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 is the 6^th talk on the topic entitled:” Your Life in Light of Eternity”, as a reminder, this topic addresses the following four questions:

1. What is the purpose of our lives on earth? And answer was 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
2. What is the nature of this life on earth? And the answer was that our life on earth is a temporary assignment, it is a test, and it is a trust.
3. What is our role on earth to fulfil the purpose of our lives on it? And the answer was to worship Allah and we defined worship as total obedience to Allah’s commands motivated by our love and gratitude to Him and by our trust in Him that all His commands are intended for our benefits.
4. What are the traits and qualities that we must possess to fulfill our role and achieve our purpose on earth?

In the last talk, we discussed the worship’s elements of love and gratitude, and Inshallah, today, I plan to discuss the element of trust and then move to discuss quality metrics for worship and barriers to proper worship.

1. Trust in Allah

Complete trust in Allah means that you should have faith that He knows what is best for you.  You should have no doubt that He will help you when you face problems, and He will never impose on you something that you cannot bear.  Therefore, we demonstrate our trust in Allah by how we react to misfortunes.  Allah taught every Muslim what to say when they face misfortunes:

قُلْ لَنْ يُصِيبَنَا إِلَّا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَنَا هُوَ مَوْلَانَا وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ

“Say, nothing will ever happen to us except what Allah has prescribed for us.  He is our protector and on Allah alone the believers should put their trust” (Al-Tawba 9:51).

(Note:  The Quranic expression “Katab Allah Lana” meaning “what Allah prescribed for us”, and not “Katab Allah Alaina” meaning “what Allah prescribed upon us”). 

We must have full trust that whatever Allah prescribes for us must be for our own good, no matter how bad people may conceive it.  Allah has stated this point clearly in several verses such as:

فَعَسَى أَنْ تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَيَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ خَيْرًا

 “It may be that you dislike something in which Allah has placed a great deal of good” (Al-Nisaa 4:19).

Also, we have to trust that Allah knows what is better for us more than our own selves, Allah says:

وَعَسَى أَنْ تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

 “It is possible that you dislike something which is good for you; while you love something, which is bad for you.  But Allah knows, and you do not know.” (Al-Baqara 2:216)   

Having trust in Allah that any setback and hardship must be good for us, makes us face them not with grief but rather with patience and praise to Allah.  This attitude towards misfortune is only unique to the believers.  Allah says to them: 

وَلَنَبۡلُوَنَّكُم بِشَىۡءٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱلۡخَوۡفِ وَٱلۡجُوعِ وَنَقۡصٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱلۡأَمۡوَٲلِ وَٱلۡأَنفُسِ وَٱلثَّمَرَٲتِ‌ۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ (١٥٥) ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَآ أَصَـٰبَتۡهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ۬ قَالُوٓاْ إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّآ إِلَيۡهِ رَٲجِعُونَ (١٥٦) أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ عَلَيۡہِمۡ صَلَوَٲتٌ۬ مِّن رَّبِّهِمۡ وَرَحۡمَةٌ۬‌ۖ وَأُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُهۡتَدُونَ (١٥٧)

“We will surely test you with some fear and hunger, and some loss in wealth, lives and the fruits of your labor. But give glad tidings to those who are patient.  (155) Who say when misfortune strikes them: We belong to Allah and to Him is our return. (156) Those are the ones upon whom Allah grants blessing and mercy, and they are the rightly guided.” (Al-Baqara 2:155-157).

The Prophet (PBUH) directed Muslims to face any misfortune by saying: 

ثبت عن النبي ﷺ أنه قال: ما من عبد يصاب بمصيبة فيقول: إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون، اللهم آجرني في مصيبتي، وأخلف لي خيرًا منها؛ إلا آجره الله في مصيبته، وأخلف له خيرًا منها.

“Verily, we belong to Allah and verily, unto Him shall we return. O Allah! Reward me for the calamity that has befallen me and grant me better than what I lost. “

A test that Allah has instituted to evaluate our trust in Him is the money. For many people money is the greatest test of all.  It has been said that you cannot serve both God and money and whatever you treasure, your heart will follow.

Allah made money as a key test for every Muslim by making it the third pillar of Islam (zakat).  How you manage your worldly wealth is a direct measure of your spiritual wealth.  The time will come when we regret the missed opportunities of spending money for charity, then it will be too late.  Allah reminds us of this reality by saying:

وَأَنْفِقُوا مِنْ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ فَيَقُولَ رَبِّ لَوْلَا أَخَّرْتَنِي إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ فَأَصَّدَّقَ وَأَكُنْ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ

“Spend from what We have provided you before death comes to one of you and he would say: ‘My Lord, if You would only delay things for me for a short time, then I will give charity and become one of the doers of good.” (Al-Munafeqoun 63:10-11)

When an opportunity arises to spend your money in charity and you withhold, it will be to your loss, Allah says:

هَا أَنْتُمْ هَؤُلَاءِ تُدْعَوْنَ لِتُنْفِقُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يَبْخَلُ وَمَنْ يَبْخَلْ فَإِنَّمَا يَبْخَلُ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ وَاللَّهُ الْغَنِيُّ وَأَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ

“Here you are being invited to spend in the way of Allah, among you are some who are miser. But anyone who is miser, his miserliness is only at the expense of himself.  Allah is rich, and you are poor.” (Mohammad 47:38)

Allah has warned us about Satan’s trickery of using the fear of poverty to make us fail in demonstrating our trust in Allah.  Allah said:

الشَّيْطَانُ يَعِدُكُمُ الْفَقْرَ وَيَأْمُرُكُمْ بِالْفَحْشَاءِ وَاللَّهُ يَعِدُكُمْ مَغْفِرَةً مِنْهُ وَفَضْلًا وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ

“Satan threatens you with poverty and bids you to commit indecency.  But Allah promises you His forgiveness and bounties and Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.” (Al-Baqara 2: 268)

Because Allah knows that Satan will use poverty to convince us to be miser, Allah emphasized His promise of goodness and prosperity in this life and the hereafter to those who spend their money in charity for Allah’s sake.  Allah said:

وَسَارِعُوٓاْ إِلَىٰ مَغۡفِرَةٍ۬ مِّن رَّبِّڪُمۡ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرۡضُهَا ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتُ وَٱلۡأَرۡضُ أُعِدَّتۡ لِلۡمُتَّقِينَ (١٣٣) ٱلَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ فِى ٱلسَّرَّآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ

“Hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and for a garden that expands the heavens and the earth prepared for the righteous (133) Those who spend (in cause of Allah) in prosperity and in adversity.” (Al-Imran 3:133-134)

The money we will be spending is an investment with huge return as Allah said:

مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ يُنْفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ حَبَّةٍ أَنْبَتَتْ سَبْعَ سَنَابِلَ فِي كُلِّ سُنْبُلَةٍ مِائَةُ حَبَّةٍ وَاللَّهُ يُضَاعِفُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ

“The parable of those who spend their money in the way of Allah is that of a grain that produces seven ears, and each ear has a hundred grains.  Allah gives manifold increase to whom He pleases; and Allah is All-Embracing and All-Knowing, “(2:261).

If you withhold because all you have can barely satisfy my needs, Allah addressed your concern by saying do not to be miser, the answer is to be righteous and place your full trust in Him.  Allah said: 

وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مَخْرَجًا وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ

“Whoever has Taqwa of Allah, He will grant him a way-out and will provide for him from sources that he never anticipated.” (Al-Talaq 65:2-3)

You will surely be provided with wealth from completely unexpected sources, if you just trust Allah and spend in charity.  After all, you are spending the money that Allah entrusted you with and the resources from which your wealth came will never run out.  The Prophet (PBUH) said:

عن أبي كبشة عمرو بن سعد الأنمارى رضي الله عنه أنه سمع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول‏:‏ ‏”‏ثلاثة أقسم عليهن وأحدثكم حديثاً فاحفظوه‏:‏ ما نقص مال عبد من صدقة، ولا ظلم عبد مظلمة صبر عليها إلا زاده الله عزاً، ولا فتح عبد باب مسألة إلا فتح الله عليه باب فقر، )رواه الترمذى(

“Three things, I swear by Allah for them, and I am going to tell you about them, so you should remember them well: (1) The wealth of a man will not diminish by charity, (2) Allah increases in honor the slave who endures injustice patiently. and (3) the person who opens a gate of begging, Allah opens for him a gate of poverty. (Tirmidhi)

The Quality Metrics for Proper Worship

Proper worship must fulfill two requirements: sincerity and accuracy and thus proper worship requires that we engage both our hearts and heads.

1/ Sincerity: Worship must be sincere and genuine, it is not just a matter of saying the right words, but you must mean what you say. Insincere and heartless praises of Allah are not praise at all; they are worthless.  Allah looks past our words to see the attitude of our hearts.  While we judge people by the outward appearance, Allah judges by the inward feelings and thoughts. He looks at our hearts.  

The Prophet (PBUH) pointed to the heart and said: (التقوى ها هنا) “righteousness is here, righteous is here.”  Allah also teaches us that without a pure and sound heart, all we do are in vain as He said regarding the condition for success on the Day of Judgment:

يَوْمَ لَا يَنْفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ

“At that day neither wealth nor progeny shall be of benefit, except one who comes to Allah with a sound heart.” (26:88-89)

2/ Accuracy:  Your Worship must be as Allah commanded, not as you wish.  We cannot just create our own comfortable form of worship; it must be guided by the commands in the Quran and the Sunnah of His messenger (PBUH) and not on our opinion.  Scholars have said that when it comes to ritualistic acts of worship only the form that was demonstrated by the Prophet (PBUH) is allowed. Anything else is forbidden as misguided innovation (bidaa). Therefore, scholars have emphasized the importance of knowledge.   

Islam sets high priority on seeking knowledge before actions and deeds.  In his Book of Knowledge (كتاب العلم), Imam Bukhari (البخاري) starts with a chapter entitled “The chapter of Knowledge before words and deeds” (باب العلم قبل القول والعمل لقول الله تعالى).  Knowledge must come before deeds because knowledge is the guide, and actions without knowledge are subject to error. It is only by knowledge that a person can recognize the truth from falsehood, and tell right from wrong, and identify the halal from haram. Allah raised the degree of those who have knowledge as He said:

يَرْفَعْ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ (سورة المجادلة(

“Allah raises in ranks those of you who believe and have knowledge. And Allah is Well-Acquainted with what you do” (Al-Mugadala 58:11)

The prophet (PBUH) said,

وَإِنَّ فَضْلَ الْعَالِمِ عَلَى الْعَابِدِ كَفَضْلِ الْقَمَرِ لَيْلَةَ الْبَدْرِ عَلَى سَائِرِ الْكَوَاكِبِ،) أخرجه أبو داود  والترمذي  وابن ماجه وأحمد(

“An ‘Alim (learned person) is as much superior to an ‘Abid (Worshiper) as the full moon is superior to all stars.”  

The companions and those who came behind them understood the value of knowledge.  The Prophet’s companion Muadh ibn Jabal (معاذ بن جبل) said:

عن معاذ بن جبل أنه قال :” تَعَلَّمُوا الْعِلْمَ ، فَإِنَّ تَعَلُّمَهُ لِلَّهِ خَشْيَةٌ ، وَطَلَبَهُ عِبَادَةٌ ، وَمُذَاكَرَتَهُ تَسْبِيحٌ ، وَالْبَحْثَ عَنْهُ جِهَادٌ ، وَتَعْلِيمَهُ لِمَنْ لا يَعْلَمُهُ صَدَقَةٌ ، يَرْفَعُ اللَّهُ بِهِ أَقْوَامًا فَيَجْعَلُهُمْ فِي الْخَيْرِ قَادَةً ، وَهُدَاةً يُهْتَدَى بِهِمْ ، وَأَئِمَّةً فِي الْخَيْرِ تُقْتَصُّ آثَارُهُمْ ، وَتُرْمَقُ أَعْمَالُهُمْ ،  وَيُنْتَهَى إِلَى رَأْيِهِمْ ، إِمَامُ الْعَمَلِ وَالْعَمَلُ ، قَالَ : تَابِعُهُ ، يُلْهَمُهُ السُّعَدَاءُ ، وَيُحْرَمُهُ الأَشْقِيَاءُ ]  روى أبو نعيم في الحلية[

“Seek the knowledge, in learning it, there is awareness of Allah and seeking it is worship and searching for it is Jihad and teaching it to one who does not know it is charity. With it, Allah raises people to become the best leaders and guide to those who are seeking guidance and models of goodness whom footsteps will be followed, and their deeds will be admired, and their opinions will be accepted. knowledge is an Imam (leader) and deeds are its followers. Only the blessed will be hungry for it and the wicked will be deprived from it. “ 

Imam Al-Hassan Al-Basri warned of getting too deep into the area of actions before having knowledge and understanding, he said,

قال الحسن البصري رحمه الله تعالى: (العامل على غير علم كالسالك على غير طريق، والعامل على غير علم يفسد أكثر مما يصلح، فإن قومًا طلبوا العبادة وتركوا العلم حتى خرجوا بأسيافهم على أمة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم، ولو طلبوا العلم لم يدلهم على ما فعلوا) ] جامع بيان العلم وفضله، ابن عبدالبر[

“The one who does anything without knowledge is like the one who is not on any road, he causes more corruption than he does good. There are people who sought worship and left knowledge until they carried their swords against the nation of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH); if they had sought knowledge, they would not have done what they had done.” 

Unfortunately, past, and current history has shown that there are those who do not lack righteousness, but their lack of knowledge and understanding of the reality of the religion of Islam resulted in them creating chaos and causing major harm. The Prophet (PBUH) described those people by saying:

عن علي رضي الله عنه قال: سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: سيخرج في آخر الزمان قوم أحداث الأسنان سفهاء الأحلام يقولون من خير قول البرية، يقرأون القرآن لا يجاوز حناجرهم، يمرقون من الدين كما يمرق السهم من الرمية، فإذا لقيتموهم فاقتلوهم، فإن في قتلهم أجراً لمن قتلهم عند الله يوم القيامة. ] مسلم [

“In the end of time there will come a people young in years, foolish in minds, quote the sayings of the Messenger, recite the Qur’an which will not go beyond their throats.  They go out of this religion as an arrow goes through the target. So, wherever they are, stand against them, those who stand against them shall get their reward on the Day of Resurrection ” (Reported by Muslim)

Barriers to Proper Worship

There are four main barriers for proper worship of Allah. These are arrogance, fear, lack of commitment and confusion/ignorance.

1/ Arrogance: Arrogance is the most dangerous barrier to worship; it is the barrier that prevented Satan from obeying Allah’s command. Allah said:

وَإِذۡ قُلۡنَا لِلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ ٱسۡجُدُواْ لِأَدَمَ فَسَجَدُوٓاْ إِلَّآ إِبۡلِيسَ أَبَىٰ وَٱسۡتَكۡبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ ٱلۡكَـٰفِرِينَ (٣٤)

“And when We said to the angels: Prostrate yourselves before Adam, they prostrated, all but Iblis (Satan). He refused and showed arrogance and became one of the disbelievers.” (Al-Baqara 2:34)

Arrogance is the most dangerous disease of the heart, and its impact is dire in the Hereafter, the Prophet (PBUH) said:

عن عبد الله بن مسعود عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: لا يدخل الجنة من كان في قلبه مثقال ذرة من كبر ) رواه مسلم وأحمد وغيرهما(

“No one will enter Paradise if he has in his heart an atom weight of arrogance”.

 Arrogance comes when the person desires to be like God, but no one is like God and will never be. It is when the person tries to be God, he ends up like Satan. 

2/ Fear: While fear of the unknown is a natural human emotion, fear that makes the person disobeys the commands of Allah is a manifestation of lack of trust in Allah.  One must have full trust that Allah is the One who controls your fortune in the life and how long you are going to live. Trust in Allah is the only cure from fear of poverty, death, and the future of the children.  Only when fear is removed you will really be free. 

Some people may fear poverty and ignore that Allah says:

وَفِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ رِزۡقُكُمۡ وَمَا تُوعَدُونَ (٢٢) فَوَرَبِّ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ إِنَّهُ ۥ لَحَقٌّ۬ مِّثۡلَ مَآ أَنَّكُمۡ تَنطِقُونَ (٢٣)

“And in Heaven is your fortunes and whatever you have been promised. (22) By the Lord of the heaven and the earth, this is the truth, as sure as the fact that you can speak.” (Al-Zariyat 51:22-23)

We also fear the future of our children, but this fear may drive some people to violate Allah’s commands perceiving that our actions will secure the children’s future.  Allah knows that the main cause of greed and misery is people’s fear of the future of their children.  Thus, He revealed the type of insurance that one needs to secure for his children to ensure their protection after him. Allah said:

وَلْيَخْشَ الَّذِينَ لَوْ تَرَكُوا مِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّةً ضِعَافًا خَافُوا عَلَيْهِمْ فَلْيَتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلْيَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا

“Let those who fear to leave behind helpless children to have Taqwa of Allah and only say what is right.” (Al-Nisaa 4:9)

Allah revealed in the Quran two examples on how He protected the children of righteous people who placed their full trust in Allah.  The first one is in Surah Al-Baqara, it is related to the story of the righteous man who left for his young son a small calf in the trust of Allah and then this cow that was only worth few dinars was sold for its skin full of gold.   The second story is in Surah Al-Kahf when Allah sent two prophets to protect the wealth of two young orphans who lived among corrupt people because their father was a righteous man. 

This concept of ensuring the security of children through righteousness was well understood by early Muslims. It was reported that Mohamad Ibn Kaab Al-Qarzi, earned a large sum of money and started spending it in charity.  He was asked, shouldn’t you save some of it for your children after your death.  He said: 

وروي أن محمد بن كعب القرظي أصاب مالاً كثيراً فقيل له‏:‏ لو ادخرته لولدك من بعدك قال‏:‏ لا ولكني أدخره لنفسي عند ربي وأدخر ربي لولدي‏.‏

“No, I save this money for myself with my Lord, and I save my Lord for my Children”.

Only through trusting Allah, will you be able to overcome fear of the future and experience peace, and freedom.   When you trust Allah, you will not fear or surrender to anything else; nothing more powerful than surrendering your life to Allah.

3/ Lack of Commitment: Most Muslims want to perfect their worship of Allah but is everyone willing to do whatever it takes to perfect his/her worship by their full obedience to Allah motivated by love and trust.  A major contributor to the lack of commitment and procrastination is the false hope of long life that may give them the idea that they will perfect their worship later.  Allah says:

أَلَمۡ يَأۡنِ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ أَن تَخۡشَعَ قُلُوبُہُمۡ لِذِڪۡرِ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ ٱلۡحَقِّ وَلَا يَكُونُواْ كَٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ مِن قَبۡلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيۡہِمُ ٱلۡأَمَدُ فَقَسَتۡ قُلُوبُہُمۡ‌ۖ وَكَثِيرٌ۬ مِّنۡہُمۡ فَـٰسِقُونَ (١٦)

“Has the time not yet come for those who believe that their hearts should be humbled by the remembrance of Allah and the truth that has revealed, and not become like those who received the Scripture before, and the time (for repentance) was prolonged for them, but their hearts became hard, and thus many of them are sinners.” (Al-Hadid 57:16)

The Prophet (PBUH) warned us of procrastination and advised us by saying:

وعن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما قال : قال رسول الله صلي الله علية وسلم لرجل وهو يعظه : ” اغتنم خمساً قبل خمس : شبابك قبل هرمك ، وصحتك قبل سقمك ، وغناك قبل فقرك ، وفراغك قبل شغلك ، وحياتك قبل موتك “. [ رواه الحاكم[

“Make use of five before five, your youth before old age your health before sickness, your wealth before poverty, your life before death, and your free time before your preoccupation”.

The Prophet (PBUH) said:

عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال : سمعت رسول الله صلي الله علية وسلم يقول : ” لا يزال قلب الكبير شاباً في اثنين : في حب الدنيا ، وطول الأمل ” [رواه البخاري] .

“The heart of the old person is always young in two things, the love of this life and the hope for long life”.

Ibn Omar used to say:

كان ابن عمر يقول : ” إذا أمسيت فلا تنتظر الصباح وإذا أصبحت فلا تنتظر المساء ، وخذ من صحتك لمرضك ، ومن حياتك لموتك ” .[رواه البخاري .]

“If the night comes don’t wait for the morning and if the morning comes do not wait for night, take advantage of your health before your sickness and of your life before your death”.

4/ Confusion/Ignorance: Proper worship requires knowledge and people often fail because of their confusion that is manifested by lack of interest to study to learn and correct themselves.  Many people just follow what they were told without spending any effort to verify the information they receive.  It is a key principle in Islam that accurate knowledge precedes actions and that there should be no action without knowledge.   Allah said:

وَلَا تَقۡفُ مَا لَيۡسَ لَكَ بِهِۦ عِلۡمٌ‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱلسَّمۡعَ وَٱلۡبَصَرَ وَٱلۡفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ كَانَ عَنۡهُ مَسۡـُٔولاً۬ (٣٦

“Do not follow anything about which you have no knowledge. Surely, the hearing, the sight, and the heart – of each of those, one will be questioned.” (Al-Isra 17:36)

Since everyone will be held accountable for his actions, one must have knowledge to be able to defend his own action or lack of when he stands alone in front of Allah on the day of judgement.   Discerning what is required and recognizing the right from wrong in every aspect of our lives requires knowledge.  The Prophet (PBUH) said:

قال صلى الله عليه وسلم : ( من سلك طريقاً يطلب فيه علماً سهل الله له طريقاً إلى الجنة ) رواه البخاري

“Whoever seeks a path to acquire knowledge, Allah will make an easy path for him to paradise.”

There may other barriers to worship, but they will most likely be subsets of these 4 barriers.

I’ll stop here and inshallah next time, we can start addressing the 4^th question which is: What are the traits and qualities that we must possess to fulfill our role and achieve our purpose on earth?

DUA