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Majlis of Pursuit
A young man holding a travel bag and a folded letter looks toward a lamplit doorway, while an elderly man with a cane sits in an armchair in the next room
Illustration

Thought experimentPhilosophy8 min

If your life were judged by what truly mattered, what would count?

Follow an everyday decision that brings immediate needs and longer horizons into view. Explore worldly life, the hereafter, and accountability without treating work, family, comfort, or hardship as a measure of someone's spiritual worth.

Step 01
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Step 01

The trade-off

Yusuf receives an offer to take a temporary assignment in another city. It could help him build experience and save money. It would also mean less time with his father, who has recently needed help getting to appointments.

Yusuf cares about the opportunity and about his family. He needs to learn more about the schedule and ask what support is available before deciding. There is no simple “worldly” or “spiritual” label that settles the question for him.

Reflect

What responsibilities and hopes would you want Yusuf to consider?

Sources in this experience

  • Qur'an 28:77 — Quran.com

    Saheeh International translation, Quran.com resource 20

    View source
  • Qur'an 16:97 — Quran.com

    Saheeh International translation, Quran.com resource 20

    View source
  • Qur'an 99:7–8 — Quran.com

    Saheeh International translation, Quran.com resource 20

    View source
  • Qur'an 102:1–8 — Quran.com

    Saheeh International translation, Quran.com resource 20

    View source
  • Sahih al-Bukhari 6416 — Dar-us-Salam

    Arabic-English 9-volume set; translated by Muhammad Muhsin Khan

    View publisher edition details View source
  • Ethico-Religious Concepts in the Qur’an — Toshihiko Izutsu, 2002, McGill-Queen's University Press View source
  • What Is Islam? The Importance of Being Islamic — Shahab Ahmed, 2016, Princeton University Press View source
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