Six Questions in Life

It’s already the end of 2nd month of 2006 in the blink of an eye. Before time moves on, it’s good to take a stepback and think of what lies ahead. Time to take a pause and question what is life all about, and what are the most questions each of us a faced with.

I was inspired to write the piece below after attending a sermon for Friday prayers. All the things that has been said makes a lot of sense, and in each of these questions there is a lesson to be learnt. Let me share this with you.

The first question is “What is the nearest thing to us in this world?”

Some might say our parents, our teachers, our friends. All this may be the correct answer, but the best answer is the closest thing to us is Death. It is known that all living things will eventually die. And on the Day of Judgment, we will receive our blessing for our deeds. To those who are granted the passage to heaven,then that person is truly a devoted servant of God.

Life on earth is nothing but a distraction and a test of our devotion to God. So in a sense, although we are busy with work and other worldly things, do not forget God, for He is around us. Please spare a few minutes each day offering Him our prayers and thanks for all that we are blessed with.

The second question is “What is the furthest thing from us in this world?”

Some might say China, the moon, the sun and the stars. Again these answers are correct, but the best answer is The Passing of Time. We will never be able to turn back time no matter what thus we should make the best of our days and we should not spend our days doing things which are not beneficial. I guess this is really true, that many of us do not use the time we have to the best of our abilities. I think we all should allocate time doing things that matters most, such as studying, working and completing whatever tasks that we have. Once the time is gone, it is no use asking for more time or to regret for not completing our tasks when we had the time.

The third question is “What is the Biggest Thing in this World?”

Some answers are mountains, the earth and the sun. But the most accurate answer is our Lust. Humans have been given a heart but it is not used to gain knowledge, we are given eyes but it’s not used to witness the creations of God Almighty, we have ears but it is not used to hear God’s verses. In fact, we are like animals, if not more ignorant and careless, and for these people there is only one place, which is Hell.

Our carelessness and ignorance can be attributed to our lust. Therefore we should always control our lust so that it does not overwhelm us and also to avoid us being categorized as those who will suffer on the Judgement Day. So from today onwards, let’s make a stand not to give in to our lust easily and be misled.

The fourth question is “What is the Heaviest burden in the world?”

The answer is not steel, elephants and mountains. The correct answer is Trust and Integrity. All of God’s creations, be it the sky, earth and mountains have rejected the trust given to them and this responsibility now falls into the hands of humans, which is neither intelligent nor responsible. Today, we can see humans caught up in the rat race to be a leader without realizing their own strengths and weaknesses. Therefore many have failed to make good leaders, blinded by riches and their fantasies, therefore unable to distinguish the good from the bad resulting in the failure to uphold the burden of Trust placed on us. Try to imagine a world without trust. Try to imagine having friends but none of them can be trusted. How we do turn to in times of turbulence? That is why in my humble opinion, trust and being trustworthy is very important.

The fifth question is “What is the Lightest (easiest) thing in the world?”

Some might say cotton, the wind, dust or leaves. But the true answer is “Forgetting to Pray.” It is very easy for a person to forget to perform his/her daily obligations because of being too caught up with work. This is wrong because most prayers only take up 10 minutes of our time. How do you expect God to help you out in time of need when you have been ignoring all the while? God will only help those who keep Him close to their hearts. God has made it easy for us to perform our prayers, and yet some of us chose to neglect God. We should always remember God in times of health and wealth, so that if one day we face any trouble, God will help us out eventually.

The sixth question is “What is the Sharpest Object in the World?”

The sword might be sharp, but the sharpest thing is out tongues and words we utter. Because of our words, someone might easily take offence and feel hurt be it our parents, our spouse and even our friends. So it is advisable in order to achieve a good afterlife, one must strive to control our tongues, be mindful of what we say and also not to hurt anyone with harsh words. All of us should be mindful of what we utter each day.

We shouldn’t slander others, nor should we tell lies. We might forget what we said, but remember that God never forgets. If we see someone who’s better off, please do not feel jealous and utter words to bring that person down. Instead we should be happy for that person and pray to God that we ourselves are given the same opportunity.

In conclusion, if all of us were to examine and understand the above teachings, I’m sure all of us would be a better person and that we all can co-exist with each other in harmony.

Posted by Imran Ahmad (www.rage.com.my)