Fulfilling the Purpose of Human Life

What is the purpose of human life? Why have we been sent to this world?
In the Quran (51:56), God says:
And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.
From this verse we can understand what the purpose of human life is—to worship God.
From my perspective, I think of worship as including:
• Offering prayers and performing other obligatory acts of worship
• Seeking forgiveness for mistakes and misdeeds
• Serving God’s creation, including through giving in charity
• Being good to one’s parents, relatives, and the wider society
• Being kind to God’s creatures
• Acquiring beneficial knowledge for God’s sake and sharing it with others
• Being established in truth
• Doing good and enjoining people to do good
• Having patience
• Having taqwa (God-consciousness)
All these are the ways to worship God and thereby work towards fulfilling the purpose of human life.
Here, an issue of the most importance is the niyyat or intention behind all our acts. Whenever we do something, the intention should be only for the pleasure of God, to make God happy, and not to show off or for some other worldly reason.
If we really want to lead a truly meaningful life, if we want to live in such a way that we fulfil the purpose of human life, we need to request God for guidance in this regard.