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The Unique Gift of Life *
By Dr. Maher Hathout
Your life is a very precious gift from Almighty Allah. Count back to one year before your first birthday, and then try to imagine your state — your state of nothingness. You simply cannot. You may be able to contain and grasp "things," not "nothing." You were born, and you came to life, not because you wanted to, but because you became. Through a decision by an authority higher than you, and through a process that you did not participate in, you came to occupy a place in existence.
Natal Realities
With the dramatic event of your birth, you came to life with the following three significant realities.
First, you are unique. Nobody else is identical to you, not even your identical twin or, in this age of cloning, even your clone. This is because your psychological, spiritual, and energetic content is poured into your physical being in a unique way. When Almighty Allah blows a spirit into each individual, it manifests in a special way. Indeed, you are one of a kind.
Second, you are immortal. Your biological structure, which is the product of the substance of earth, will degrade and recycle in the biological cycle on earth. But your energy, soul, and spirit will always be. If you appreciate your uniqueness and your immortality, your individual values, responsibility, and accountability will emerge. Reminding us of such great a fact, Almighty Allah says:
(And certainly you have come to Us alone as We created you at first, and you have left behind your backs the things that We gave you, and We do not see with you your intercessors about whom you asserted that they were (Allah's) associates in respect to you; certainly, the ties between you are now cut off and what you asserted is gone from you.) (Al-An`am 6:94)
(And each one of them will come unto Him on the Day of Resurrection, alone.)(Maryam 19:95)
Third, you are gifted with relationships. The third reality that comes with the happy event of your birth is a cobweb of expanding circles of relationships. These are different from the countless relationships you acquire throughout your life, such as your friends, neighbors, teammates, and spouses.
The first package of relationships that come with your birthday is not subject to your choice; you do not choose your parents, siblings, kin, ancestors, race, gender, place of birth, or even country of origin. This category of relationships is a gift from your Creator you ought only to accept, appreciate, and nurture. However, when choosing a spouse, friend, career, and so on, one needs prudence. These are acquired relationships.
It is interesting that you probably know the exact time, date, and place of your birth. But this is only because you were told about them. What is less clear is the elusive and mystical moment at which you truly became aware of your existence. This blurry time, when you became cognizant that you are yourself and that you actually exist, just snuck up on you. From the moment of that realization, each individual experiences life in a unique way. While you may be exposed to the same circumstances as many others, how you feel, perceive, taste, understand, and react to life circumstances is unique.
During the predetermined length of your life, you embark on new information, experiences, and habits through which you learn and act as a human on this planet. While you will inevitably gain and lose, everything you lose may be regained, except one thing: time. If you lose time, it is gone. Any period of time is a chunk of life, both precious and irretrievable.
Precious Life
Based on these simple realities, you will have some basic decisions to make: Are you going to waste your life or are you going to make wise use of it? Is your life going to center around you or will you reach wider spheres of involvement and concern? Wasting life partially or totally (i.e., in one lump or in installments) can be considered a crime close to murder or suicide, even if the gradual waste does not seem that dramatic.
There are many forms and ways to waste a lifetime. With a careful look around yourself, you can recognize many of them: leading an aimless and purposeless life; abusing your own body, mind, and soul; eroding the environment by being shallow and inefficient; and so on. All these are ways to let the wonderful opportunity that we call life simply slip away. A life centered on your own self is selfish; it never provides fulfillment.
As human beings are interdependent, you will not be happy if surrounded by unhappiness, envy, and animosity felt by others. A life that is not dedicated to a higher cause is an elusive quest for unattainable happiness. The following three elements are characteristic of a happy life:
• A life that is fully utilized (i.e., a life of awareness and purposeful activism)
• A life that is dedicated to a higher cause
• A life that is lived in balance
Balance All Around
The concept of balance is very important. An imbalanced life is one that is not in harmony with the laws of nature or existence. Nature is in perfect balance, and we witness this balance all around us: from the orbits to the galaxies, and from the structure of molecules and atoms to the diversity of species and the physiology within any unit of these species.
A simple example that demonstrates this point lies within your own body. Anatomically, you are a fusion of a number of pairs in balance (eyes, ears, nostrils, limbs, etc.). The right brain and the left brain are distinct, but, through their connection, they maintain balanced performance. Perfect balance further exists between the muscles of flexion and those of extension, within the structure of your skeleton, and in the miraculous work of the endocrinal and hormonal system.
The balance that exists between the spiritual and the moral, through the soul, body, and intellect, gives you the ability to see and recognize the fine lines in behavior that, if crossed, will lead to imbalance. In fact, a very fine line may exist between courage and recklessness, caution and cowardice, saving and stinginess, frankness and rudeness, generosity and squandering, and dignity and arrogance.
Conversely, injustice, encroachment on the rights of others, bias, and double standards all act to tilt the scale of balance and run contrary to the laws of existence and the nature of creation as manifested in the large and small creatures within the kingdom of Almighty Allah, Who says:
(And the sky has He raised high, and He has set up the balance [of justice], in order that you may not transgress (due) balance. So, establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance.) (Ar-Rahman 55:7–9)
A Religion of Pure Nature
At the root of this framework of understanding and appreciation of the simple, unadulterated nature of life and creation lies the true understanding of Islam. It is reported by Al-Bukhari that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "No child is born except on fitrah (pure nature; Islam), and then his parents make him Jewish, Christian, or Magian. This is similar to an animal producing a perfect young animal: Do you see any part of its body amputated?" Then he recited, [The nature made by Allah in which He has made men; there is no altering of Allah's creation; that is the right religion, but most people do not know] (Ar-Rum 30:30).
The above hadith clearly indicates that Islam is the way of the pure nature that has no contamination or imbalance. Commanding His Prophet in the Qur'an, Almighty Allah says:
(Then set your face upright for religion in the right state — the nature made by Allah in which He has made men; there is no altering of Allah's creation; that is the right religion, but most people do not know.) (Ar-Rum 30:30)
By observing Allah's religion and the natural laws of existence that He has set, one can truly be a Muslim, a citizen of the world, a source of mercy to all, and a guardian of justice — one who enjoins the right, forbids the wrong, and promotes human dignity for all.
Only then can you cooperate with those who seek righteousness and awareness; only then will Islam be your comfort zone; and only then will you come back to Islam and feel complete harmony. Thus, you will be liberated, not shackled; lightened, not burdened; and natural, not artificial. This is the only way that leads to a happy and natural life.
So, to the human race, we may say, "Happy birthday!"
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