The journey of worship
By Yasir Qadhi
a lecturer &teacher
Who studied at-the Islamic University ,in al Madina al Munawwara
He has authored several books about Islam
and a popular speaker in many countries such as
. ,United States, and Australia Canada, England
Dear Brothers and sisters in Islam,
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu.
The most fundamental basis of Islam is that we have been created to worship Allah, the almighty
" وما خلقتُ الجن والإنس إلا ليعبدون "
I have not created mankind or jinn except that they may worship me.’ [Adh-Dhariyat: 56] "
And that fact leads us to talk about the following four aspects:
1-Why do we worship Allah the almighty?
If I ask some one this question ,may be he/she will say:
To thank him for what he has given to us,
Because we want to enjoy the everlasting pleasures of Jannah(paradise), or
Or Because we fear to be tortured by the fire of hell.
Well, these answers are not wrong , they are correct ,but unfortunately ,they are secondary ,that is why we should be aware of the main and fundamental reason
We worship Allah _it's basically not because of us ,
but because he is worthy of being worshiped !!
He is great , affectionate, merciful, generous, forgiving, powerful _ all in all , he is perfect!
And there is an example ,which is the most perfect example to follow, the prophet Muhammad (pbuh),he guaranteed his place in Jannah ,but he used to pray after midnight till dawn until his feet were swollen and fissured, then when his wife"Aisha " asked him : "why do you do that and Allah has forgiven you and guaranteed Jannah for you ? he said :"shouldn't I be a thankful worshipper?!!!" narrated by Imam Muslim
Now ,let's think,
If this is the case with Prophet Mohamed how is the case with us?!!
The second example is Angels ,who were created before the creation of the earth, who do not eat or drink , they do not hope for Jannah ,or afraid of hell ,but they do not do any thing but worshipping Allah day & night, and after all that ,what do you think they would say in the day of judjment?
They would say:
"سبحانك ما عبدناك حق عبادتك"
"oh Glorified Allah We have not worshiped you enough, We have not worshiped you the way you deserve to be worshipped"!!! Narrated by Salman al farisi, and in Sahih AL Albany.
So , Allah is worshiped because of who He is , and not for what we want from him,
So If you worship him for who He is ,you guarantee that when you lose interest in Jannah, or when you are not afraid of the Hell ,or when you do not feel thankful ,or grateful for him_ you will continue worshipping Him and with enthusiasm!!!
2-How do we worship Allah the almighty?
What do we do in order to worship Allah?!
By a specific number of :
Beliefs:
faith (Iman)That there is no god but Allah, and belief in angels,all sacred booke sent by Allah , all prophets ,fate and destiny_and in the rest of five pillars of Islam .
Statements:
Say the shahadatain (ashhad an la ilaha illa Allah wa anna Muhammad rasulullah)
Actions:
to do the five pillars, then to worship Allah as if you see him ,If you do not see him ,He sees you .
3- how do we keep our batteries charged to worship Allah perfectly?
Of the best ways to increase our consciousness to Allah, and motivate our worship is Knowledge, I.E.:
- the knowledge of (fiqh) of the 5 pillars of Islam , how did the prophet(pbuh) did them ,what are the fundamental pillars of praying, fasting, zakat, Hajj _etc.(theory and practice).
-The second is knowledge about theology(akidah)about Allah ,the prophets ,the angles, the day of judjment_etc.
-The third is knowledge about the blessings(fada'el) of doing the Islamic deeds_for example if you know that wudu makes your sins go away with water drops of wudu , and when you know that the prophet will recognize the Muslims from others in the day of judgement(when they are very thirsty) to give them a drink from his river (al kawthar)by the shining light from the places of wudu on their bodies ,you will love wudu and do it willingly_etc.
you can find those blessings of different Islamic deeds in a book titled:" Riadh –ussaleheen" by Imam al Nawawy
Then study the Quran and the Sunnah , beside studying other life sciences that you wish.
4- what are the levels of worship?
Islam has levels ,there is no black or white in Islam .
The first level is : Islam
To perform the bare minimum of Islam(the 5pillars)_to pray only five times a day , to fast only the month of Ramadan , to go to Hajj once, if possible ,I.E. doing the (fara'edh)
The second level is Iman (higher)
It is to do the (fara'edh) and also do the regular sunnas (nawafel),i.e.: to pray more than 5 times a day , to fast on Mondays and thursdays, and the three days of the moon _etc.
The mo'men becomes a mo'men by the quality of actions.
The third level is :Ihsan(the highest)
It is to worship Allah as if you see him ,If you do not see him ,He sees you, i.e.:
to do what a Muslim and Mo'men does,and in addition to that, to worship Allah for 24 hours a day , and that’s the level of the angels,
but HOW ,can a human being do as an angel?
Other religions say:" leave your daily life and live in caves and do nothing but worship.
But does that apply to Islam?
No ,because Muslims worship Allah according to his instructions, and in the way that Prophet Mohamed (pbuh) did it .
Did the prophet and his companions do that ?the answer is NO, they lived as humans, they went to work, they slept as they wish , they had their meals ,had fun and enjoyment _etc but when the time for prayer comes they go and pray.
So the mohsen acts as a human and be rewarded as an angel by doing every thing for Allah_ he goes to work to feed himself and his family,thinking that Allah has blessed him with a wife and children and it is his duty to look after them ,he eats to be strong enough to worship allah ,he feeds his wife in her mouth to be rewarded from Allah, he does recreational activities for him and the family not to get bored with worship , he sleeps early at night to wake for the Fajr prayer ,he plays physical exercises to be a strong Muslim, He smiles to all people to be rewarded from Allah _etc.
The Mohsen is consciuos that Allah is watching him ,
so he does every single thing for the sake of Allah ,
he lives all his life for Allah !!!
that is spirituality (ubodeyah),i.e.worshipping by heart !
To conclude,let my summarize this lesson in a different way in 2 primary points:
Firstly, be mindful of Allah throughout days and nights ,do not fall in the mistake of worshipping Allah in a routinely way ,or living your life un consciously,
aim for the level of Ihsan ,even if you could not reach it totally, reach it partially, aim for the consciousness of Allah the almighty .
Secondly, *Never trivialize any good deed that you can do, because you do not know which good deed will make Allah forgive you and rewards you with Heaven, it is spirituality .
Remember the hadeeth about a prostitute who met a thirsty dog and felt mercy on it, so she filled her shoe with water to make the dog drink ,and Allah accepted this single deed from her! and forgave her and rewarded her by Paradise!!!!
not for giving water to the dog , but for the consciousness of Allah behind this deed, and how desperate for Allah's forgiving she was then .
and remember that the most rewarded deeds are the obligatory deeds (faraed),and the most beloved are the most punctual ,i.e.the most you are used to do them .
all in all,remember what al Hassan Albasry said:" Abu Bakre(RA) did not precede you because of more fasts, prayers ,or dhikre_but because of something that came into his heart and settled in his consciousness
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