Just breathe

Hafsa

"How do you live? Like, not just exist, but feel alive?" I asked Dr. Rehma one day.

I wasn't sure if I made sense, but she nodded.

"Find a purpose for life."

Purpose. What was the purpose of my life?

The truth is, I had never really thought of that before. It was like I just existed in the world. Everything I did was because I had to do it. I had to go to school. I had to do O-Levels. I had to go to college.

I wanted to do computer science because I felt like I was good at it, and it is known as an emerging field with lots of high-paying jobs. Besides being a girl, this means ultimately getting married and taking care of the family. So, many times, it wouldn't even go to doing a job. But is the purpose of life only to earn money and get rich?

"What is the purpose of your life?" I asked her.

But the moment the words left my mouth, I felt that I already knew the answer. I mean, she is a psychiatrist, so shouldn't her purpose be to help people? Despite the idiocy of the question, Dr. Rehma just smiled.

"As Muslims, our purpose of life should be to please our Lord. And our ultimate goal should be Jannah," she said, pausing. "Besides, as the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, 'actions are judged by their intention.' Whatever you do in life can be a way to please Allah."

"But how does being a computer engineer please Allah? I mean, you are a psychiatrist; you are helping humanity."

She grinned.

"Who said only a doctor or psychiatrist is helping humanity? Computer Science is the future. Soon there will be robots doing surgeries. In some places there already are. And everything else computers do it is all just solving our everyday problems," she squeezed my hand. "You just need to set your intentions right. Even something that seems to be nowhere near Islam, it is. As long as of course, it is not forbidden in Islam."

She once again blew my mind. Another paradigm shifts. I'd never seen it this way before, though thinking about it now, it makes sense. I mean, in computer science, all you hear is problem-solving, but I never saw it this way.