Chapter Nine
The Materialistic Theory of Life

The materialistic outlook on life and the ills that follow it

There are two fundamental perspectives on life: a materialistic one and a sound one, and each of them produces its own effects.

(a) The materialistic outlook—its meaning: that a person’s thinking is confined to the pursuit of immediate pleasures, and his effort restricted to that narrow circle. He gives no thought to what lies beyond it by way of consequences, does nothing to prepare for them, shows no concern for them, and remains unaware that Allah has made this present life a field in which the harvest of the Hereafter is sown. He has designated the world as the abode of action and the Hereafter as the abode of recompense. Whoever invests his worldly life in righteous deeds gains both realms, whereas whoever squanders his worldly life forfeits his Hereafter: “He has lost this world and the Hereafter; that indeed is the manifest loss” (al-Hajj 22:11). Allah did not create this world in vain; He created it for a mighty purpose. The Exalted says, “He who created death and life to test you as to which of you is best in deeds” (al-Mulk 67:2), and He says, “Indeed, We have made whatever is on the earth an adornment for it so that We may test them as to which of them is best in deeds” (al-Kahf 18:7).