The concept of worship in Islam
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 part of the meaning of worship in Islam. That is why the traditional definition that includes almost everything in any individual's activities. The definition goes something like this, "Worship is an all inclusive term for all that Gods love 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 the 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 Prophet Muhammad [PBUH] 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. Muslims.” [Qur’an 6:162]
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 mechanically and have no influence on one's inner life. The Qur’an addressed the believers and their neighbors from among the people of the Book (Jews and Christians) who were arguing with them about the change of the direction of the Qibla in the following verse:
"Righteousness is not that you turn your faces towards the East or the West, but the righteous is he who believes in Allah and the Last Day and the Angels and the Books and the Prophets, and gives his beloved money to the relatives and the orphans and the needy and for the ransoming of the captives and who observes prayer and pays the poor-due; and those who fulfil their promises when they have made one, and the patient in poverty and affliction and the steadfast in time of war; it is those who have proved truthful and it is those who are the God-fearing." [Qur’an 2:177]
The deeds in the above verse are deeds of righteousness and they are only a part of worship. The Prophet [PBUH] told us about faith, which is the basis of worship, that it " ..is made up of sixty or 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 of 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 [PBUH] said: "No one has eaten better food than that obtained through the hard labor of his hands. Prophet David [PBUH] the prophet of Allah used to earn his living through his own labor".
Seeking knowledge is one of the highest types of worship. The Prophet [PBUH] 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 easy the passage for Paradise 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 neighbor’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 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 the smallest details. It is a very encouraging element when one realizes 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 knowing that he is being watched by his 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 and 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 time a day, wherein he renew his covenant with God and seeks His guidance again and again. The Qur’an says:
"You alone we worship and to you alone we turn for help. Guide us to the straight path" [Qur’an 1:4-5]
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.” [Qur’an 24:1-2]
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 it a light, a proof of their Faith, and a cause of their salvation on the Day of Judgment."
After salah, zakah [poor-due] is an important pillar of Islam. In the Qur’an, 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, and 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." [Qur’an 57:7]
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 is 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 Qur’anic Verse:
"O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may gain piety" [Qur’an 1:183]
In an authentic tradition, the Prophet [PBUH] reported Allah as saying with regard to the 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 over worked human digestive system for the duration of one who are 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 God in Makkah). This is a very important pillar of Islam that manifests a unique unity, dispelling all kinds of differences. Muslims from all corners of the world, wearing the same dress, respond to the call of Al-Hajj in one voice language:
LABBAIK ALLA HUMMA LABBAIK
(Here I am at your service O Lord!)
In Al-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" [Qur’an 22:30]
"And he that venerates the symbols of god, it surely is from piety of the heart." [Qur’an 22:32]
Pilgrimage gives an opportunity to all Muslims from all groups, classes, organizations and governments from all aver 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 attend is open to every Muslim. No one has the power to bar anyone. Every Muslim who attends guaranteed full safety and freedom as long as he himself does not violate its safety..
