Worship

[ابوالوليد المسلم]

Worship (1/2)

Fathi Yakan



Worship or ibadah in Islam is the peak of submission to Allah, the connecting step between the creatures and the Creator, and the key to righteousness in dealing among the creatures of Allah.

This comprehensive worship or ibadah includes all the pillars of Islam, i.e., prayer, fasting, charity (zakat), and pilgrimage, as well as the entire Shari’ah. The logic of Islam requires life to be all worship and obedience. This is the meaning of Allah’s statement:

“I have created jinns and Men only that they may serve Me. No sustenance do I require from them, nor do I require that they should feed Me. For God is He who gives (all) sustenance, Lord of Power, steadfast (forever).” [Qur’an, Surah Adh-Dhariyat, 51:56-58]

“And we have been taught to declare: Truly, my prayer and my death, are (all) for Allah, the Cherisher of the worlds.” [Qur’an, Surah Al-Ana’m, 6:162]

The worship of a Muslim should have the following characteristics. It should be:

1. Dynamic
Worship must be alive, inspired with the love of Allah, and productive of right action (ihsan). The Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah upon him), when asked about (ihsan) said:

“It is to worship Allah as though you see Him, and though you see Him not, yet truly He sees you.” [Reported by Bukhari and Muslim]

Worship must be humble, inspired by both awe of Allah and intimacy of feeling. ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allah was talking with us and we were talking with him, but when the time for prayer came, he seemed not to know us nor we him. [Reported by Azdi]

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:
“Many a (people) get nothing but fatigue from their prayer; and many a (people) get from their fasting nothing but hunger and thirst.” [Reported by Nasa’i]

2. Open-Hearted
Worship should be open to Allah and dedicated to Him, free from concerns about business and the hardships of this world. The Messenger of Allah indicated this by saying:

“Allah will not look at the prayer which does not relate the man’s heart with his body.” [Musnab Al-Firdausi]

Prayer is directed toward the hereafter; when you start praying, you leave this physical world. Al-Hassan observed: A prayer without one’s heart into it is a fast road to punishment.

3. Fervent
Worship should be impassioned, unsatiable and one should never be complacent about it. One should seek ever-greater nearness to Allah by personal prayer and by responding to Him as a faithful servant. A qudsi hadith says that Allah told the Prophet (Peace be upon him):

“I will declare war against him who shows hostility to a pious worshipper of Mine. And the most beloved things with which My slave comes nearer to Me is what I have enjoined upon him. My slave continued to come closer to Me through performing Nawafil (praying or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) till I love him. So I become the sense of hearing with which he hears, and the sense of sight with which he sees, and the hand with which he grips, and the leg with which he walks. And if he asks Me, I will give him, and if he asks my protection, I will protect him, I do not do anything as I hesitate to take the soul of the believer, for he hates death, and I hate to disappoint him.”
[A hadith qudsi narrated by Bukhari from Abu Hurairah.]

4. Dedicated
Worship should include supererogatory (nawafil) prayer at night (qiyam al layl). One should discipline oneself to become accustomed to prayer at night because it is the most effective armor of faith for a believer. Allah, the Almighty, has said:

“Truly the rising by night is most potent for governing (the soul), and most suitable for (framing) the word (of prayer and praise).” [Qur’an, Surah Al-Muzzammil, 73:6]

Allah praises His obedient servants in these words:
“They were in the habit of sleeping but little by night, and in the hours of early dawn, they (were found) praying for forgiveness.” [Qur’an, Surah Adh-Dhariyat, 51:17-18]

“Their limbs do forsake their beds of sleep, the while they call on their Lord, in fear and hope, and they spend (in charity) out of the sustenance that We have bestowed on them.” [Qur’an, Surah As-Sajdah, 32:16]

1.2.5. Qur’an-Oriented And Full Of Awe
To nourish one’s worship, one should allocate a certain time to read and think deeply about the Glorious Qur’an, especially at dawn because Allah the Almighty has said:

“The prayer and reading in the morning carry their testimony.” [Qur’an, Surah Al-Isra', 17:78]

Always bear in mind the following words of Allah concerning His book:
“Had we sent down this Qur’an to a mountain, verily, you would have seen it humble itself and cleave asunder for fear of Allah.” [Qur’an, Surah Al-Hashr, 59:21]

Reading the Qur’an in this manner helps one to understand its message soberly, to ponder the awesome future of man, and to lament the melancholy fate of those who ignore the promises of Allah. The Messenger of Allah said:

“The Qur’an was revealed in all gravity, so when you read it try to be pensive.” (Narrated by Abu Ya’la and Abu Naim).

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: “The best worship for my ummah is reading the Qur’an.” (Narrated by Abu Naim).

Abdullah Ibn Masud related that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

“Verily, the Qur’an is the food of Allah, so come closer to it if you are able. Verily, the Qur’an is the rope of Allah, bright light, good medicine, and a guide for those who hold on to it. When he strays, the Qur’an will remind him of the path; and when he is misguided, the Qur’an will correct him. Its miracle lasts forever, and will not be reduced by rejection. Read the Qur’an. Allah will reward each word of your reading tenfold; and W, ’U, ’M’ is not one word, but three.” [Narrated by al-Hakim]

In his advice to Abu Dharr the Prophet (Peace be upon him) told him:

“Recite the Qur’an because this will cast light on the earth from the heavens?” [Narrated by Ibn Haban]

Whoever declares lawful what [in the Qur’an] is prohibited, denies the Qur’an. (Reported by Tirmidhi).


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