The Meaning and Levels of Worship in Islam
Based on the Intentions of Individuals
Introduction
In the previous article, we discussed one main meaning and purpose of worship in Islam. Here, we will discuss the types and levels of worship based on intentions and reasons of individual believers. Note that by “worship” in this article we refer to obedience to God’s commands.
Worship, obedience to God’s commands, can be separated into 5 groups based on the reasons why a believer worships God. They are as follows.
- To be saved from punishment of Hell — the obedience of slaves
- To be rewarded with Paradise — the trade of businessmen
- To be obedient because He is God — the obedience of obedient
- To be grateful for God’s blessings — the gratitude of the grateful
- Because of love of God — the obedience of sincere lovers of God
We will briefly discuss these in the following sections, respectively.
1. Worship: To be Saved From Punishment in Hell
Some people worship God by following His commands and refrain from His prohibitions due to their fear of punishment in the Hell and in hope of being saved from it. This is similar to the obedience of a slave to avoid any punishment by their master.
This type of worship is not in line with the purposes of and wisdom behind the concepts of worship. The punishment may come as a consequence of not worshipping, but the purpose and objective of worship is not to avoid the punishment.
For example, the main purpose of laws in a country is to maintain order and establish justice, not to punish people. However, if some people don’t follow them, then there will be consequences not solely to punish them, but for other reasons, such as deterrants and to establish order and justice.
Similarly, the purpose of the punishment of Hell is not solely to punish people for their disobedience or disbelief, but to establish justice due to the results of their disobedience and disbelief.
What is the wisdom behind the belief in Hell?
There are many reasons and wisdom behind the existence of and belief in the Hell.
For example, we have certain desires and feelings which are very difficult to control, like anger. A person needs a stronger reason in hand to be able to control them. There comes the existence of Hell as a tool for people to use against their uncontrollable desires and feelings when needed.
Another great wisdom behind the belief in the Hell is for the oppressed ones and those who have been treated unjustly. For example, the oppressed believers who are unable to protect themselves from the opressors or to take back their rights and what they’ve lost, will find comfort and tranquility and satisfaction of their feelings of anger and desires of revenge by knowing that the opressors will soon end up in a Blazing Fire, i.e., Hell Fire where their revenge will be taken justly.
- We will discuss sins and unbelief and how the punishments in Hell are just consequences in the following articles.
2. Worship: To be Rewarded with Paradise
Some people worship God to be rewarded with Paradise. This is similar to what business-people do. They do something to get something else. This type of worship is also not in line with the core purposes of the worship according to Islam.
One of the main purposes of worship in Islam is to express gratitude to what God has already given to us. We cannot be grateful enough for the blessings God has given to us, even if we worshipped Him 24/7 until the end of our lives. Then how can we do anything on top of that to count it towards earning the Paradise?
The Paradise is an extra, a bonus reward that God has promised for grateful and obedient servants completely out of His mercy and grace. In other words, being obedient and grateful doesn’t give us right to go to Paradise, but our obedience and gratitude may please God and attract His mercy and grace which, then, will give us the Paradise as a bonus reward.
What is the wisdom behind the belief in Paradise?
There are many reasons and wisdom behind the existence of Paradise. The existence of Paradise and belief in it helps believers to do much more good as well as to cope with the difficulties.
For example, the youth are burning with certain desires and it is very difficult to control them. There are some misleading statements like:
- you have one life,
- youth comes only once,
- enjoy it as much as you can.
The existence of Paradise refutes such misleading claims and gives the youth a better reason why they should avoid blindly following their desires.
To give another example, old people are at the end of their lives and they may fear death and loss of their lives. However, the belief in Paradise tells them that you are not losing your life, but exchanging it with a much better one. Most of your friends and relatives have departed this world and are now in Paradise. Follow God’s commandments and do good deeds so that you meet them. The ones left behind will also soon join you. This turns death into a celebration and removes any fears a person may have about it.
You can consider the positive effects of belief in Paradise on children, family members, and relations with relatives in a similar way.
3. Worship: To be Obedient Because He is God
A simple definition for who we, Muslims, call as God could be as follows:
God is the Unique Eternal Creator and Absolute Governor of all creation (creation — everything except the Creator).
If people believe in God, as defined above, then it becomes clear that God’s commands must be followed and His prohibitions must be avoided. Simply because He has created and He is the absolute Owner of everything, including ourselves. Therefore, He has absolute authority over everything and He can do whatever He wishes. We, on the other hand, live in His “property”, while even ourselves being His property, and we have to follow His orders and prohibitions.
If I live in a country, regardless of that being my own choice or if I just was born there, then I have to learn and follow the rules and laws of that country. Note that the government who enforces those rules and laws don’t own the country or any of its residents. On the contrary, in the democratic countries, the government is elected by people to serve them. If they don’t, they will be discharged in the next election (at least this is the theory).
If it is perfectly reasonable and understandable that the rules and laws of a country enforced by its government must be followed by its residents, then it is much more reasonable and understandable that commandments of God must also be followed since He owns the universe and the whole creation. Therefore, His commandments and rules must be followed in His property.
There are many other reasons why God deserves obedience and worship and must be obeyed and worshipped because He is God, as defined above. However, we will suffice with the above reasoning for now to keep this article short.
4. Worship: To be Grateful for God’s Blessings
One of the main purposes of worship is gratitude. We have already discussed this in details in the previous article, which can be accessed from the link below.
We will leave it to that article and move on with the next section.
5. Worship: Because of Love of God
If someone treats us well, helps us with our difficulties, gives us the things we need the most, then we, by our God-given nature, develop respect and love dowards them.
Similarly, when a believer thinks about the endless blessings of God from our very existence to the existence of everything else, then they naturally develop respect and love dowards Him. When this love gets stronger, then the believer worships God and obeys Him to gain His Divine Pleasure, solely because they love Him.
When people strongly love someone else, they become very sensitive in finding out and doing things that the loved one is pleased with, and become very coutious about the things that displease their loved one.
Similarly, to the believers who strongly love God, the commandments of God are not obligations they need to fulfill, but opportunities to please God. The things that God has prohibited are not restrictions to them, but things they need to be cautious about because they displease their loved One.
Wouldn’t you love and desire a gift from your loved one/s which represents their pleasure and love towards you?
Similarly, to the believers who love God, the Paradise is a great gift that represents God’s pleasure and love towards them. They may love and desire Paradise for this reason, i.e., because it is a blessing and a gift from their loved One.
On the other hand, they are very cautious and fear to do anything that displeases their loved One. They fear ending up in the Hell not mainly because it is a terrible place, but because it means God is not pleased with them and they have done things that has displeased Him.
Conclusion
In this article, we discussed 5 different types and levels of worship, obedience to God’s commands and prohibitions, based on the intentions of a believer. In the next article, we will discuss other reasons and wisdom behind why God has commanded us to worship Him while He doesn’t need anything.
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