Man is placed on earth only for a very short time. There, he will be tested, trained and then passed over to the Hereafter where he will stay forever. The possessions and blessings of this world, although created similar to their originals in Heaven, actually possess many defects and weaknesses. For they are only intended to make man remember the Hereafter.
The aim of life for a believer is solely that of being a servant of Allah. People are not created to fulfill their vain desires and greed, or to pursue their passions; the one and only reason for our creation is to serve Allah.
The way to achieve this is by taking the Qur’an as our unique guide. We should give all our attention to applying every decree of the Qur’an. Our target should be to observe every decree of the Qur'an as much as possible.
We can see from the Qur’an that the responsibility of the believers rests not only on decisive verses, such as those on regular prayers, fasting or hajj but also on prayers that require interpretation. For instance, in one verse believers are urged to “invite (all) to the Way of their Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious” (Surat an-Nahl, 125).
The believers can understand this “wisdom and beautiful preaching” by both applying the Qur’an’s general logic and manner, and also their own wisdom and understanding.
There are many other responsibilities that require wisdom and understanding. For example, the Qur’an describes various models of communities, and informs us of the way we should treat those different kinds of people. And what should be said to those people is mostly mentioned in the Qur’an in the verses beginning with, “Say...”.
The verses that advise believers how to behave are clearly described in the Qur’an. But if these precepts are to be applied to daily life, instant recognition of their true significance is a must. At this point, it is the wisdom and understanding of the believers that help.
The Qur’an describes various kinds of people, such as believers, Christians, Jews, hypocrites and pagans. We must learn the concerned verses very well, because what actually should be done is to identify those kinds of people in our society and act towards them as the Qur’an commands. This is inevitable for being a “living Qur’an”.
Moreover, believers should realize that all the people around us undoubtedly belong to one or more of the categories of people described in the Qur’an. All the people exist to form the society described in the Qur’an and none is created in vain:
“Not for (idle) sport did We create the heavens and the earth and all that is between!” (Surat al-Anbiya’, 16)
However, it is not only the people around us that are described in the Qur’an. In fact, everything that we see and everything that happens are indeed reflections of what is written in the Qur’an.
“Soon will We show them our Signs on the horizons, and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that your Lord witnesses all things?” (Surah Fussilat, 53)
The whole universe consists of signs of Allah. Just like a painting presents its painter to the on-lookers, just like every detail on this painting shows the brush prints of the painter, all the universe and every detail of this universe exist to present Allah, the Creator of all things. The more believers realize this fact, the more will they recognize Allah and painstakingly obey all His decrees. As one comprehends that life with all its details, is actually a “sign” as defined in the Qur’an, one will relate everything at every stage of one’s “daily life” to the values of the Qur’an.
Everything takes place in accordance with the destiny Allah has determined and therefore, everything has a purpose. What believers should do is interpret each event in the light of the Qur’an and react in the way the Qur’an prescribes. For example when encountered with something “vain” and idle, the believer should pay no heed to it. But the fact is; this vain thing is already created so that the believer pays no heed to it. The believers should interpret every happening according the perspective of the Qur’an. So, they actually must develop their culture and characteristics in conformity to the Qur’an, how Allah decrees. In order to achieve this, they must leave all they have attained from their ignorant past and society. They should decide what to do in every circumstance by depending on the interpretation and logic of the Qur’an, because, the words of Allah show them the way to handle each situation. As it is said in the Qur'an, it was sent down to us as a Book “explaining all things” (Surat an-Nahl, 88).
