What is the purpose of life? why are we here? the answers are all around us the Greeks aimed for happiness Aristotle even listed eleven virtues that would help achieve happiness he pointed to the Golden Mean the Abrahamic faiths Jews, Christians and Muslims believe it is to worship the Abrahamic God to be good and pious people to do unto neighbors what they would do unto you the Jews emphasize tikkunolam to heal a fractured world the Christians are inspired by Jesus’ commandment to love one another even on the cross crucified, tortured and taunted Jesus still had it in his heart to say forgive them for they know not what they do Islam’s message is defined by the two greatest attributes of God compassion and mercy the Prophet was called a mercy unto mankind the spirit of Islam is contained in God’s message “My mercy prevails over My wrath” Muslims aim to achieve Rida contentment others too sought the meaning of life some searched for dharam-ahimsa in non-violence in India some sought nirvana in the jungles yet others found joy in the peace, beauty and quiet of the mountains and streams through silence, meditation and withdrawal one Zen master spent ten years staring at a rock weren’t the mystics and yogis practicing similar methods? the philosophers of atheism sought to kill God but in the vacuum stepped monsters like Mao and Stalin who demanded the blood sacrifice of millions in the end the eudaimonia of the Greeks or the nirvana of Buddha or the fulfillment of the Abrahamic faiths all point to the same direction an attempt by us in this brief span to answer the question what is the purpose of life? The writer is the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC