*charisma* said:Ok I see where you're coming from
The connection that you have with your Lord cannot be given to you by anyone else nor can it be taken away. The journey that you make to get to Him is not one that anyone else can do for you. Now if you reflect on every thought you've every had, and every action/choice you've ever taken, and the influence you've had in the lives of others, and the influence you've allowed others to have on you, you would never be able to name them or even remember them all even though you've experienced it all first hand. But everything that makes you who you are is known to Allah even if it is concealed in your heart of hearts.
So in the grand scheme of things, Allah knows you better than you know yourself, and it's the same for every single creature (not just humans) created. So unlike the justice system of this world which is limited to and at the mercy of to fallible human beings judging other human beings, you are getting a fair judgment based by the ONLY one who knows EXACTLY who you are. Allah takes into account everything that you are: your intentions/sincerity, your choices, your deeds, your life, etc. Nothing can be hidden from Him. With that being understood, you have to believe that Allah is the All-knowing and Most Just because of these facts. Infact one of His attributes Al-Hakam (the impartial judge), so there’s absolutely no way that you or anyone will be judged unjustly. If you can feel bad for a person without even knowing everything about him, imagine how much love Allah has for His Creation. It is more than you and I could ever imagine.
Now, what's it mean then to "worship Allah?" You said that you thought the purpose of life is to experience it, learn, and spread love. Well regardless of what you believe, I'd say everyone is doing that, even the most evil of people. We are all experiencing life because well, we are living; We are learning because that is part of our nature; and spreading love, well I don't think there is anyone who is incapable of loving unless they legitimately have a mental disorder. I consider this all to be passive living, or just doing what is in our nature. As Muslims however, we know we will be accountable for every action that we do because nothing can be hidden. Whereas someone who does not believe in God or His punishment believes he can live and die without any divine repercussions. Islam is our way of life. Allah comes before everything else in this world, before our desires, before our families, before everything. You said that you believe that good people will go to paradise, but by which standards are you considering someone to be a good/bad person? You only know a fraction of who they are, and that fraction is only based on a few experiences with that person, you know nothing about who they are in secret, how or what they are thinking, how they feel, their past or their future, etc. Your judgement of them is based on whether or not they make you and others happy or how they serve you, but if they make you happy it also doesn’t mean that what they do around you is right. Therefore we have to look at what Islam defines as good or bad, right or wrong. All of our actions are based on these standards, and everything we do must be done for His sake, not just because we are passively living and doing something good simply because it makes us feel good. Since we will be judged by Him, I think it is only fair to say that we should look at His laws. In Islam if we do something evil or if we sin, we have to rectify based on how Allah tells us to rectify it, seek repentance for it from Allah and those we've harmed the way that Allah says the repentance should be made, and never repeat the action. We don’t wait to die to ask for Allah’s mercy, rather we are constantly aware that we err and sin and we must seek Him and repent before the day of judgement.
A person can be good based solely on society’s standards. People do wrong and I hear them often saying "Well why is it wrong if I'm not hurting anyone else?" we forget that besides our physical makeup, we also have minds and souls that will meet Allah. What we do to ourselves affects our souls and it affects the minds and souls of others even if it is not physically harming us. We don’t ask about what the relationship with our Lord should be like. How do we rectified our image in front of our Lord?? What deeds will we be meeting Him with? When everything you do is done through the intention of pleasing Allah first, then your life starts to change. You become more patient, you are more empathetic, your time is used more wisely, you avoid company and actions that harm you or will displease your Lord, you become more accountable for your actions, etc. The difference between believing in Allah and doing something good and just doing something good without that belief, is how it affects your heart and your soul. You know that this deed does not just stop, it is seen by Allah and it is taken into account and Allah’s love for you increases because you didn’t just do it to make yourself feel good but for a purpose much greater than that. You are preparing your soul to meet Him in the end by how you live your life. If you've prepared nothing except empty apologies, then you're pretty much bankrupt. I've written too much, but I hope you can understand what I'm trying to say