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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, charity, etc.
This limited understanding of
worship is only one of the meanings of worship in
Islam. That is why the traditional definition that
includes almost everything in any individual's
activities. The definition is as follows: "Worship
is an all inclusive term for all that Gods 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 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 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. Muslim).
s
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 otherwise. This might sound strange to
some people who think of religion as a personal
relationship 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 and have no
influence on one's inner life.
The Qur’an
addresses the believers and their neighbours from
among the people of the Book (Jews and Christian)
who were arguing with them about the change of the
direction of the Qibla in the following verse: “ It
is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness, and each and
every act of obedience to Allah, etc.) that you
turn your faces towards east and (or) west (in
prayers); but Al-Birr is (the quality of) the one
who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the Angels, the
Book, the Prophets and gives his wealth, in spite of
love for it, to the kinsfolk, to the orphans, and to
Al-Masakin (the poor), and to the wayfarer, and to
those who ask, and to set slaves free, performs As-Salat
(iqamat-as-Salat), and gives the Zakat, and who
fulfil their covenant when they make it, and who are
patient in extreme poverty and ailment (disease) and
at the time of fighting (during the battles). Such
are the people of the truth and they are Al-Muttaqun
(the pious). (41-Baqarah:177) the deeds in the above
verse are deeds of righteousness and they are only a
part of worship. The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him)
told us about faith, which is the basis of worship,
that it’s made up of sixty of so 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". Decent work is
considered in Islam a type of worship. The Prophet
(Peace be upon him) said: "No one has eaten better
food than that obtained through the hard labour of
his hands. Prophet David (Peace be upon him)the
Prophet of Allah used to earn his living through his
own labour". Seeking knowledge is one of the highest
types of worship.
The Prophet
(Peace be upon him) told his companions that
"seeking knowledge is a (religious) duty on every
Muslim." In another saying he said: "A person who
follows a path for acquiring knowledge, Allah will
make the passage to paradise easy for him". 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 and putting some water in your neighbour's
bucket is a charity.'' It is worth nothing that even
performing one's duties is considered a sort of
worship. The Prophet (PBUH) told us that whatever
ones spends for his family is a type of charity, he
will be rewarded for it if he acquires it through
legal means. Kindness to the members of one's family
is an act of worship as when one puts a piece of
food in his spouse's mouth as the Prophet (PBUH)
informed us. 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 the human life on all
levels: the individual, the social, the economic,
the political and the spiritual. That is why Islam
provides guidance to smallest details by following
Islamic instructions in that specific area. It is a
very encouraging element when one realises that all
his activities are considered by God as acts of
worship. This should lead the individual to seek
Allah's pleasure for 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. Discussing the non-ritual
worship in Islam first does not mean underestimating
the importance of the ritual ones. Actually, ritual
worships if performed in the correct manner,
elevates man morally, spiritually and enable him to
carry on his activities in all walks of life
according to the Guidance of God. Among ritual
worships.
Salah
(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-Fateha: 4-5). Salah 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." (An-Nur:
1-2) The same fact has been emphasized by the
Prophet (PBUH) in a different way. He says: "Those
who offer their Salah with great care and
punctuality, will find in alight, a proof of their
Faith and cause of their salvation on the Day of
Judgment".
After Salah,
Zakah (poor-due) is an important pillar of Islam. In
the Quran, Salah and Zakah have mostly been
mentioned together. Like Salah, Zakah is a
manifestation of faith that affirms that God is the
sole owner of everything in the Universe. 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:7)
In this respect, Zakah is an act of devotion which
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. It stops the
channels leading to class hatred and makes it
possible for the springs of brotherhood and
solidarity to gush forth. Such stability or not
merely based on the personal feelings of the rich
but stands on a firmly established right which, if
the rich denied it, could be exacted by force, if
necessary.
Siyam
(fasting from dawn to sunset) in the month of
Ramadhan is another pillar of Islam. The main
function of fasting is to make the Muslim pure from
"within" as other aspects of Shariah make him pure
from 'without By such purity he responds to what we
can perceive in the Quranic Verse: "O you who
believe, fasting is prescribed for you as or was
prescribed for those before you, that you may gain
piety" (Al-Baqarah: 183). In an authentic tradition.
The Prophet (PBUH) reported Allah as saying with
regard to one who fasts "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 thus
awakens the conscience for all society at the same
time, thus adding further strength to each
individual. Moreover, fasting offers a compulsory
rest to the overworked human digestive system for
the duration one who ate deprived of life's basic
necessities throughout the year or throughout life.
It makes us realize the suffering of others. The
less fortunate brothers in Islam, and thus promotes
in him a sense of sympathy and kindness to them.
Lastly, we
come to Al-Hajj (pilgrimage to the House of Good in
Makkah). This is a very important pillar of Islam
manifest a unique unity dispelling all kinds of
differences, Muslims from all corners of world,
wearing the same dress, respond to the call of Hajj
in one voice language: LABAIKALLA HUMMA LABBAIK
(Here I am at your service O Lord!) In Hajj, there
is an exercise of strict self-discipline and control
where not only sacred things are revered, but even
the life of plants and birds is made inviolable so
that everything lives in safety: "And he that
venerates the sacred rites of God, it shall be
better for him with his Lord" (Al- Hajj: 30), "And
he that venerates the symbols of God, it surely is
from piety of the heart." (Al- Hajj: 31) 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.
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 makes the work
of God dominant in the World.
reference to
www.islamic-ef.org
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