Adam and Eve were kicked out of Paradise because they lost the qualification to be in such a pure place where no evil existed. Before they ate the forbidden fruit they were naked, un-ashamed, innocent, pure, righteous, had only good inside, and thus they knew no evil. Yet, after eating the fruit they came to know evil and had evil inside their own souls¹ along with good; thus becoming too dirty to live in a perfectly pure place like Paradise. This is similar to staining the name of his own tribe and himself consequently becoming an outcast.

In a similar manner mankind became an outcast of Paradise; came to live in a hell on earth and have his present two conflicting natures of good and evil within. Because of his losing the necessary qualification to be in heaven and because of man’s gaining a negative, conflicting nature; man’s purpose changed from living in an ideal heaven on earth and in Heaven (serving and worshipping God), to washing himself, (meaning his becoming pure enough to regain the qualifications to go and live in Paradise and serve God).

This means man’s purpose of life has changed from enjoying this world as a pure worshipper of God, to spiritual growth. We are like plants in soil; we are meant to grow spiritually from every thought, experience and personal action during our life here on earth, so that by the time of our death we will have regained the qualifications necessary to exist in heaven.

Now, because mankind hasn’t known how to use this life’s experiences (waking hours) effectively to grow spiritually, our God in heaven has sent prophets to guide all men in their spiritual growth. Each of these prophets came as a spiritual light to a darkened world (mankind) to reveal the course (road) of action necessary to remove the evil from each man’s soul. As time passed, the particular individual who was in the position of the most recent prophet changed, but the road (course of action to purify one’s soul) always remained the same.

All Must Walk the same Road of Purification
From the beginning of history mankind lost its purity of heart and the control of his mind (invaded by Satan) through the eating of the fruit. To come back to God, each man must therefore go a reverse direction to regain his purity of heart and the control of his mind. Thus purification was and is the purpose of all the instructions give to man from God through the Prophets. This means that the revealed instructions (laws) weren’t the end in themselves, but the means to gain the end – the purity of one’s own personal soul. If such is the case, then the purpose of prayer, fasting, making Al-Hadj, paying zakat and all the other instructions is to remove one’s personal fallen nature. These instructions are not the road in itself, but the vehicle (which can change in models over time) to carry the individual down that road. This road itself can be described as the gaining of humbleness, righteousness, unselfishness, and purity in ones spirit or soul; which causes one to make God first in his daily life. The clearest example of this is prayer. Although the method of prayer changed with each prophet, still prayer was necessary to train one’s heart in humbleness and purity, and to set order and discipline within one’s life and mind.

In line with this, our God sent through Prophet Muhammad out present 5 time prayer not because He needed such worship, but for our own benefit or training. If then, the purpose of our instructions from the Holy Quran is for spiritual growth, let us then examine ourselves in line with this purpose in mind and not whether we have fulfilled the daily minimum requirements.

Each of us must examine within ourselves whether we are making contact with God’s heart and are becoming spiritually purer; rather than if we have prayed the required number, at the required hour, for the required time. A True Muslim is a person who acts (prays) because his love for God is so strong and not because he is afraid of hell (punishment) and thus begrudgingly carries out the law.

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