Why is religion needed in a society?

Question:
I had an interesting discussion with a Christian in Finland. Before I pose the question, I would just like to remind you that Finland is the least corrupt country in the world. As you would know, it is a welfare state and the Scandinavian countries have developed a practical system which is very close to what Islam should offer, when implemented as a system.

Anyway, our discussion started when she asked me why religion is important in life or what does religion mean for me? I said it guides me about the rights & wrongs and tells me what I should do to have a better afterlife. Because morals are universal, therefore, I did not argue that Islam teaches us to speak the truth or take care of the neigbour because all religions do the same. Therefore, she asked me that it seems that I am being greedy for the afterlife therefore I am doing all the good in this world. And while greed is not a trait that is good for worldly gains or monetary benefits here, why is it that greed for the afterlife is something very desirable in Islam. Like if I speak the truth, I get a certain amounts of hasnaat which add up to my good deeds. Similarly, when I pray or when I recite the holy book, I get hasnaat so I am being greedy. Frankly, I said I don't know how to logically answer this question so I am writing to you to help me understand the following please.

1) What is the use of religion in our life? If Scandinavians can develop a system sans religion and come up with perfect or near perfect systems, what good does Islam offer? Why should we or they follow religion?

2) The whole concept of religion and good deeds is based on the fact that I get good points for good deeds and bad points of bad deeds. In the end, they add up and if good deeds are more, I am rewarded so this kind of based on greed. How to logically understand this concept?

3) How can we as Muslims invite such people to Islam? They have better systems, they are better humans, they are a better society in terms of social dealings, and they have better judicial systems? What do we have to offer to them so that they turn to Islam?

Response:
I think your questions stem out of two causes: incorrect reasons for looking for religion in the mind of the Finnish lady and an incorrect concept of why we do good deeds in your mind.

We don't look up to religion because we want to have a perfect world. We look up to it because this world is inherently imperfect and no matter how good we make our life, we can't be fully content with it. There are essentially four reasons why we look for religious guidance:

i) We know that we are being served by someone with lots of blessings without deserving them. The good nature in us asks for identifying the source of those blessings so as to enable us to acknowledge and thank for what we are receiving.

ii) We see that we are weak and vulnerable. We fall ill; we meet with accidents; we have other ups and downs in life. In all such cases, we want to get helped by someone strong to come to our rescue.

iii) We know that this world is unfair. Even though we want to make it fair and more livable, and let's admit that the Western countries have succeeded to a good extent in achieving that purpose, the fact of the matter is that unfair it would still remain. Some people shall remain richer than others for no apparent reason. Some people shall live longer that others; some shall be healthier than others; some more intelligent than others and so on. Also, given that humans are free to choose what they want to, no matter how much good a system gets, many people would be unfair to others. The inherent unfairness of our world makes us less than fully content with our life. We therefore feel the need for another life.

iv) Probably the biggest reason why we look for religion is that we all know that we have to die. Despite the fact that we so dearly love our life, we know that is bound to come to an end. We don't want it to end. We want to live for ever and yet we live for a very short while. It is a serious problem with human life which humans have not been able to come to terms with.

Religion, especially our religion, comes to our rescue in all these four areas. All these questions create a strong yearning in us to look for answers, quite the same way as we look for food on being hungry. If someone is not hungry after remaining without food for several hours, there is something wrong with his system. And most certainly he shouldn't blame the ones who are hungry. Likewise, with such serious issues at hand as the ones mentioned above, if someone is not looking for the right answers, he/she shouldn't blame others for it. The finger should be pointed towards the individual himself/herself.

We have been informed that there is a God who has created all of us; He is the one who has served us with all the blessings that we enjoy in life. He needs to be thanked, adored, and worshipped. When we do that through religious guidance in the form of rituals of worship, we feel contentment in ourselves. While we worship Him and pray to Him, we also seek help from Him in our problems. He responds to our prayers in unimaginable ways. We have been informed that there is going to be a life after this one which will take care of all the inequities of this life. Death doesn't mark the end of life; it only marks the end of one phase of life - the phase of trial - and takes us to the next phase - the phase of the result of the trial.

Thus religion helps us in responding to all the difficult questions about life. How does this lady respond to these questions? Do these questions come to her mind? Doesn't she feel uncomfortable without getting proper answers to them? I can see that sometimes one can ignore these questions in short phases when one is caught up in some euphoria of success and glory. However, it is not possible to shelve them permanently except by blunting one's innate nature.

As for the reasons of doing good deeds, I think her criticism is due to the reason that she didn't get correct religious understanding on that. We don't do good deeds only because we look forward to getting rewarded for our good deeds. We do them because our God-given nature requires us to do them. Also, we do them because our God wants us to do them. However, because God is kind and fair, and because He has decided to make this life a world of trial and the next one a place of reward and punishment, we look forward to the rewards for good deeds as well. However, we will be rewarded only if our good deeds would stem out of our good nature and for the love of God. It's like a boy does something good to please his father and he also knows that his father would reward him for what he will do. So when he does his act of virtue to please his father and earn the reward as well, the objectives are not conflicting with each other. They are in reality complementing each other. Will this lady you were talking to not be interested in the rewards God has prepared for her for the good deeds she will do for the pleasure of God?

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