The purpose of life has been a subject of great debate. While adherents of several religions argue that there is a life after death, irreligious folks do not agree that a man will exist whether in his earthly form or another, whether as reincarnation or in another dimension.
For some, as in Muslims, the basis of doing good and forbidding evil is the belief that there is a creator, Allah, who rewards good and punishes evil. The constitution of evil and good for the Muslims can be found in the Qur’an which is the moral foundation of the Islamic culture.
On the other hand, individuals or states that reject religion still promote some form of good in the name of ethics and humanitarianism. Thus, altruism, charity, can be said to be done for the sake of humanity. However, we face a challenge of what is good and evil since both forces are subject to reason and the constitution of good and evil may be subject to opinions, culture against Islam which says in Surah Shams that the Soul has been given enlightenment as to what is good and what is wrong.
As to whether there is life after death or not, while a life-after-death theory gives life a purpose as in Islam which says in Qur’an 51:56 that Mankind (homo sapiens) and Jinns (beings of different biological constitution, unseen to the human eyes, not scientifically proved though aliens having Jinn-like attributes can be found in popular culture) have been created to worship Allah alone, a no-life-after-death theory brings us to Nihilism and Absurdism.
Nihilism is the rejection of all religious and moral principles, and the belief that life is meaningless while Absurdism is the belief that human beings exist in a purposeless, chaotic universe followed with bizarre and intentionally ridiculous behaviour.
Indeed, for life to have a purpose, there need be a life after death. The smiles and tears, the good and evil, the law’s delay, the proud and the humble, the murderer and the murdered, our natural basic instinct to love certain acts like kindness done towards us and frowning against oppression and evil against us can not all be premised on purposelessness.
In truth, If life was purposeless, no life after death, it would be but folly, the several ethical and moral teachings we preach, the life we protect, and the evil we forbid.
The Nihilist idea got me thinking. Those who reject the idea of a God or life after death still engage in one or two acts of charity, abide by some code of ethics, want to enjoy and live life to the fullest but to what end?
If I believe that there is no life after death, of what essence would be my travelling across the globe or imprisoned unjustly for a decade? What is the essence of the good I do or even the evil. Of what use is my pride or to whose service is my humility?
If life was purposeless, patience is nothing, impatience is itself nothing. The wealth of the rich and the poverty of the poor makes no sense. Nothing makes sense, the sun makes no sense, our smiles, tears, wars, peacekeeping, all nonsense.
For me, there is a purpose to life. This explains why some reject a life of purpose but still want to achieve a thing or two, appeal to a form of ethics or morals in the name of ‘humanity’ and some times, officially atheists states name places in the name of the dead. Why honour the dead?
Islam has argued that life has a purpose as explained in an earlier paragraph. Man was created to worship the creator, to be tested as to who is best in deeds following the two ways (of good and evil) he has been naturally shown through his soul which is inherently good and evil, two forces existing in all men.
Rejecting God or the idea of life after death, yet, confirming to some certain form of morals is quite paradoxical. In the clearest of terms, every atheist should be a Nihilist or Absurdist.
Whether you agree life has a purpose or not, we all can agree that #Manisnothing
Twitter @LucasBashir56
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