CORRECT UNDERSTANDING OF RELIGION

CORRECT UNDERSTANDING OF RELIGION “We sent no messenger before you without revealing to him that there is no god but Me, so worship Me.” (21:25) These verses state that the very purpose of human creation and its primary responsibility is to worship God. In these verses, the purpose of human creation and his responsibility is explained as worshiping God. The literal meaning of ‘ibadah is to bow down and humble oneself before another: asl al-‘ubudiyyah al-khudu’ waal-tadhallul (Lisan al-‘Arab, Vol. 3, p. 271). Likewise, asl al-‘ubudiyyah al-khudu’ wa-al-dhull (al-Sihah by alJawhari, Vol. 2, p. 503), that is, the essence of worship is submission and humility. The literal sense of ‘ibadah is the same as its legal or religious sense. Abu Hayyan al-Andalusi wrote: al-‘ibadah: al-tadhallul, qalahu al-jumhur (Al-Bahr alMuheet, vol. 1, p. 41). Worship is (defined as) humility; this was said by the majority of scholars. For this reason, in the Quran the opposite of worship is expressed with the word istikbar (arrogance): inna alladhina yastakbiruna ‘an ‘ibadati sayadkhuluna jahannama dakhirin (40:60)—“Those who act arrogantly, turning away from My worship, will enter Hell humiliated.” Here we cite the opinions of some scholars and commentators regarding worship: ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (RA): iyyaka na‘budu—ya‘ni iyyaka nuwahhidu wa-nakhafu wa-narju rabbana la ghayrak