A COMPARISON

A COMPARISON 1. Keeping alive in a person’s mind the awareness that he is not an independent being in this world but a servant of the Rabb al-Alamin (Lord of all worlds) and must act accordingly. 2. Instilling a sense of duty in him as a servant and fostering the habit of fulfilling his obligations. 3. Distinguishing between the dutiful and the undutiful, and identifying and excluding those who do not fulfill their responsibilities. 4. Embedding a complete system of thought—an ideology—into the person’s mind and solidifying it to the point that it becomes an essential part of their character. 5. Developing in a person the strength to act according to his beliefs and understanding, and to utilize all his physical and mental abilities in pursuing this path. The purpose of making congregational prayer obligatory is to promote these same objectives on a collective level. This is because: “For a Muslim, this world is a battleground of intense struggle, competition, and conflict. Large groups of people here rebel against God, enforcing their self-made laws with full force