The simple meaning of the
word 'Al-Ebadah' is the act of worship. To most people the act of Worship is
primarily the act of prayer. However the Quran indicates that the act of
Worship is a much more profound concept than just the act of prayer. The words
of God to His chosen prophet Moses were:
"I am God, there is no
god but Me, therefore you shall worship Me and observe the Salat to commemorate
Me." 20:14
These sacred words, which
speak of Worship and Prayer independently, indicate that these two acts are not
the same. If the act of worship was primarily an act of prayer and nothing
else, God would not say "worship Me" and "observe the
salat". The word "and" indicates that there is more to worship
than just praying.
While as the Contact Prayer
is a specific ritual decreed for specific times of the day, the act of Worship
on the other hand is an uninterrupted state of the mind, body and soul. It is
an exalted spiritual level of existence and invaluable nourishment for our
souls. Without the act of Worship, consecrated exclusively to God alone, one is
unable to attain true happiness. Our physical bodies, by merely submitting to
God's will, are in a perpetual state of worship. All our body organs and
tissues are ordained to function in a meticulous pre-ordained manner designed by
God and over which we have no control whatsoever. They are in a ceaseless state
of submission to the will of God. However, our souls are given the freedom of
choice. If our souls choose the same route as our ordained bodies, harmony will
be struck between body and soul, the reward of which will be true happiness. On
the other hand if our souls are rebellious, unappreciative or egoistic and
elect not to worship God, we will never attain true happiness no matter how
much material fortune we may posses.
The Quran, being a fully
detailed book, provides the believers with the answer to the questions: Whom
should we worship, whom should we not worship, and not least in importance, how
should we worship?
Most believers will be quite
offended by the first question. They will say 'Of course we worship God!'
However, the Quran indicates that the human being worships what or whoever
occupies his mind most of the time.
WHO ARE WE WARNED NOT TO
WORSHIP?
The Quran states that the
human being is prone to worship any one of the following:
1- Material possessions:
If the only thing you think
of is money and how to make money, if your mind is primarily occupied with
issues like: 'how much will I make out of this deal?' and 'what will I gain out
of this person?' etc, if everything in your life is assessed in a material
sense then it is said that you worship money. If your business or your property
distracts you from worshipping God, then you worship your possessions. The
following verses all warn against such dangers:
a- The following parable in
Sura 18, portrays the tale of the man who was so occupied with his garden to
the extent of setting it up as his idol and arrogantly boasting about it to his
friend saying that it will never cease to yield its crop. Consequently, God
wiped it out as a punishment and a lesson for his idol worship:
“His fruits were wiped out,
so he started turning his hands in sorrow and lamenting what he had spent on it
as it lay in ruins. He said, "I wish I had never set up any partner with
my Lord.” 18:42
b- The story of Solomon and
the horses that distracted him from worshipping God goes as follows:
“When at dusk, the
thoroughbred horses were displayed before him. He then said, "I loved the
material things over the remembrance of my Lord, until it disappeared behind a
veil.” 38:31-32
Solomon did not commit idol
worship, but he allowed material possessions to distract him from worshipping
God. When he realised his error, the sun had already set thus making him miss
his Middle Salat! As a result, he repented. Realizing that nothing should have
distracted him from worshipping God he got rid of the horses.
c- Indeed the righteous in
the sight of God are described in Sura 24:
“Men who are not distracted
by trade nor sale from commemorating God.” 24:37
2- Children and spouse:
The Quran warns strongly that
our offspring and spouses are a ‘Fetnah’ (test) of our true Worship. Are we
going to become so wrapped up in them to the extent of being distracted from
worshipping God? Consider the following verses:
a- “....when she got heavier,
they implored God their Lord: "If You grant us that which is good, we will
be among the thankful. Then when He granted them that which is good, they set
up what He has granted them as partners with Him. God be exalted, far above the
partners they have set up.” 7:189-190
b- “Your money and children
are but a test, and with God lies a great reward.” 64:15
3- One's own ego:
The Quran also warns against
worshipping our own self. People with inflated egos are the ones most prone to
such behaviour. They will idolize themselves and live in a permanent illusion
of vanity. The Quran warns against that:
a- “Have you seen the one whose
has taken his ego as his god? Will you be his trustee?” 25:43
b- The Quran states that to
protect one’s self against this danger we should always behave with modesty and
humility. God does not like the conceited and egotistic:
“God does not like the
arrogant showoffs” 31:18
The close connection between
worshipping God alone and being humble is also made evident in verse 36 of Sura
4. The verse starts with:
“You shall worship God and do
not associate anything with Him”
and ends with the Words:
“God does not like arrogant
showoffs” 4:36
c- A case of a whole people
ending up worshipping themselves is narrated in the Quran in relation to the
Jews. Their vanity and egotism deluded them into thinking that they were God’s
chosen race:
“Say, "O you who are
Jewish, if you claim that you are allies for God, to the exclusion of all other
people, then long for death if you are truthful.” 62:6
Equally, their vanity and
egotism eluded them into proclaiming that heaven was exclusively reserved for
them!
“Say, ‘If the abode of the
Hereafter is yours at God, to the exclusion of all other people, then long for
death if you are truthful.” 2:94
4- Objects:
Perhaps the more familiar
example in this category is the worship of stone and statue idols. Sadly, no
particular religious group is innocent of such transgression. The Quran warns
very strongly against any association with stone, altars or monuments (5:90).
In the world today there are those who still worship such objects as statues,
the sun, fire, or even certain animals. All these groups are promised great
punishment in the Hereafter.
5- The angels, messengers and
saints:
There is a very thin line between
idolization and worshipping. What would you call those who kiss the ground
which the Pope walks on? Are they idolizing the Pope or are they in fact
worshipping him? What do you call those who visit the shrines of ‘Al-Hussein’
or ‘El-Sayeda Zeinab’ (Muslim saints) and call on them to answer their prayers
or to intercede on their behalf! The Quran states categorically that to call on
anyone other than God is to commit idol worship. The Quran warns very
specifically against idolizing or worshipping God’s messengers, the saints or
the angels:
First
The Quran establishes the
fact that no genuine messenger will ever command his people to glorify him or
idolize him:
“No human being whom God gave
the scripture, authority and prophethood is then to say to the people,
"Worship me beside God." But instead, "Devote yourselves to your
Lord according to the scripture you have been teaching and to what you have
been studying.
Nor would he command you to
take the angels and the prophets as lords. Would he command you to disbelieve
after becoming submitters?” 3:79-80
Nor will any genuine
messenger ask for any kind of return for his services:
“I do not ask you for a
reward, my reward comes only from the Lord of the worlds.” 26:109
Second
The Quran asserts that all
those who died, whether they are saints, messengers or idols cannot hear us
when we call on them.
“The ones you call on beside
Him do not posses as much as a seed's shell. If you call on them, they cannot
hear your calls. But even if they heard you, they cannot respond to you. On the
Day of Resurrection, they will disown your Shirk. None informs you as One who
is All-Aware.” 35:13-14
On the day of Judgment those
who have been idolized will disown the ones who idolized them:
“And some people set up
equals to God, loving them as the love of God, but those who believe love God
the most, and if the transgressors witness the punishment they would realize
that all power belongs to God alone, and that God's punishment is severe.
When those who were followed
disowned those who followed them, they witnessed the punishment, and all their
means were cut off.
Those who followed said,
"If only we had another chance, we would disown them, as they have
disowned us. God thus shows them their work bringing remorse upon them; they
will never exit the fire.” 2:165-167
Third
The Quran warns very strongly
against setting up God's messengers as idols:
“Do those who disbelieve
think that they can take My servants as allies beside Me? We have prepared Hell
for the disbelievers as an abode.” 18:102
“Say, "Call on those
whom you have made claims for beside Him." They do not have the power to
relieve afflictions off you, nor can they avert it. Those whom they call on are
seeking the means to their Lord vying to be nearest. They hope for His mercy
and fear His punishment. Surely, the punishment of your Lord is to be feared.”
17:56-57
Fourth
Finally, the people who
commit such transgressions will come up with the most outrageous excuses:
“Absolutely, the religion should
be devoted purely to God. Those who set up allies beside him, "We only
idolize them so that they may bring us closer to God!” 39:3
In the same verse, God
replies to these claims with the words:
“God will judge among them
regarding that in which they dispute. God does not guide the one who is a liar,
a disbeliever.”
6- The devil
There are various sects all
over the world today who worship Satan/Lucifer (the devil). They engage in all
sorts of vile activities such as blood drinking, human sacrifices and carnal
depravity. Indeed this is expected of the servants of the devil. The Quran
states that the devil will order his followers to commit evil:
“The devil promises you
poverty and commands you to commit evil” 2:268
We are given a reminder in
the Quran that God took a very early Covenant from all of us, not to worship
the devil:
“Did I not issue a pledge
upon you, O Children of Adam, that you shall not worship the devil for he is
your most clear enemy? And that you shall worship Me? This is a straight path.”
36:60-61
“Anyone who takes the devil
for an ally instead of God has indeed lost a great loss." 4:119
The words of Abraham to his
father carried the same warning:
“O my father, do not worship
the devil. The devil has been disobedient to the Almighty.” 19:44
How should we worship God
If these are the various
temptations that can divert us from the 'Straight Path', and from worshipping
God alone, what are we to do to be certain that we worship God alone?
The Quran lists no less than
ten separate acts. They are specific acts to be observed and at the same time
they serve as genuine indications of the purity of our Worship. The "deen
al-khalis" (pure religion) spoken of in the Quran (as in 39:3) requires
that every one of the ten acts (below) is dedicated exclusively to God alone.
By taking each act separately and determining how much of it is observed for
God and how much is dedicated to others (no matter who they are) provides us
with a sound guideline for the purity of our Worship.
For example, the second act,
which calls for the glorification of God alone, can be taken as an example.
Every time we glorify anyone other than God we do in fact impair the purity of
our religion (Al-Deen Al Khales). There is nothing wrong with giving praise to
fellow humans when praise is due, but only God is worthy of glorification.
Similarly, every act of the ten acts will provide a genuine pointer to the
purity of our Worship.
Act One: Recognition and
Deification
This first act combines Faith
and Worship, while as the next nine acts are solely acts of Worship. The first
requisite for worshipping God is to recognize His Existence. The Quran provides
a wealth of information that supports the believer, both the knowledgeable and
the unlearned, to recognize the existence of God. For the benefit of the
scientifically minded, there is ample scientific information testifying that
the creation of the universe and its maintenance are precisely executed
phenomena that could never be products of chance. The Quran refers to numerous
fields of science like, astronomy, physics, geology, biology, botany and
embryology to name a few. For the unlearned reader of the Quran, there is a
whole Sura that provides simple facts all of which testify to the existence of
God (Sura 55).
For more information about
the scientific content of the Quran please see:
Science in the Quran
The signs of God The Creator
in everything around us are countless. The following page contains interesting
information about God's design in all things:
The Designs of God
Once 'Recognition' is
secured, the next step is the 'Deification and Apotheosis' of God.
Deification, or Apotheosis,
means to instate in our hearts the fact that God alone possesses all the
attributes to be a God and that there is no god other than He. These two facts
are asserted in the words: "I am God" and "There is no god but
Me" 20:14
Deification indeed is the
acknowledgment that God is our Creator and the Creator of everything in the
universe. Deification of God is to recognize His Divinity and His Oneness. The
Quran asserts the fact that if there were other gods beside God the whole
universe would be disrupted:
"If there were in them
other gods beside God, they would have been ruined." 21:22
There are those who will
acquire the 'Recognition' of the existence of God but refuse to subject their
minds to the 'Deification' of God. An example of those is given in Sura 23,
verses 84-90.
Another good example is the
many scientists today who will concede that there is a force behind the
creation of the universe but are too vain to accept that this force is a
Supreme God who controls every atom in their bodies and every event that takes
place in the heavens or the earth.
Needless to say, without this
crucial act, one is not able to observe any of the other acts of Worship. This
act is the cornerstone and the foundation on which all other acts of worship
originate from and are based upon.
Act Two : Glorification and
Exaltation
The awareness of the vastness
of our universe, which is only the innermost of seven universes, and the fact
they are all folded in the grip of God's hand, leaves the mind in a total state
of awe. In addition to this vastness, God indeed controls every atom in every
one of these universes. Many verses in the Quran point out that it is
impossible for the human being to comprehend the greatness of God:
"They have not
comprehended God’s true worth! The whole earth is within His fist on the Day of
Resurrection and the universes are folded up in His right hand. Be He
glorified; He is much too high above any partners they ascribe." 39:67
"He is the one who
created seven universes layered on top of one another. You do not see any
imperfections in the creation of the Almighty. Turn the sight on it, do you see
any flaw? Then turn the sight on it a second time, it will come back to you
stumped and exhausted." 67:3-4
"There is not an atom’s
weight in the earth or the heavens that is hidden from your Lord, nor is there
anything smaller or larger than this that is not recorded in a clear
book." 10:61
In due respect for our Mighty
Creator we are commanded to constantly glorify and exalt Him. This command is
found in many Quranic verses:
"Glorify the name of
your Lord, the Most High" 87:1
"You shall glorify your
Lord singing His praises, and be among the prostrators." 15:98
Indeed the very last words
revealed of the Holy Quran carries this same command:
"You shall glorify and
praise your Lord and seek His forgiveness. He is the Redeemer." 110:3
The Glorification and
Exaltation of God are two fundamental elements of worship, so much so that
everything in the heavens and the earth glorifies God.
"Glorifying God is
everything in the heavens and everything in the earth." 62:1
To be able to glorify God in
a sincere manner we must always remember to curb our vanity and act in a modest
way:
"Those at your Lord are
never too proud to worship Him; they glorify Him and to Him they
prostrate." 7:206
"God does not like the
arrogant show-offs" 31:18
Those who are constantly
enthralled in vanity and self-admiration are often the ones negligent of
glorifying God.
Act Three: Adoration and
Veneration
The 'Adoration' of God is
indeed the greatest love of all. The love of God is the noble driving force
behind worshipping Him, upholding His Law and working righteousness to please
Him. Those who are true believers love God the most. Others, and to varying
degrees, have set up idols whom they love equally if not more than God. The
Quran is very clear in stating that we are not to love any one as we should
love God:
"Some people set up
equals to God, loving them as the love of God, but those who believe love God
the most" 2:165
It is indeed the duty of
every believer to love his brethren and be tolerant. Moreover, God has created
for us our partners with whom we share love and affection (Sura 30, verse 21),
yet all this love should always be exercised within its proper context. No
matter how much we may love our children, our partners, or indeed God's
prophets whom He sent with guidance; we should never love them as our love of
God. Only the love of God is worthy of being elevated to the state of
adoration. There is a very thin line between love and adoration.
Love everybody and every good
thing but adore only God.
Act Four: Commemoration and
Remembrance
The act of commemoration is
achieved through the normal prayers (Salat) as well as outside the ritual of
prayer.
Main objectives
The Quran mentions valuable
benefits to be gained from observing the Salat.
1- The Salat protects against
and prohibit evil and vice:
"Observe the Salat, for
the Salat prohibits vice and evil" 29:45
2- The Salat, observed to
worship God, helps the believers strengthen their faith and attain certainty
"You shall glorify your
Lord singing His praise and be among the prostrators and worship your Lord
until you attain certainty" 15:98-99
3- The Salat provide the
believers with secured gains in the hereafter
"Those who recite God’s
book, observe the Salat and spend secretly and publicly from what We have
provided for them, are seeking a trade that can never lose. He will grant them
their reward and increase them out of His generosity. He is Forgiving,
Appreciative." 35:29-30
4- To commemorate God
We are told in the Quran that
the most important objective of the Contact Prayers is to commemorate God.
"You shall recite what
is revealed to you of the book and observe the Salat, for the Salat prohibits
vice and evil and the remembrance of God is most important. God knows what you
do." 29:45
"I am God, there is no
god but Me, therefore you shall worship Me and observe the Salat to commemorate
Me." 20:14
Frequent Commemoration
Commemorating God is not
restricted to our prayers but we are also encouraged in the Quran to
commemorate God at all times outside the ritual of prayer:
".....the men who
commemorate God frequently and the commemorating women: God has prepared for
them forgiveness and a great reward" 33:35
"Those who remember God
while standing, sitting and on their sides...." 3:191
"O you who believe, you
shall remember God frequently" 33:41
"O you who believe, do
not let your money nor your children distracted you from remembering God. Those
who do this are the losers" 63:9
Rewards
Numerous rewards are given in
the Quran for commemorating God:
1- Commemorating God will
bestow a feeling of safety and tranquillity upon the hearts of the believers:
"The ones who have
believed and whose hearts are assured through the remembrance of God.
Absolutely, through the remembrance of God do the hearts feel assured."
13:28
2- Commemorating the name of
God on food will bless it and make it lawful (halal):
"You shall eat from that
upon which God's name has been pronounced if you believe in His
revelations." 6:118
"Do not eat from that
upon which God's name has not been pronounced, for it is a vileness."
6:121
3- Frequent commemoration of
the name of God will give the believer better chances of success in life:
".........and remember
God frequently, so that you may succeed" 62:10
4- But undoubtedly the reward
of the highest order is attaining God's remembrance of us and moving us closer
to Him:
"Therefore remember Me,
that I may remember you and be thankful to Me and do not disbelieve."
2:152
"You shall commemorate
the name of your Lord and devote yourself totally to Him." 73:8
Penalties
On the other hand for those
who abstain from commemorating God a terrible retribution awaits them:
"As for the one who
turns away from My remembrance, he will have a miserable life and We will
summon him, on the Day of Resurrection, blind." 20:124
"We displayed Hell on
that day plainly to the disbelievers, those whose eyes were too obscured to
remember Me and they were unable to hear." 18:100-101
Because commemorating God
reaps great rewards, thus God will only gift the believers with such blessing.
The ones who harbour disbelief and arrogance will be deprived by God of such
blessing:
"........ do not obey
one whose heart We rendered oblivious to remembering Us, one who pursues his
own whims and whose case has exceeded all limits." 18:28
Act Five: Obedience
In order to obey God in the
correct way we must first acknowledge that God is the only Law Giver.
God’s Law is the only Law:
The Quran stresses the fact
that it is forbidden to follow any law except that of God, that being the Law
of the Quran:
"Shall I seek other than
God as a source of law, when He has revealed to you this book fully
detailed?" 6:114
The Quran states that the
only Sunna (methodology/system) is that of God, and that it has no substitute:
".....you will find that
there is no substitute for the Sunna of God." 33:62
Obeying God’s Law:
One of the most frequent
commands in the Quran is to obey God and the messenger. The Quran is very clear
that obeying God and obeying His messenger are one issue and not two. The
following verses all confirm such meaning:
1- "Whoever obeys the
messenger has obeyed God" 4:80
This simple sentence could
only mean that the messenger preaches nothing but God's Law. If the messenger
preached what is additional to the Quran then this verse would not always make
sense, since a case could be made for a person who could obey the commands of
the messenger but not necessarily everything in the Quran. The wording of the
verse makes it clear that the messenger had no law other than the Quran.
Attempts have been made by those who insist on instating an independent
teachings for the messenger outside the Quran; these can be exposed in the
light of the Quran.
2- "You shall obey God
and obey the messenger and beware; if you should turn away then know that the
sole duty of Our messenger is the clear delivery." 5:92
This verse most effectively
proves the point. Not only does it command the believers to obey God and the
messenger, but it also confirms that since the messenger's sole duty was to
deliver the Quran, then necessarily to obey the messenger is to obey the
message he delivered (the Quran). The mere fact that the words "obey the
messenger" and the words "the only duty of the messenger is to
deliver the message." are contained within the same verse is not
accidental. Nothing in the Quran is accidental. It is indeed a strong
indication to the believers that obedience of the messenger is specifically
connected to the message he delivered (the Quran). For more details of this
subject, please see: Obey God and obey the Messenger
3- "....you will find
that there is no substitute to the Sunna of God." 33:62
As mentioned, to claim or
believe that there are two Sunna's, one of God and one of the prophet, is in
fact to disbelieve the Quran.
4- "We did not send any
messenger except to be obeyed with God's permission." 4:64
Considering the verse said
messenger and not prophet, and considering also that God has sent many
messengers across the ages, it is inconceivable to think that each one of these
messengers had his own Sunna and law besides that of God! As per 5:92 (above)
the only duty of any messenger is simply to deliver the message of God!
For this reason, and since
the verse tells us that all these messengers were to be obeyed, then the
command to obey the messenger does not mean that each of them brought forth a
law or Sunna of their own.
5- "We have brought down
to you the book, truthfully, so that you may judge among the people" 4:105
(also 5:48)
This verse decisively
appoints the method by which the messenger is to arbitrate among the people.
That method is the Quran. In all the Quran, there is never any mention of any
other method or source.
Having identified that the
Law of God is contained in the Quran and nowhere else, it is the duty of every
Muslim to obey it. To worship God is to obey His Law, and to obey His Law is to
obey the Quran.
The Quran is a complete
source of law containing the five pillars of Islam, all the prohibitions, civil
law, commercial law, code of conduct, etc. Observing any one of these laws,
whether it is related to the five pillars, like fasting the month of Ramadan or
paying the obligatory Charity (Zakat), or whether it is in connection to the
prohibitions, like abstaining from eating meat of pork for example; observing
any of these laws with the intention of obeying God's Law is an act of worship.
Consequently, in order to worship God alone, it is imperative to follow God's
Law and nothing else.
The importance of obeying
God's Law is highly emphasized in the Quran to the extent that it is stated in
the book that whoever advocates or rules by a law other than that of God is
classed as a disbeliever.
"Those who do not rule
by what God has brought down are the disbelievers" 5:44
In addition, all who follow
laws which are not authorised by God in the Quran, are indeed setting partners
with God:
[42:21] Or do they have
‘shuraka’a’ who legislate for them religious laws which were not authorized by
God? If it were not for a preordained decree, they would have been judged
immediately. Indeed the transgressors shall have a painful punishment.
The word “shuraka’a” is the
plural of the word ‘shareek’ and ‘shareek’ means partner. The importance of
this word in 42:21 cannot be overlooked. The word ‘shareek’ is the adjective
from the noun ‘shirk’ (setting up partners with God in any of His exclusive
rights).
Since we have confirmation in
6:114 that God is the Only source of law, thus the ‘shuraka’a’ (partners)
mentioned in 42:21 can only be partners with God in His exclusive right as the
Only law Giver. It follows that all who obey religious rules or rituals not
authorised by God are committing the act of shirk.
Act Six: Trust and Dependence
Worshipping God is both in
action and in conviction. The conviction expression of the act of Worship is
manifest in entrusting our whole lives with God, that is, in all aspects of our
livelihood and well-being. To entrust our whole lives with God is an expression
of our acceptance of God's absolute authority and our belief that no one has
any power that is independent of God. No one can harm or benefit us other than
God. The act of trust and obedience is both an act of submission and worship.
The trust and dependence on
God is the trait of the firm believer. The one who accomplishes that is well
regarded and loved by God:
".....anyone who trusts
in God, He suffices him" 65:3
"God: there is no God
but He. In God the believers shall trust." 64:13
"And put your trust in
God, God suffices as a Trustee." 33:3
Indeed God loves those who
trust in Him:
"......and shall trust
in God, God loves the trusting ones." 3:159
The fact that one cannot
worship God without having absolute trust in Him is of paramount importance.
This is evident from the fact that it is stressed in the very first Sura of the
book:
"You alone we worshipand
You alone we ask for help." 1:5
The Quran also indicates that
the devil has no authority over those who put their trust in God:
"He (the devil) has no
authority over those who believe and in their Lord they trust." 16:99
But trust in God is not
confined to our welfare in this life only but the highest level of trust is to
trust in God's promise of the hereafter. This calibre of trust requires a great
deal of patience and an unshakable faith. Indeed this shall be well rewarded:
"What is with you runs
out, but what is with God is eternal. We will grant those who have been patient
their reward, to be equated to the best of their works." 16:96
"And they said,
"Praise be to God who fulfilled His promise to us and made us inherit the
earth, enjoying Paradise as we please." What a beautiful reward for the
workers." 39:74
Act Seven: Fear and Reverence
As much as we are to love and
adore God as much as we should fear and revere Him. Perhaps God demanded that
of the believers since He knows that He created us with strengths and
weaknesses. If we were morally perfect and had no flaws in us then the love of
God would have been sufficient to direct us to the Straight Path, but because
we are prone to be influenced by both good and evil (91:7-8), the fear of God
acts as a much needed deterrent.
Another reason that justifies
the fear of God is that His wrath and retribution are awesome. Whether we like
the idea or not, surely God's retribution is to be feared.
The concept of punishment and
reward is proven to be the best method of achieving any goal. There are those
who will complain saying, 'faith should not be built on fear', they are only being
untruthful and arrogant. They only need to look around at any organized society
in the world to see that the fear of punishment is the prime deterrent in
curbing crime. Imagine if all people in a society were informed that from that
particular moment there will be no punishment for crime and that the love of
humanity should be sufficient for all of them to be law abiding citizens!
The following verses stress
the importance of fearing God:
"......the ones who fear
their Lord though unseen and they are apprehensive of the Hour." 21:49
"......those who fear
their Lord though unseen ...." 35:18
Fearing Hell is fearing God's
retribution:
"And beware of the fire
which has been prepared for the disbelievers" 3:131
"......beware of the
fire, whose fuel is people and rocks. It is prepared for the disbelievers"
2:24
Though the fear of God
without seeing Him is a good indication of a strong faith, it is essentially
more of an act of Worship. Consider the following example:
A genuine believer can have
faith in the ability of his enemy to harm him, but is nevertheless not afraid
of him because he does not worship him. A believer has faith in God and is
afraid of no one but God because he worships God alone. In that sense the fear
of God is indeed an act of worship. The Quran commands us to fear God alone:
"Therefore, do not fear
them, but fear Me instead so that I may complete My blessings upon you and so
that you may be guided" 2:150
"Therefore do not fear
the people but fear Me" 5:44
The Quran states that the
fear of God is also the trait of those endowed with knowledge:
"...... Only the
knowledgeable among God's servants fear Him." 35:28
For those who fear God there
is promise of great reward:
"The one who reveres God,
He remits his sins and makes his reward far greater." 65:5
"As for those who revere
their Lord, though unseen, they shall have mercy and a great reward" 67:12
Act Eight: Imploring and
Beseeching
To implore and beseech God
are indeed unquestionable expressions of Worship. The following verse asserts
the link between Worship and Imploration:
"Your Lord says,
'Implore Me and I will respond to you. Surely those who are too arrogant to
worship Me will enter Hell forcibly" 40:60
The words "Implore
Me" and "Worship Me" in this verse confirm that imploring God is
indeed an essential expression of worship. Those who do not implore God do not
worship Him. God, being the Mos Merciful, encourages the believers to implore
Him so that He may bestow on them His mercy.
"And if those who
worship Me ask you about Me; I am near. I answer the caller's call if he calls
on Me. Thus they shall respond to Me and believe in Me, in order to be
guided" 2:186
The believers should address
God as God, or by any of His beautiful names:
"Say: "Call upon
God, or call upon the Almighty, whatever you call Him by; to Him belongs the
Beautiful names." 17:110
Since imploration is an
expression of Worship, and since we must worship God alone, it follows that we should
implore God alone. The Quran is quick to ascertain this command:
"Therefore, you shall
implore God devoting the religion purely to Him, even if the disbelievers
dislike it." 40:14
"The places of worship
belong to God; do not call on anyone else beside Him." 72:18
"Do not call upon other
than God what does not benefit you nor harm you. If you do, you will be among
the transgressors." 10:106
The following verses
specifically address those who beseech dead people (saints, messengers of
God......etc.) for help:
"Those whom you call on
beside God are servants just like you. So go ahead and call on them; let them
respond to you if you are truthful." 7:194
"....... the ones you
call on beside Him do not posses as much as a seed's shell. If you call on them,
they cannot hear your calls. But even if they heard you, they cannot respond to
you. On the Day of Resurrection, they will disown your Shirk." 35:13-14
The Quran indicates that whenever
the human being faces grave danger he will implore God alone but as soon as God
rescues him he reverts to associating partners with God:
"When they sail onboard
a ship, they call on God, devoting the religion purely to Him. Yet when He
delivers them safely to the shore, they revert to Shirk." 29:65
This might be due to the fact
that when we are faced with imminent danger we usually have very little time to
think. At that moment our instincts take over, and by instinct we all recognise
God's absolute authority and that He alone has the power to save us.
Sadly for the majority of
people the name of God on its own is not sufficient:
"This is because when
God alone was implored, you disbelieved, but when others were associated with
Him, you believed. Therefore judgment lies with God; the Most High, the
Great." 40:12
To conclude, believers should
implore God alone, as the act of imploring God is undoubtedly a true expression
of Worship.
Act Nine: Appreciation and
Gratitude
The Quran confirms that the
expression of appreciation and gratitude to God is indeed an act of Worship:
".....and give thanks
for God's blessings if you do worship Him" 16:114
The act of appreciation and
gratitude is in fact a four fold expression:
1- Remembering God's
blessings:
The human being is to always
remember God's blessings and not take it for granted:
"O people remember God's
blessing upon you." 35:3
2- The realization that all
blessings come from God:
Genuine believers accept that
all good things that happen to them in life come from God alone, and that no
human being has any power to benefit them except in accordance to God's will.
This message is quite clear in the Quran:
"Any blessing that you
have is from God." 16:53
3- The expression of
Appreciation and Gratitude:
The Quran stresses the
importance of expressing appreciation and gratitude to God. This should be
accompanied by a genuine content with ones fortunes. Those who are content with
what they have are often the ones who find true happiness. It has been said
that happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have. The
following verse ascertains the importance of appreciation, and its great
reward:
"Your Lord has
proclaimed: "If you give thanks, I shall increase for you, but if you
disbelieve then My punishment is severe." 14:7
The Quran states that God's
blessings are so numerous that the human being can never count them all:
"If you count God's
blessings, you can never encompass them, the human being is indeed
transgressing, unappreciative" 14:34
Many of these God given
blessings are taken for granted. If we consider our senses, to be able to hear
and see, to be given a mind superior to all other creatures with which we are
able to attain sovereignty on earth. The moment we lose one of these, say our
sight, we know exactly what we have been taking for granted. All these
blessings are God given.
"God brought you out of
your mothers' wombs knowing nothing and He then gave you the hearing, the
eyesight, and the mind, may you be thankful." 16:78
"God is the One who
ordained for you the night so you can rest in it, and the day for seeing. God
grants His favour to the people, but most people are not thankful." 40:61
4- Proclaiming God's
blessings:
The fourth expression of act
nine is to constantly proclaim God's blessings. Since God's blessings on us are
too numerous to be counted, it is only fair that we should proclaim His
blessings on us to every one we know. By doing so we are expressing both our
gratitude and our Worship of God.
"You shall proclaim the
blessings of your Lord." 93:11
Act Ten: Devotion and
Dedication
This act undoubtedly is the
highest form of worship. This is the act of those who dedicate their lives and
money to the cause of God. Those are the ones who constantly strive to preach
the way to God. They are promised the highest reward:
"Those who believed,
emigrated and strived in the cause of God with their money and their lives hold
the greatest rank with God; these are the winners." 9:20
No words are better than
those words that preach the way to God:
"Who is better spoken
than one who invites to God, does good works and says, "I am one of the
submitters"?" 41:33
The command to devote and
dedicate ourselves and our money to the cause of God is also found in (Sura 22,
verse 67) and (Sura 28, verse 87).
The great value of such work
is evident considering that such commands of dedication and devotion are often
addressed to God's own messengers. The following verse is addressed to prophet
Muhammad:
"O prophet, We have sent
you as a witness, a bearer of news and a warner, inviting to God with His
permission and a guiding beacon." 33:45-46
The Quran also provides the
optimum method of preaching and inviting to God:
"You shall invite to the
path of your Lord with wisdom and sound advice, and debate with them in the
best possible manner." 16:125
Conclusion
These are the ten expressions
and signs of worshipping God. How many of these are regularly observed? This is
only the first question, however the more important question is how many of
them are done for GOD ALONE? The answer to both of these questions will vary
greatly among different individuals. If you would like to test the purity of
your Worship, and whether you qualify to join the elite group of God's servants
whom God calls (God's pure servants) (Ebad Allah Al-Mokhlaseen) then ask
yourself in all honesty about those ten signs. Take each act on its own and weigh
your actions against it.
For example, do you glorify
any one besides God? Do you idolize any one to the extent of calling them
perfect (God being the only absolute perfection)?
Do you love any one as much
as you love God? Do you commemorate any name as much as you commemorate the
name of God, or even more?
Do you obey any religious law
other than God's Law of the Quran?
Do you place your total trust
and dependence on others believing that they have the power to help you on
their own? Do you on the other hand often fear others believing that they have
the power to harm you?
Do you call on any dead human
beings (prophets, saints, etc) and implore them to give you what you need?
Do you believe that any human
(including messengers) has the power to save you on Judgement Day, whether
through intercession or otherwise? Or do you believe the Quranic words that
proclaim that there will be no intercession on Judgement Day? Are you
comfortable with the feeling that God is all you need (39:36)? Are you happy
with the mention of the name of God alone (39:45)?
And finally, are you obsessed
with your business or your loved ones to the extent that you dedicate all your
life to them and become negligent of the only reason for which we were all
created? That being to worship God:
"I did not create the
Jinn and the humans except to worship Me." 51:56
The higher degree of honesty
you abide by in answering these questions, the better you will be able to
determine if you worship God or not, and more importantly will indicate as to
whether you worship God alone!
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