This women is in her seventies. Have you ever wondered how somebody at her age would assess her life? If she recalls anything about her life, it is surely that it was a "fleeting life". She would simply say that her life has not been a "long" one as she thought in her teens it would be. It probably never crossed her mind that one day she would grow so old. Yet now, she is overwhelmed by the fact that she has put seventy years behind her. Earlier in life, she probably never thought that her youth and its desires would pass so quickly. If she was asked late in life to tell her story, her memories would only make a two or three-hour talk. That is all that remains from what she thought was "a long life of seventy years". The mind of a person, worn out with age, is occupied with many questions. These are actually important questions to ask and answering them truthfully is essential to understanding all aspects of life: "What is the purpose of this life that passes so quickly? What will the future bring?" The possible answers to these questions fall into two major categories: those given by people who trust Allah and those given by disbelievers who do not trust Him.

Someone who does not trust Allah would say, "I spent my life chasing vain pursuits. I have put seventy years behind me, but honestly, I still have no idea what I lived for. When I was a child, my parents were the centers of my life. I found all happiness and joy in their love. Later in life, as a young woman, I devoted myself to my husband and children. All this time, I sat many goals for myself. Yet by the time they were achieved, each of them proved to have been a passing thought. When I enjoyed in my success, I headed towards other goals and they completely occupied me so that I could not think about the real meaning of life. Now at seventy, in the tranquility of old age, I try to find out what the purpose of my past days was. Is it that I lived for people of whom I only have dim memories now? For my parents? For my husband whom I lost years ago? Or my children whom I see rarely now that they have their own families? I am confused. The only truth is that I feel close to death. Soon I will die and I will become a faint memory in people's minds. As if I was never born. What will happen afterwards? I really have no idea. Even the thought of it is frightening!"

There is surely a reason for why she falls into such hopelessness. That is simply because she cannot comprehend that the universe, all living things and human beings have predetermined purposes to fulfil in life. These purposes owe their existence to the fact that everything has been created. An intelligent person notices that plan, design and wisdom exist in every detail of the infinitely varied world. This draws him to recognition of the Creator. He further concludes that since all living things are not the consequences of a random or mindless process they all serve important purposes. In the Qur'an, the last surviving authentic revealed guide to the true path for humanity, Allah repeatedly reminds us of the purpose of our life, which we tend to forget, and thereby summons us to clarity of mind and consciousness.