The Concept of Worship in Islam:
The concept of worship presented by Islam is solely the worship of the One God. The punishment for associating anyone with Allah in worship is Hellfire. Allah Almighty says:
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ﴾
“O people, worship your Lord who created you and those before you, so that you may become righteous.”
In Surah An-Nisa, it is stated:
﴿وَاعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا ۖ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا وَبِذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْجَارِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْجَارِ الْجُنُبِ وَالصَّاحِبِ بِالْجَنبِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ مَن كَانَ مُخْتَالًا فَخُورًا﴾
“And worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him, and show kindness to parents, relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the distant neighbor, the companion at your side, the traveler, and those whom your right hands possess. Indeed, Allah does not like the arrogant and boastful.”
In this noble verse, Allah, the Lord of Glory, commands His believing servants to worship only Him and not to associate anyone with Him, because He alone is the Creator and Provider, and His favors are general and inclusive for all creatures. Therefore, it is the right of the servants to worship only Him and not to associate anyone with Him.
Accordingly, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) asked Mu’adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), “Do you know what right Allah has over His servants?” He replied, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “That they worship Him alone and do not associate anyone with Him.” Then he said, “Do you know what right the servants have over Allah if they do so?” That Allah will not punish them.
At one place, Allah Almighty revealed through the noble tongue of the Messenger (peace be upon him):
﴿قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ يُوحَىٰ إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَا إِلَٰهُكُمْ إِلَٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ ۖ فَمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا﴾
“Say, ‘I am only a man like you, to whom it has been revealed that your god is one God. So whoever hopes to meet his Lord, let him do righteous work and not associate anyone in the worship of his Lord.'”
Types of Worship:
There are three types of worship:
(1) Verbal worship (2) Physical worship and (3) Financial worship.
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Masood رضي الله عنه says: When we prayed behind the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم, we used to say: Peace be upon Jibreel and Mikail, peace be upon so-and-so and so-and-so. Then the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم turned towards us and said: Indeed, Allah is the One who grants peace, so when any of you prays, he should say:
التحيات لله والصلوات والطيبات السلام عليك أيها النبى ورحمة الله وبركاته، السلام علينا وعلى عباد الله الصالحين، أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله واشهد أن محمدا عبده ورسوله
“All my verbal, physical, and financial acts of worship are for Allah. O Prophet! Peace be upon you, and may Allah’s mercy and blessings be upon you. Peace be upon us and upon Allah’s righteous servants. I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah, and I bear witness that indeed Muhammad صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم is Allah’s servant and His Messenger.”
The Command to Support Islam:
Allah Almighty has promised victory and success to His believing servants, and He said that if they support His religion, He will help them. He said:
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن تَنصُرُوا اللَّهَ يَنصُرْكُمْ وَيُثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَكُمْ﴾
“O you who have believed, if you support Allah, He will support you and plant firmly your feet.”
At another place, Allah Almighty commanded His believing servants to continue supporting this true religion by their lives, wealth, words, and actions in every situation, just as Allah revealed for His obedience and servitude, and just as the disciples of Jesus, peace be upon him, responded to his call, supported him in the work of inviting to Allah, and promised to sacrifice their lives for him. Similarly, they are also ready to support Allah and His Messenger in every way. He said:
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا أَنصَارَ اللَّهِ كَمَا قَالَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ لِلْحَوَارِيِّينَ مَنْ أَنصَارِي إِلَى اللَّهِ ۖ قَالَ الْحَوَارِيُّونَ نَحْنُ أَنصَارُ اللَّهِ ۖ فَآمَنَت طَّائِفَةٌ مِّن بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ وَكَفَرَت طَّائِفَةٌ ۖ فَأَيَّدْنَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا عَلَىٰ عَدُوِّهِمْ فَأَصْبَحُوا ظَاهِرِينَ﴾
“O you who have believed, be supporters of Allah, as when Jesus, the son of Mary, said to the disciples, ‘Who will be my supporters for Allah?’ The disciples said, ‘We are supporters of Allah.’ And a faction of the Children of Israel believed, and a faction disbelieved. So We supported those who believed against their enemy, and they became dominant.”
Hafiz Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, writes that when the disciples said to Jesus, peace be upon him, that they would help him convey his invitation to the people, he sent them to the Israelites and the Greeks with the call to monotheism. Our Prophet, peace be upon him, also used to say similarly during the days of Hajj, “Who will give me refuge so that I may convey the message of my Lord?” because the Quraysh had prevented him from doing this work. Therefore, Allah subdued the hearts of the Aws and Khazraj of Medina to help him; they pledged allegiance to him, supported him, and said that if he migrated to Medina, they would defend him in every way. When the Prophet, peace be upon him, migrated there with other emigrants, they fulfilled their promise. For this reason, Allah and His Messenger gave them the title “Ansar,” which became their name.
The commentators write that this verse gives glad tidings of support, assistance, victory, and success from their Lord to the believers, but the condition is that they unite and strive for the triumph of the true religion and completely avoid disputes and disagreements. And success is from Allah.
عن زيد بن ثابت رضي الله عنه قال لما قدم النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم المدينة أتي بي إليه فقرأت عليه فقال لي تعلم كتاب اليهود فإني لا أمنهم على كتابنا
“Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit, may Allah be pleased with him, says: When the Prophet came to Medina, I was presented before him. I used to read the document (that was coming) to him, and the Prophet, peace be upon him, said to me: Learn the letter (and language) of the Jews, for I am not satisfied with them regarding the Qur’an.”
قالت عائشة: فسمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول لحسان: إن روح القدس لا يزال يؤيدك ما نا فعت عن الله ورسوله
“Sayyida Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, narrates that I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, say in favor of Hassan: The Holy Spirit (Gabriel, the Trustworthy) will continue to support you as long as you defend Allah and His Messenger.”
عن ابن مسعود رضي الله عنه قال: إن الله نظر فى قلوب العباد فوجد قلب محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم خير قلوب العباد ، فاصطفاه لنفسه فابتعثه برسالته ثم نظر فى قلوب العباد بعد قلب محمد، فوجد قلوب أصحابه خير قلوب العباد، فجعلهم وزراء نبيه يقاتلون عن دينه فما راه المسلمون حسنا فهو عند الله حسن، وما راه المسلمون سينا فهو عند الله سينى
Sheikh Ahmad Shakir has declared it authentic.
“Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: Indeed, Allah, the Exalted, looked into the hearts of His servants and found the purest heart in Muhammad, peace be upon him. Therefore, He chose him for His prophethood and sent him with His message. Then He looked into the hearts of the servants and found the hearts of the companions the best, so He made them helpers of His Prophet, who fight for His religion. Therefore, whoever the Muslims consider better is also better in the sight of Allah, and whoever the Muslims consider bad is also bad in the sight of Allah.”
Those who help the religion of Islam, Allah Almighty also helps them. Thus, He said:
﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُدَافِعُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا﴾
“Indeed, Allah defends those who have believed.”
At another place, He said:
﴿وَكَانَ حَقًّا عَلَيْنَا نَصْرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾
“And it is incumbent upon Us to help the believers.”
We will refine the face of the rose leaf with the blood of the heart,
We have sworn to protect the garden.
