Worship in Islam In Islam, worship is understood as any utterance or activity, whether manifest or hidden, that Allah
loves and is pleased with. It also implies the greatest degree of love and submission on the part of the worshipper.
Every
Prophet throughout history called his people to worship Allah alone.
Allah says:
And We sent no Messenger except that We revealed to him: There is no God besides Me, so worship Me.
The
purpose of worship is to attain nearness to Allah with what He loves and is pleased with. It is necessary for this worship
to be based on clear guidance and to be free from deviance. Therefore, an act of worship must fulfill two conditions:
1.
It must conform to the dictates of Allah’s Law as found in the Qur’ân and Sunnah. Allah commands His Messenger
(peace be upon him) with the following:
Say (O Muhammad): If you love Allah, then obey me. Then Allah will love you.
2. It must be performed
purely for Allah’s sake. There should be no other object of worship involved whatsoever.
Allah commands his
Messenger (peace be upon him) with the following:
- Say (O Muhammad): I worship Allah alone, sincerely, and with full devotion.
- Say (O Muhammad): Verily, my prayers, my sacrifice, my life, and my death are for Allah, the Lord of All the
Worlds. No partner has He. With this I am commanded and I am the first to submit to His Will.
Comprehensiveness of Worship
The Islamic understanding of worship allows the whole of one’s life
to be an act of worship, as long as the objective of that life is the pleasure of Allah, which is achieved by doing good and
refraining from evil. A person can turn everyday activities into acts of worship by purifying his or her intention and sincerely
seeking Allah’s pleasure through these activities. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said:
Greeting a person is charity. Acting justly is charity. Helping a man with his steed is charity. A good word is
charity. Every step taken on the way to performing prayers is charity. Removing an obstacle from the road is charity.
Earning
a living can be a form of worship The Companions saw a man and were astonished by his hard work and industry. They lamented:
“If he were only doing this much work for the sake of Allah…”
Allah’s Messenger (peace be
upon him) said: “If he is working to support his small children, then it is for the sake of Allah. If he is working
to support his elderly parents, then it is for the sake of Allah. If he is working to occupy himself and keep his desires
in check, then it is for the sake of Allah. If, on the other hand, he is doing so to show off and earn fame, then he is working
for the sake of Satan.”
Even the most natural acts can become acts of worship if they are accompanied by the
proper intention: Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “When one of you approaches his wife, it is an act
of charity.”
The same can be said for eating and drinking, as long as it is done out of fear of Allah and seeking
to obey him.
In order for these otherwise mundane actions to be counted as acts of worship deserving of divine reward,
the following conditions must be met:
A. The action must be accompanied by the proper intention. Allah’s Messenger
(peace be upon him) said: “Actions are but by intentions, and a person gets only what he intended.”
B.
The action must be lawful in and of itself. If the action is something prohibited, its perpetrator deserves punishment. Allah’s
Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “Allah is good, and He accepts only what is good.”
C. The activity
must be performed in the best possible manner. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “Allah has prescribed
excellence for all things.” He also said: “Allah loves that if one of you does something, he does it well.”
D. The dictates of Islamic Law must be completely observed. Deception, oppression, and iniquity must be avoided. Allah’s
Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “He who deceives us is not one of us.”
E. The activity should not
keep the person from performing his or her religious obligations. Allah says:
O you who believe, do not let your wealth and children distract you from the remembrance of Allah.
The Purpose of Worship
Worship provides the believers with many benefits that contribute to both their
spiritual and worldly well-being. Some of the most significant of these benefits are as follows:
1. Enrichment
and development of the soul: The human body needs material resources for its existence, like food, drink, and a means
of reproduction. As for the soul, its needs cannot be fulfilled except through nearness to Allah by means of faith and obedience,
which can only be achieved through worship.
Allah must be worshipped in times of hardship and times of prosperity.
Allah says:
We truly know how your heart is distressed by what they say. So celebrate the praises of your Lord and be of those
who prostrate themselves and worship your Lord until the sure hour (of death).
Allah says:
When the help of Allah and the victory comes and you see the people entering into the religion of Allah in crowds,
then glorify the praises of your Lord and seek His forgiveness. Verily He is Most Forgiving.
2. Realization
of human freedom: Worship liberates the human being from subjugation to anything besides Allah and prevents a person from
surrendering his or her will to false gods. This is true freedom that brings about security and contentment. Submission to
Allah is a great source of strength. Allah says:
If anyone seeks might, then all might is with Allah.
3. Preparation for the life to come:
Allah says, quoting Moses (peace be upon him):
O my people, this worldly life is but a provision, while the Hereafter is the eternal abode.
The
worldly life is a time of trial. The substance of this trial is the worship of Allah in fulfillment of His commandments. Allah
says:
(It is Allah) who created death and life to try you as to who is best in deeds.
4. Social reform:
We find that worship, in its most comprehensive meaning, embodies every possible means of individual and social reform. This
is because every individual and collective endeavor can enter into the domain of worship. Islam has prescribed certain obligations
on the societal – as opposed to the individual – level. This takes societal needs into consideration. Allah says:
Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous deeds that he will give them authority in the
Earth as He has done for those who came before and that He will establish their religion that He wants to replace their fear
with security. They may worship Me and not associate partners with Me.
The advent of Islam brought about great
reforms in the domain of worship. Islam came at a time when there were many forms of worship in the world. Some of these were
remnants of the previous divinely revealed scriptures. Others were completely man-made. Even those acts of worship that were
of divine origin had been corrupted, altered, and removed from their proper contexts.
Some religions exaggerated the
importance of formalism and mindless ritual. Others went to extremes to free themselves of all notions of form and order.
Some religions went to extremes that made worship a harmful and painful thing. Some of them also demanded monasticism from
their adherents. Other religions went to extremes in indulgence, often completely abandoning religious obligations altogether.
Islam came to correct and reform these excessive tendencies, while establishing principles of its own. It provided
principles to bring about reform and to safeguard worship. The most important of these principles is that no one deserves
to be worshipped except for Allah.
The first thing that Islam came with was the concept of monotheism. Bearing witness
to monotheism is how a person enters into the fold of Islam and is considered to be a believer. The testimony is as follows:
“
There is no God but Allah. Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”
These words are a testimony
that there is no one worthy of worship except for Allah. In this way, Islam negates every possible manifestation of polytheism.
Allah addresses His Messenger (peace be upon him) with the following words:
It has been revealed to you and to those who came before you: If you commit polytheism, your deeds will be naught
and you will be among the losers.
We can see how the Prophet (peace be upon him) prohibited anything that could
lead the people to polytheism or to their falling into excessiveness in their belief. He made it clear that he was merely
a slave of Allah and His Messenger. He said: “Do not praise me excessively the way that the Christians praised Jesus
the son of Mary. I am only Allah’s slave and Messenger, so say that I am His slave and Messenger.”
He
also said: “None should seek help through me. Help should be sought from Allah alone.”
Near the time of
his death, he would repeatedly say: “Allah’s wrath became severe towards those people who turned the graves of
their Prophets into places of worship.”
He also said: “Whoever takes an oath in other than Allah’s
name has fallen into polytheism.”
He said: “Allah has cursed those who offer sacrifices to other than
Allah.”
