الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينة ونستغفره، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا، ومن سيئات أعمالنا ، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ، وأشهد أن سيدنا محمداً عبده ورسوله ، اللهم صلِّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه  ومن تبعه إلى يوم الدين

This talk is a continuation of our discussion that took place in the last two weeks. As a reminder, we have been discussing the following four questions:

1. What is the purpose of our lives on earth?
2. What is the nature of this life on earth?
3. What is the requirement to fulfill this purpose?
4. What are the traits and qualities that we must possess to fulfill these requirements?

We addressed the first two questions. 

The answer to the first question, “What is the purpose of our lives on earth?”, is to prepare us for eternity when we return to Allah who will assess whether we are worthy of being in His company in Paradise forever or He will send us to another place as punishment for our failure.

The answer to the second question, “What is the nature of this life on earth?” is that our life on earth is a temporary assignment, it is a test, and it is a trust.

The answer to the third question “What is the requirement to fulfill this purpose? The answer Is revealed to us by Allah in Surah A-Zariat (51). Allah says:

وَمَا خَلَقۡتُ ٱلۡجِنَّ وَٱلۡإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعۡبُدُونِ (٥٦) مَآ أُرِيدُ مِنۡہُم مِّن رِّزۡقٍ۬ وَمَآ أُرِيدُ أَن يُطۡعِمُونِ (٥٧) إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلرَّزَّاقُ ذُو ٱلۡقُوَّةِ ٱلۡمَتِينُ (٥٨)

And I (Allah) did not create the jinn and humans except that they worship Me. (56) I do not want any provision from them, nor do I want them to feed Me. (57) In fact, Allah is the provider of provisions, Possessor of the Power, the Strong.” (Al-Zariat 51:56-58).  

These verses clearly indicate that the only thing that man can do to achieve the purpose of his life on earth is to worship Allah.  However, the term “worship” is the traditional English translation for the Arabic word that was revealed by Allah which is “Ya’abudoun” (يعبدون).   There are key differences between the two words and thus additional elaboration is required before proceeding with providing the key elements of this command, its quality metrics, and the potential barriers to achieve it.  

The Definitions of the English term “To Worship” and the Arabic Term “Ya’abud”

The English term “worship” is assembled of two words “Worth-Ship”.  The word “Worth” means “significant, valuable, of value; appreciated, highly thought-of, deserving, meriting; honorable, noble, of high rank”.  The word “-ship”: provides the meaning of “quality, condition; act, power, skill, position; relation between”.  The term “Worship” is used to mean “an act of affirming God’s worth.”  The use of this term, worship” to mean “reverence paid to a supernatural or divine being” is first recorded about the year 1300.  Therefore, the use of worship means an act of expressing reverence, respect, admiration, and devotion to God in the form of religious practice and rituals.

The Arabic action verb “Ya’abud” (يعبد) and its plural form “Ya’abudoun” (يعبدون) that is used in the Quran are derived from the Arabic root “Abad” (عبد) (“to be a slave”).  The nature of relationship between the master and the slave is called “Ubudiyyah” (عبودية) (“slavery”).  The actions of the slave towards his master are called “Ibadah” (عبادة)” that involves complete obedience and total submission.  The Person who is doing “Ibadah” (عبادة) is called “Abd” (عبد) (“Slave”).  Therefore, a common Arabic name is Abdallah” (عبدالله) that means “’slave of Allah.

Note: In the west, it is often thought that Abdallah is only a Muslim’s name which is not correct, the name Abdallah existed in the Middle East far before Islam and thus it is also used by Christians.   The first phrase in Exodes in the Arabic Bible reads: “فِي الْبَدْءِ خَلَقَ اللهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالارْضَ.”. The accurate translation should be “In the beginning Allah created the heavens and the earth”: It is unfortunate that the English translators replaced Allah with “God” and thus you read: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”.

In the Quran, Allah uses two different plurals for the title “Abd” (عبد) (“Slave”). Allah uses the common plural “Abeed” (عبيد) (slaves) and it is used 5 times.   Allah uses another plural “Ibad” (عباد) (slaves) and it is used 97 times.  The Plural “Abeed” (عبيد) is used when addressing the disbelievers while the plural “Ibad” (عباد) is used when addressing the believers.   As examples:

وَنَقُولُ ذُوقُواْ عَذَابَ ٱلۡحَرِيقِ (١٨١) ذَٲلِكَ بِمَا قَدَّمَتۡ أَيۡدِيكُمۡ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَيۡسَ بِظَلَّامٍ۬ لِّلۡعَبِيدِ (١٨٢)

“We shall say: Taste the punishment of fire! (181) This is due to what your hands sent ahead. Allah never do injustice to (His) slaves (Abeed).” (Al-Emran 3:181-182)

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِى عَنِّى فَإِنِّى قَرِيبٌ‌ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعۡوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ‌ۖ فَلۡيَسۡتَجِيبُواْ لِى وَلۡيُؤۡمِنُواْ بِى لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَرۡشُدُونَ (١٨٦)

 “When My slaves (Ibad) ask you about Me, I am near. I respond to the call of every suppliant when he calls Me; so, they should respond to Me and believe in Me; so that they may be on the right path.” (Al-Baqara 2: 186)

One needs to recognize that the term Worship falls short from explaining Allah’s command that the role of man on earth is to be steadfast on his Ibadah (عبادة) of Allah.   The term “Ibadah” establishes the foundational relationship between us and Allah, the Master of the Universe and everything that exists. This divine Master-slave relationship is completely opposite of the human master-slave relationship.

The confusion in the mind of some people arises when they fail to differentiate between two relationships.  A relationship in which Allah is the Master and people are His slaves and a relationship in which a man is a master and other people are his slaves.  In the case of man as a master, the relationship is based on him taking the fruits of the labor of his slaves.   But in the case of Allah as the Master, He benefits nothing from His slaves, rather He provides them with all they need, and He is always available to ensure their happiness and survival.   Allah summarizes this relationship by the following revelation:

يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلنَّاسُ أَنتُمُ ٱلۡفُقَرَآءُ إِلَى ٱللَّهِۖ وَٱللَّهُ هُوَ ٱلۡغَنِىُّ ٱلۡحَمِيدُ (١٥) إِن يَشَأۡ يُذۡهِبۡڪُمۡ وَيَأۡتِ بِخَلۡقٍ۬ جَدِيدٍ۬ (١٦) وَمَا ذَٲلِكَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ بِعَزِيزٍ۬ (١٧)

“O mankind, you are the ones who need Allah. And Allah is Free-of-All Needs, the Ever-Praised. (15) If He will, He can be do away with you rid of you and bring new creation. (16) That is not something difficult for Allah.” (Fatir 35:15-17)

The same point is emphasized in a Hadith Qudsi in which the Prophet (PBUH) said that Allah, the Almighty, said:

عن أبي ذر الغفاري رضي الله عنه ، عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فيما يرويه عن ربِه عز وجل أنه قال : ( يا عبادي إني حرمت الظلم على نفسي ، وجعلته بينكم محرما فلا تظالموا ، يا عبادي كلكم ضال إلا من هديته ، فاستهدوني أهدكم ، يا عبادي كلكم جائع إلا من أطعمته ، فاستطعموني أُطعمكم ، يا عبادي كلكم عار إلا من كسوته ، فاستكسوني أكسكم ، يا عبادي إنكم تخطئون بالليلِ والنهار ، وأنا أغفر الذنوب جميعا فاستغفروني أغفر لكم ، يا عبادي إِنكم لن تبلغوا ضري فتضروني ، ولن تبلغوا نفعي فتنفعوني ، يا عبادي لو أن أولكم وآخركم وإنسكم وجنكم كانوا على أتقى قلب رجل واحد منكم ما زاد ذلك في ملكي شيئا ، يا عبادي لو أن أولكم وآخركم وإنسكم وجنكم كانوا على أفجرِ قلب واحد منكم ما نقص من ملكي شيئا ، يا عبادي لو أن أولكم وآخركم وإنسكم وجنكم قاموا في صعيد واحد فسألوني ، فأعطيت كل واحد مسألته ما نقص ذلك مما عندي إلا كما ينقص المخيط إذا أدخل البحر ، يا عِبادي إنما هي أعمالكم أحصيها لكم ثم أوفيكم إياها ، فمن وجد خيرا فليحمد الله ، ومن وجد غير ذلك فلا يلومن إلا نفسه ) رواه مسلم .

“O My slaves, I have made oppression forbidden for Myself, and I have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another.

O My slaves, all of you are misguided except those whom I guide, so seek guidance from Me and I shall guide you.

O My slaves, all of you are hungry except those whom I feed, so ask Me for food and I shall feed you.

O My slaves, all of you are naked except those whom I clothe, so ask Me for clothes and I shall clothe you.

O My slaves, you commit sins by night and by day and I forgive all sins, so ask Me for forgiveness and I shall forgive you.

O My slaves, you can neither do Me any harm nor can you do Me any good.

O My slaves, if the first and the last amongst you and all humans and Jinns were all as pious as the most pious heart of any individual amongst you, that would add nothing to My power and dominion.

O My slaves, if the first and the last amongst you and all humans and Jinns were all as wicked as the most wicked heart of any individual amongst you, it would cause no loss to My power and dominion.

O My slaves, if the first and the last amongst you and all humans and Jinn were all to stand together in one place and ask of Me, and I were to give everyone what he requested, then that would not decrease what I possess, except what is decreased of the sea when a needle is dipped into it.

O My slaves, it is only your deeds that you will be held accountable for, then I shall recompense you for it. So, anyone finds good, let him praise Allah, and anyone finds other than that, let him blame no one but himself.” (Reported by Imam Muslim)

Allah never sleeps, and He is always awake to support and protect us, as His slaves.   When you sleep, He ensures that all your body functions operate properly, so you would not die. Imagine, how long anyone of us would survive, if we have control over our heart, blood circulation, breathing system, etc.   Allah ensures our survival as His slaves by controlling the air we breathe and the sun that gives us light and warmth, the water that we drink, the food that we eat, etc. 

Since Allah does everything for us and He needs nothing form us, why He wants our function on earth to be His slaves and He be our sole Master.  The answer is that Allah wants us to always feel dignified and liberated by refusing to allow any other human being from taking advantage of us by making us his slaves. 

It appears that it is a human nature to either be dominating or subservient and this was the reason that many philosophers and even Christion theologians justified slavery.  The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, suggested that slavery was a natural thing and that human beings came in two types – slaves and non-slaves. Using similar argument, the Greek philosopher Plato said that justice consists in the superior ruling over and having more than the inferior.

Contrary to these views, Allah dignified all people and liberated them from any feeling of inferiority towards others by declaring that all men are slaves of Allah and Allah is the only Master in the universe. But since this life is a test, equality of mankind in this life is not the goal. The goal is to ensure equity in the Hereafter.

• Equality means everyone is given the same resources or opportunities.
• Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.

 Allah creates people in this life with different talents and capabilities and grants them different levels of fortunes and blessings.  The difference among people is intended to ensure that the wheel of worldly life continues.  Allah says: 

أَهُمۡ يَقۡسِمُونَ رَحۡمَتَ رَبِّكَ‌ۚ نَحۡنُ قَسَمۡنَا بَيۡنَہُم مَّعِيشَتَہُمۡ فِى ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَا‌ۚ وَرَفَعۡنَا بَعۡضَہُمۡ فَوۡقَ بَعۡضٍ۬ دَرَجَـٰتٍ۬ لِّيَتَّخِذَ بَعۡضُہُم بَعۡضً۬ا سُخۡرِيًّ۬ا‌ۗ وَرَحۡمَتُ رَبِّكَ خَيۡرٌ۬ مِّمَّا يَجۡمَعُونَ (٣٢)

“Is it they who allocate the Mercy of your Lord? We have allocated among them their livelihood in the worldly life and raised some of them above others in rank that some of them may employ others in their work; and the mercy (Paradise) of your Lord is better than (the wealth) that they accumulate.” (Al-Zukhruf 43:32)

The interesting reality is that many overlook that if Allah gave everyone what he wants, transgression and mischief will occur.  Allah says:

وَلَوۡ بَسَطَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلرِّزۡقَ لِعِبَادِهِۦ لَبَغَوۡاْ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَلَـٰكِن يُنَزِّلُ بِقَدَرٍ۬ مَّا يَشَآءُ‌ۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ بِعِبَادِهِۦ خَبِيرُۢ بَصِيرٌ۬ (٢٧) )الشّوریٰ(

“If Allah were to expand the provision for His slaves (to its full extent), they would spread mischief on earth; but He sends down what He wills in due measure: Surely, with regard to His slaves, He is All-Aware, Ever- Watchful.” (Al Shura 42:27)

You may wonder how the expansion of provisions causes the spread of mischief while the general perception is that the restriction causes mischief.   There is a well-known experiment conducted by John Calhoun who is American ethologist and behavioral researcher that demonstrated that major disaster results from expanding provisions to everyone.  The experiment was conducted between 1968 and 1970 and is called” Universe 25: The Mouse “Utopia”. The main conclusion is that tension, stress and needs are necessary for survival because they give life true meaning,

Whether a person is a king or a servant, an owner or a worker, a man or woman, they are all slaves of Allah, and their role is to realize their relationship with Him and act accordingly.  No one should ever take advantage of the certain blessings that Allah granted them to feel superior over others.   The difference among men is not a matter of superiority- inferiority but rather is a matter of roles on earth to ensure self sufficient society. A doctor has no superiority over a janitor because a doctor cannot live without the Janitor and vice versa; both are slaves for only One Master who is Allah.  The only superiority metric that Allah considers is righteousness, Allah says:

يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقۡنَـٰكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ۬ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلۡنَـٰكُمۡ شُعُوبً۬ا وَقَبَآٮِٕلَ لِتَعَارَفُوٓاْ‌ۚ إِنَّ أَڪۡرَمَكُمۡ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ أَتۡقَٮٰكُمۡ‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ۬ (١٣)

“O mankind! We have created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other. Verily the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the one who is most righteous. And Allah is All-Knowing, All Aware.’ (Al-Hujuraat 49:13)

On the Day of Judgement, only the purity of the hearts count, Allah says:

يَوۡمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٌ۬ وَلَا بَنُونَ (٨٨) إِلَّا مَنۡ أَتَى ٱللَّهَ بِقَلۡبٍ۬ سَلِيمٍ۬ (الشُّعَرَاء)

“The Day when neither wealth nor sons will be of any benefit (88) Except to him who will come to Allah with a sound heart.” (Al-Shuara 26:88-89)

The Prophet (PBUH) emphasized this point by saying that the superiority metric righteousness:

قال صلى الله عليه وسلم: ” لا فضل لعربي على أعجمي، ولا لأبيض على أسود، ولا لأسود على أبيض إلا بالتقوى ” )رواه أحمد وغيره.(

“O people!  There is no preference for Arabs over non-Arabs, nor for non-Arabs over Arabs.  Neither for white over black people, nor for black over white people.  Preference is only through righteousness.”

The title “slave of Allah” is the most honorable title any person can have and thus Allah used it to refer to His most beloved, Prophet Muhmmad (PBUH), by declaring him as (عبده) “His Slave.” Allah says:

سُبۡحَـٰنَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَسۡرَىٰ بِعَبۡدِهِۦ لَيۡلاً۬ مِّنَ ٱلۡمَسۡجِدِ ٱلۡحَرَامِ إِلَى ٱلۡمَسۡجِدِ ٱلۡأَقۡصَا ٱلَّذِى بَـٰرَكۡنَا حَوۡلَهُ ۥ لِنُرِيَهُ ۥ مِنۡ ءَايَـٰتِنَآ‌ۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلۡبَصِيرُ (١)

“Glorious is He Who made His slave (Mohammad) travel by night from the sacred Masjid to Al-Aqsa Masjid whose neighborhood is blessed, so that We let him see some of Our signs. Surely, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.’ (Al-Isra 17:1)

ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنزَلَ عَلَىٰ عَبۡدِهِ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ وَلَمۡ يَجۡعَل لَّهُ ۥ عِوَجَاۜ (١)

“All praise belongs to Allah Who has sent down to His slave (Mohammad) the Book (the Qur’an) and allowed no crookedness in it.” (Al-Kahf 18:1)

تَبَارَكَ ٱلَّذِى نَزَّلَ ٱلۡفُرۡقَانَ عَلَىٰ عَبۡدِهِۦ لِيَكُونَ لِلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ نَذِيرًا (١)

“Blessed is He Who has revealed His Criterion to His slave (Mohammad), (of right and wrong), that he may be a warner to the people” (Al-Furqan 25:1)

وَأَنَّهُ ۥ لَمَّا قَامَ عَبۡدُ ٱللَّهِ يَدۡعُوهُ كَادُواْ يَكُونُونَ عَلَيۡهِ لِبَدً۬ا (١٩) قُلۡ إِنَّمَآ أَدۡعُواْ رَبِّى وَلَآ أُشۡرِكُ بِهِۦۤ أَحَدً۬ا (٢٠)

“And when the slave of Allah (Mohammad) stood up in prayer to Him (Allah), they almost rushed on him in crowds. (19) Say: I pray to My Lord, and do not associate anyone with Him.” (Al-Jinn 72:19-20)

Although the word worship does not fully reflect the full meaning of the word “Ibadah” (i.e., our relationship with Allah) I am still going to use the word worship for simplicity.

In the next sections, three issues regarding Worship will be presented, these are:

1. The Key Elements of worship
2. The Quality Metrics for Proper worship
3. The Barriers to Proper worship

The Key Elements of Worship

It is critical to define worship in terms of what Allah, as our sole Master, is expecting from us, as His slaves, and this is total obedience to His commands and that our obedience is to be motivated by our love and gratitude to Him and by our trust in Him that all His commands are intended for our benefits.  Therefore, we can define Worship as any act that demonstrate four elements:

1. Obedience
2. Love
3. Gratitude
4. Trust.

This definition is consistent with the opinion of other scholars. As example, Imam Ibn Taymiya defined worship as: “It is a comprehensive term that encompasses all what Allah loves of words and deeds whether inward or outward. 

Also, Imam Ibn al-Qayim said: “Worship is the utmost degrees of love to Allah while accompanied by complete surrender.

I’ll stop here and in the next sessions, I plan to inshallah expand on the 4 elements of Worship, Obedience, love, gratitude, and trust based the Quran and the Hadith of the Prophet (PBUH).  Then, we can discuss the other topics: the quality metrics for worship, and the potential barriers to proper worship. 

DUA