The concept of worship in Islam

 

💬Muslims worship Allah. 

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

The concept of worship in Islam is comprehensive. It regulates human life on all levels: the individual, the social, the economic, the political, and the spiritual. All activities are considered by God as acts of worship, if done according to His guidance.

The concept of worship in Islam is misunderstood by many people including some Muslims. Worship is commonly taken to mean performing ritualistic acts such as prayers, fasting, charity, etc. This limited understanding of worship is only one part of the meaning of worship in Islam. The traditional definition of worship in Islam is a comprehensive definition that includes almost everything in any individual's activities. The definition goes something like this:

 “Worship is an all-inclusive term for all that God loves of external and internal sayings and actions of a person.”

 In other words, worship is everything one says or does for the pleasure of Allah. This, of course, includes rituals as well as beliefs, social activities, and personal contributions to the welfare of society. Islam looks at the individual as a whole. One is required to submit oneself completely to Allah, as the Qur'an instructed the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to do: Say: 

“Truly, my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death, are (all) for Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds. No partner hath He: this am I commanded, and I am the first of those who bow to His will.” [Al-Qur'an 6:162-163].

The natural result of this submission is that all one's activities should conform to the instructions of the One God to whom the person is submitting. Islam being a complete way of life requires that its followers model every aspect of their life according to its teaching, religious or otherwise. This might sound strange to some people who think of religion as a personal relation between the individual and God, having no impact on one's daily activities. As a matter of fact, Islam does not think much of mere rituals when they are performed mechanically and have no influence on one's inner self. “It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces towards East or West, but it is righteousness to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and give Zakat, (obligatory annual charity), to fulfill the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the God-fearing