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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Islamic Correspondence Course (book 3) Lesson 25 : Islam’s Spirtual Program (1) 1. Introduction Islam is concerned about the physical wellbeing of its followers as well as the spiritual wellbeing. Spiritual training is an essential part of our life.

While describing the mission of the Prophet of Islam, Allah says: “He is the one who has raised among the ignorant [Arabs] a messenger from among themselves who[1.] recites to them His revelations, [2.] purifies them, and [3.] teaches them the Book and wisdom.” (62:2) The second purpose for sending the Prophet is “spiritual purification”. Spiritual purification or training is very strongly linked to the purpose of our creation. 2.

Purpose of Creation Allah is the Creator of human beings and the entire universe. In His capacity as the Creator, only He has the right to define the purpose of creation.

He says in the Qur’an: “...He is the one who has created death and life so that He may test you to see who among you does good deeds.” (67:2) “And I have not created the jinn and the humans except so that they may serve Me.” (51:56) When you study these two verses (and many others on this subject), you will realize that according to Allah the purpose of life is: to successfully go through the trials and tribulations in this world in order to achieve salvation in the hereafter.

Unlike this worldly life, the life in the hereafter will have no end. The trials and tribulations can also be expressed as follows: to enter into the servitude of Allah by our own will and choice. In order to understand the concept of trial and tribulation, it is important to understand the human being: A human being is a very delicate creature. He has a physical aspect as well as a spiritual dimension. Our whole being revolves around two main powers: the soul and the emotions. 1.

The soul (ruh) or the spirit is the king of our being. The untainted intellect and the pure conscience are various aspects of our spiritual dimension. 2. The emotions and other physical faculties are also integral parts of our being. These emotions and faculties can be broadly classified under ‘anger’ and ‘passion’. Our entire adult life is an arena of struggle between the soul and the emotions. And herein lies the trial and tribulation of mankind.

A Muslim is expected to use the soul to control the emotions.