“The Concept of Worship in Islam is unique and unparalleled to any other religion in existence. It combines the mundane with the spiritual, the individual with the society, and the internal soul with the external body. Worship has a unique role in Islam, and through it, a person is regarded as a true Muslim who accords his entire life to the Will of God.”
The importance of worship may be seen in the fact that it has been prescribed by God in all religions prior to Islam. God said in the Quran:
“And assuredly We have sent among every people a messenger (with the command): worship God…” (Quran 16:36)
Defining the Concept of Worship in Islam
Worship in Islam has so many facets that it is difficult to describe them all in words. The most general meaning of worship in Islam is inclusive of everything which is pleasing to God, whether they deal with issues of belief or deeds of the body. It may include everything a person perceives, thinks, intends, feels, says, and does.+1
It also refers to everything that God requires: external, internal, or interactive. This includes rituals as well as beliefs, work, social activities, and personal behavior, as a human being is a whole, such that every part affects every other.
Worship may be classified into two types:
- Specific Beliefs: Feelings and visible acts of devotion paid in homage to God which He has commanded.
- General Goodness: All other acts of goodness generally encouraged in the life of a Muslim.
The Concept of Worship as Servitude to God
This facet of worship entails that one fulfill certain deeds which God has commanded in His religion, whether they deal with the inner self or the outer body, and whether they be obligatory or voluntary. This facet of worship is not only limited to following His commandments, however, but it is also inclusive of leaving those things which He has forbidden.
Worship in this sense may be defined as anything believed, felt, or done as an act of obedience to God. In this respect, worship may also be called servitude, as it is in essence living one’s life in complete servitude to God, doing what He commands, and avoiding what he forbids, as a slave lives within the will of his master. In essence, all creations are slaves of God, whether they like it or not, for they are all subject to the laws He has placed within His creation:
“There is none in the heavens and the earth but comes unto the Most Beneficent (God) as an obedient slave.” (Quran 19:93)
“To Him submitted all creatures in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly.” (Quran 3:83)
The Role of Sincerity and Monotheism
But worship differs from servitude in that it must be coupled with love, awe, and reverence. No act of obedience is regarded as worship unless it is coupled with these feelings; one must love the action and love, hold in awe, and have reverence for the One for whom the action is being performed.
For this reason, in discussing this topic, it must be emphasized that worship is a right which is solely for God. Islam adheres to the strictest form of monotheism (Tawheed) and does not tolerate that any act of worship be directed towards other than God. It is God alone who demands our obedience, and it is God alone who deserves our love.
Any veneration of other deities besides God—whether they be demigods, prophets, angels, saints or martyrs, or their relics, statues, or pictures—is considered as a breach in this monotheism. A person is rendered out of the fold of Islam if this is committed. Even though one may justify that they venerate saints due to their service to God, or their relics as a remembrance of them, Islam does not differentiate between direct and indirect, or subordinate and superior worship. All worship and acts of veneration, homage, and obedience must be offered for God alone.
Inner Dimensions of the Concept of Worship
As mentioned earlier, acts of worship prescribed by God either deal with the inner self or the outer body. Those which deal with the inner self do so with belief and feelings. Humans are commanded to believe in certain ultimate truths, discussed in the Articles of Faith, and this is the most important aspect of worship.
Belief is the basis for what a person feels and does – actions and feelings are a reflection of belief. If a person’s belief is incorrect or weak, it will never produce the desired results in regards to their feelings or actions. For example, if a person incorrectly believes that God has forgiven them their sins due to their mere faith, their belief will not produce the desired feeling of fear which should be present in their heart, nor will this belief cause a person to cease sinning and perform deeds of righteousness.
God has also commanded us to maintain certain feelings in our hearts, both towards God as well as others of His creation. Muslims must love God, fear Him, have awe in Him, place their trust in Him, and revere Him. Muslims have also been commanded to love their fellow Muslims, to have mercy and compassion towards them, to love righteousness, and to hate sin. These are all considered acts of worship of the inner self because they are in essence a fulfillment of the commandments of God; Muslims will be rewarded for fulfilling them.
Outer Aspects of the Concept of Worship
Throughout history, certain religions, due to their tampering, have placed more emphasis on the inner format of worship, wholly or partially dismissing the importance of the outer. Others have placed more emphasis on apparent and visible acts of rituals, diminishing the value of belief.
As mentioned earlier, in Islam, there is no absolute separation between the inner and outer—the inner state produces and ought to produce outer manifestations, and outer conditions and actions have inner consequences. There is certainly a correspondence between the inner and outer state, and each tends to modify the other. All inner intentions lead to equivalent postures and actions. One can often judge a person’s inner state by his outer. A person in despair or fear, for instance, has a certain posture and expression on his face. Conversely, if certain activities or postures are adopted then the equivalent inner state will result.
Visible acts of worship offered to God are fruits of the Muslim’s belief. For this reason, not only does Islam demand that a person believe in the ultimate truths laid out in its doctrine, but it also demands that belief in God produce visible action. It is not enough for one to maintain certain beliefs for salvation, but rather deeds are essential in order for one to be successful in this life and the next.
God’s Commandments and the Five Pillars
God has commanded that Muslims fulfill certain commandments throughout the course of their lives, exemplified in the Five Pillars of Islam. These have been prescribed daily, such as the prayer, and annually, such as the compulsory charity and the fast of Ramadan, or as little as once in a person’s life, such as the Hajj. There are many other acts of worship prescribed in Islam other than the five pillars, some of which are obligatory and others of which are voluntary, their performance left to a Muslim’s discretion.+1
Though there is a ritual connected with these acts of worship, they should not be mistaken for ritualism or regimentation. Acts of worship must be done with full awareness of what one is doing and awareness of the presence of God. Actions performed mechanically or as habits produce only automatons and do not facilitate spiritual growth. Allah says:
“It is not righteousness that you turn your faces toward the East or the West, but righteous is he who believes in God and the Last Day and the Angels and the Book and the Prophets, and gives his beloved money to his relatives and the orphans and the needy and for the ransoming of captives and who observes prayer and pays the poor-due; and those who fulfill their promises when they have made one, and the patient in poverty and affliction and the steadfast in time of war; it is those who have proved truthful and it is those who are the God-fearing.” (Quran 2:177)
Living a Life of Worship
When one lives their life fulfilling those aspects which God has commanded, leaving those things which God has forbidden, and according each of their actions to the Will of God, their life, from morning until evening, from the time of birth until death, is turned into worship for which they will be rewarded. This was the state of the Prophets, as God says:
“Indeed, my prayer, my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for God, the Lord of the all that exists.” (Quran 6:162)
When one achieves this state, they come into harmony with the rest of creation and return to their natural state of being, as all others of the creations of God are unconsciously in constant worship of God, as He has said:
“Do you not see that unto God bow down in worship (or submit in service and adoration) whosoever is in the heavens and whosoever is in the earth, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the mountains, and the trees, and the beasts, and many among mankind…” (Quran 22:18)
