Adapted from the book "Islam Mustafā ﷺ" by Abu Hamzah Abdul Khaliq Siddiqi
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ﴾
[Al-Baqarah: 21]
“O mankind! Worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, so that you may become righteous.”
In Surah An-Nisa, He further states:
﴿وَاعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا...﴾
[An-Nisa: 36]
“And worship Allah and associate nothing with Him…”
This verse commands the believers to worship only Allah and not associate any partners with Him, for He is the Creator and Provider, and His favors encompass all creation. Hence, the right of servitude belongs to Him alone.
The Prophet ﷺ asked Mu’adh ibn Jabal (RA):
"Do you know what right Allah has over His servants?"
He replied: "Allah and His Messenger know best."
The Prophet ﷺ said: "That they worship Him alone and associate nothing with Him."
Then he asked, "Do you know what their right is upon Allah if they do so?"
He said: "That He will not punish them."
(Bukhari 6500, Muslim 304)
In another verse, Allah ﷻ says through the noble tongue of His Messenger ﷺ:
﴿قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ...﴾
[Al-Kahf: 110]
“Say: I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is One God. So whoever hopes to meet his Lord, let him do righteous deeds and associate none in the worship of his Lord.”
① Verbal Worship (Qawli)
② Physical Worship (Badani)
③ Financial Worship (Mali)
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (RA) narrated:
When we used to pray behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, we would say, “Peace be upon Jibreel, Mika’il, so-and-so…”
The Prophet ﷺ turned to us and said:
“Indeed, Allah is As-Salam (The Source of Peace), so when one of you prays, let him say:
التحيات لله والصلوات والطيبات...
(Bukhari 831, Muslim 402)
This supplication indicates that all our verbal, physical, and financial acts of worship are for Allah alone.
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن تَنصُرُوا اللَّهَ يَنصُرْكُمْ...﴾
[Muhammad: 7]
“O believers! If you support Allah (His cause), He will support you and plant your feet firmly.”
Elsewhere He says:
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا أَنصَارَ اللَّهِ...﴾
[As-Saff: 14]
“O believers! Be Allah’s supporters, just as Jesus son of Mary said to his disciples, ‘Who will be my supporters for Allah?’ The disciples replied, ‘We will be supporters of Allah...’”
Commentary:
When the disciples responded affirmatively to Prophet ‘Isa’s (AS) call, he sent them to the Israelites and Greeks to preach Tawhid. Similarly, during the Hajj season, the Prophet ﷺ would seek support to spread the message of Allah. Eventually, the people of Madinah (Aws and Khazraj) accepted and supported him, earning the title “Ansar” (The Helpers).
﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُدَافِعُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا﴾
[Al-Hajj: 38]
✿ Supporting the faithful is a divine promise:
﴿وَكَانَ حَقًّا عَلَيْنَا نَصْرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾
[Ar-Rum: 47]
❀ Worship must be free from any form of Shirk (associating partners with Allah).
❀ Worship manifests through words, deeds, and wealth, all offered solely for the pleasure of Allah.
❀ Supporting the religion of Allah is a believer’s duty, and Allah in turn promises His support and victory.
❖ Islam’s Concept of Worship
The concept of worship presented by Islam is exclusively that of worshiping the One and Only Lord. Associating anyone with Allah in worship is a sin punishable by Hell. Allah ﷻ commands:﴿يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ﴾
[Al-Baqarah: 21]
“O mankind! Worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, so that you may become righteous.”
In Surah An-Nisa, He further states:
﴿وَاعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا...﴾
[An-Nisa: 36]
“And worship Allah and associate nothing with Him…”
This verse commands the believers to worship only Allah and not associate any partners with Him, for He is the Creator and Provider, and His favors encompass all creation. Hence, the right of servitude belongs to Him alone.
The Prophet ﷺ asked Mu’adh ibn Jabal (RA):
"Do you know what right Allah has over His servants?"
He replied: "Allah and His Messenger know best."
The Prophet ﷺ said: "That they worship Him alone and associate nothing with Him."
Then he asked, "Do you know what their right is upon Allah if they do so?"
He said: "That He will not punish them."
(Bukhari 6500, Muslim 304)
In another verse, Allah ﷻ says through the noble tongue of His Messenger ﷺ:
﴿قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ...﴾
[Al-Kahf: 110]
“Say: I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is One God. So whoever hopes to meet his Lord, let him do righteous deeds and associate none in the worship of his Lord.”
❖ Categories of Worship
Worship is broadly divided into three categories:① Verbal Worship (Qawli)
② Physical Worship (Badani)
③ Financial Worship (Mali)
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (RA) narrated:
When we used to pray behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, we would say, “Peace be upon Jibreel, Mika’il, so-and-so…”
The Prophet ﷺ turned to us and said:
“Indeed, Allah is As-Salam (The Source of Peace), so when one of you prays, let him say:
التحيات لله والصلوات والطيبات...
(Bukhari 831, Muslim 402)
This supplication indicates that all our verbal, physical, and financial acts of worship are for Allah alone.
❖ The Command to Support Islam
Allah ﷻ promises victory and success to those who aid His religion:﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن تَنصُرُوا اللَّهَ يَنصُرْكُمْ...﴾
[Muhammad: 7]
“O believers! If you support Allah (His cause), He will support you and plant your feet firmly.”
Elsewhere He says:
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا أَنصَارَ اللَّهِ...﴾
[As-Saff: 14]
“O believers! Be Allah’s supporters, just as Jesus son of Mary said to his disciples, ‘Who will be my supporters for Allah?’ The disciples replied, ‘We will be supporters of Allah...’”
Commentary:
When the disciples responded affirmatively to Prophet ‘Isa’s (AS) call, he sent them to the Israelites and Greeks to preach Tawhid. Similarly, during the Hajj season, the Prophet ﷺ would seek support to spread the message of Allah. Eventually, the people of Madinah (Aws and Khazraj) accepted and supported him, earning the title “Ansar” (The Helpers).
❖ Allah’s Divine Promise of Help
✿ Allah defends the believers:﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُدَافِعُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا﴾
[Al-Hajj: 38]
✿ Supporting the faithful is a divine promise:
﴿وَكَانَ حَقًّا عَلَيْنَا نَصْرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾
[Ar-Rum: 47]
❖ Conclusion
❀ The Islamic concept of worship is based solely on Tawhid — the absolute oneness of Allah.❀ Worship must be free from any form of Shirk (associating partners with Allah).
❀ Worship manifests through words, deeds, and wealth, all offered solely for the pleasure of Allah.
❀ Supporting the religion of Allah is a believer’s duty, and Allah in turn promises His support and victory.
