Atheism Or Shirk
I fully concur! You excel in the art of tying things together and beautifully explaining them. As for the second part; Can we then conclude that this life is all about “Recognition of the Creator” (معرفت رب). To know about Him and in the process, constantly purify and polish one’s inner self. Then as you mentioned and in the words of Amin Ahsan Islahi sb “this is an exercise in one’s spiritual journey – a path that every seeker of the truth treads and this journey of increase in faith continues right up to his death. In this journey, although each day makes a person even more firmer in faith, so much so that each day is so bright than the previous, that the previous day appears to be dark in relation to it.” ( tadabur I quran vol 1, 601).