Author: Abdul Hai Lay'yan
Religious Needs Assessment of Human Beings in the Light of Islamic Teachings (Part ten)
Continuation of the Fourth Topic: The Purpose of Human Creation in This World
A Reflection on the Meaning of Worship
The word ‘Ibadah’ (worship) in its original sense means humility and submission. It is said that a “smooth road” (طريقٌ مُعبَّد) is one that has been trampled upon and made easy to walk.[1]
Worship is of two kinds: universal/innate worship (‘Ibadah Takwiniyyah’) and specific/voluntary worship (‘Ibadah Ikhtiyariyyah’).
The first type — universal or innate worship — includes believers and disbelievers, the obedient and the sinful alike. Its meaning is the natural humility and submission to God’s will, from which no creature can escape. As Allah says: “أَفَغَيرَ دِینِ اللّهِ یبْغُونَ وَلَهُ أَسْلَمَ مَن فِی السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ طَوْعاً وَكَرْهاً وَإِلَیهِ یُرْجَعُونَ” [2] Translation: “Do they seek a religion other than Allah’s, while to Him submits whoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and to Him they will be returned.”
This refers to Allah’s encompassing authority over His creation and His absolute will governing them.
However, this type of innate submission differs from voluntary and legal worship, which earns reward and merit. It is unlikely that this innate worship is the purpose behind the creation of jinn and humankind, because the verse refers specifically to these two, while innate worship includes all creation.
The second type is specific and voluntary worship. Allah has granted humans the power of choice and free will to act or abstain, and for this reason, He has made them accountable.
Its meaning is a comprehensive term for everything Allah loves and approves of — both words and deeds, outward and inward.[3] In other words, it is voluntary humility before Allah through obedience to His commands and avoidance of His prohibitions.
This is the type of worship Allah has legislated and the very purpose for which humans and jinn were created. He has endowed them with both physical and spiritual abilities to fulfill it.
Pillars of Worship
The pillars of this worship are love, fear, and hope toward the One being worshiped.
Allah combines these three in the verse: “أُولَئِكَ الَّذِینَ یدْعُونَ یبْتَغُونَ إِلَى رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِیلَةَ أَیهُمْ أَقْرَبُ وَیرْجُونَ رَحْمَتَهُ وَیخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُ إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّكَ كَانَ مَحْذُوراً” [4] Translation: “Those whom they invoke are themselves seeking a means of access to their Lord, as to which of them should be nearest; they hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. Indeed, the punishment of your Lord is something to beware of.”
Seeking nearness (wasilah) to Allah signifies love — the force that drives one toward Him. After mentioning love, Allah highlights hope and fear, for these are the qualities of His devoted servants.
Sometimes, one who worships only through love may fall into permissiveness, declaring forbidden things lawful by saying, “Sin does not harm the one who loves.” This is a false and un-Islamic notion, for sins are inherently harmful, like poison that damages every body it enters. The root of such error lies in separating love from fear.
When love is accompanied by fear, it keeps the servant on the straight path. Fear is like a whip that keeps the horse from straying, while hope is like a melody that encourages it to move forward, and love serves as the guide and reins.
If a horse is left without whip or rein, it will deviate from its path. Likewise, nothing guards the limits of Allah better than fear, hope, and love of Him. The righteous draw closest to Him through these three. If the heart lacks them, it falls into corruption beyond repair, and whenever one of them weakens, faith itself diminishes proportionally.[5]
Therefore, true worship is the culmination of these three qualities — love, fear, and hope — at their highest and most balanced form. None of them alone constitutes real worship.
Worship, then, is due to Allah alone, even though its benefit returns to the servant. Allah is free of all need, but He is worshiped because He alone is worthy of it, deserving of love and obedience.
Indeed, worship of the Creator is the highest rank a human can attain. The perfection of man and his ascension to the loftiest levels lie in realizing the very purpose for which he was created. In doing so, he becomes free from enslavement to his desires or to fellow creatures like himself.
In contrast, the one whose goal is merely to satisfy physical appetites — food and lust — is base and degraded. Allah compares such people to cattle: “وَالَّذِینَ كَفَرُوا یتَمَتَّعُونَ وَیأْكُلُونَ كَمَا تَأْكُلُ الْأَنْعَامُ وَالنَّارُ مَثْوًى لَّهُمْ” [6] Translation: “Those who disbelieve enjoy themselves and eat as cattle eat, and the Fire will be their abode.”
They have lost the virtues of humanity and fallen to levels even lower than beasts, whose only concern is satisfying their desires. Their inner and outer movements revolve solely around worldly pleasures, never rising to the higher goal of goodness and salvation.[7]
Because of the exalted rank of worship, Allah described His Prophet (peace be upon him) in his most honorable state — the Night Journey (Isra) — as His servant (abd):
“سُبْحَانَ الَّذِی أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَیلاً مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَى” [8] Translation: “Glory be to Him who took His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque.”
Indeed, religion (din) itself encompasses the meaning of worship and servitude, for din literally signifies humility and submission. It is said: “دنتُه فدان” — I humbled him, and he became humble. And it is said: “یدین الله” — He worships and obeys Allah. Hence, the religion of Allah means obedience, worship, and humility before Him.[9]
Continues…
Previous Part
References:
[1] Ibn Manzur, Lisan al-‘Arab, root word ‘abd, vol. 3, p. 273.
[2] Surah Al-Imran: 83.
[3] Taqi al-Din Ahmad ibn Abd al-Halim (Ibn Taymiyyah), Al-‘Ubudiyyah, Damascus: Al-Maktab al-Islami, 1382 AH, p. 44.
[4] Surah Al-Isra: 57.
[5] Ibn al-Qayyim, Al-Bada’i‘ al-Fawa’id, Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-‘Arabi, vol. 3, p. 523.
[6] Surah Muhammad: 12.
[7] ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sa‘di, Tafsir al-Karim al-Rahman fi Tafsir Kalam al-Mannan, p. 786.
[8] Surah Al-Isra: 1.
[9] Ibn Taymiyyah, Al-‘Ubudiyyah, p. 48.
