Worship

Introduction:

Allah the Great created all the creatures for a reason and he created man kind and Jinn in order to worship and believe in Him. He said:

« And I have not created Jinn and mankind except that they worship Me ». [Surat Az Zariat/the Wind that Scatter, 56].

All the prophets-may peace be upon them- were calling to monotheism i.e. to worship and to adore no god but Allah. Allah the Great says: « And We never sent a Messenger before you except that We revealed to him saying: "There is no god but I, so worship Me"». [Surat Al Anbiyâ’/the Prophets, 25].

First: The definition of worship:

Worship means to obey God, do what He orders and restrain from what He forbids. It is subservience and submission to God with great love and not with fear.

Second: The condition for accepting worship:

El Fodil Bnu Iyad was asked about the meaning of the good work in the Almighty Allah saying: «Who created death and life, that He may try you, which of you is best in deeds...». [Surat Al Mulk/the Originator, from the verse 2]. He answered: "the good work is the honest and the most right". They said: "what is the honest and the most right?". He said:" the honest is the one which is done for the sack of Allah, and the most right is the one which is done in accordance with the Sunna…if the work is honest and it is not right, it is not accepted, and if it is right and it is not honest, it is not accepted".

Third: Types of worship.

1-The particular worship: it includes great worship: prayer, fasting, legal alms, pilgrimage, glorification (to utter the Lord’s name).

2- The general worship: It embodies all the deeds that human being does for the sake of God. Allah the Great said: «Say, “surly my prayers and my devotions, my life and death are all for God, the Lords of the worlds». [Surat Al Anaâm/the Cattle, 162].

Fourth: The precedence of worship over seeking for help.

Allah the Great said: «You alone do we worship, and you alone do we ask for help ». [Surat Al Fatiha/the Opening, 5]. So why worship is given priority over asking for help?.

1- To give priority to the ends over the means. Worship is the end «And I have not created Jinn and mankind except that they worship Me ». [Surat Az Zariat/the Winds that Scatter, 56], and asking for help is a means to realize it.

2- The need of support to perform worship. Ibnu El Qaim was always invoking God by the following prayers: "O my Lord, help me before, during and after worship, so that I do not feel tired".

3- Worship can be performed only by a sincere, but asking for help can be done by a sincere and a non sincere.

4- Allah’s name is mentioned before the two verbs (worship, ask for help) to show praise to Allah and to be well disciplined towards Him.

¨ Great attention and care.

¨ Specialization and restriction.

Ibnu Taimia said: "I have scrutinized the most beneficial invocation, and I find that it is to ask God support and help to gratify and please Him", then, I see it in this verse:«You alone do we worship and You alone do we ask for help». [Surat Al Fatiha/the Opening, 5]. The prophet-may peace be upon him- said:«O Muâd! By God I certainly love you, so do not forget to say at the end of each prayer: O my Lord, I implore your help to utter your name, to praise you and to better worship you».

Fifth: Conclusions.

1- Worship is like a tree, if it is planted out, certainly it will fruit. The fruits of worship are the impacts that it embeds in the believer’s heart such as tenderheartedness, the uprightness of the self, the righteousness of behaviour…,and in the society like mutual assistance, helping the poor and the needy.

2- Servitude is a description given to the most perfect creatures. (human perfection).

Allah the Great said:

«…And remember Our servant David, the man of strength, and ever turned to his Lord». [Surat Saad, from the verse 17].

« And mention Our servant Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…». [Surat Saad, from the verse 45].

« Blessed is God the one who has revealed the Criterion to His servant; that he may be a warner to the worlds». [Surat Al Furqan/the Criterion, 1].

«And the true servants of God the most Gracious, are those who walk modestly on the earth…». [Surat Al Furqan/the Criterion, 63].

The prophet-may peace be upon him-said: "Do not laud me as the Christian lauded Jesus, the son of Mary. Indeed , I am a servant of God, so say: the servant of God and His Messenger". He also said: "May I not be a thankful servant?".

3- the absolute good omens for His servants:

Allah the Great said:

«…So give glad tidings to My servants who listen to speech and follow the best…». [Surat Az Zumar/the Companies, 17-18].

«O My servant, today no fear is on you nor shall you grieve». [Surat Az Zukhruf/the Ornament, 68].

4- Worship is performed by the heart, the tongue, and the other organs:

A- The heart: The worships that are performed by the heart are: belief, faithfulness, trust in God, patience, fear, contentment, satisfaction…

B- The tongue: The worships that are performed by the tongue are: to utter the two Shahadats (to say: there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His Messenger), invocation and declaration, to mention Allah’s name i.e. Allah is the Great.

C- The organs: The worships that are performed by the organs are: performing prayer, fulfilling Zakat (legal alms), fasting and making pilgrimage…

5- To respect and consider time: The worship that is ordained by the Almighty Allah is the one that is performed in its limited time without any deferring (delay).

6- The high degrees in religion is a good worship. In the conversation between the Angle Gabriel and the prophet-may peace be upon them- about Islam, faith and beneficence, the prophet asked Gabriel about beneficence, the latter answered « beneficence is to worship God as if you see Him, and indeed, if you do not see Him, He sees you».

7- With worship, Allah gets near to His Servant. In a Qudussi Hadith (a Qudussi Hadith or a sacred Hadith is a saying of the prophet-may peace be upon him- as revealed to him by the Almighty Allah), the prophet-may peace be upon him- reported that Allah said « If my servant approaches to me a span of the hand, I approach to him a cubit. If he approaches to me a cubit, I approach to him a span of the outstretched arms, and if he comes to me walking, I come to him trotting ». [Reported by El Boukhari and Muslim].

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