Ibadah : Worship Of The Almighty

IBADAH: The Worship of the Almighty

بسم الله العلي العظيم ، فاطر السموات والارض رب العرش الكريم والصلاة وسلم على رسوله الكريم وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين. أما بعد 

 Indeed, among the greatest deeds a Muslim servant of Allah can engage in, are the ibaadaat(acts of worship). What exactly is ibaadah?

Allah swt mentions ibaadah when he says:
 وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ

"And I (Allâh) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone). "[surah adh-dhariyaat:57]

 Allah uses the plural present tense verb ya3budun, which originally comes from ibaadah The scholars have described ibaadah as every good act or statement that is pleasing and loving to the Almighty(Subhaanah). Ibadah is what brings us closer to Allah The Most High. Ibadah can be a fi3l(action) or qowl(word, statement). This is the general rule. However, we have an obligation to know that every act of worship is accepted only if the following conditions are met:

 1.Sincerity of the intention And the proof for this is the hadith of the prophet from Ummar ibn al Khaddab "Actions are but by intention and every man shall have but that which he intended..." [al Bukhari and Muslim]

  2.The act must be from the sunnah and not from one's own pocket. In other words, it should not be an innovated act(bid'a). The proof for this is in the hadith of Aisha, the mother of the believers, the sideeqa, daughter of the sideeq(abu bakr), in which the prophet (salaAllahhu alayhi wassalam) said: "He who innovates something in this matter of ours that is not of it will have it rejected." [al Bukhari and Muslim] And in one version by Muslim it reads : "He who does an act which our matter is not [in agreement] with will have it rejected." 

Other scholars add a third condition, and that is: Imaan(faith) This is because, no deeds are accepted by Allah except if one is a Muslim and has affirmed that there is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is His final Messenger. This is from the 5 pillars of Islam, which every muslim should know about and practice. This point is obviously clear if the person has ikhlaas and mutaba'ah. The 2 previous conditions.
 After this, we should know that mankind is divided into 2 categories. Those who affirm the oneness (tawheed) of Allah. The MU'MINEEN(believers). They are the ones who follow and adhere to the law of Allah swt. They follow the Book of Allah and the sunnah of His beloved Messenger SAWS. The second category is that of the disbelievers , the ones who are not muslims and do not adhere to the religion and way of truth. Allah SWT even in His noble revelation only recognizes these 2 groups. The camp of Islam and the camp of kufr(disbelief). The prophet SAWS that it will continue like this until Allah will make clear who is a believer and who is not. Do we not fear Allah SWT and not want this honor. Paradise is only for the believers. By Allah, there is no way that Allah ta3alla will allow a kaafir and a muslim to be in jannah both. Why? BEcasue there is a purpose to everything.

 Allah tells us why He created hellfire:

  وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَآتَيْنَا كُلَّ نَفْسٍ هُدَاهَا وَلَٰكِنْ حَقَّ الْقَوْلُ مِنِّي لَأَمْلَأَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ 

"And if We had willed, surely! We would have given every person his guidance, but the Word from Me took effect (about evil¬doers), that I will fill Hell with jinn and mankind together. "[Surah Sajda:113]

 So, Allah azza wa jall is saying that if he wanted he would have chosen for all of mankind to be muslim, but that is not how is meant to be. Therefore, it should be very simple and clear. Al Jannah is for the people of tawheed and Islam, while hellfire(jahannam) is for the disbelievers and hypocrites. May Allah not make us of the dwellers of hellfire. So, O servant of Allah, choose your path wisely. Life is not about play, sleep, and work. It is about knowing who is your creator , knowing what He has created you for , and then worshiping Him upon al baseerah(insight).

Allah says: قُلْ هَٰذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُو إِلَى اللَّهِ ۚ عَلَىٰ بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِي ۖ وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ
Say (O Muhammad SAW): "This is my way; I invite unto Allâh with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me . And Glorified and Exalted is Allâh (above all that they associate as partners with Him). And I am not of the Mushrikûn (polytheists, pagans, idolaters and disbelievers in the Oneness of Allâh; those who worship others along with Allâh or set up rivals or partners to Allâh)." [surah Yusuf:108]

Worshipping Allah upon baseerah means to worship Him with certainty and true knowledge of how He should be worshipped. This can be done by going back to the Quran and sunnah. We askAllah to have mercy on us and to guide us to that which He loves.

 وآخر دعوانا أن الحمد لله رب العالمين وصل اللهم وسلم على خير خلق الله وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم . By Umm Abdullah