What is the objective of human creation? What does it demand and how can one achieve the purpose of life? Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^(aba) has elaborated on this topic in many Friday sermons and addresses. In a Friday sermon, instructing the members of the Jama’at, he^(aba) said:

“Allah the Almighty has bestowed a huge favor on man that He exalted him above all other creations and granted him a mind that allows him to subjugate other living beings and things created by God, and take maximum advantage of those. Each day the human mind is using this faculty to bring forth the latest innovations. The worldly progress today was not seen ten years ago, and worldly progress seen ten years ago was not seen twenty years ago. As we keep looking back [in time], we can appreciate the importance of the latest innovations and the capability of the human mind. However, is the material progress achieved by man the objective of his life? Throughout history, worldly man considered the objective of life to be attainment of progress, power, worldly grandeur, might, and indulgence in worldly luxuries and exuberances using his wealth to establish his superiority over the less fortunate, using his wealth to gain physical comfort and using his power to subjugate others. An ordinary worldly man who does not have wealth thinks the same way. Young men of today who are not drawn to religion and are engrossed in the world think that these latest inventions, such as television and Internet, are the real means to progress and are greatly influenced by such things. This is an extremely erroneous concept. This concept has created greater tyrants. This concept has created most cruel individuals. This concept has created many men, who are engrossed in hedonism. Each era has seen Pharaohs created by this idea because of their power, wealth, might and grandeur. Allah the Almighty, who is the Lord of the worlds and the Creator of all the worlds, has strongly refuted this concept. He said, what you consider to be the objective of your life is not! You were not created so that you may gain benefit from the material things and then leave this world. No! Instead Allah the Almighty said:

وَ مَا خَلَقۡتُ الۡجِنَّ وَ الۡاِنۡسَ اِلَّا لِیَعۡبُدُوۡنِ

‘And I have not created the Jinn and the men but that they may worship Me.’ (Holy Quran 51:57)”

(Friday Sermon delivered 15 January 2010 at Baitul Futuh Mosque, London. Published AlFazl International 05 February 2010)