There are two ways of living in this world. One is a self-oriented life, the other a God-oriented one. An individual then, will either worship himself, or he will worship God. His attention will be focused either upon his own being, or upon God. His aim in life will either be to please himself, or to please God. There is no third way of living in this world. The choice we have is of living either for ourselves, or for God.
In a self-oriented life, everything is centred upon one’s own being. You could call it a selfish life, one in which self-interest, personal ambition, greed and lust are the dominating motive forces. One who lives such a life puts all he has into furthering his own interests. He is human only in appearance, for in his manner of living he is no different from other animals. As animals live for themselves, so does he.
In a God-oriented life everything centres upon God. One who lives such a life discovers God in all his greatness. He lives in awe of God, so much so that everything else seems tiny in comparison. His thoughts centre on God, his hopes are in God, it is God that he fears. To him God is everything, and he himself is nothing at all.
This second type of individual is one who lives for God. He is realistic in nature, for the path that he follows conforms to the universal way of nature. There is only one true destiny for man in this world, and that destiny is God. Nothing less can satisfy the needs of man.
Source: Al-Risala English, October 1985
