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Worship is the Road to Allah
Author : Dr. Safwan Odaybat
Date Added : 13-02-2023

 

There is no doubt that drawing nearer to Allah can`t be accomplished except through acts of worship that He has legislated and this can`t be known save through the revelation sent down on Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Allah said to him (Prophet Mohammad): "And thus have We, by Our Command, sent inspiration to thee: thou knewest not (before) what was Revelation, and what was Faith; but We have made the (Qur’an) a Light, wherewith We guide such of Our servants as We will; and verily thou dost guide (men) to the Straight Way,- The Way of God, to Whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on earth. Behold (how) all affairs tend towards God!" {Al-Zukhruf/52-53}.

 

Worship is Allah`s Right over His slaves. He, The Almighty Says {What means}: "O ye people! Adore your Guardian-Lord, who created you and those who came before you, that ye may have the chance to learn righteousness; Who has made the earth your couch, and the heavens your canopy; and sent down rain from the heavens; and brought forth therewith Fruits for your sustenance; then set not up rivals unto God when ye know (the truth)." {Al-Baqarah/21-22}.

 

Allah The Almighty is Addressing all the people (Adore your Guardian-Lord) since all of you are His slaves and He alone is Your Lord, so if you deny that, then think: Who created you from nothing? Who transferred you from the phase of nothingness to the phase of existence? The answer is (Almighty Allah). Therefore, worship Your Lord because He is Your Lord (who created you and those who came before you, that ye may have the chance to learn righteousness). Even after He created you, you are still in need for Him. Rather, you are still and will always be in need for Him, His Teaching, His Provisions and Mercy. This is why He Says (What means): (Who has made the earth your couch, and the heavens your canopy; and sent down rain from the heavens; and brought forth therewith Fruits for your sustenance). If you need Allah this much, then (set not up rivals unto God when ye know (the truth)). {Adapted from the book [Drawing Closer to Allah: Virtue, Methods and Ranks] by Sheikh Abdullah Siraj Uldin, pp.13-14}.

 

Worshipping Allah is the essence of slavery and a slave must worship his/her Lord for in this lies pride and dignity. Humbling oneself to Allah is an act of pride and dignity and if one isn`t a slave of Allah, then he/she is a slave of other than Allah; namely wealth, desire, power or people. Therefore, one must be a slave of none but Allah alone.

 

What is the meaning of worship? Worship is performing what Allah Commanded in terms of sayings and actions while observing slavery to The Lord of The Worlds. Worship is a set of sayings and actions a slave performs out of love and lowering him/herself before Allah and drawing closer to Him.

 

This last condition sets the difference between acts of honoring and sayings of glorifying and between acts and sayings of worship to The Lord of The Worlds.

Angels bow down Before Allah in worship. He The Almighty Says {What means}: "Those who are near to Thy Lord, disdain not to do Him worship: They celebrate His praises, and bow down before Him." {Al-`Araf/206}.

 

And they bowed down before Adam to honor him. Allah Says {What means}: "When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him." {Al-Hijr/29}.

 

In Islam, it is prohibited to prostrate before other than Allah since the Prophet (PBUH) said: "If I were to order anyone to prostrate himself before another, I would have ordered a woman to prostrate herself before her husband." For more details in this regard, kindly refer to {Sunnan Al-Baihaqi: Chapter on the Greatness of Husband`s Right over his Wife}.

 

In brief, worshipping Allah, The Exalted rests on three principles:

 

First: Worship of heart, i.e. having firm belief that there is no God Worthy of Worship except Allah and there is no Lord but Him.

 

Second: Worship of acts, i.e. performing acts of worship Enjoined By Allah such as establishing prayer, giving Zakah, fasting Ramadan, performing Hajj, in addition to other obligatory and voluntary acts of worship.

 

Third: Verbal worship, i.e. performing acts legislated by Almighty Allah such as recitations, supplications and remembrance Of Allah as stated in {"Drawing Closer to Allah: Virtue, Methods and Ranks" by Sheikh Abdullah Siraj Uldin, pp.19-20}.

 

Two conditions must be met in order for worship to be accepted:

 

First: It is purely for the sake of Allah and this condition applies to worship of heart through having firm belief and testifying that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah. This purifies one`s heart and intentions from Riyaa` (Showing-off of good deeds/Being hypocrite), hidden Shirk (Polytheism) and pleasing other than Allah.

 

Second: Imitation, i.e. worshipping Allah through what He legislated. Therefore, beware not to perform an act that has no origin in Islam and consequently become an innovator. This condition applies to practical and verbal worship.

 

Worship has great effects on a Muslim`s life. Prayer refines self since Allah Says {What means}: "Recite what is sent of the Book by inspiration to thee, and establish regular Prayer: for Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds." {Al-Ankabot/45}. Zakah purifies a Muslim and teaches him/her to love that which is good and beneficial to others. Fasting is forgiveness, Mercy and Pleasure From Allah towards a Muslim. Hajj illuminates a Muslim`s heart and settles his/her relationship With Allah, and the same goes for the rest of the acts of worship.

 

There are two methods to draw closer to Allah:

 

First: Through prescribed acts of worship. This is an obligation and loved by Almighty Allah (And the most beloved thing with which My slave comes nearer to Me is what I have enjoined upon him). This includes prescribed acts of worship, practical, moral and verbal commands, and things that must be deserted because they are forbidden.

 

Second: Through Nawafil (prayers or doing extra deeds besides obligatory acts of devotion). They are called as such because they bring to a person a lot of good things that none knows but Allah.

 

Abu Hurayra (May Allah Be Pleased with him) narrated: "Allah The Exalted Has Said, on the tongue of His Messenger (PBUH), (What means): "I will declare war against him who shows hostility to a pious worshipper of Mine. And the most beloved thing with which My slave comes nearer to Me is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (prayer or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) till I love him. When I love him I become his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks (something) from Me, I give him, and if he asks My Protection (refuge), I protect him." {Related by Al-Bukhari / Modesty chapter}.

 

This Hadith summarizes great meanings in little words. Before addressing methods that draw a Muslim closer to Allah, He The Most Exalted, Said (What means): "I will declare war against him who shows hostility to a pious worshipper of Mine). If this is the case, then nothing will avail such a person (One who shows hostility to a pious worshipper of Allah)."

 

Accordingly, the first step in drawing closer to Allah is not declaring war against a pious worshipper of His. Pious worshippers of Allah are hidden amongst His creatures. According to the general concept of guardianship, every Muslim is a pious worshipper Of Allah.

 

Therefore, one should have good thoughts concerning every Muslim and avoid harming him/her. At that point, Allah Will not Declare war against you; rather, He Will Bless you with peace and tranquility, so you will worship Him with high moral and try to draw closer to Him eagerly. 

 

And all perfect praise be to Allah The Lord of The Worlds. May His Peace and Blessings be upon Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

How should the udhiyah be distributed?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is obligatory to give the poor a portion of the meat from a voluntary sacrifice (Udhiyah al-Tatawwu’), which should not be less than approximately half a kilogram of raw meat. Other parts do not suffice for this obligation, such as the liver, tripe, or intestines.
It is Sunnah for the one offering the sacrifice to divide it into thirds: one-third for himself and his household to eat, one-third to be given as charity to the poor, and one-third to be given as a gift to friends and neighbors, even if they are wealthy. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

When is supplication (du‘a) more likely to be accepted: before or after breaking the fast in Ramadan?

Du‘a is accepted at all times, and this is part of Allah’s mercy and generosity toward His servants.
The Prophet ﷺ said: "No Muslim makes a supplication that does not involve sin or severing family ties except that Allah grants them one of three things: either He grants their supplication immediately, or He stores it for them in the Hereafter, or He averts from them an equivalent harm." [Narrated by Ahmad]
However, in Ramadan, du‘a is especially likely to be accepted shortly before breaking the fast.
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Three supplications are never rejected: the supplication of a fasting person until they break their fast, the supplication of a just leader, and the supplication of an oppressed person. Allah raises it above the clouds, opens the gates of heaven for it, and says: ‘By My might, I will surely grant you victory, even if after a while.’" [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi]

Is supplicating in Qunoot, at times of affliction, during obligatory and voluntary prayer a Sunnah, and should it be done before Rukoo` (bowing), or after it?

At times of affliction, it is a Sunnah that Muslims supplicate in Qunoot after the final Rukoo` of each obligatory, or voluntary prayer as individuals, or in congregation.

What is the ruling on performing the night prayer (*qiyām al-layl*) between the first and second adhān of Fajr? And which is better: delaying the prayer until shortly before the Fajr adhān, or performing it earlier than that?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
The time for night prayer (qiyām al-layl) begins after the Maghrib prayer and lasts until the second adhān of Fajr. The best time for it is the last third of the night, and best of all are the fourth and fifth sixths of the night. If the night is divided into two halves, the latter half is better.
Whoever intends to pray at night is encouraged to delay the Witr until he has prayed the night prayer. If he knows that he will not wake up, it is better for him to pray and perform Witr before sleeping, so that he does not miss both the night prayer and the Witr.
It is stated in Mughnī al-Muḥtāj (Vpl.1/p.462): “I say: The voluntary prayer of the night, that is, the absolute voluntary prayer (al-nafl al-muṭlaq), is better than the absolute voluntary prayer of the day, because of the report in Muslim: ‘The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.’ In another narration of his: ‘In the night there is an hour that no Muslim man meets while asking Allah for any good of this world and the next except that He gives it to him, and that is every night.’ It is also because the night is a time of heedlessness. I restricted the voluntary prayer to the absolute kind following the commentator, although what the ḥadīth and the underlying meaning require is that the night rawātib be preferred over the day rawātib, since the jurists preferred the two rakʿahs of Fajr over everything except Witr. The middle of the night is better than its two ends if it is divided into thirds, because heedlessness is greatest then and worship is hardest. If he wishes to pray during some third, the best is the fourth and fifth sixths, based on the ḥadīth in the two Ṣaḥīḥs: ‘The most beloved prayer to Allah the Exalted is the prayer of Dāwūd: he would sleep half the night, stand for a third of it, and sleep for a sixth.’ Then the latter part is better than the first if he divides it into two halves, because of the saying of Allah the Exalted: ‘And in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness’ [al-Dhāriyāt: 18], and the report of the two Shaykhs: ‘Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, descends,’ meaning His command descends, ‘to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains, and says: Who calls upon Me, that I may answer him? Who asks of Me, that I may give him? Who seeks My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?’”
It is also stated in ʿUmdat al-Sālik (p. 60): “It is better to perform it [the Witr] immediately after the sunnah of ʿIshāʾ, unless he has tahajjud, in which case it is better to delay it so that he performs Witr after it. If he performs Witr and then wishes to pray tahajjud, he prays two rakʿahs at a time and does not repeat the Witr, nor does he need to cancel it with a single rakʿah before the tahajjud. It is recommended that he not deliberately pray after it.”
Qiyām al-layl is a term applied to any prayer performed at night. Tahajjud, on the other hand, refers to the night prayer that follows sleep, whether it is prayed after Maghrib or after ʿIshāʾ, or the prayer performed after ʿIshāʾ without sleep. On this basis, the Witr is also called tahajjud, since it is only prayed after ʿIshāʾ.
It is stated in al-Majmūʿ (Vol.4/p.84): “The sound position, as stated in al-Umm and al-Mukhtaṣar, is that the Witr is called tahajjud.”
It is stated in Nihāyat al-Zayn (Vol.1/p.114): “Among the absolute voluntary prayers is qiyām al-layl. If it is performed after sleep, even during the time of Maghrib and after having prayed ʿIshāʾ early (taqdīman), it is called tahajjud.”
And it is stated in Ḥāshiyat al-Bujayrimī ʿalā al-Khaṭīb (Vol.1/p.418): “His statement: ‘(the night prayer)’: the genitive construction (iḍāfah) carries the sense of fī, meaning a prayer in the night. His statement: ‘(it would be more fitting)’: the reason it is more fitting is that the night prayer includes both tahajjud and other prayers.” And Allah Almighty knows best.

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