Daily Reflections: The Phenomenon of Life

'[W]ell-being in this world and well-being in the hereafter' (Al-Qur'an). This is the sum-total and sole aim of all teachings of God Almighty's revealed word. Purification is the first step towards a life of well-being in both worlds. The beauty of Christianity, as Nasr appreciates, lies in its acceptance of God as a mystery, bowing before this mystery and believing in the unknown for He is beyond all perceptions. If faith is something we cannot ever shed off, as Rumi puts it, even then the importance of prayers cannot be negated, because without prayers there is no concept of well-being in man's life. A believer's life without prayer is like of a bird who sits all the day long in its nest and tires to touch the skies and feel the pleasure of flight, and in reality never flies. There is no way that nature has provided that bird to attain the mirth of flight other than by regular flapping and movement of its wings and organs, providing it the necessary thrust and lift to sustain its flight. 

Prayer is a function of a life of well-being as 'f' is a function of 'a' such that f(a)=b.