What is worship in Islam?  What is its reality?  What is its purpose ? And what are its qualities?

Worship is the ultimate goal of our existence, the secret of our happiness in this life and the price of our Lord’s Paradise in the Hereafter. Allah (the Almighty) said, ‘I have only created Jinns and humans, that they may serve Me.’ [51; 56]

Worship is utmost submission to the Commands of Allah and maximum love for Him. Whosoever obeys Allah but does not love Him, does not worship Him; and whosoever loves Him but does not submit to Him, does not worship Him, either.

How come that you disobey the Lord, and then show off you  love for Him?

That is certainly a very offensive claim.

If your        If your love were true, you would have obeyed Him;

Verily the lover obeys his beloved.

Worship has a behavioral aspect in that it is a kind of free-will obedience and total submission to Allah’s Commands for doing or abandoning things.

Worship also has a psychological aspect in that it is absolute love for the One Who bestows  upon His slaves His Blessings of creation, provision and guidance.

This free-will worship must be preceded by definitive knowledge, and it must lead to real happiness for which the human being was created. Allah Almighty said, ‘Except those on whom your Lord has bestowed his Mercy: and for this did He create them’ (xi; 119)

The important question is, why did Allah enjoined us to worship and obey Him, despite the fact that he does not need us? If someone worships Him, He does not get any benefit, and if someone turns away from Him, it does not cause Him any harm. Neither praise increases His Dominion, nor does ingratitude decrease it. We are in constant need of Allah, but Allah is the One Free of all needs. Verily, He is the Compassionate, the Bounteous, the Beneficent, and the Merciful. He does not enjoin on us except that which guarantees happiness and prosperity for us.

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If we move from the definition of worship to talk about its noble ends and purposes, we can find the following facts.

First:

Worship is nourishment for the soul, just like food and drink are for the body. The human being is not merely a material physical body, which we see and feel, but rather a spiritual essence  by virtue of which he has become the best of all creatures. Such spiritual essence  derives its life and happiness from man’s being conscious of Allah, Most Gracious and turning to Him with love and devotion. But it loses its life and happiness by man’s being heedless of the Lord, Most Merciful, and turning away from Him. To this effect, Allah, Almighty says, “Truly he succeeds that purifies it (i.e. his soul), And he fails that corrupts it”! (Li; 9-10)

There is something in the human heart that makes it always feel the need for Allah,  something that is deeply rooted therein and nothing in the whole world can replace it except a good relationship with the Lord of all existence. And this is the essence of worship.

Second:

True servitude to Allah is the means for real freedom; and sincere servitude to Him is the essence of freedom and the way to real sovereignty, because it rids the heart of servitude to other fellow humans and liberates it from submission or humiliation to false deities that enslave mankind most badly and unjustly. This is because man is naturally pre-disposed to feel that he is in constant need of a Lord, a God, to Whom he feels attached, whose Good Pleasure he seeks, with Whom he takes refuge, whose Protection and Help he seeks. This is because man has been originally created weak in order to feel needy; and his weakness and need bring him happiness. Had he been created strong, he would have felt self-sufficient and, hence, incur wretchedness and misery by his strength and self-sufficiency. Moreover, if such a God were not Allah, the One and Only, man would inevitably get confused by worshipping different numerous gods and deities, of humans and non-humans, of those who can or cannot see, of those who have or do not have, minds, of those who exist in reality or are mere illusions. It has been rightly said: “He who refuses to worship Allah must inevitably worship someone or something else that enslaves and humiliates him.” Man will never be safe from being enslaved and humiliated by others unless he takes Allah, Creator of the heavens and earth, Lord of all worlds, for a God and Protector, worshipping none but Him, seeking help and protection from none but Him, and putting his trust in none but Him. He feels happy with that which pleases Allah, Alone, hates that which He, Alone, hates or makes unlawful, befriends only His righteous friends, and antagonizes only His enemies. He loves only for the sake of Allah; and he hates only for the sake of Allah. He gives only for the sake of Allah; and he withholds only for His sake. The more sincere and faithful in his worship to Allah he is, the more perfect is his servitude to Him and the lesser need he has of others than Him. The more perfect his servitude to Allah is, the more liberated from arrogance and polytheism man is.  

Third:

One of the purposes of worship is that it is meant to be a kind of Divine Trial for man. That is because the life of this world, whether short or long, is not the ultimate goal, neither it is the final end. It is the lower and perishing life, which Allah wants us to use in order to prepare ourselves for the higher everlasting life. Allah’s Divine Wisdom necessitates the existence of two controversial kinds of elements in a human being: those that provide him with spiritual exaltation, and, hence, honor and dignity, such as the mind and will, on the one hand, and those that cause him to fall down to the lowest of the low, such as instinct and lust, on the other. Moreover, all Divine Favors and Blessings that Allah bestows upon mankind, such as wealth, beauty, power, intelligence …etc., are neutral, i.e. can be elements of man’s both exaltation or degradation, sources of both happiness and wretchedness, and reasons for admittance into Paradise or Hell-Fire. In other words, instincts and lusts have been imbedded in man, but at the same time he has been given a mind and a will. His Lord, Allah, Most Gracious, All-Wise, has designed a special system (i.e. the religion of Islamic Monotheism) for him and bidden him to stick to it and adhere to its commands and enjoinments. Man is absolutely free to make his own choices either to use his mind and will, stick to Allah’s System, and, hence, attain happiness in the present world and the world to come, or to be easy  prey to his lusts and instincts, turn away from Allah’s System, and, therefore, reap wretchedness and misery in both Abodes. To this effect, Allah, All-Mighty, All-Wise, says, “That which is on earth we have made but as a glittering show for the earth, in order that We may test them as to which of them are best in conduct”. [iixx; 7] He, Most Merciful, also says, ‘Verily, We created man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him: so We gave him (the gifts) of Hearing and Sight’. [76; 2]

Fourth:

Worship is Allah’s Right upon His slaves. Narrated Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Mu`adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him): I was riding behind the Prophet (PBUH) when he (PBUH) said, "O Mu`adh! Do you know what is the right of Allah upon His slaves?" I said: "Allah and His Messenger know better." The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Allah's Right upon His slaves is that they should worship Him, Alone, and associate nothing with Him”.[i]

In a Divine Hadith, Allah, All-High, says, “The Jinn, human beings and I are in a great issue. I create, but they worship others than Me. I provide sustenance, but they thank others than Me.” In another Divine Hadith on the authority of Ali bin Abu Talib, He also says, ‘My Favors and Blessings are going down to the slaves but their evil [deeds] are coming up. I show love to them by My Favors and Blessings although I do not need them, and they make themselves hateful to me by their sins although they need me much more than any thing else’.

It is by no means strange or unacceptable that Allah, Alone, should have the right to be worshipped by Hs slaves. What is strange and unaccepted is that we should not worship Him or worship others than Him, and, hence, give the right to those who are not its real owners! We had not been a thing to remember when He, All-Mighty, Most Gracious, brought us to life,  honored us, made us in the best stature and most beautiful form, taught us eloquent speech, endued us with clever minds and wisdom, and subjected other creatures for us.           In fact, worship is a kind of surrender and submission that none deserves except the Benefactor, Allah, Who bestowed upon us such marvelous Favors and Blessings as life, provision, and guidance. In this sense, no creature deserves to be offered the least worship. In other words, worship is Allah’s Right upon His slaves.      

Fifth:

Worship also denotes seeking Paradise and deliverance from Hell-Fire. It does not matter for the worshipper, neither does it diminish the value of his worship if it be in pursuit of Allah’s Reward and for fear of His Punishment. Allah, Most Gracious, described the elite of His creatures: the Messengers, Prophets, veracious and pious people that they hope for His Mercy and fear His Torment. If it were not required, Allah, the Almighty, would not have described His Paradise for believers and ornamented it for them, and He, Most Gracious, would not have told them details thereof which their minds could understand. Similarly, He would not have described the Fire for them, and told them details which their minds could comprehend.

In fact, Paradise is not merely a place full of delightful trees, fruits, food, drink, Hour-il-‘Een (female companions with beautiful big lustrous eyes), rivers and palaces. Nay! It is rather a place of Utmost Bliss, most importantly looking at Allah’s Holy Countenance, listening to His Talk, being near to Him and enjoying His Good Pleasure. Allah Almighty says, “Some faces, that Day, will beam (in brightness and beauty); looking towards their Lord,” [75; 22, 23]  and, “But the Greatest Bliss is the Good Pleasure of Allah” [ix; 72]

Sixth:

Worship that a believer offers to his Lord is also a kind of noble character and good manners because it symbolizes fidelity and faithfulness to Allah, the Almighty, thankfulness for His Favors and Blessings, respect and glorification for the One Who is worthy of all respect and glorification, which are all manifestations of noble manners as all people of wisdom confirm. That is why Allah, Exalted and Glorified, describes the obedient and submissive believers:

‘Such are the people of truth’ [ii; 177], ‘Those are the truthful’ [49; 49] ‘And of Abraham who fulfilled his engagements’ [53; 37]

This is because the highest stages of truthfulness is one’s being truthful to Allah, thankful to Him for His Favors, and faithful to Him by serving His creatures. The excellent character and manners of a true believer are considered a kind of worship to his Lord. A true believer’s character and manners are divinely guided. They are motivated by firm belief in Allah, Most Gracious, and hope for His Paradise. Their purpose is His Good Pleasure and Generous Reward.

A true believer says the truth, fulfills the trust, keeps his covenants, carries out his pledges, helps the needy and the weak, has mercy upon the young and respects the old, and is firm and steadfast in case of pain, suffering, adversity, and distress: “We feed you for the sake of Allah, Alone: no reward do we desire from you, nor thanks.” [76:9]

The noble character and good manners of a true believer are a kind of worship in the sense that his criteria whereby he distinguishes virtue from vice are derived from Allah’s Religion and Commands. In fact, man’s own conscience is not at all infallible away from Divine Guidance; and so numerous are the individuals and communities whose conscience accepts evil and vicious deeds. Away from heavenly Guidance human mind is by no means safe from error and stray, because it is confined by environment and material circumstances and is influenced by man’s desires and caprices. Moreover, traditions are by no means stable or reliable because they are subject to change by place and time. Moral standards of a true believer stem from the Infallible Secure Divine Source, into Which no vanity or falsehood could ever creep, namely Allah, All-Mighty, All-Wise, Lord of all worlds, Who never goes astray or forgets, Who is never influenced by whims or desires, or is unjust. In other words, the moral standards and criteria of a true believer are derived from Allah’s Perfect Divine Judgment: “and who is better in Judgment than Allah, for a people who believe?!”   

Seventh:

Worship is the only means for the proper development of man’s conscience. It is the only source of good manners that do not emerge from materialistic values or interests nor are  influenced thereby. This is because Allah, Most Gracious, is the Fountain of Good, Truth, and Beauty. Through his worship to his Lord, All-Wise, and consciousness of Him, man derives his noble character and good manners from such worship and consciousness, which are positively proportional with his straightness, rectitude, truthfulness, sincerity, and righteous work. In other words, the most conscious of the Lord from among mankind are the most pious, rightly guided and best mannered. In this context, Allah, All-Mighty, says, “And you (O Muhammad (PBUH) (stand) on an exalted standard of character.” [68:4] And He, Most Gracious, also says, “Therefore, by your Lord, we will, of a surety, call them to account, for all their deeds.” [Xv: 92,93]

Thus, evaluation of man is by no means authentic and truthful without taking into consideration his worship, religious commitment and devotion to the Lord, Most Merciful, and His Religion. And this is exactly what the Holy Prophet, (PBUH), predicted and warned of. He, (PBUH), said, "A time will come when people will say about a person: 'How prudent he is! How handsome he is! And how intelligent he is!' Whereas in his heart there will be no grain of Faith."

In the Glorious Koran we find a detailed picture of the of the believer’s personality: “The Believers must (eventually) be prosperous: Those who humble themselves in their Prayers, who avoid vain talk, who are active in deeds of Charity, Who abstain from sex except with those joined to them in the marriage bond, or (the captive) whom their right hands possess, for (in their case) they are free from blame, [But those whose desires exceed those limits are transgressors], those who faithfully observe their trusts and their covenants, and who (strictly) guard their Prayers. These will be the heirs, who will inherit Paradise: they will dwell therein (forever).” [xxiii; 1-11]

Notice how Allah, the Almighty, makes the first characteristics of true believers their humbleness in their prayers and the last of their characteristics observation of such prayers. He, Most Gracious, also confirms that they are active in deeds of Charity; which is a kind of worship together with other moral virtues such as: avoiding vain talk, chastity, faithful  observance of trusts and covenants.

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After having discussed the main purposes and aims of worship, we move to its characteristics and prerequisites.

First:

No one but Allah, Alone, deserves to be worshipped. And in fact, the Oneness of Allah and His worship are the purport of all Divine Revealed Messages. Allah, Almighty says, ‘We did not send a Messenger before you (O Muhammad!) but We inspired him saying: that there is no god but I; therefore worship and serve Me.’ [xxi; 25]

Moreover, the secret behind greatness of the religion of Islam is manifested, despite the profusion of its teachings, in its permanent constitution, i.e. the Noble Koran. And the secret of this constitution is imbedded in the Fatiha (the mother of the Noble Koran, and the seven most repeated Verses). And the secret of Fatiha can be summarized in this noble verse: ‘You, Alone, do we worship, and You, Alone, do we ask for help,’ i.e. we do not worship any one but You, and we do not seek help from anyone but You. This is because worship is a kind of submission that no one deserves except the Benefactor. Therefore, Polytheism is a disgrace that does not befit man’s dignity as a human being. It is most humiliating and disgraceful for man to worship things that have been subjugated for him such as stone, loam, the sun, the moon, jinn and even other human beings!  How come that man prostrates himself to such creatures, which are subjected to him and utilized in his favor and service?! How come that he prostrates himself to them while the holy angels prostrated themselves to him, by the Command of Allah, greeting and welcoming him?!

In fact, Islam has closed all ways conducive to Polytheism. Imam Ahmad and Bukhari, in his book “Al-Adab Al-Mufrad” narrated on authority of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man said to the Holy Prophet (PBUH), “What Allah and you will.” The Prophet (PBUH) said, ‘Do you make me a partner of Allah?! Say: What Allah, Alone, wills.’

Narrated At-Tabarani that at the time of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), there was a hypocrite who used to do a lot of harm to Muslims; so some of the people said, ‘let us go to the Prophet (PBUH) to seek help from him against this hypocrite’. The Prophet (PBUH) said, ‘Help should not be sought from me, it should be sought only from Allah, the Almighty.’

Second:

There are no mediators between Allah and His creatures in the way that ignorant people wrongly believe.

A Muslim’s belief in Allah is based on two facts: that He, All-High, is above all his slaves in highness, subjugation, authority, and disposal. Nothing is the like of Him. Nothing governs Him. Nothing can happen in His Kingdom but what He wills.

He is Irresistible. He is ever watching His salves. He is the All-Wise, the All-Aware of all things. There is nothing the like of Him, and He is the One That hears and sees (all things). All creatures are under His Dominion; they can do neither good nor harm to themselves or others, nor can they give life or cause to die. 

Despite His Greatness and Highness, He is close to His creatures. He is with them wherever they might be, when they are alone or with others. He listens, watches, guards, and guides. He gives any one who asks him, and responds to anyone who calls upon Him. He, All-Mighty, is close to His slaves despite his Highness, and High despite his Closeness. Allah, the Almighty,  has combined His Highness and Greatness with His Closeness and Nearness in one verse, Allah Almighty said: ‘It is He Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days, and is moreover firmly established on the Throne (of authority). He knows what enters within the earth and what comes forth out of it, what comes down from the heaven and what mounts up to it. And He is with you wherever you may be. And Allah sees well all that you do.’ [56; 4]

Allah, the Almighty, is far above having mediators between Himself and His creatures, to tell him about things that He does not know and direct His Will to do things that He does not want to do.

He is far more Generous and Merciful than leaving His Divine Mercy and Paradise to some from among His salves to distribute and allot them  according to their own desires. To Him, Alone, do belong Creation and Command; to Him, Alone, does belong the Dominion of all things; it is up to Him, Alone, to punish or to forgive; and He, Alone, is Powerful over all things.

Third:

The kind of worship and prayer that Allah, All-Mighty, accepts is not mere meaningless murmurs and gestures, but rather meaningful, purposeful and faithful acts of devotion accompanied by sincere submission and truthful veneration.

Narrated Tabarani: “There was a man among us who proposed to a woman called Umm Qays. She refused to get married to him until he migrated to Medina; so he migrated to Medina and got married to her. We used to call him ‘the Emigrant of Umm Qays.” Allah, Exalted and Almighty, also says, “And they have been commanded no more than this: to worship Allah, offering Him sincere devotion, being true (in faith), to establish regular prayer, and to practice regular charity; and that is the religion right and straight,”  [98:5]

 “It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah: it is your piety that reaches Him ...”  [22:37]

and, “Whether you hide what is in your hearts or reveal it, Allah knows it all ...” (3:29)

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) also said, "The deeds are (judged) according to  intentions, and a person will get rewarded according to his intention. So, whoever emigrates for Allah and His Messenger, his emigration will be (considered) for Allah and His Messenger; and whoever emigrates for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration will be (considered) for what he has emigrated for."

A great number of well-known religious scholars, such as Al-Hafiz, As-Shafi’I, Ibn Hanbal, Abu Dawoud, confirm the importance of the above Hadith for evaluation of man’s deeds.

O Allah! We take refuge with You from saying any thing which pleases You, seeking the pleasure of anyone but You!

Fourth:

It is not enough for a Muslim to seek only Allah by his worship and to turn to none but Him in prayer and devotion. Worship of Allah must be done according to the method He has legislated and the way He is content with. Allah Almighty said, ‘Say: I am but a man like yourself, (but) the revelation has come to me, that your God (Allah) is only One God: whoever expects to meet his Lord, let him work righteousness, and, in the worship of his Lord, admit no one as partner.’ [iixx; 110]

Omar Bin Al-Khattab used to supplicate, “O Allah! Make all my work righteous! Let it be only for the sake of You! And let it be not shared by others (with You).”

Concerning Allah’s Words ‘that He may try you: which of you is best in deed,” Al-Fudail bin Eiyadh said, “Whose work is most sincere and proper”. He was asked, “O Abu Ali! What do you mean by ‘most sincere and proper’? He replied: “When man’s work is done sincerely but improperly, it will not be accepted; and when it is done properly but insincerely, it will not be accepted, either.”

Sincere work is that which is done for the sake of Allah and His Good Pleasure; and proper work is that which conforms to the Sunna (Prophetic Tradition). This is because the religion of Islam is made up of two basic fundamental elements: to worship Allah, Alone, with no associates, and to worship Him according to His Religion and Legislation. To this effect, the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), says, "If anyone introduces into our matter (i.e. Religion of Islam) anything which does not belong threto, it (i.e. his innovation) is rejected. And if anyone does work that does not belong to our matter (i.e. Religion of Islam), it is rejected."

Therefore, Allah, Alone, is the Legislator; the Prophet (PBUH) is a mere communicator; and we should be strict adherents, for all Good lies in following and adherence. To this effect, Allah, the Almighty,  says, ‘Whosoever follows my guidance, will not lose his way, nor fall into misery.’ [Xx; 123]

In his first sermon that he delivered upon the Holy Prophet’s death, the first rightly guided Caliph Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “I am only a follower; I am not an innovator.”

Heresy in religion is most dangerous, because it is the gap from which Satan has been able to sneak into the minds and hearts of a great many religious people. Through heresy Satan has spoiled people’s religion, destroyed their Faith and acts of worship, and left the door open for a lot of corruption and mischief. Through heresy did polytheism and paganism creep into generations and peoples and allure them to worship false deities besides Allah, the One and Only. It is heresy that made people associate in worship with Allah other gods, for which He sent no authority, and called upon those that could do neither good nor harm for them, claiming: “Such are our intercessors with Allah.”. From heresy did come religious immoderation and over-stringency, and, hence, difficulty, hardship, embarrassment, burdens, and shackles, to heretics, who invented for themselves various kinds of hard unbearable worships. By way of heresy did heretics make unlawful the good things that Allah has made lawful. In the name of religion, they neglected the life of this world; in the name of Faith they demolished civilization; and in the name of spiritual purification, they tormented their bodies.

By way of heresy did come into existence grievous alterations, serious distortions and horrible deviations, wherein did fall a great many of those whose efforts have been wasted in this life while they thought that they were acquiring good by their deeds.

Allah’s Religion is by no means a field for creation and innovation. It is definitely Revelation-specific, i.e. sent down, as a whole, from Allah, All-Mighty, All-Wise, and must be preserved as such and protected from any kind of change, alteration, misinterpretation, deformation, or distortion.

The real field for invention, creation, updating and renewal are worldly affairs; and Muslims are in bad need of improving their worldly affairs and ways of livelihood, by increasing  their income, utilizing their resources, which Allah has laid down in their earth, and manufacturing them by their hands. They are in bad need to eat that which they grow, dress that which they weave, and invent their own machines and equipment so that they may achieve independence and autonomy. 

Omar bin Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) one day passed through a Muslim town, where he found that economical and commercial activities were not in the hands of Muslims. Therefore, he scolded and upbraided them saying, “What will be your position after you have enslaved yourselves to them?!” This rightly guided Caliph realized, by virtue of his insight, that a producer is strong and a consumer is weak, and that a strong believer is better and dearer to Allah than a weak one. In this context, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) held the hand of Ibn Mas’oud, which was rough because of hard work, raised it up in front of his Companions and said, “Verily, Allah and His Messenger love this hand.”

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For the proper use, maintenance and function of a certain machine, the manufacturer’s instructions and directions must be strictly followed. This is because the manufacturer is supposedly the best one who knows about the machine and how to be used and maintained. As for man, and his life, happiness and prosperity in both abodes, Allah, Most Gracious, is the Maker and originator, and, hence, the Only One Who knows what makes him happy and prosperous. He, All-Wise, says, “And none can inform you like Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Aware (of His slaves’ affairs).” Moreover, worship – in essence – is a kind of voluntary submission and complete adherence to the Divine System of the Almighty Allah, Creator of mankind, Lord of mankind, and God of mankind. Such Divine System is closely linked with the laws and systems of the whole universe. In other words, the relationship existing between Allah’s Divine Commands and their consequences is a scientific one, i.e. a cause-and-effect relationship. One of Allah’s Divine Commands is strong forbiddance of eating the flesh of dead animals and blood. But when, in some countries, cows were fed blood and the flesh of dead animals, crushed and dried up, they were afflicted by a very serious disease in their brains, namely the mad-cow disease, which can be transferred to mankind, as some researchers confirm, by eating the meat, fat, grease, crushed bones, milk, dairy, bowels, and other products of the cows with this disease, including the make-up substances derived from their fat. The most prominent symptoms of such disease on mankind are: depression, anxiety, amnesia, loss of muscular coordination, loss of motional balance, blindness, loss of the ability to speak, and even death within a period of one year.   

Elements of such disease have not been discovered yet, although it has been found out that its  incubation lasts for several years. It has no immunity features; and its elements can stand the temperature of 120 degrees C. for one hour.

The appearance and spread of such disease in those countries forced them to burn 11,000,000 cows, i.e. 33 billions in their currency.

Cows have been originally created so as to eat plant fodder; but when they were fed things that Allah has forbidden, namely flesh of rotten dead animals and blood, they were afflicted by such very dangerous disease, the mad-cow disease, which is the fruit of mad-man disease when he disobeyed the Maker’s Instructions. To this effect, Allah, the Almighty, says, ‘See they not that it is We Who have created for them among the things which our Hands have fashioned cattle, which are under their dominion?! And that We have subjected them to their (use)?! Of them some do carry them and some they eat. And they have (other) profits from them (besides); and they get (milk) to drink. Will they not then be grateful?!’ [Xxxvi; 71-73]

They have been changing the creation of Allah, while it was better for them to follow the All- Knower, the All-Aware, and the Almighty Allah, Who says, ‘Mischief has appeared on land and sea because of (the meed) that the hands of men have earned, that (Allah) may give them a taste of some of their Deeds: in order that they may turn back (from Evil).’[xxx; 41]

It goes without saying, however, that great precautions have been taken, by the Grace of Allah, in our country to prevent  this dangerous disease from entry. 

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