The Life of This World Was Created Not to Be Clung to Greedily, but as a Test

Being greedily attached to the temporary life of this world

The world, particularly in the End Times in which we are living, has become a place dominated by all kinds of difficulties, corruption, conflicts and savage competition. Even merely pursuing a life in such an environment dominated by diseases, wars, epidemics, conflicts, natural disasters and ruthlessness requires a great struggle in itself. People cannot be content with the lives they lead, cannot live happily and cannot lead hopeful lives. Under these conditions dominated by the challenges of everyday life, many people selfishly enter into a race for superiority in order, in their own eyes, to win this struggle.

Those who choose to live in this race also have to struggle with countless weaknesses. Diseases never leave them alone. The struggle to make ends meet, family problems, hardships at work, the struggle to remain standing in their social environment, old age that comes with its troubles and the inability to find a remedy for the passage of time make people increasingly more hopeless with each passing day.

While struggling with all these, having to go to the same job early in the morning once again, struggling with the same traffic at the same time in the evening once again, encountering a different version of the troubles they left at work when they arrive home and returning to the same tedious routine every day constantly show them that life, which is already temporary, has become trapped in a meaningless cycle.

Such people desperately seek ways to distance themselves from the problems they experience. They go on vacation to relax a little; but their problems come with them.

They take refuge in alcohol in order to forget; but when they wake up the next morning, their problems wake up with them.

While all these are happening,
• Those who struggle with new diseases every day,
• Who grow a little older with each passing day,
• Who cannot escape their troubles and add new troubles to their troubles,
• Who constantly have to earn money in order to live,
• Who remain unhappy, loveless and hopeless,
These people in an inexplicable manner become even more attached to the world. Their greed to acquire the temporary things of this world grows increasingly more intense.

While coping with their illnesses and facing the challenges of life, they also want to live longer. They declare war on aging, take handfuls of medicines, undergo cosmetic surgeries and try to eliminate an inevitable process. Instead of considering why they experience these weaknesses, they try to stop and disregard them. And they never attain their goals and can never be happy. There are also more extreme forms of this greed. When this greed grows stronger, it brings disaster not only to the individual but also to humanity.

Jealousy, anger and conflicts caused by greed for the world

In some people, this greed for the world becomes a crazed desire to defeat others and the cause of a strange anger. Although a person works from morning to evening and suffers more than enough of the tribulations of this world every day, he sometimes never avoids becoming involved in events that will make his life even more full of anger. For example, after an already difficult working day, he enters the traffic; but this time, he gets into a fight in the traffic. Or he becomes jealous of someone at work, becomes annoyed and angry, constantly gossips and displays contrary behavior. He becomes intolerant of the people around him, children, animals and the environment.
 

That is because greed for the world constantly brings people dissatisfaction, lovelessness, soullessness, discontent and insatiability. 

Some people live with feelings of anger and competition at almost every moment of their lives because they are attached to life with a strange greed. The scourge brought about by this greed is, in fact, the sole cause of the present disagreements, wars, conflicts, unjust competition and savage capitalism in the world. This was also the case in the past; the cause of almost all disasters brought about by human hands throughout history has been based on insatiability and greed for the worldly desires.

The story of Cain and Abel related in the Qur'an is one of the most important examples describing greed for this world:

"Recite to them the true report of Adam’s two sons when they offered a sacrifice and it was accepted from one of them but not accepted from the other. The one said, ‘I shall kill you.’ The other said, ‘God only accepts from people who have piety'”

"Even if you do raise your hand against me to kill me, I am not going to raise my hand against you to kill you. Truly I fear God, the Lord of all the worlds"

“I want you to take on both my wrongdoing and your wrongdoing and so become one of the Companions of the Fire. That is the repayment of the wrongdoers.”

“So his lower self persuaded him to kill his brother, and he killed him and became one of the lost.” 

"Then God sent a crow which scratched at the earth to show him how to conceal his brother’s corpse. He said, ‘Woe is me! Can I not even be like this crow and conceal my brother’s corpse?’ And he became one of those who suffer bitter remorse." (Surat al-Maida, 27-31)

The story of Cain and Abel, related in the Qur'an and the Torah, is the story that reveals the first murder on earth and shows how anger and jealousy can lead to terrible consequences in human history. Cain's jealousy that the sacrifice of his brother Abel was accepted by God and his intense anger toward him because of this resulted in his murdering his brother. Greed for the world turned Cain into the murderer of his brother.

Pharaoh's hostility toward the Prophet Moses (pbuh) was also due to jealousy. Because of this jealousy, Pharaoh felt such great anger that he attempted to kill the Prophet Moses (pbuh), but in accordance with God's plan, while Pharaoh imagined that he had entrapped Moses, he himself fell into the trap:

"Pharaoh said, ‘Let me kill Moses and let him call upon his Lord! I am afraid that he may change your religion and bring about corruption in the land.’" (Surah Ghafir, 26)

"He said, ‘If you take any god other than me, I will certainly throw you into prison.'" (Surat ash-Shuara, 29)

Pharaoh's desire to imprison and kill the Prophet Moses (pbuh) stemmed from his arrogance toward him. Indeed, Pharaoh took this to the point of regarding himself as a deity and for that reason became angry at the Prophet Moses' (pbuh) faith in God.

"Pharaoh said, ‘Council, I do not know of any other god for you apart from me. Haman, kindle a fire for me over the clay and build me a lofty tower so that perhaps I may be able to climb up to Moses’ God! I consider him a blatant liar.’" (Surat al-Qasas, 38)

“He and his troops were arrogant in the land without any right. They thought that they would not return to Us.”

“So We seized him and his troops and flung them into the sea. See the final fate of the wrongdoers!” (Surat al-Qasas, 38-40)

“And Qarun and Pharaoh and Haman – Musa came with the Clear Signs to them, but they were arrogant on the earth. They could not outstrip Us.”

“We seized each one of them for their wrong actions. Against some We sent a sudden squall of stones; some of them were seized by the Great Blast; some We caused the earth to swallow up; and some We drowned. God did not wrong them; rather they wronged themselves.” (Surat al-Ankabut, 39-40)

Nimrod's anger toward the Prophet Abraham (pbuh) was likewise due to his jealousy of the Prophet Abraham's (pbuh) faith in God. Nimrod, who possessed power at the time, boasted of all his worldly power and threatened with death the Prophet Abraham (pbuh), who did not accept him as a leader and who shattered his idols:

“What about the one who argued with Abraham about his Lord, on the basis that God had given him sovereignty? Abraham said, ‘My Lord is He who gives life and causes to die.’ He said, ‘I too give life and cause to die.’ Abraham said, ‘God makes the sun come from the East. Make it come from the West.’ And the one who was a denier was dumbfounded. God does not guide wrongdoing people.” (Surat al-Baqara, 258)

Nimrod's anger toward the Prophet Abraham (pbuh) solely because of his faith in God is described in the verses as follows:

"He said, ‘Do you then worship, instead of God, what cannot help or harm you in any way? Shame on you and what you worship besides God! Will you not use your intellect?’ They said, ‘Burn him and support your gods if you are resolved to do something.’ We said, ‘Fire, be coolness and peace for Abraham!’ They desired to trap him but We made them the losers." (Surat al-Anbiya, 66-70)

During the time of our Prophet (saas), the leading figures of the period also raised the same objections, attacks were made against our Prophet (saas) and his Companions, and these people carried out their fight against Islam by starting wars.

Recent history is also full of examples of this.

All the major wars that have taken place in the world, World Wars I and II, the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian wars, the Russian-Ukrainian wars, the division of the world into two fronts, the Cold War that lasted for many years, nuclear armament and all the cold and hot conflicts like these that constitute the grounds for armament in the world are the result of a greed that can never be satisfied, never ends and never subsides.

Changing one's perspective for a world full of love

If people;
• Were aware of their weaknesses,
• Understood why they were created,
• Realized that they did not come into this world for a race for superiority,
All this unrest, these wars, intolerance and races in the world would come to an end.

For the world to become a place like Paradise depends on people changing their perspectives.

People changing their perspectives will be possible by their becoming aware of their weaknesses and understanding the purpose for which the world was created. God reveals in His verse that this world is not the true life and that it was created as a game and diversion:

“The life of the world is nothing but a game and a diversion. The abode of the Hereafter-that is truly Life if they only knew.” (Surat al-'Ankabut, 64)

God reveals the true purpose of the creation of the life of this world in His verse as follows:

“He Who created death and life to test which of you is best in action. He is the Almighty, the Ever-Forgiving.” (Surat al-Mulk, 2)

God reveals that He is the Ruler of everything on earth and in the heavens, and that it is He Who gives life and causes death.

"Yes, everything in the heavens and earth belongs to God. Yes, God's promise is true but most of them do not know it.
He gives life and causes to die and you will be returned to Him.
Mankind! admonition has come to you from your Lord and also healing for what is in the breasts and guidance and mercy for the believers." (Surah Yunus, 55-56)

As is clearly stated in the verses, man has no power whatsoever against God. All the things he calls "mine" actually belong to God, and man will inevitably leave this world at a time determined by God. Whether he accepts it or not, man is this helpless before God.

Man is unable to resist the weaknesses that have been given to him specifically for this world. He cannot stop the passing of time, and no matter how hard he strives, he cannot resist the death of the cells in his body, aging, and drawing ever closer to death. Some people try in vain to make immortality possible, but they cannot prevent God's law. Every living being that comes into this world will inevitably leave it one day.

Man, who imagines himself to be powerful, can be defeated by even a single virus. A few cancer cells can come together and overcome him. A single clot reaching a blood vessel in his heart can suddenly put an end to his life. Man has no power whatsoever to resist these things. At a time appointed in destiny, in one way or another, his life will inevitably be taken.

All this is not being explained in order to make people hear what they do not wish to hear or to drive them into pessimism. On the contrary, it is a call to the truth. It is a good thing for a person to accept that the life of this world is temporary. Paying attention to what is explained in these lines will certainly be to his benefit. That is because what is explained here is actually the fundamental truth that people in general try to cover up.

The purpose behind the creation of this world is for man to be tested. Those who are able to pass this test properly will attain everything they long for in their eternal lives. Paradise is a life that will never end or cease, in which there is eternal youth, eternal beauty, eternal resurrection, eternal happiness and eternal blessings. For this reason, it is astonishing that some people never speak of Paradise and instead strive to make eternal an environment filled with deficiencies like the life of this world. While everything man longs for already exists in Paradise, while this eternal abode has been revealed by God in the most perfect descriptions, and while only love for God and sincerity are sufficient to attain it, struggling for a world filled with weaknesses in every respect is a shocking state of affairs.

No matter how hard people strive, they will not be able to turn this world into an immortal and eternal abode for themselves. No matter how hard they try, they will not be able to free themselves from the weaknesses and deficiencies belonging to this world. There will still be diseases, accidents will still occur, natural disasters will still take place, there will still be wars because people do not abandon their ambitions, deaths will still occur, and difficulties will never come to an end.

That is because the world is such a place. It exists with its difficulties, weaknesses and tribulations. That is because the purpose of the world's existence is the test.

Given this state of affairs, spending a lifetime with ambitions directed toward this world merely means wasting the test in vain. This worldly life, which is man's only opportunity to attain the Hereafter, becomes beautiful if the Hereafter is truly sought. Otherwise, the struggle within this battlefield will become increasingly difficult and burdensome.

Seeing God's existence and taking love as the basis

God's dominion prevails throughout the entire universe and in the evidence on the earth and in the heavens. It is very easy to see God's existence on the earth and to understand His beauty, strength and power. Everywhere is adorned with God's works, and these works reveal how God can create perfection, uniqueness, beauty and flawlessness whenever He wills.

In order to understand this, it is sufficient to look at a bird's wing, a DNA helix, protein synthesis, a dolphin's sonar system, our heart that beats without interruption, a bee's honeycomb, the earth's never-failing orbit, the Milky Way Galaxy, life sprouting from a seed and countless other marvels like these.

The Holy Qur'an describes God's superior attributes with the most sublime descriptions and the finest examples, and has been presented to us in a preserved form.

"it truly is a Noble Qur’an in a well protected Book." (Surat al-Waqia, 77-78)

When we look at the Qur’an and at God’s creation, it becomes immediately clear that what God desires above all else is love.
 

People should not allow their minds to be clouded by superstitious beliefs and teachings outside the Qur’an, or by the interpretations, mistakes, and superstitions of those who represent such beliefs. Instead, they should take love of God, reliance on the Qur’an, and listening to their own consciences as their guiding principles.

Only God is closest to man at every moment and in every place, and man comes to possess strong faith by establishing a close bond with God, expressing his love for Him and sincerely turning to God. God states in His verse that He is nearer to man than his jugular vein:

“We created man and We know what his own self whispers to him. We are nearer to him than his jugular vein.” (Surah Qaf, 16)

Man can shape his understanding of God, this world, and the Hereafter:

* By knowing that no one can be closer to him than God,
* By loving God sincerely from the heart,
* By seeing, loving, and appreciating all that God has created,
* By turning to God.

Once he attains this understanding, he will immediately realize that this world is merely a temporary place of distraction and will clearly see that Paradise must certainly exist—a place in which Almighty God, Who has the power to create all things perfectly, has created everything in perfection.

This is not a complicated matter. The evidence demonstrating the unique and sublime nature of God is clear and unmistakable. The only obstacle is that people must not allow their own ambitions and desires to prevent them from recognizing this truth.
 

The true purpose of the life of this world

People's ambitions directed toward this world can gradually lead them into an increasingly aggressive, intolerant and loveless state of mind. The spread of pessimism, unease and hatred, particularly in the End Times, is a situation that must be carefully considered. Changing this picture depends on strengthening faith with evidence from the Qur'an, explaining the facts leading to faith that demonstrate God's artistry in creation, and reminding people of the true purpose of the life of this world.

Understanding that the life of this world is temporary does not lead man to pessimism, but rather to truth and peace. When man recognizes his own helplessness and understands that everything is under God’s control, he can distance himself from the destructive effects of ambition, jealousy, and anger. This world was not created as a race for superiority, but as a place of testing in which to know God, love Him, practice good conduct, and attain the Hereafter. True happiness is found not in becoming passionately attached to this world, but in sincerely turning to God and seeking His approval.