Forget "Finding Your Purpose." You were created for a Divine Duty.

The purpose paradigm shift that will transform everything

My LinkedIn bio reads: “I help Muslims discover their divine duty and fulfil their potential.”

Sounds pretty cool, right?

But what the hell does it mean?!

I get this question quite a lot in my DM’s actually. So let me explain it, properly.

In one sentence:

Purpose is what YOU want to do with your life. Divine Duty is what Allah created you to accomplish.

It might just sound like semantics. It’s not.

The difference is actually vital.

The Great Purpose Deception

What if I told you the very concept of "finding your purpose" is fundamentally flawed?

That this idea - which has spawned countless books, courses, and coaching programs - might be the very thing preventing you from discovering why you were actually created?

This is not just contrarian controversial thinking for the sake of it.

I was speaking with a brother recently, let’s call him Abdul, who told me: "I've read every purpose book out there. Been on this journey for years. Tried everything but I still feel lost."

Of course he does.

He's been searching for purpose like it's something he gets to design. Something that should fulfil HIM. Something that should make HIM happy.

This self-centered approach to purpose is why many Muslims remain lost.

He’s not alone.

We live in a world increasingly obsessed with "finding purpose."

It’s become cool, trendy, and big companies are even jumping on the bandwagon.

An entire industry - now worth billions - has been built on this promise:

Find your passion, follow your heart and do what makes you happy. What’s your dream? Discover your why, find your Ikigai, yada yada yada.

And yet, the statistics tell a devastating story:

• 70% of people feel completely disengaged at work

• Burnout, anxiety and depression rates are skyrocketing

• Professionals are achieving more outward success than ever while feeling more inwardly empty.

The problem isn't that we lack purpose.

The problem is that we've been looking for it in the wrong place - within ourselves.

Want to know the secret?

You weren't created to pursue your purpose. You were encoded with a divine duty, that you need to uncover and align yourself with.

And the gap between these two concepts explains why so many accomplished Muslims still feel hollow despite their success.

Don’t get me wrong. The Start with Why method by Simon Sinek and Ikigai, to name but two, are excellent frameworks as a starting point, and doing them is far better than not doing them. You are becoming more directionally correct, by doing so.

The skyrocketing popularity of these kind of purpose concepts shows how desperately as a society we are looking for some kind of meaning.

Here’s the problem though.

One is about you. The other is about the One who made you.

Let me break it down for you, in a clearer way.

Your Purpose vs. Your Divine Duty

Here are the key distinctions between finding your purpose and discovering your divine duty.

1. Purpose is self-designed. Divine duty is Creator-assigned.

When you try and ‘find’ your purpose', you're essentially asking: "What would make ME feel fulfilled?"

When you discover your divine duty, you're asking: "What was I DESIGNED to accomplish in service to my Creator?"

One puts you at the centre of the universe. The other centres Allah.

2. Purpose is based on preferences. Divine duty is based on divine design.

Purpose-seeking starts with your passions, interests, and what feels good to you.

Divine duty starts with the unique configuration of gifts, talents, and opportunities Allah has specifically encoded in your creation - whether they align with your preferences or not. It’s about becoming who you were meant to be, not who society made you into. Rediscovering your fitrah.

3. Purpose aims for fulfilment and eventually self-actualisation. Divine duty aims for divine alignment - where akhirah is the aim and self-actualisation is a naturally occurring byproduct of that journey.

The endpoint of purpose is becoming your "best self" - whatever that means to you. It’s eminently focused on worldly success primarily - even if it has good intentions at the heart of it.

The endpoint of divine duty is becoming who Allah created you to be - his Khalifah - and to fulfil the job he put you on Earth for, regardless of whether that matches your original vision for yourself. With Him will be the reward. And as it utilises your natural ability and gifts you were given, you will find it easy, enjoyable and push yourself to heights you never thought possible.

(NB: If you want to read more about the Divine Duty concept check out the links to the three-part series at the end of this article.)

4. Purpose energises your mind, body, and emotions. Divine duty energises all those PLUS your soul.

This is why purpose-driven people despite being motivated can still feel spiritually empty despite super success - they've activated only part of their being.

Divine duty activates your entire creation, including the spiritual dimension that purpose paths often neglect.

5. Purpose changes over time. Divine duty remains constant as your North Star.

This is perhaps the most profound difference. Purpose is malleable, it shifts with age, circumstances, interests. Your purpose aged 18 and aged 48 might be completely different based on your worldview.

Divine duty was assigned before you were born. It doesn't change. Your understanding of it deepens, your expression of it evolves, but the core assignment remains your constant North Star. When you’re younger, you may not have all the clues or data points yet. But the patterns are clear to see.

6. From "Me" to "We": The Essence of Divine Duty

One of the most profound distinctions between purpose and divine duty is the shift from self-focus to service-focus.

Purpose: "What would make me happy and fulfilled?"
Divine duty: "How were my unique gifts designed to serve others and honour Allah?"

This shift transforms everything:

• Remember, work becomes worship when it's aligned with divine intention

• Success becomes even more meaningful when it serves a higher purpose

• Challenges become opportunities for growth when they're part of a divine assignment and builds your resilience.

The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said:

"The best of people are those who are most beneficial to people."

This is the essence of divine duty.

Your specific configuration of talents, abilities, experiences, and opportunities wasn't given to you for your benefit alone. It was entrusted to you as an amanah - a sacred trust meant to benefit others. Only YOU can deliver the result for the mission you were born for. No-one else has been given this unique combination that you have.

Are you getting it yet?

The Prophet (saw) never "found his purpose"

Think about it. Did Prophet Muhammad (saw) "find his purpose"?

Did he spend years testing different careers, following his passions, seeking what made him happy?

Of course not!

He received his divine duty - a mission assigned to him that transformed the world.

The same pattern appears with every Prophet:

• Musa (AS) wasn't passionate about confronting Pharaoh. He was assigned to it.

• Yunus (AS) initially ran from his divine duty, not toward it.

• Ibrahim (AS) didn't "find himself" by leaving his father's idols. He followed divine commandment.

These weren't men who crafted purpose from personal preferences. They were men who surrendered to divine duty. They were also Allah’s khalifah, just like we are.

When I studied the golden age of Islam and looked into why it produced such an illustrious array of scholars, scientists, artists and inventors of extremely high calibre, again they were people who understood their divine duty and had their priorities the right way around. They submitted to this duty to serve Him, and THEN utilised their best efforts and skills towards it.

What happens when you move from purpose to divine duty?

So, what happens when you shift from purpose-seeking to divine duty-digging?

A lot, as it happens.

You focus on understanding yourself better like never before.
You stop hopping between careers, courses, and coaches trying to "find yourself." You don’t look for answers externally - as your divine duty has been encoded in you from the beginning, it's not something to invent but something to excavate.

You become free from others' expectations:
Parents wanted you to be a doctor? Society pushed you toward engineering. But none of that matters when you realise you answer to a higher power. Divine duty transcends cultural and familial expectations. What’s more powerful in that context, disappointing your parents or failing to fulfil the role you were put here for?

Decision-making becomes a breeze:
No more agonising over which path to take. No more analysis paralysis. When every choice is filtered through "Does this align with my divine duty?" decision-making becomes nearly instantaneous. You develop a conviction and certainty you’ve never had before.

The dots become connected and you finally have meaning:
Those experiences that never made sense? The trials that seemed random? The talents that appeared disconnected? They suddenly form a coherent pattern when viewed through the lens of divine duty.

And of course, every second you spend on this journey towards Him, with this intention, you rack up the rewards (insha’allah) - as per the hadith: "Whoever takes a path in search of knowledge, Allah makes the path to Jannah easy for him."

When you align with your divine duty, the barakah will undoubtedly descend.

How Do I Discover My Divine Duty?

Okay, okay, I get it, I hear you cry. But how do I discover it?

Aha… now you’re asking a good question.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: your divine duty isn't hiding from you.

You're hiding from it.

The signs have been there all along:

That Sunday Night Dread - The heaviness that descends as Monday approaches isn't "normal" - it's your soul's alarm system screaming that you're misaligned.

The Persistent Energy Drain - When you're exhausted despite adequate sleep and self-care, you're experiencing the spiritual fatigue of working against your divine design.

The Nagging Question - That persistent "Is this all there is?" is a form of recognition. Your soul knows what it was created for.

The Spiritual Disconnect - If you feel like one person at the mosque and another at work, you've accepted a division that was never meant to exist.

The Legacy Anxiety - That growing concern about what you'll leave behind that gnaws away at you - especially as you start getting older (or visit a funeral).

That’s exactly what I do inside the Know Your Purpose Program (KYPP). I don't help people "find their purpose" like it's a missing sock. I guide them in uncovering and surrendering to their divine duty.

When you discover it, you'll understand:

• Why certain challenges keep appearing in your life
• Why specific skills come naturally to you
• Why particular problems infuriate you more than others
• Why you've always felt drawn to certain causes or people

Not just because these things fulfil you (though they probably will). But because they are integral to the mission you were created to accomplish.

More specifically, we start asking the right questions from the outset.

Most purpose programs fail because they start with the wrong question

They ask: "What would you love to do?" Instead of: "What were you created to do?"

They focus on: "What will bring you fulfilment?" Instead of: "What mission were you assigned before birth?"

They promise: "Find work you never want to retire from!" Instead of: "Discover the service you were designed to deliver."

Your divine duty might involve hardship. It might require sacrifice. It might demand courage you don't think you have.

But it will never feel like the wrong path - because it's the path that was written for you before time began.

The greatest freedom isn't finding what you want to do. It's surrendering to what you were created to do.

The Divine Duty Diagnostic: Your Path to Clarity

After years of studying this phenomenon and guiding Muslims from all around the world through this journey, I've developed something I believe every Muslim professional needs: a systematic approach to uncovering your divine duty.

The 7-Day Divine Duty Diagnostic helps you identify the specific signs of divine duty misalignment in your life and begin the journey toward clarity and alignment.

Each day, you'll receive a powerful diagnostic tool that explores a different aspect of your relationship with your divine assignment:

Day 1: The Sunday Night Dread Test
Measure how your soul responds to your current path

Day 2: The Energy Audit
Discover why you're exhausted (hint: it's not physical)

Day 3: The Spiritual Disconnect Test
Assess the gap between your faith and your work

Day 4: The Hidden Potential Assessment
Identify the gifts you've been given but aren't using

Day 5: The Nagging Question Test
Understand that persistent feeling that you were meant for more

Day 6: The Legacy Question
Confront what you'll actually leave behind on your current path

Day 7: The Judgment Day Test
What will you answer to Him, on that Last Day?

TAKE THE DIVINE DUTY DIAGNOSTIC NOW

Beyond Finding to Becoming

The journey to divine duty isn't about discovering something external.

It's about becoming who you already are beneath the layers of expectation, compromise, and confusion. It’s about resetting. Fitrah discovery.

It's about reconnecting with the blueprint Allah designed specifically for you.

It's about aligning your daily actions with your eternal, divinely ordained purpose.

Most "purpose seekers" spend decades looking in the wrong direction – outward instead of inward, forward instead of upward.

Your divine duty isn't something you need to search for. It's something that's been searching for you.

The discomfort you feel isn't random, it's recognition.

Your soul knows what it was created for, and it won't let you rest until you align with it.

The question isn't whether you have a divine duty. You absolutely do.

The question is whether you'll have the courage to finally embrace it.

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NB: If you want to read more about the Divine Duty concept you can read the three part series which breaks this down in more detail here: Part I | Part II | Part III