves for the sake of attaining a satisfactory life. The denial of the purpose behind our existence is, in fact, a self-deceit. It is as if we are telling ourselves: "Let us assume or pretend that we have a goal in this life", like the children who pretend while playing that they are doctors, nurses, or parents. We can never achieve happiness unless we know our purpose in life.
If a person was placed in a luxurious train against his will and he found himself riding in the first class, a fancy and comfortable experience and something extremely luxurious, will he be happy during this journey without getting answers for questions that are on his mind like: How did I ride this train? What is the purpose behind this journey? Where is it heading? How could he be happy if such questions remain unanswered? Even if he starts enjoying all the luxuries that are at his disposal, he will never achieve true and genuine happiness. Could a delicious meal in this journey be sufficient to make him forget these questions? This kind of happiness is fake and temporary and can only be achieved by deliberately neglecting the process of finding an answer to such vital questions. It is something like the fake ecstasy resulting from the consumption of intoxicants that leads one to his doom. Therefore, true happiness could only be attained when man finds answers to these existential questions.