There are many aspects that differentiate humans from one\nanother. Beauty, outward appearance,\nwealth, health, nationality, race, native language, and knowledge are all\nexamples of characteristics that differentiate us from one another. These differences may even allow us to lose\nor excessively develop our self-esteem, even though our characteristics may be\nout of our control. Despite these differences, what we have in common is that\nwe are all humans who seek one purpose: to find success in our lives. To reach\nsuccess and happiness in life is the common goal of all of us. We each strive\nhard to become satisfied with our lives. Reaching perfection and completion is\nthe unquestionable desire of mankind.1 However; this leads us to the question:\nWhat can be defined as success and how can one be considered successful?\nCertainly we each may have a different translation for the word success. But why should there be so many different\ntranslations for success? The concept of\nsuccess can be defined through our personal view towards life. It is this view\nthat can show us our path to success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are probably tired of constantly hearing the phrases: \u201cthe\nview towards life\u201d, \u201cbelief\u201d, and \u201cthe telescope in which we can see the\nworld\u201d. From the first days of our\nlives, in those days that we were merely a child our mother, father, and those\naround us would define our beliefs. We would have the same belief as our families\nand friends. It was this environment that would determine our Christian view,\nMuslim view, materialistic view, or other views. For some, even when years pass\nand the person begins to know him\/herself better, they would still follow their\nprevious beliefs without any research. Others feel no necessity for having\nfaith in any belief, and therefore leave all beliefs. They spend their valuable\ntime, which is in fact very important to them, on works that can earn them a\ncomfortable and luxurious life. A third\ngroup however cannot feel indifferent about belief and would therefore spend\npart of their time and life on researching about faith and belief so they can\nchoose the faith best for them. In fact this is where the real question lies:\nWhen a person can spend his life investigating and discovering new secrets of\ntechnology to improve his and other peoples\u2019 comfort and satisfaction in life,\nwhy then should he spend time on researching about faith and belief? What benefit does our belief hold for\nus? Other than dry debates on theories\nand certain limitations in life, does it have any other reality? Truly out of\nthe thousands of problems I face daily, which problem can my belief solve? What will I lose if I do not research about\nmy belief and faith? ….<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are the questions we freely and logically seek to\ndiscuss on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1- My True Identity<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let us begin with this question: In the days, weeks, months,\nand years that pass how frequently have we thought about ourselves in relation\nthe path that we are striving for. In other words, during the years we have\npassed in life, how many times have we thought about our true identity? At times when man thinks about himself on the\nworks he has done throughout his life, or on an accomplishment he has just\nreached after working very hard to reach it, he may find himself running in a\ncircle, constantly repeating only one cycle. \nWe too may be following his example and may have fell within the trap of\na spinner, \u201cwe work, we eat, and we play so we can live; so the purpose of our\ndaily lives is to work, eat, and enjoy. Sometimes when we review and see the\nscenery of our lives, it is like the same movie being played over and over for\nevery single day of our lives. Sometimes we even get tired and constantly ask\nourselves, does life have any other result other than exhaustion and repeat?\nWhy do we constantly circulate one path? Why do our days and nights look\nold? Really, who am I? What do I do? \nWhere am I headed to?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1-1- Unique existence<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If we pay close attention to the different species around us,\nwe will realize that their life has a predefined pattern. They live based on\ntheir instinct. When a flower is planted, it will continue its own natural\ngrowth process until it blooms and shows its beauty to the world around it. A\nwolf is a predator from birth, regardless of any possible training from the\noutside world. We, as humans, have a number of needs which are based on our\ninstincts. A baby is acquainted to the mother\u2019s breast instinctively and feels\nthe need for food when hungry. The desire of coupling with opposite gender is\nanother example of instinct. Such needs are not optional to have; we have them\nno matter what. Our instincts drive us toward these needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the question that lies here is \u2018does living merely\nto satisfy our instinct desires suffice our entire needs?\u2019 Are those who live a\nluxurious life necessarily happy? Do they not think of anything else in life?\nIf we sit down with such people, we can realize that they feel something is\nmissing in their lives. Could we too\nfind ourselves in the same situation in that we do not recognize our true\nneeds, and have unknown needs just like these people? Perhaps recognition of our true needs can\nsolve and fill in the empty gaps in our lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
1-2- A Free Knowledge and Unlimited Desire<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps the desire to seek knowledge and truth is one of our\nobvious characteristics. This need is not limited to any time or place. When we\nthink about our past, we ask ourselves: Where have I come from? Why am I\nhere? Where am I going? Mankind is\nanxious to receive an answer to these questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moreover, in addition to the natural needs of species we have\nadditional needs that cannot be easily satisfied. Our natural desires are not\nthe only factors that determine who we are and how we should live, because our\nneeds may vary depending on our position in life. For example, there are times when the doctor\nprescribes a daily diet for us in which we are required to limit certain foods\nwe once were able to eat. Another example\ncan be a reduction in our sexual desires over time; this and many other similar\ndeficiencies can occur within us as we age. \nHowever, do such deficiencies diminish our chance of being a human\nbeing? No, for certainly behind the curtains of life, there are stable desires\nof life we long for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One unending desire for man is to live forever, and therefore\ndeath for us is very unpleasant, though unavoidable. We do not only care for\nourselves and families, but also the situation of other people around the world\nmatter to us. Besides our natural needs, we are allured to love, deep emotions,\nbeauty, moral values, justice, and eternal life. Therefore, our desires are not\nlimited to our living environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1-3- Knowledge and Faith, a Major Difference<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, there are two major needs within us that we cannot\nignore. The first is the need for seeking knowledge, which has no end; as a\nproof technology is improving and progressing daily. The second characteristic\nis the need for perfection. Some professionals define this need as faith2.\nThese two are the needs that differentiate us from animals. If we were to live\nin great comfort and leisure, but lack factors like beauty, love, and justice,\nthis would not be a satisfactory life for us. \nSimilarly, if our life was going to end forever after death then all the\nenjoyment of this life would be worthless. \nIt would be impossible to satisfy all our needs because of its\nshort-term existence. It would be just like a person who is thirsty but not\nhungry and has no water to drink, but instead is provided with variety of\nfoods! Water is what he wants, not food,\nso it does not suffice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nevertheless, do we really go after all of our needs? Let\u2019s\nanalyze our daily deeds and see if we can find any answer to the questions\nmentioned. Our daily actions are categorized into two groups based upon our\nneeds:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1-4- Seeking enjoyment, an important issue<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enjoyment is indeed a part of our lives; eating a favorite\nfood, wearing nice and proper clothing, sleeping well, having sexual activity,\nand etc are all in this category. To seek enjoyment is a natural instinct in\nour lives. Its purpose is to serve the primary needs, like hunger, and\ncontinuation of life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Performing such enjoyments is inevitable in our lives. But,\nare we so limited that if we perform these simple and natural needs we would\nfree of any further desire? Sometimes we can see that some people care for\nnothing but their own enjoyment and entertainment. They are willing to\nsacrifice anything or anyone to reach their fun. You may sometimes think that\nif such people keep living in their own style, they become internally a\nmonster, who cares for no one but himself. Such people may easily put all of\ntheir focus in life to get to their entertainment, hoping to enjoy it forever.\nBut we do know that, by experience, pleasure is reduced over time after a number\nof repetitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Could we be in the same boat? If we sometimes feel\nunsatisfied of ourselves; or if we fail to please ourselves from our lives no\nmatter what we do, perhaps we are unfamiliar with the purpose of our existence\nand our actual needs. Isn\u2019t there any other type of pleasure? Are all pleasures\nso short lasting with the arrival of death? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
1-5- Objective, a critical matter<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is another type of activity, which we practice in our\ndaily lives and that is known as \u201cplanned tasks\u201d3. Such activities mainly serve\nour long-term objectives. In other words, someone would recognize an objective\nin future in the first place; then he vows to reach that goal and begins his\nmission toward it. The motivation to move\nforward is the bound between the person and the goal despite all the\ndifficulties of achieving the objective. He might not experience any pleasure\nat the beginning; however, when he fully succeeds through it, the pleasure he\nreceives is inexpressible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We \u201cplan\u201d for our goal because we are humans. In fact, it is\nthe role of planned tasks, which give meaning to our lives. It is our \u201cplans\u201d\nthat help us to get closer to perfection. Furthermore, other creatures are\nlimited to follow their natural instinct and choose short-term objectives. They\ncannot choose what they are. This way of living is the reality of their\nexistence and that is the way their lives go on. But our life is truly\ndifferent than theirs. If we want to reach our real identity, there would be no\nway except \u201cto choose a goal and a destination to follow\u201d. It is we that\ndetermine who we are and what are we created for? The more we dig into this\nissue, the more we are going to find out about our real identity. Our instinct\nand natural needs are definitely not all we need, but in the meantime we need\nto have them in order to continue with our lives. If we do not choose a real\nobjective in life and merely seek short pleasures instead, then have we\nsustained our soul, which is looking for eternal existence?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1-6- Towards which target?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each person in this world has a goal and strives hard to\nreach that goal. How would I therefore,\nfind out the best and most suitable goal through these various goals in order\nto find my reality? What criteria do others have in selecting a goal? Why do people choose different paths in the\nlife?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking precisely, we realize that the reason people have\ndifferent motives and tendencies, is due to the different criteria they each\nhold. In fact one\u2019s personal view\ntowards him\/herself, towards the world he\/she is living in, and towards his\/her\nfaith are decisive factors that shape that person\u2019s criteria and values. In\nother words, his goal in life is determined through the scope he is seeing the\nworld. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In order to follow the path we have set our goals on, it is\nnecessary to first recognize our capabilities and different aspects in our\nlives. This recognition will require us to research about existence and\ncreation, so we can gain a better sense in our origin and destination. We\nshould understand our position in the world. Is existence only that which we\nare able to see and feel, or is it broader than these senses? Could a reality\nexist that we are unaware of?\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are the fundamental questions that each school of\nthought has a different answer for. Most of the theories and answers in the\ndifferent schools of thoughts given to these fundamental questions have some\nsort of contradictions within themselves. Nevertheless, in order to strive to\nreach that level of human perfection and completion, we must search about our\ngoal. Obviously it is out of our ability\nto experience all these different paths to select the best one. Therefore, now\nthat our possibilities for experiencing the different paths are limited, we\nshould do a thorough research in discovering the true path, and set our goal in\naccordance to that path. Our thought and belief determines our goal and the\npath in life. Therefore firstly we need to select the best belief and thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But how can we detect the best thought? Can anyone force me\nto think like him\/her? Does belief restrict me to follow a narrow and\ninflexible structure?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1-7- Belief: a Combination of Love and Wisdom<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each person must seek his\/her own belief, and no school of\nthought can impose its thought on us. Submitting to a belief and school of\nthought is from the inner heart, not through force or compulsion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The belief one submits to, must have two important\ncharacteristics: First it should satisfy one\u2019s wisdom and heart by having a\nreasonable, logical, and firm and persistent view towards the universe and\nexistence. Next, that view should\nattract us and give us the motivation for reaching our goals. This creates a\nwisdom-love relationship that we can program our lives upon. Having done this, we will begin to feel the\npleasure and satisfaction of strong faith and belief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, what differentiate people from each other is their\nbeliefs. It is my thought that creates\nmy identity. Am I truly human or am I\njust an alien with human face?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This leads us to the next question. If I neglect all the\nbenefits of freely choosing a belief, does that only prevent me from having a\nbetter life; or has it deprived me of my own authority on choosing my belief,\nso others would decide for me? Are we\nlike a person who is advised to learn swimming, and though he knows the\nadvantages of swimming, he makes sure he avoids any contact with the sea; or\nare we like the person who is in the middle of a deep ocean, who must swim\notherwise, he will be drowned or thrown around by the huge waves? Which\nsituation do we find ourselves in the life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2- Belief and Act<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many situations have occurred in our lives in which we have\nregretted our actions and have asked ourselves: \u201cWhy have I done such an act?\u201d\nSometimes, we are able to find the answer, but many times the question remains\nunanswered and we cannot be certain. Considering the fact that none of our acts\nare done aimlessly, then why can we not mention a motive? How can we not know the purpose of our acts? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
2-1- Different acts, the same target<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each act we perform consists of a set of movements done one\nafter another. For example, consider a simple act like eating. Such an act that\nseems so simple is actually a complex set of movements and interactions of our\nmembers. Namely hands, mouth, digestive system, and etc\u2026 all begin working in a\nspecific order. 4<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking more precisely, we see that although these movements\nare in relation with each other, they are independent. For instance, the\nmovement of hand and mouth are separate. \nSo, what connected these independent movements into one unit? Certainly,\ntheir goal, to satisfy hunger, has connected these movements into a complex\nsystem. In fact, all of our movements in performing an act are similar to that\nof an architect, a painter, an engineer and an electrician who work\nindependently, but need to unite when a structure is to be built. Because they have the same goal, they need to\nwork in a specific order to achieve their goal. It is obvious that without a\ncommon goal, they would never be able to organize their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is based on this understanding that all the acts we\nperform in our lives have specific target and goal, otherwise without a\nspecific order, it would never be accomplished. Therefore, first a goal and\ntarget is set. Then we determine the proper movements and acts. Finally, we perform them in the suitable\norder and accomplish it through our will 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2-2- Who decides for me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The important question is, \u2018am I the one deciding what to do\nand what not to do in reaching this goal?\u2019 Perhaps the reason we cannot\nrecognize our aim and purpose when we do something is that we have not decided\nour goal, rather someone else has exerted an aim and goal for us. That outside\nforce has attracted us towards the act, either consciously or\nunconsciously. However, the critical\npoint is that all these small acts and aims are what specify the whole path and\ndestiny of our lives. Now after 10 years, 20 years, and 50 years where are we\nreally standing? What have we gained during this period? Are we satisfied with\nour lives or will we feel decremented and regretful? The answers depend on the\npurpose of all these small activities we do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But what are the criteria? What should we do to rule our own\nlives and destiny? On what basis may we discover the best and most favorable\npath towards our goal through the thousands of available paths?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2-3- How am I?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are times that when a person looks toward his\/her\nsurroundings, he\/she will come across the different lifestyles and may\nencounter with people who seem completely bewildered. It is as if those bewildered persons have\nlost their path and as a result do not follow any specific destination or\npurpose. Although each of their tasks\nmay have its own aim, their lives as a whole however, do not have a definite\naim or result. To be more precise, the\naims of such a person are constantly changing and many times turn out opposite\nof one another. Their aims change daily\nbecause they quickly become tired of one aim and decide to select another\none. Life for them does not offer\nanything but exhaustion and distress. \nWhat is more terrifying is that these people will begin to feel a sense\nof futility towards life, and would therefore view their own life and existence\nmeaningless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A second group of people we may encounter with will have a\ndifferent view towards life. They are\npeople who live life to the fullest and view life as a ladder to their\nsuccess. By selecting a clear path in\nlife, they set goals and strive hard to reach them. As a result they perform their daily tasks\nbased on the goals they have set; they leave those tasks that do not have\nanything to do with their ultimate goal. \nTheir tasks follow a definite routine and do not include acts without\nspecific considerations. Though the goal different people choose differ from\none another, all of them usually have two common goals: One is to satisfy their\nneeds in the life, whereas the other to reach prosperity6. Such people set\ntheir activities and behavior under certain regulations and structures to\nattain the two main goals. Certainly, the basis of all these regulations is our\nbelief and ideology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decision to do an act or to leave it derives from our\nview toward the outside world, our understanding of truth, and our\nunderstanding of prosperity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each person who does not live aimlessly tries to reach\ncertain goals, however each may choose a goal differently. Some may choose\ntheir goal themselves because they know what they are following in their lives.\nThey fulfill their destiny willingly through their own decisions. Others\nhowever have allowed a certain group other than themselves to choose their\nbelief and way of thinking. They allow that group to impose their way of\nthinking on them. These people are\nblindly following the belief of the group who had freely chosen its\nbelief. They act like automobiles just\nwaiting for the driver to come and drive it to any destination he wishes.\nTruly, if a person understands that his\/her freedom is in the hands of another\nperson, he would be disgusted to even think of such a situation. The case would be similar to that of a\nservant in the service of other\u2019s desires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now honestly which of these two groups do we belong to? Who\nspecifies our goal and way of living? Is it us who decide our goal or have we\nsurrendered to the publicities and inspirations of others? Are we following\nothers blindly? Who really defines our criteria and belief?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each action has a purpose behind it, and the set of actions\nput together to form our way of life. To be more precise, in each moment of our\nlife we need to define our destination. Therefore, choosing our belief\nconsciously is an inevitable must and should be the basis of our decisions and\nacts. Even if we do not intend for it, our actions are attributed to a specific\nbelief set by the thinkers and scholars. \nWe are similar to the person who is in the unending ocean of life, and\nit is his beliefs that teach him how to swim and choose the way to the land. If\nhe does not select his beliefs freely, the waves of other beliefs would take\nhim in any direction they want; or may cause him to wander around in the stormy\nocean of the life so that he finally drowns. So let us find ourselves, and select\nthe best belief and way in our life willingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our Belief, Community and Social life<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact this need (the need for belief in life) has always\nbeen a need in human life from the beginning of creation, and does not only\nbelong to the present society of humans. However, there has been a change\nduring the past centuries, which is the increasing tendency of humans to accept\na belief based on love and satisfaction. In the present day, we can feel such\nneed more than any other time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The primary humans united much easier due to their strong\nreliance and bonds to their tribes, communities, or races. But what about the\nhumans of today? By the formation of the cities and the complication of the\nhuman societies, man needs legal references to specify his rights, positions,\nrelations, and responsibilities in the social life: a reference to state the\nresponsibility of people towards each other, and to tell them how to live to\ncontinue their social life. Today we need a cause to connect us to other human\nbeings and unite all as a single body. Of course satisfying this need is not\nsimple at all. Man himself has different unknown and unclear aspects, which\ncause the human society to be more complicated and unknown. On the other hand,\nthe different scientific progresses have made the bonds between humanity weak,\nand as a result have strengthened individuality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus if our life is our social existence and we have to live\ntogether, definitely we need a cause to unite us, connect us together, and most\nimportantly specify our way of social life. One of the best causes which might\nhelp us in this respect is a belief which is based on deep logic and\nunderstanding. Unlike the various differences among different people, such a\nbelief may define a common and single goal for all because it is based on the\nhuman principles. This belief can be the criteria for good and bad, lawful and\nunlawful. Beside this we can get close to the facts beyond our personal\nbenefits by paying attention to the issue of beliefs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on the points mentioned about the important role of\nbelief in our lives, which is an irreplaceable fact in our lives, your friends\nat Roshd have selected the subject of belief to accompany you. With this topic,\nwe hope that we may together select the best way in life and choose the most\nbeautiful goal together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With such an idea in mind we turned to the belief-based\nstructure of Islam. We decided to investigate it and if we found it a belief\nthat encompasses all aspects, to accept and select it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There are many aspects that differentiate humans from one another. Beauty, outward appearance, wealth, health, nationality, race, native language, and knowledge are all examples of characteristics that differentiate us from one another. These differences may even allow us to lose or excessively develop our self-esteem, even though our characteristics may be out of our control. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28276,28246],"tags":[17953,17745,17940,17964,17963,17966,17965],"class_list":["post-3844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-beliefs","tag-articles","tag-beliefs","tag-human","tag-knowledge","tag-life-and-my-beliefs","tag-reach","tag-success"],"yoast_head":"\n