Translated from the book ‘Only For My Worship’ by Shaykh Dr Abdul Moghees Mustafa Baseer.
The purpose of the creation of Jinns and Humans
The purpose is the worship of Allah. The relationship established is that the servant worships and the Lord is worshipped. The whole of creation including animals, plants, and non-living things are created for a purpose. Imagine the smallest microscopic particle, then think of bigger objects like the mountains, oceans, planets and stars seen only with a telescope. Then look at the wild animals and their diversity, the birds, the fish in the sea, you will see all of them carry out their task, neither ignoring it nor running away from it. This is the meaning of the Divine words, “All of them know how to worship and glorify” (Al-Nur: 41). Humans were guided to worship, serve and recognise their Creator. Unlike the rest of creation, they were given the choice. Unfortunately, many humans are rebellious and tend to ignore this. The job of the Prophets and the preacher is to call people to Allah, to enjoin wholehearted worship, and to turn to the Lord.
Adjusting your effort to earn a living prevents greed
This is the meaning of the verse where Allah says: “I don’t expect sustenance from them, nor can they feed me. Allah is the sustainer, the powerful, the strong” (Ad-Dhariyat: 57). Allah has no need of the creation’s worship, He is independent, neither did He create them to promote Him. Glory be to Him; He is their saviour. Allah said, “tell your family to pray and do it regularly, We don’t ask you for sustenance, in fact, We sustain you and the success is for the mindful” (Taha:132). Verses like these help the true believer to clean their hearts of doubts, so they are convinced and satisfied. Abu Saeed Al Khudri narrated that the Messenger (peace be upon him) said, “If you run away from His sustenance then it will chase him like death.” In another hadith, he (peace be upon him) said, “The one who is worried about the Hereafter, Allah gives him peace of mind and gives him plenty of the world. But the one who is worried about the world, Allah deprives him, and gives him only what is in his destiny”.
The Messenger (peace be upon him) said in another place, “Allah said: Son of Adam, free yourself for my worship and I will fill your heart with freedom, generosity and courage. If you don’t do so, your heart will be preoccupied with the world, and your poverty protracted” (Tirmidhi). Al Muhasbi said I asked my teacher, “Why do we worry about our livelihood whilst the Lord has promised to provide our needs?” He said, “There are two reasons: Lack of recognition of the Divine power, and therefore lack of positive thinking. Secondly, Allah has promised to provide sustenance, but its time is kept secret to test us. If this wasn’t the case then all the believers would be satisfied, patient and trusting. But Allah has informed them He is the provider and has taken an oath but kept its time secret. From this the ordinary person can be distinguished from the special one. There are those who are active and there are those who are laid back, angry and complaining. The difference will depend on the degree of Divine recognition they have”.
Should a person actively seek the means or be lazy?
We should seek what Allah has guaranteed us. So, yes we should be seeking our provision, and the beneficial things laid out for us. However, there is a deplorable approach to seeking Allah’s promises that involves neglecting religious obligations and not fully participating in them. For example, the Muezzin is calling you to the prayer in the Mosque with the congregation, but you ignore him and continue working. Eventually when you remember you pray hurriedly, half-heartedly, like doing something to get it over and done with in the quickest time possible. Ask yourself, how often do you do this? It’s a measure of your spiritual development or lack of it!
Adhere to Allah’s commands to nurture your children
Train your children under the shade of Islamic education, so the Lord’s respect fills their hearts. Control their manners so they don’t incline towards the forbidden. Don’t ignore this responsibility and don’t expose them to this toxic environment. Some take religious duty seriously that Allah has tasked them with, they learn the beliefs and the practices of Islam and learn the Quran with its meanings and they are active with worldly engagement too. This worldly activity and religious practices done together are Jihad in Allah’s way. Kaab bin Ujrah said, “The Messenger (peace be upon him) was walking with a group of disciples, and they saw a man busy working, his hard work surprised them. One person said: This is nonsense, if only he was working in Allah’s way. The Messenger responded: If he’s working for his family then he’s working in Allah’s way, but if he’s working to boast or to become rich then he is on the way of the Devil” (Tabrani).
Conclusion
Worship is not specifically just the five daily prayers, fasting, charity or pilgrimage and good manners, morals and other religious activities. In fact it is inclusive of everything that leads one closer to Allah. This includes businesses, commercial, industrial, and agricultural activities, and even sleeping, eating and pleasurable activities. All are forms of worship with the aim of achieving Divine pleasure, it is dependent on these activities being permissible and not clashing with Islamic practices.
So, everything that is included in the responsibility of the representation of Allah on earth is included in the objectives of worship. This requires everyone to be aware of the meaning of the worship of his Lord all the time. With regards to Muslims living in non-Muslim countries, they are in worship when at work; when playing with their children at home; when studying The Majestic Quran, and when interacting with their neighbours. Whatever they do for the sake of Allah it is worship. By understanding worship this way its value become precious, and every worldly activity is transformed into worship because of the motivation rather than the outcome. It’s precious not because of the outcome but because of the motivation to please Allah. Rabia Adwiyah illustrated this amazing meaning of worship when she said:
