endev42 - documenting the meaning of life

The literal meaning of life is to be alive. I think you mean what is the purpose of life, so I will address my response towards that question. Life is a special gift that Allah (God) gifted to his creation. Everything in creation has some degree of life. The highest degree of life is human life, because in addition to life itself humans have been given adornment of cognitive free will over what they will attempt to do with the life they have been given. No other creation has this and therefore only humans are held responsible for their actions. God (Allah) gave this unique gift to humans so that they would be aware of their special status and more importantly be aware & grateful to their bestower of that status. In the parlance of religion this is call worship. So the purpose (meaning) of life is to realize, worship, & serve God. And by extension realize the commonality of our fellow human beings as creatures of God and be of service to them solely for that reason, and doing so is the physical aspect of worshiping God. To the extent that this action predominates in one’s character & manifests in one’s actions, all done in recognition & gratitude to All (God), there are rewards from God in this life and the next. In a nutshell the purpose of life is to create a strong record of service to and gratitude towards the lord of everything so that when he calls you to account for the gifts he has bestowed upon you, you will have some evidence to recommend you for readmission to our original home in the garden of paradise. If you do not believe this then your disbelief constitutes the very meaning of the Arabic word Kafir.