The Purpose Of Life - What Is Worship?


Islam’ means ‘submission’, and worship, in Islam, means ‘obedient submission to the will of God.’ Every created being ‘submits’ to the Creator by following the physical laws created by God:

وَلَهُۥ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ كُلٌّۭ لَّهُۥ قَـٰنِتُونَ ٢٦

  “To Him belongs whosoever is in the heavens and the earth; all obey His will.” (Surah Rum:Ayat 26) 

They, however, are neither rewarded nor punished for their ‘submission’, for it involves no will.  Reward and punishment are for those who worship God and submit to God's moral and religious Law of their own free will.  This worship is the essence of the message of all the prophets sent by God to mankind.  For example, this understanding of worship was emphatically expressed by Jesus Christ,  “None of those who call me ‘Lord’ will enter the kingdom of God, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” ‘Will’ means ‘what God wants human beings to do.’  

This ‘Will of God’ is contained in the divinely revealed laws which the prophets taught their followers.  Consequently, obedience to divine law is the foundation of worship.  Only when human beings worship their God by submitting to His religious law can they have peace and harmony in their lives and the hope for heaven, just like the universe runs in harmony by submitting to the physical laws set by its Lord.  When you remove the hope of heaven, you remove the ultimate value and purpose of life.  Otherwise, what difference would it really make whether we live a life of virtue or vice?  Everyone’s fate would be the same anyway. 

Who Needs Worship? 

God is in no need of our worship, it is mankind that needs to worship God.  If no one were to worship God, it would not take away from His glory in any way, and if all of mankind were to worship Him, it would not add to His glory.  It is we, who are in need of God:

مَآ أُرِيدُ مِنْهُم مِّن رِّزْقٍۢ وَمَآ أُرِيدُ أَن يُطْعِمُونِ ٥٧إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلرَّزَّاقُ ذُو ٱلْقُوَّةِ ٱلْمَتِينُ ٥٨

 “I need no provision from them, neither do I need that they should feed Me for, surely, God Himself is the Provider of all sustenance, the Possessor of mighty power.”

 (Surah Adhariyat: Ayat : 57-58) 


هَـٰٓأَنتُمْ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ تُدْعَوْنَ لِتُنفِقُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ فَمِنكُم مَّن يَبْخَلُ ۖ وَمَن يَبْخَلْ فَإِنَّمَا يَبْخَلُ عَن نَّفْسِهِۦ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ ٱلْغَنِىُّ وَأَنتُمُ ٱلْفُقَرَآءُ ۚ وَإِن تَتَوَلَّوْا۟ يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَكُونُوٓا۟ أَمْثَـٰلَكُم ٣٨

[Lo! ye are those who are called to spend in the way of Allah, yet among you there are some who hoard. And as for him who hoardeth, he hoardeth only from his soul. And Allah is the Rich, and ye are the poor. And if ye turn away He will exchange you for some other folk, and they will not be the likes of you.]

— M. Pickthall” 

(Surah Muhammad: Ayat 38) 



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