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The concept of worship in Islam is
misunderstood by many people, including some Muslims. Worship is commonly
taken to mean performing ritualistic acts such as prayers, fasting, and
giving charity. This limited understanding of worship is only one part of
the meaning of worship in Islam. That is why the traditional definition of
worship in Islam is a comprehensive definition that includes almost
everything in any individual's activities: Worship is an all inclusive
term for all that God loves of external and internal sayings and actions
of a person.
In other words, worship is everything one
says or does for the pleasure of Allah. This, of course, includes
rituals as well as beliefs, social activities, and personal contributions
to the welfare of one's fellow human-beings.
Islam looks at the individual as a whole. He is
required to submit himself completely to Allah, as the Qur'an instructed
the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to do:
[Say
(O Muhammad) my prayer, my sacrifice, my life and my death belong to
Allah; He has no partner and I am ordered to be among those who
submit, i.e.; Muslims.]
(Al-An`am 6:162-163)
The natural result of this submission is that
all one's activities should conform to the instructions of the one to whom
the person is submitting. Islam, being a way of life, requires that
its followers model their life according to its teachings in every aspect,
religious or other wise. This might sound strange to some people who think
of religion as a personal relation between the individual and God, having
no impact on one's activities outside rituals.
As a matter of fact, Islam does not think much
of mere rituals when they are performed mechanically and have no influence
on one's inner life. The Qur'an addresses the believers and their
neighbors from among the People of the Book who were arguing with them
about the change of the direction of qiblah (prayer direction) in the
following verse:
[It
is not righteousness that you turn your faces toward the East or the
West, but righteous is he who believes in Allah and the Last Day and
the Angels and the Book and the Prophets, and gives his beloved
money to his relatives and the orphans and the needy and for the
ransoming of captives and who observes prayer and pays the poor-due;
and those who fulfill their promises when they have made one, and
the patient in poverty and affliction and the steadfast in time of
war; it is those who have proved truthful and it is those who are
the God-fearing.] (Al-Baqarah
2:177)
The deeds in the above verse are the deeds of
righteousness and they are only a part of worship. The Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) told us about faith, which is the basis of worship,
that it "is made up of sixty and some branches; the highest of
which is the belief in the Oneness of Allah, i.e., there is no God but
Allah and the lowest in the scale of worship is removing obstacles and
dirt from people's way."
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Seeking knowledge is one of the
highest types of worship. |
Decent work is considered in Islam a type of
worship. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have
said: "If the Hour (the day of Resurrection) is about to be
established and one of you was holding a palm shoot, let him take
advantage of even one second before the Hour is established to plant
it." Seeking knowledge is one of the highest types of worship.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told his Companions that "seeking
knowledge is a (religious) duty on every Muslim." Social courtesy
and cooperation are part of worship when done for the sake of Allah as the
Prophet told us: "Receiving your friend with a smile is a type of
charity, helping a person to load his animal is a charity and putting some
water in your neighbor's bucket is a charity."
It is worth noting that even performing one's
duties is considered a sort of worship. The Prophet (peace and blessings
be upon him) told us that whatever one spends for his family is a type of
charity; he will be rewarded for it if he acquires it through legal means.
Kindness to members of one's family is an act of worship as when one puts
a piece of food in his spouse's mouth. Not only this but even the acts we
enjoy doing very much, when they are performed according to the
instructions of the Prophet, are considered as acts of worship. The
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told his Companions that they
will be rewarded even for having sexual intercourse with their wives. The
Companions were astonished and asked, "How are we going to be
rewarded for doing something we enjoy very much?" The Prophet asked
them, "Suppose you satisfy your desires illegally; don't you think
that you will be punished for that?" They replied, "Yes."
"So," he said, "by satisfying it legally with your wives
you are rewarded for it." This means they are acts of worship.
Thus Islam does not consider sex a dirty thing
that one should avoid. It is dirty and sinful only when it is satisfied
outside marital life.
It is clear from the previous discussion that
the concept of worship in Islam is a comprehensive concept that includes
all the positive activities of the individual. This of course is in
agreement with the all-inclusive nature of Islam as a way of life.
It regulates human life on all levels: individual, social, economic,
political, and spiritual. That is why Islam provides guidance to the
smallest details of one's life on all these levels. Thus following these
details is following Islamic instructions in that specific area. It is a
very encouraging element when one realizes that all one's activities are
considered by God as acts of worship. This should lead the individual to
seek Allah's pleasure in his actions and always try to do them in the best
possible manner whether he is watched by his superiors or he is alone.
There is always the permanent supervisor, who knows everything, namely,
Allah.
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Ritual worship elevates man morally
and spiritually and enables him to carry on his activities in all
walks of life according to the Guidance of God. |
Discussing the non-ritual worship in Islam
first does not mean undervaluing the importance of the ritual ones.
Actually ritual worship, if performed in true spirit, elevates man morally
and spiritually and enables him to carry on his activities in all walks of
life according to the Guidance of God. Among ritual worships, ritual
Prayer occupies the key position for two reasons. Firstly, it is the
distinctive mark of a believer. Secondly, it prevents an individual from
all sorts of abominations and vices by providing him chances of direct
communion with his Creator five times a day, wherein he renews his
covenant with God and seeks His guidance again and again:
[You
alone we worship and to You alone we turn for help. Guide us to the
straight path.] (Al-Fatihah
1:5-6)
Actually, Prayer is the first practical
manifestation of faith and also the foremost of the basic conditions for
the success of the believers:
[Successful
indeed are the believers who are humble in their prayers.]
(Al-Mu'minun 23:1-2)
The same fact was emphasized by the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) in a different way: "Those who
offer their Prayer with great care and punctuality will find it a light, a
proof of their faith, and cause of their salvation on the Day of
Judgment."
After prayer, zakah (poor-due) is an important
pillar of Islam. In the Qur'an, Prayer and zakah have been mentioned
together many times. Like Prayer, zakah is a manifestation of faith that
affirms that God is the sole owner of everything in the universe, and what
men hold is a trust in their hand over which God made them trustees to
discharge it as He has laid down:
[Believe
in Allah and His Messenger and spend of that over which He made you
trustees.] (Al-Hadid 57:7)
In this respect zakah is an act of devotion
that, like Prayer, brings the believer nearer to his Lord.
Apart from this, zakah is a means of
redistribution of wealth in a way that reduces differences between classes
and groups. It makes a fair contribution to social stability. By purging
the soul of the rich from selfishness, and the soul of the poor from envy
and resentment against society, zakah stops up the channels leading to
class hatred and makes it possible for the springs of brotherhood and
solidarity to gush forth. Such stability is not merely based on the
personal feelings of the rich; it stands on a firmly established right
that, if the rich denied it, would be exacted by force if necessary.
Fasting (during the day time of the month of
Ramadan) is another pillar of Islam. The main function of fasting is to
make the Muslim pure from within as other aspects of Shari`ah make him
pure from without. By such purity he responds to what is true and good and
shuns what is false and evil. This is what we can perceive in the Qur'anic
verse:
[O
you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed
for those before you, that you may gain piety.]
(Al-Baqarah 2:183)
In an authentic hadith, the Prophet reported
Allah as saying "He suspends eating, drinking, and gratification
of his sexual passion for My sake." Thus his reward is going to
be according to God's great bounty.
Fasting, then, awakens the conscience of the
individual and gives it scope for exercise in a joint experience for all
society at the same time, thus adding further strength to each individual.
Moreover, fasting offers a compulsory rest to the over-worked human
machine for the duration of one full month. Similarly, fasting reminds an
individual of those who are deprived of life's necessities throughout the
year or throughout life. It makes him realize the suffering of others, the
less fortunate brothers in Islam, and thus promotes in him a sense of
sympathy and kindness to them.
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Hajj manifests a unique unity,
dispelling all kinds of differences. |
Lastly, we come to Hajj (pilgrimage to the
House of God in Makkah). This very important pillar of Islam manifests a
unique unity, dispelling all kinds of differences. Muslims from all
corners of the world, wearing the same dress, respond to the call of Hajj
in one voice and language: "Labbaik, Allahumma, labbaik (Here
I am at your service, Lord!)." In Hajj there is an exercise of strict
self-discipline and control where not only sacred things are revered, b ut
even the life of plants and birds is made inviolable so that everything
lives in safety:
[And
he that venerates the sacred things of God, it shall be better for
him with his Lord.] (Al-Hajj
22:30)
[And
he that venerates the waymarks of God, it surely is from devotion of
the heart.] (Al-Hajj 22:32)
Pilgrimage gives an opportunity to all Muslims
from all groups, classes, organizations, and governments from all over the
Muslim world to meet annually in a great congress. The time and venue of
this congress has been set by their One God. Invitation to attend is open
to every Muslim. No one has the power to bar anyone. Every Muslim who
attends is guaranteed full safety and freedom as long as he himself does
not violate its safety.
Thus, worship in Islam, whether ritual or
non-ritual, trains the individual in such a way that he loves his Creator
most and thereby gains an unyielding will and spirit to wipe out all evil
and oppression from the human society and make the word of God dominant in
the world.
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