Bizning har birimizda ruhiy to‘yinishga intilgan bir bezovta ishtiyoq bor. Unga e’tibor berilmasa, ruh kuchli tashnaliklarni boshidan kechiradi va u bir sarobdan ikkinchisiga intilib yuradi; har bir sароб unga vaqtincha bir voha bo‘lishi haqida umid beradi, so‘ngra yana bir umidsizlikka duch keltiradi. Bu inson holatining fojiasidir: qachonki u tashqi dunyodan ichki tinchlik izlasa yoki nafsoniy lazzatlar orqali o‘zini namoyon qilishga harakat qilsa, holbuki u bularning barchasidan yuqoriroq maqsad uchun yaratilgan edi:

Within us all is a restless craving for spiritual fulfillment. When ignored, the spirit experiences intense thirsts which send it chasing one mirage after another, each offering it momentary hope of an oasis before yet another letdown. This is the tragedy of the human condition whenever it seeks inner peace from the outer world, or seeks to self-actualize through carnal pursuits, when it was created to transcend all that for a higher purpose:

sincere devotion to God. Allah says in the Qur’an, “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” Wait, I need to correct that: the Qur'an verse should stay as the original Arabic-based text, but my reply here is the translation, so: Allohga xolis ibodat qilish. Alloh Qur’onda shunday deydi: “Men jinn va insonni faqat Menga ibodat qilishlari uchun yaratdim.”16

sincere devotion to God. Allah says in the Qur’an, “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.”16

Shunday qilib, Allohga qullik qilish, faqat Uning mavjudligini tug‘ma ravishda tan olish emas, balki inson uchun nafaqat burch, balki asosiy ehtiyojdir. Tanamizni oziqlantirish uchun ovqat va kislorod qanday zarur bo‘lsa, ruhimizni oziqlantirish uchun ham shunday zarurdir. Bu bizni jismoniy tanadagi ruhiy mavjudotlar ekanligimiz haqiqatiga moslashtiradi, ruhiy o‘lchamga ega bo‘lgan jismoniy mavjudotlar emas. Albatta, Yaratuvchi bizga payg‘ambarlar orqali U bilan mazmunli munosabat qanday o‘rnatilishini bayon qilmasa, bularning hech biri mumkin bo‘lmaydi. Bunday aloqasiz biz Uni chuqurroq darajada bilish va sevishga qodir bo‘lmagan bo‘lardik, va faqat Uning uchun yashash orqali biz tirik bo‘lish nimani anglatishini his qilamiz. Payg‘ambar Muhammad ﷺ bir marta shunday deganlar: “Allohni eslab yuradigan kishi bilan Allohni eslamaydigan kishining misoli tirik bilan o‘likning misolidek.”17

Servitude to God, not just the inborn recognition of His existence, is therefore not only a duty but also a fundamental human need. It is necessary to nourish our spirit just as food and oxygen are necessary to nourish our body. It attunes us to our reality as spiritual beings in physical bodies, not physical beings that happen to enjoy a spiritual dimension. Of course, none of that is possible without the Creator communicating to us through prophets how to have a meaningful relationship with Him. Without this communication, we would be unable to know and love Him on deeper levels, and it is only through living for Him that we experience what it truly means to be alive. As the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم once said, “The similitude of someone who is mindful of Allah and someone not mindful of Allah is that of the living and the dead.”17

Abraham Maslow o‘zining mashhur ehtiyojlar ierarxiyasini qayta ko‘rib chiqqanida, barcha ehtiyojlar ichida eng kuchli motivatsiya sifatida o‘z-o‘zini anglash istagidan yuqorida turadigan o‘zlikdan yuksalish (self-transcendence) istagini qo‘ydi.18

When Abraham Maslow amended his famous hierarchy of needs, he set the desire for self-transcendence as the greatest motivator of them all, above self-actualization.18

Biroq, payg'ambarlar va ilohiy vahiysiz bo'lgan bunday tushuncha ham biroz foydasiz bo'lib qoladi. U monizm (koinot bilan birlikda bo'lish) yoki altruizm (o'zini unutish) kabi qarashlarni Xudoga sadoqat bilan teng darajada to'liq hayot manbai sifatida noto'g'ri tushunishga yo'l qo'yadi. Altruist odamlar hayotdan ko'proq qoniqish olishlarini ko'pincha bildiradilar va bu kutilgan hol, chunki o'zini unutish ta'rifiga ko'ra, o'zi haqida o'ylashdan ko'ra yuksakroq maqsaddir.

However, without the prophets and divine revelation, even that insight remains somewhat uninstructive. It allows for notions such as monism (being one with the universe) or altruism (being selfless) to be misperceived as equally fulfilling as devotion to God. Altruistic people often report higher life satisfaction, and that is expected since being selfless is, by definition, a more transcendent purpose than being self-centered.

Lekin o'zidan yuqori narsalarga (masalan, insoniyat jamiyatiga xizmat qilishga) har qanday sharikllik o'z-o'zini yuksaltirishga bo'lgan zaruriy ehtiyojni to'liq qondira olmaydi. Eng buyuk Zot – Yaratganga sadoqat bilan bog'liq yagona xotirjamlik bor. Boshqalarga xizmat qilish bu xotirjamlikning bir qismi bo'lishi mumkin, lekin uning o'rnini bosa olmaydi. Alloh taolo aytadi: "Ogoh bo'lingki, qalblar faqat Allohni zikr qilish bilan tinchlanadi."19 Mashhur musulmon ulamosi Ibn al-Qayyim (vafoti 1350 y.) yozadi: "Qalbda shunday bezovtalik borki, uni Allohga yaqinlashishdan boshqa hech narsa tinchlantira olmaydi. Va unga shunday yolg'izlik soya soladiki, uni Uning roziligidan bahramand bo'lishdan boshqa hech narsa ketkaza olmaydi..."

But the essential need to self-transcend will never be fully satisfied by just any involvement in ends greater than oneself (such as serving the human collective). There is a unique tranquillity that hinges squarely on one’s devotion to the absolute greatest: the Almighty. Serving others can be part of that, but can never replace it, as Allah says, “Unquestionably, it is only by the remembrance of Allah that hearts are assured.”19 Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 1350), a renowned Muslim theologian, writes, In the heart, there exists an anxiousness that nothing can calm but drawing nearer to God. And a loneliness overcasts it that nothing can remove but enjoying His

yolg'izlikda hamroh. Uning ichida bir qayg'u yashaydi, uni Unga bo'lgan shodlik va Unga chin dildan bag'ishlanishdan o'zga hech narsa yengillashtira olmaydi. Uni bir tashvish bezovta qiladi, uni Unga e'tibor qaratish va Undan Unga qochishdan o'zga hech narsa tinchlantira olmaydi. Uning ichida pushaymonlik olovlari lovullashda davom etadi va ularni faqat O'zining amrlari, qaytarig'lari va taqdiriga rozi bo'lish hamda Unga duch kelgan kungacha bularning barchasiga sabr-toqat bilan yopishib yurishdan o'zga hech narsa o'chira olmaydi. Uning ichida zarur bir talab mavjud; u faqat Uning O'ziga intilish bo'lmaguncha to'xtamaydi. Uning ichida og'ir bir ehtiyoj bor; uni Uni sevish, doimo Uni eslash va Unga samimiy taqvodor bo'lishdan o'zga hech narsa qondira olmaydi. Agar insonga bu butun dunyo va undagi hamma narsa berilsa ham, u bu ehtiyojni hech qachon qondira olmaydi.20

company in private. And a sadness dwells within it that nothing can alleviate but the joy of knowing Him and genuinely devoting oneself to Him. And a worry unsettles it that nothing can reassure but focusing on Him and fleeing from Him to Him. And the flames of regret continue to flare inside it, and nothing can extinguish them but becoming content with His commands, prohibitions, and destiny, and patiently holding onto all that until the time one meets Him. And in it exists a pressing demand; it will not stop until He alone becomes its pursuit. And in it is a dire need; nothing will satisfy it except loving Him, constantly remembering Him, and being sincerely devout to Him. And if a person were given this entire world and all it contains, it would never fulfill that need.20

Shu sababli, bu ruhiy-ma'naviy fojiani oldini olish va Yaratgan uchun yashash uchun, payg'ambarlik mavjudligi hayotiy zaruratdir. Hayot va uni ta'minlovchi hamma narsani bu sayyorada bizga bergan o'sha eng mehribon Xudo, payg'ambarlik orqali biz uchun eng zarur bo'lgan narsani ham ta'minlab qo'ygan: Unga yo'l-yo'riq va bu dunyoda ham, oxiratda ham Uning roziligini.

Hence, to avert this psychospiritual tragedy, and to live for Almighty God, prophethood is an existential necessity. The same most compassionate God who afforded us all we need on this planet for life and what sustains it, has ensured for us through prophethood what we need most: guidance to Him and His pleasure in this life and the next.