Worship

Worship

1997 7-8 July-August 18-32 Worship (5121) What God most earnestly desires from human beings is worship. The Qur’an says: “I have not created jinn and mankind except to worship Me” (51:56). There are numerous such verses in the Qur’an which elaborate on how the Prophets were sent for this very purpose, that is, to warn or to remind man of this responsibility of his (16:36). This is so important a matter that if a man cannot find opportunities of worship in his own country, he is enjoined to leave it for some other place (4:97).

The dictionary defines worship as bowing before someone and humbling oneself. “The essence of worship is fearfulness and humility,” says Lisan aI-Arab. The dictionary meaning of the word is also its canonical meaning. Abu Hayyan says: “Prayer means humility: this is the consensus of religious scholars” (AI Bahr al Muhit, Vol. 1, p. 23). That is why the Qur’an uses the work “arrogance” as the antonym of worship. It says, Those who are too arrogant to worship Me will verily enter Hell.” (40:60).

Although worship’s real connotations are humility and fearfulness, when the word is used in relation to God, it also includes the concept of love. Ibn Kathir writes: “According to the dictionary, worship stands for lowliness ... In the Islamic Shari ‘ah it is used to express a condition of extreme love coupled with extreme humbleness and apprehension.” (Tafsir al Qur’an, Vol. 1, p. 25) Iman Ibn Taimiyah says: “The word ‘Ubudiyat (adoring enslavement) expresses a mixture of extreme humility and extreme love.” (The Pamphlet on Ubudiyah, p. 28) Hafiz Ibn Qayyem also writes.

“There are two components of worship: extreme love and extreme humility” (Tafsir ibn Qayyem, p. 65).

The essence of worship then is to adopt an attitude of lowliness and humility before God. In the Qur’an, this is expressed by different words, such as Khashiyyah, Tadhurru, Ikhbat, lnabat, Khushu, Khudu and Qunut, etc. To worship God means utter prostration of oneself before Him. The Being before whom the act of worship is performed is no tyrant or tormentor but an extremely kind Being, to whom we owe limitless blessings. So this expression of lowliness before Him is tinged with love.

The relation of man to God is the relation of the humblest creature to an extremely beloved Being. At the very moment when man is shivering in awe of God, when his eyes fill with tears at the thought of Him, his best feelings are even then reserved for His Lord, and he draws closer to God in great expectation. Man, then, finds himself rapt in a love which is utterly agonizing. Though his humility in the presence of God is undoubtedly the result of fear, this fear is not of the kind produced by the sight of a fearful object. It is a feeling which no single word can properly convey. It is a mixed feeling of extreme hope and extreme apprehension, and man is never able to decide which of the two is to be preferred – hope or apprehension. It is a situation of love and fear in which man runs towards the very Being he fears, hoping to receive from Him His divine blessings. It is a state of agony, yet and at the same time a state of solace.

Thus we learn that prayer is basically a psychological experience rather than an external event.

Man, in the last analysis, is a psychological being: so in its definitive form, prayer in relation to man, is the expression of an inner state rather than of an external happening. The Prophet has clearly stated that “righteousness is a thing of the heart” (Bukhari). According to the Qur’an, the essence of worship is to be God-fearing.

‘O men, serve your Lord who has created you and those who have gone before you, so that you may guard yourselves against evil’ (2:21).

Worship, in terms of external expression, means bowing before the Sustainer, while in its inner aspect it stands for that deep realisation of and strong attachment to God in which man is so involved that he can experience the presence of God. The Prophet has been reported as saying, “Pray to God as if you are seeing Him.” (Mishkat, The Chapter on Faith). According to this saying, the most sublime form of worship is that in which the worshipper is so lost in thoughts of God that he finds himself very close to Him. His apprehension of the divine presence should be as keen as if God were actually visible. This state of psychological proximity is the most sublime achievement of prayer. All rites of worship are aimed at arriving at that state. The postures to be adopted in the performance of these rites are ordained by God Himself. Anyone who asserts that it is possible to pray to God independently of these God-ordained rites, is making a false claim. Without these rites, no one can become a worshipper, in the real sense of the word. Although man has a soul, which is not visible to us, it is also a fact that man cannot be conceived of in this world without a human body. Similarly, worship may be a psychological reality, but it cannot be conceived of without external, God-ordained religious rites.

Although the word ‘worship’ covers the entire Shari’ah, in the sense that it embraces whatever man does to follow God’s commandments and to seek His pleasure, it is his sentiment of adoring slavishness which provides the stimulus for all of his actions. Yet basically and primarily, worship (Ibadat) denotes that particular act which takes place between man and God. While interaction between man and man is the demand of worship, interaction between man and God is worship in itself. When a man is saying salat he is directly engaged in the worship of God. He bows before the Almighty who has no equal. Whereas, when he obeys God’s commandments relating to moral and social dealings with his fellow men, he fulfills his human duties in relation to others. From the point of view of performance, these requirements are as obligatory as special acts of worship. But the difference in nature between the two must be kept in view, for otherwise the true concept of religion cannot be properly understood. While human duties are always contingent upon circumstances, religious duties are absolute.

Let us take an example to clarify the above statement. If, according to God’s law, it is the duty of a Muslim to distribute to certain entitled people whatever he receives in inheritance, this does not mean that everyone must strive to acquire property so that this religious obligation may be fulfilled. It means rather that if a Muslim should receive an inheritance – some property or wealth – his faith demands that he deal with it according to the commandment regarding inheritance. It is a duty which is obligatory only on having inherited something, far from it being incumbent on every individual in an absolute sense, as worship is.

This explanation of worship makes it clear that interconnection of love and fear of God is not just an “incentive” in practical life, but the actual goal that we must strive to achieve in this world. All our acts have one aim – to become the means to the psychological discovery which is known as ‘entering into a relationship with God’ and ‘reaching God.’ That is to say that the relation between God and man is not just an external intellectual supposition (e.g. if we repeat certain words and actions, God in heaven will be pleased with us) far and beyond this there is a direct link between God and man. This attitude of adoring slavishness, in its external form, is obedience to God’s commandments, but its inner reality means carrying man to the point where he can meet God, where he may whisper to his Lord, where he may cry and break down in His presence, where he may impatiently embrace Him, where he may feel that he is prostrate at the feet of his Creator. To find God thus in this life is the highest and most sublime reality of religion. The aim of all rites and commandments of religion is to raise man to this level. One who finds God thus in this world, will surely find Him in the next world; one who has failed to find Him on earth should not expect to find Him in the world hereafter.

What are the signs of having found this spiritual wealth? One of the signs is that man begins to receive God’s worldly benefits (20:131). In complying with God’s commandments, whatever you do is apparently a matter of your own choice: you may or may not obey them. But during the performance of these acts, or rites of worship, one experiences particular inner feelings which are not a matter of one’s own choice.

One cannot produce them on one’s own. Then where do these inner feelings come from? These actually come from God. This is ‘food’ for the believer without which His spiritual personality could not survive. It is like the actual food which Mary received directly from God when living in the care of the Prophet Zakariya (The Qur’an 3: 37). When you observe a religious practice, you become aware of a special kind of feeling within you. This feeling is a reward from God for your good deeds. God does not give His best reward on credit! He gives it on cash payment. The believer receives it the very moment he makes himself worthy of it. When our Lord accepts any of our deeds, we surprisingly experience spiritual, nay angelic, feelings within ourselves. This is the introduction to Paradise that God has promised to righteous believers. It is the fragrance of the Garden of Paradise which believers find in this world. Although these inner feelings take the form of a spiritual anguish, they are far more piquant than anything in this world. They cannot be savoured as worldly delights are. Intuition tells us that these inner feelings are reflections of that superior, divine reward which is called Heaven. It is said, therefore, in the Qur’an that the Heaven into which the believers will enter in the Hereafter will be a “known food” (37:41) to them. It will not be a thing unknown, but a thing with which they were already acquainted in the life of the world:

“He will admit them to Paradise He has made known to them” (47:6).

According to Abu Sa’ eed Khudri, the Prophet once said: “The man who goes to Heaven will recognise his home even better than he recognised his house on earth” (Bukhari).

When men give charity “with their hearts filled with awe ...” (Qur’an 23:61); when they are able to recite “the Qur’an in such a way that their eyes are “filled with tears” (S: 86); when, while remembering God, they “forsake their beds to pray to their Lord in fear and hope” (Qur’an 32: 16); when they experience such painful moments as realizing the truth of what is stated in the Qur’an in these words: “ ... and the love of God is stronger in the faithful” (2: 165); when they have the most sublime spiritual experiences; when some hidden truths are unveiled before them; when, with restless hearts and quivering lips, they call their Lord with such inspired words as had never before come to their lips, then they are actually receiving food from their Lord. They are tasting one of the many fruits that their Lord has reserved for them. In this world these fruits take the form of spiritual experiences; in the next world they will take the form of heavenly rewards. Then the faithful will feel that these are the very things of which they had been given a foretaste on earth: “Whenever they are given fruit to eat they will say: ‘This is what we were given before,’ for they shall be given the like” (Qur’an 2:25).

What the blessed are going to receive in the life hereafter has already been introduced to them in the life they left behind. How foolish it would be if they were under the impression that in the next life they would be introduced to tastes, with which they had been previously unacquainted. Similarly, if in this life you have not previously passed through such phases of feeling yourself nearer to God than to all others, how can you expect proximity with God in the Hereafter? Surely, prayer deserves such a great reward as will bring a sense of relief to the worshippers. But this reward will be shared only by those who had known in the world such prayers as has been alluded to by the Prophet in these words: “I found the balm of my eyes in worship” (Nasai).

The Implication of Worship

What God desires of man, first and foremost, is that he display humility in His presence. It is this attitude which is called worship. But man has not been created in a vacuum; he has rather been placed in a world full of diverse circumstances. It is necessary that this spirit of worship should be evinced no matter what circumstances he faces in this world.

1. The first aspect of this relates to his own person. In the course of normal living, whenever he is faced with two options, one path leading to God and the other leading to self and false gods, his spirit of worship compels him at that point to renounce the latter path and take the one which is pointed out to him by God. This happens when he has surrendered his being in all respects, in the physical as well as the spiritual, before the God to whom he has already bowed psychologically. This manifestation of worship is relative to one’s own self, another name for which is submission. Occasions for such submission will occur at home, in the office, in the market, in parliament and in all other such places where the faithful may be faced with making a choice between godly and ungodly ways.

2. The second aspect of worship relates to the external world, that is, to non-Muslims. The precarious conditions of all those inhabitants of this world who have not yet established contact with their Lord, and, as a result, are drifting to a dangerous end in the hereafter, forces the believer to bring them to that path of worship which he has chosen for himself. It is the aspect of worship which he manifests itself in relation to the common man. Another name for this duty of the believer is bearing witness to the truth or conveying the message of the Lord. The faithful are expected to obey the commandments of God so far as their ownselves are concerned. And in relation to non-Muslims they are responsible for conveying the God’s message to them.

Now let us take the first manifestation of worship, i.e. submission. It can be divided into two major categories: the individual and collective (or social). Individual obedience means obeying God in those matters which are related to the personal life of the faithful. It covers all those commandments which pertain to morals and dealings with men, like speaking the truth, keeping one’s promise, being honest and trustworthy, upholding justice and equality, being hospitable, giving full measure, paying everyone their due, being a well-wisher of all, in short, all those virtues which are related to man’s personal life and all those situations in which man must make his own ethical decisions. In all such cases, compliance with divine injunctions means submitting individually, surrendering to the will of God in his own personal affairs. A Muslim is not allowed to disobey God once he knows God’s commandments in relation to his personal life, and once he is in position to obey them.

“It is not for true believers-men or women-to take their choice in their affairs if Allah and His apostle decree otherwise. He that disobeys Allah and His Apostle strays far indeed” (33:36).

This individual obedience to God is an obligation on every believer. No man can ever be regarded as a worshipper in the eyes of God unless in his practical life he obeys the commandments of God which have been imposed upon him in relation to all earthly matters. If “worship” in its spiritual connotation means submission of the inner self then in external respects man is required to make a complete surrender to God of his outward self (as opposed to his soul). In other words, man should mould his external life entirely on the pattern indicated by God. It is the duty of all believing men and all believing women to reject other inducements and to submit totally to God in all matters that they face in this life:

“O believers, submit all of you wholeheartedly, and do not walk in Satan’s footsteps; he is your sworn enemy” (2:208).

The second category of commandments, for which we have chosen the title ‘Ita’ah’ (submission), may be termed social commandments. These are commandments the obeying of which does not depend upon the will of an individual believers. These can be carried out only when the whole of society is willing to obey them. That is why such commandments have always been sent by God only when the believers had already established a political organisation among themselves, and when they were in a position to enforce such social laws. Thus the social laws of the Shari’ah are addressed to any Muslim society which is invested with authority, rather than to individuals who have no political power. We find in the history of the Israelites that so long as they were under the rule of the Copts of Egypt, they were not given the legal commandments which appear in the old Testament.

Only when they had left Egypt for the Sinai desert and acquired the status of an independent, authority-invested group, did God sent His laws to them (Exodus 15:25). Exactly the same course was adopted in Arabia. During the Meccan period, when the faithful were a minority with no authority, only the basic part of the Shari’ah was revealed, for the establishment of which no political power was required. Every Muslim could adopt those laws in his life by his own personal decision. The rest of the Shari’ah continued to be revealed according to the circumstances. That is to say, detailed commandments regarding social life were given in Medina once the faithful had acquired temporal authority there.

The order in which these laws arrived shows that in ordinary circumstances the faithful are bound to follow only those Islamic laws which were revealed before the acquisition of social authority. The carrying out of the rest of the laws becomes obligatory only when the faithful can, from the seat of government, enforce these laws with authority. The revelation of the shari’ah laws, in accordance with the gradual expansion of the Islamic field of activity, itself shows that these laws are not required in the absolute sense, but only in relation to circumstances. These are always determined in relation to the actual circumstances of the individual or group addressed. The truth is that social and political commandments are directed only at those groups of believers who are in a position to carry them out. Believers with a limited sphere of power are not required to enforce religious laws on a social or national level. The carrying out of orders meets a practical demand, and a demand can be made only of those who have already accepted its validity. This demand, moreover, will be in proportion to their practical ability to carry it out. One clear principle of the Shari’ah is that “God does not charge a soul with more than it can bear” (2: 286). That is to say, no one is entrusted with a responsibility which is beyond his capacity to fulfill. To entrust responsibility to one who does not have the means to discharge it is not God’s way. Then how can believers be asked to obey laws, which they are not in a position to comply with. If, taking into account all the details of religious laws, the claim is made that it is obligatory for believers to carry out and enforce these laws in all earthly circumstances, it will amount to saying, for example, that it is the responsibility of each and every Muslim to try to acquire all those financial assets on which Zakat has been fixed, so that he may carry out the duties in relation to Zakat.

All religious orders are equal in form, but their applicability is determined by circumstances. For instance, one order of the Qur’an is to “pray regularly”, another order is to ‘pay Zakat.’ Apparently both these orders are equal in importance just as both are in the imperative tense. But their relevance to different individuals is not always the same. The order to pray regularly is an absolute order which is obligatory on each and every believer, while the order regarding Zakat is conditional, that is, it is obligatory only when one possesses enough wealth to come under the law of Zakat. That is, if a person possesses items taxable under Zakat law, this obligation to pay Zakat will be applicable to him in the absolute sense, just as the order to pray is obligatory for all. But a person who is not in possession of items taxable under Zakat is neither required to pay Zakat nor is he ordered to acquire taxable items so that he may be able to obey the law on Zakat. What is desirable is that the believer should be active in carrying out duties which are of current relevance rather than engaging in such activities as well bring into existence a duty which is not at that moment applicable to him. For instance, struggling to form an independent state so that all state laws are enforced there.

We learn, therefore, that there are a number of religious duties that are not to be enforced in the absolute sense, being applicable only in relation to circumstances. As the circle of believers goes on expanding, so also do the demands of religion. If there were only one single believer, only that part of religion would be obligatory upon him which relates to his person. In this instance the sole object of divine commandments would be his own person. When the believers increase in numbers to one or several families, then this whole group will be the addressee of the divine commandments. And when a group of believers attain the status of an independent, autonomous society, then it becomes the duty of the whole society to fully carry out the commandments of God regarding social matters. Since such orders cannot be carried out without authority at the social level, whenever a society of believers is asked to carry out divine laws, it becomes incumbent upon the believers to select a political leader in order to carry out the divine laws governing social life under his leadership.

All Islamic commandments are the expression of some psychological truth. When faith is rooted in the heart, it reflects throughout the human psychology. Yet its external expression is in proportion to the opportunities made available by external circumstances. Interrelationships between believers is also of a similar nature. Though it is not possible to structure them in a hierarchical way, they may still be broadly divided into three main stages.

The first stage is that of religious instructions and exhortation. The crux of it is that every Muslim should have in his heart sincerity and well-wishing for every other Muslim (Bukhari, Muslim). In the words of the Bible, he should become his brother’s keeper. (Genesis 4:9).

Jarir came to the Prophet. The latter said, “O, Jarir, extend your hand.” Jarir asked him why? The Prophet said: “So that you may turn your face to God and be a well-wisher to every Muslim” (Kanzul Ummal, Vol. 1, p. 82).

That is, your attitude in social intercourse should be beneficial to your brother in both the present world and hereafter. And you should avoid any such act as could possibly lead to division and dissension among Muslims.

It is this act which has been described in Qur’an in the Chapter 103, (revealed in Mecca) in these words: ‘Exhort one another to truth and patience?’ The spirit of worship which manifests itself in one Muslim’s dealings With another is described in the Qur’an as exhorting one another to truth and patience. Thus God has highlighted two important aspects of this demand made by faith. One aspect of this demand is that we induce believers in Islam to opt for the courses of action which God finds desirable. Another aspect is that we take recourse to unification so that we may have the strength to face any worldly hurdles which come in the way of remaining firm in this material world on the will of God, and to remain steadfast in the way of God regardless of the difficulties.

The second stage is that of organisation. That is, Muslims should not remain in scattered groups, but, to whatever degree it is possible, should establish discipline among themselves, and regulate social matters along the lines laid down by Moses, who, on reaching the Sinai desert, divided the Israelites into twelve tribes with a leader (Naqueeb) to every group. During the early Meccan days, this social organization existed around the person of the Prophet, Dar-e-Arqam (the house of Arqam) being its centre. The same system was adopted for the Ansar of Medina before the Emigration. At the time of the second oath of allegiance (623 A.D.), when 75 people of Medina (73 men and 2 women) came to the Prophet and accepted Islam, they were told by the Prophet to appoint twelve leaders over them (AI-Bidayah wa al Nihayah, Vol. 3, page 160). So they chose twelve responsible persons from among themselves, three belonged to the Aus tribe and nine to the Khazraj tribe. Then the Prophet addressed them thus:

“You are the guardians of the believers of Medina” (Zarqani, Vol 1, p. 382). The leadership of Jafar, who was appointed leader of the emigrants to Abyssinia was also of this nature (Seerat ibn Hisham). Similarly, whenever Muslims spread out from the cradle of Islam-Arabia-into the world, they tried to establish their social structures. In addition to leading an Islamic life and calling others to Islam, they gave basic importance to organization. This kind of systemization can be expected only where social control is already in existence and Muslim are able to perform their religious duties under one leader.

The last stage of Islamic organisation is the formation of political set-up which, in religious terminology, is called Nasbe-Imamat, the appointment of Islamic Imam. The establishment of a political and social leader of Muslims is obligatory according to all schools of religious thought. This matter is so important that there is not a single book on religious law and creeds which has not dealt with this issue.

It is specially stated in Sharh al-Mawaqib and Aqaide al-Nasaf that it is compulsory for Muslims to have an Imam.

With one minor exception, no group disagrees over this issue. Ibn Hazm writes:

All Sunnis, Murjea, Shia, and Khawarij (except now extinct Najdat sect) agree on the obligatory nature of the lmamat” (Al-Melal wa al-Nehal).

The only difference of opinion lies on this matter is that the people of the Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jama’ah group take this to be a canonical order, while some other groups such as Zaidiya and Mutazela, consider it necessary as a rational measure.

But, as mentioned above, the matter of appointing a political leader is relevant only in a Muslim society which has acquired an independent status as a social group and, as such, is in a position to set up its own separate political organization. The question just does not arise of appointing a political leader over a diversity of believers. That is to say, this commandment is not absolute. It means simply that when a group of Muslims enjoying its own social organization, comes into existence, it is incumbent upon it to organize its social life on the foundations of religion and to appoint a political leader in order to lead an organized life under his leadership. Political leadership is a manifestation of the social authority of a definable group. Where no social authority exists, on what basis can one be ordained to carry out the commandment of lmamat?

The above statement, has been made from the point of view of the feasibility of enforcing commandments. But there is an equally important requirement of Islam: the principle of gradualness to be observed when enforcing the commandments.

Viewed from this angle, a small Muslim minority, however religiously aware, is not required to launch a campaign for the enforcement of Islamic laws, whether it be surrounded by a non-Muslim majority, or faced by a preponderance of the kind of Muslims who are lacking in any proper Islamic awareness. In a Muslim society which has degenerated into religious apathy, if not apostasy, such a campaign as a first step would be tantamount to a deviation from the Islamic method of gradualness.

The proper way to reform a Muslim society according to Shariah is to spread the basic teachings and initial commandments of religion far and wide, so that to the greatest possible extent, Islam’s legal and social laws become generally acceptable. Only after this stage will the time be ripe for starting a movement for the enforcement of God’s commandments.

The importance of gradualness in enforcing commandments is stressed in a famous tradition of the Prophet’s wife ‘Aishah, according to which it was so essential in the eyes of God that, in many instances, He did not send the believers His commandments in their full and final form. On the contrary, most of the commandments were sent in installments. Where systemization was subsequently required, the principle of Naskh (abrogation) came into operation, (Qur’an 2:106 and 16:101) “by which certain verses of the Qur’an abrogate or modify others, which are then called mansukh (revoked). What is generally at issue is the modification of a universal meaning by a more specific one, a modification caused by a historic change of circumstances. In this way, by naskh, the Qur’an accommodates itself to the relativities of the human situation” (Cyril Glasse, The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam, p. 298). According to Hudhaifah, it is impermissible for anyone who is not conversant with this principle of Naskh to preach or to explain the verses of the Qur’an.