Materialistic and Religious World View; Effects and Consequences
Who am I? Where have I come from? Have I come on my own and would I go away automatically? Or it is someone else who has brought me and he would also take me away? What is my future and where am I headed?...Would death be the end of my life? Or there is life after death as well?...Has this great universe come into being automatically and by accident or it is having a creator? And so on.
Such types of questions arise for every sensible man, especially during the period of youth and he tries to obtain their correct replies and satisfy his curiosity.
Believers and disbelievers have replies to the above question that we present here:
World in the view of believers
The believer considers the world to be a continuous, arranged and compatible collection, which has not come into being on its own; on the contrary it is created by the wise and powerful creator and it is Him that manages it. The world with a series of precise laws and stable system has its source in the wisdom and intention of the Almighty Allah, who controls and guards it. And if the favors and blessings of the Almighty Allah had not been there it would not have survived for even a single moment. A believer has faith that the world is an organized and aimed system which has come into existence through the wise command of the Almighty Allah and everything is good in itself and this precise and harmonious system is moving to a higher aim.
In view of a believer man, existing things of the world are needful of a creator for their creation and survival. If the grace of the Almighty Allah had not been there, they would not have come into existence and if His favor had not been there they would not have endured. Due to this, the believer considers every existing thing to be a sign of the grace and mercy of the Lord of the worlds.
End of life
A believer does not regard death as annihilation and end of life; on the contrary he considers death to be a transfer to the everlasting abode of the hereafter and the beginning of a new everlasting life. The man of faith believes that life in this world is not without aim; on the contrary it is the period of coming and nurturing of the soul and a time for obtaining provisions for the hereafter. The believer is of the view that the righteous and the wicked are not same and both would definitely see the fruits of their deeds: the Almighty Allah would reward the good deeds of righteous and they would occupy the everlasting abode with perennial happiness in the hereafter. On the other hand, the wicked would also receive the punishment of their vile deeds and have a very difficult life in that world.
The believer considers success of his future as the fruits of his deeds, character, words and good morals and is always trying to prepare the means of his success in the hereafter and makes efforts to keep away from evil and wickedness.
Creator of the Universe
The believer man has faith in the being of the Almighty Allah and considers Him as the creator, owner and controller of all the worlds and creatures. In belief of the faithful, the greatest being, who is known as ‘Allah’ has created this world and it is Him that administers it and that He is wise, powerful, merciful and eternal. According to the man of belief, Allah is the source of all goodness and perfections. And that He is absolutely Self-sufficient while the universe and His creatures are always in need of Him. It is Him that protects the universe and creatures and maintains them. It is Him that safeguards the earth and the skies and even if He cuts off His mercy from them for a moment, all of them would be annihilated. He is with everything and everyone and is present everywhere and nothing and no one is equal or like Him.
Prophets
In the view of the believer, prophets are human beings who are absolutely pure and perfect in every aspect and who are chosen to guide mankind to the path of perfection. It is so because the Wise Lord has not abandoned human beings in a condition of perplexity and ignorance. On the contrary, He sent His infallible prophets to them and entrusted them with the program for individual, social, political, material, spiritual and worldly, other-worldly life so that they may guide the human beings and convey to them the life-giving and praiseworthy program.
Where have I come from, where am I at present, and where am I going?
The all-knowing and all-powerful Lord by His grace and kindness has created me in the most beautiful creation (Where have I come from?).
I am in a passing and a changing world, which the wise Lord has created and manages it too. I live in this world so that with the guidance of divine prophets and their successors I may nurture myself and my human morals and perfections and that I should be prepared for the success of an everlasting life and unlimited bounties of the hereafter (Where am I at present?).
I am heading on the path to the world of permanence and perpetuity in the hereafter and there I would be recompensed for my deeds. Death is not the end of life, on the contrary it is transfer from the life of the world and the beginning of another new life (Where am I going?).