Deen_ul_Haqq
23-03-03, 04:23 PM
The True Meaning of Worship
All praise is to Allah (azza wa jal). May the peace and blessings of Allah (azza wa jal) be upon the Messenger, the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad (saws). And to his (saws) Family, Companions and to all those who follow him (saws) till the Day of Judgement.
[Understanding Worship in the context of any given Society]
If we observe man in any given society we will realise that he has three distinct relationships. He has a relationship to himself (e.g. excretion), a relationship with his belief (e.g. Sun, Moon, Man) and his relationship with other man (e.g. social transaction).
It is the relationship with his belief that keeps all other relationships intact. It is from this relationship, which gives rise to the concept of worship.
Worshipping itself is defined by an act that glorifies a supreme power or the recognition of the inherent weakness of man, which in effect leads man to worship something. These things could either be the Creator, the sun, the moon, cows or even other human personalities and leaders.
So worship is not exclusive to Muslims. It is not exclusive to any religion. Infact it is part of every man since it is an instinct. Like all instinct it requires satisfaction. This particular instinct compels sanctification.
[How today’s society views Worship]
But many living in the west, under secular rule, and those who call themselves ‘modern thinkers’ will deny that they posses this instinct. This is because they equate and restrict it to mere rituals and religions. They implicitly conclude that worship is synonymous and exclusive to religions. To them religion is just a personal relationship with faith.
However the implementation of the communist thought in Russia is a clear proof to the existence of the worshipping instinct (al gharizatun at tadayyun). While the communist state rejects and punishes those who promote religions, the people ended up worshipping and glorifying the likes of Lenin and Marx. Even in the capitalist states we see those of the atheists and agnostics glorify certain celebrities and leading personalities. And what about those who sacrifice their lives for the ‘good cause’ simply because they ‘feel’ they have something innate that derives them to do ‘good’.
Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an:
“And (remember) when your Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed (or from Adam's loin his offspring) and made them testify as to themselves (saying): "Am I not your Lord?" They said: "Yes! We testify,"” [Surah al’Araf (7): 172]
So those who reject the worshipping instinct are infact suppressing that which is innate in man and are insincere to their natural inclination and emotions.
[The Islamic View on Worship]
However when this instinct is left alone without being directed by the true belief than the emotions in man becomes its arbitrator i.e. it becomes its director and controller. The emotions add mythical and unfounded ideas. Idolatry, superstitions, and mythology are its outcomes. These unwarranted elements of belief causes one to further stray from the true belief and catapults one into disbelief and infidelity. The Rasulillah (saws) said,
“Each child is born in a state of Fitrah (nature), but his parents make him a Jew or a Christian” [Muslim]
The true belief is the Islamic belief. So the true concept of worship can only come from Islam. Indeed the Rasulillah (saws) said in hadith sahih,
“How amazing is the affair of the believer. All of his affair is good, and that is not the case with anyone except the believer. If ease comes to him he gives thanks for it so that is good for him; and if trouble comes to him he has patience and so that is good for him.” [Muslim]
The Arabic word for worship is ibadah. Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an:
“And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone)” [Surah az Zariyat (51): 56]
Hence Islam has placed great emphasis on the issue of worship. It has made the worship the only purpose to the human existence.
Linguistically ibadah means submission, devotion, humbleness and compliance. Its root word ‘abd means slave, which is what possess these qualities. This can also be understood by the hadith al qudsi reported in the sahi’ane where Allah (swt) addresses the people as ‘Ya ibadih’ – O my servants.
One of the Scholars, Ibn Kathir, said: “Ibadah in the language is humbleness (dhillah). It is sometimes levelled (said 'a), smoothed road (mu'abbad) and an uneven road (ghair mu'abbad)' meaning (one has been) humbled, lowered, debased”
The shariah (legal) meaning can be understood by that which achieves the rewards (thwabs) from Allah (swt). It is the ultimate obedience, submission, love and humility to the complete deen of Islam. It comprises the whole Islamic deen in its entirety from personal morals and ethics to international relationships and regulations. The following statement is agreed by the ulemah concerning the legal meaning of Worship:
“Worship is an all inclusive term for all that Allah loves of external and internal sayings and actions of a person.”
Imam Ibn Taymiyah says in his book Al Uboodiyah, “Islam as a whole (ad-Deen) is included in al Ibaadah. The word ad-Deen denotes submission and humility. The word ‘daana’ in arabic means to become humble; it is also said in Arabic ‘yadeenul Llaaha’ or ‘yadeenu li laahi’ to mean to worship Allah, obey Him and submit to Him. Deenul Laahi therefore means the worship of Him, obedience to Him and submission to Him. Al Ibaadah itself also means humility”
Imam Al-Qurtubee mentions, “The basis of Ibadah are: humbling oneself (tadhallull) and submission (khudoo') and the duties of the Shari'ah are called 'Ibadat' (pl. for Ibadah) because the (worshippers) stick to them and perform them with submissiveness and out of humility to Allah the Most High.”
So worship in Islam is to do, with absolute sincerity and complete submission to Allah (swt), all the obligatory (fard), the Mandub (recommended) and to keep away from the Makruh (detested), Haram (prohibited), Shirk (polytheism), bid’a (ritual innovation) and Kufr (disbelief), since these actions possesses rewards. There are many hadith sahih that illustrates this. The Rasulillah (saws) said,
“There is a reward for him who performs it lawfully” [Muslim]
“What I have forbidden to you, avoid; what I have ordered you [to do], do as much of it as you can” [Bukhari]
“He who has intended a good deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds to seven hundred times, or many times over. But if he has intended a bad deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down as one bad deed.” [Muslim]
[Certain Prerequisites to True Worship]
The prerequisites to the acts of true worship for any human is that he has to be a Muslim and his intentions have to for Allah (swt) alone. This necessitates the human to learn and fully accept the conditions of imaan (eg ikhlas, yaqeen), and to know that which negates imaan (eg.shirk), the concept of tawhid (eg tawhid ur rubibiyah), to posses the obligatory qualities of character (eg. taqwa, ihsan) and to do all the actions which are made a condition to enter Jannah (eg Fard) and keep away from all those actions which are made a condition to enter Jahannam (eg. Haram).
Those who view Islamic actions other than its rituals as less important should take note of what was reported by Ibn Abdul Barr in his book ‘at Tamhid’,
Imam Malik was asked (by Abdullah Al Umari) about why he is more into his academic studies rather than the Islamic rituals (like salah), he replied, “Allah has distributed actions just as He distributed sustenance. So some people are eager to offer (voluntary) prayers but are not eager to (voluntary) fast. Some others may be interested in giving (voluntary) charity whilst not being eager to (voluntary) fast. And then, there may be others who are very keen to go out jihad. Propagating knowledge is one of the highest forms of virtue, and I am very happy with whatever has been made easy for me. I cannot think that I am doing whatever I am doing without the reward of that which you are engaged in. I hope both of us are on goodness and virtue”
What differentiates the actions is the hukm shari’. If the actions are of the mandub, which is better or more rewardful depends upon the objective and the circumstances. Given the situation, one may feel the naflihi prayer is more rewardful than the naflihi recitation of the Qur’an or vice versa. In essence it is up to the individual Muslim since there is no punishment if not performed, since they are of the mandub (recommended). However the mandubat must not be taken lightly since they are commands (‘amr) from Allah (swt) that have not reached the level of obligations and not mere good actions for the sake of being good.
[Basic Misunderstanding of Worship amongst the Muslims]
Now that Islam has in essence defined worship as the complete obedience to the Islamic belief and its systems, than why is it we have Muslims who separate certain actions as ibadah. The impact of this misunderstanding leads Muslims to act upon hukm shari’ in certain occasions like in the month of Ramadhan and viewing certain obligations as vital (e.g. eating halal food) and rejecting others like mu'amalat (transactions) and salah. There are two main causes.
(i) The Implementation of Systems based upon the Secular Belief:
The secular belief propagates that God has no part in societal affairs. So the individual is directed to keep his belief separate from society. This is what has happened to the Christians and Jews. This is precisely what today’s society propagates to the Muslims. So the Muslims separate those actions which have no bearing in society or produce no material rewards as ibadah and leave other actions to the decision of the prevalent systems.
(ii) Absenteeism of the Islamic Systems.
The non-existence of the Islamic System in effect means there is no Islam, since Islam is an indivisible whole. The meaning of ibadah is implemented practically by the enforcement of the Islamic rules and by the actions of the Muslims in their everyday life. The misunderstanding of ibadah is due to the absence of the Islamic rules. Specific to ibadah, there are two main reasons to this: the weakness in the Arabic language and the weakness in the Islamic fiqh (jurisprudence).
The Arabs who heard the call to Worship Allah (swt), during the time of the Rasulillah (saws) knew exactly what the order “ya’bodoon” in the Qur’an meant, i.e. transforming their whole life around the worshipping of Allah (swt) from personal rituals to societal affairs. Since many Muslims have lost the Arabic tongue it should not be surprising that they have also lost the meanings of the Qur’an. Infact this weakness is promoted and pushed by the orientalist and the secularist to distant the believers from Islam.
The other erroneous understanding of ibadah also came from the fact that when the ‘ulemah categorised the books of Fiqh, they made them into two parts: the part of ibadat (worships) and the part of mu'amalat (transactions). This was due to the nature of the rules regarding certain actions e.g. some actions dictate a shariah reason (illah) for its performance and these are among the mu’amalat and not the i’badat. It also made easy access to derive new rulings by the later scholars. It was not used to demonstrate that the issues of I’badat are more important or more significant than the issues of mu’amalat since are of obligations (Fard).
However for many Muslims to abide by all of the Islamic shariah are well established. There are two main reasons why the majority of the Ummah today do not. One is to do with time and the other is to do with ‘necessity’ (meaning ‘no-other alternative’ (not dharoorah)). The first thing to address is their sincerity to deserving Paradise (Jannah) i.e. have we done enough to attain Jannah [surely we always need to do more since it is never enough]
Those who delay their obligations implicitly insist they will live for many years. They should be reminded of the Islamic concept of death and that Hell fire is full of those where tomorrow never came.
Those who use ‘necessity’ to do the prohibited (e.g. sell alcohol) should be reminded of the Islamic concept of accountability and that the days of ‘holding on to Islam would be like holding on to a hot coal’ have come and that the rewards of doing the obligations are greater.
[Conclusion]
In conclusion it is important to point out that the jinns and the humans have been given a choice whether to worship the Creator or not and are not physically compelled to do so. The human becomes a true worshipper once he becomes a Muslim and abides by all of the Islamic laws and etiquettes.
The Non Muslims should really examine, from a rational standpoint, their concept of worship. They will soon realise it is not based upon truth but mere opinions of the clergy and human emotions. Those who reject worship in form and sprit are sadly suppressing an instinct, which only leads them to more misery.
For the Muslim who has reached the age of puberty must comprehend the true meaning of ibadah, that it is not only to do with the five daily prayers or the gatherings in mosque but live his whole life according to the laws of Islam. This means he has to abide by Islam in his dealings with other colleagues at work or school, avoid interest in his bank account, avoid intimate relationships outside marriage, do all his prayers on time, spread the call of Islam, read more of the Qur’an, keep his body fit, keep away from foul language, etc. Truly Allah (swt) has not made this deen unbearable. He (swt) has given this deen as a Mercy and has shown us how to attain Jannah in all areas of human activity. The Muslims sincerity, honesty, integrity, goodness and submissiveness should be reflected in his actions at all times and at all circumstances.
Indeed the Muslims should ask himself everyday questions like “Have I become a better Slave of Allah?” “Have I exhausted my very best to do what I owe to Allah?” “Am I ready to meet Allah” “Do I show mercy to the young and honour the old?” “Do I have khushoo (consciousness) in my Prayers and du’a” “Am I truly doing the action for Allah”
Indeed Allah (swt) will test His slaves and the best of those is who keeps firm in his deen and indeed we will sin and the best of sinners are those who repent.
[Ending]
May Allah azza wa jal reward you for reading this. Please forgive me for any mistakes and feel free to correct me. I end with the sayings of Allah (swt)…
“Say (O Muhammad (saws)) “Verily, my Salat (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the 'Alamin. He has no partner. And of this I have been commanded and I am the first of the Muslims.” [Surah al An’am (6): 162-3]
Assalaamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatahu
All praise is to Allah (azza wa jal). May the peace and blessings of Allah (azza wa jal) be upon the Messenger, the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad (saws). And to his (saws) Family, Companions and to all those who follow him (saws) till the Day of Judgement.
[Understanding Worship in the context of any given Society]
If we observe man in any given society we will realise that he has three distinct relationships. He has a relationship to himself (e.g. excretion), a relationship with his belief (e.g. Sun, Moon, Man) and his relationship with other man (e.g. social transaction).
It is the relationship with his belief that keeps all other relationships intact. It is from this relationship, which gives rise to the concept of worship.
Worshipping itself is defined by an act that glorifies a supreme power or the recognition of the inherent weakness of man, which in effect leads man to worship something. These things could either be the Creator, the sun, the moon, cows or even other human personalities and leaders.
So worship is not exclusive to Muslims. It is not exclusive to any religion. Infact it is part of every man since it is an instinct. Like all instinct it requires satisfaction. This particular instinct compels sanctification.
[How today’s society views Worship]
But many living in the west, under secular rule, and those who call themselves ‘modern thinkers’ will deny that they posses this instinct. This is because they equate and restrict it to mere rituals and religions. They implicitly conclude that worship is synonymous and exclusive to religions. To them religion is just a personal relationship with faith.
However the implementation of the communist thought in Russia is a clear proof to the existence of the worshipping instinct (al gharizatun at tadayyun). While the communist state rejects and punishes those who promote religions, the people ended up worshipping and glorifying the likes of Lenin and Marx. Even in the capitalist states we see those of the atheists and agnostics glorify certain celebrities and leading personalities. And what about those who sacrifice their lives for the ‘good cause’ simply because they ‘feel’ they have something innate that derives them to do ‘good’.
Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an:
“And (remember) when your Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed (or from Adam's loin his offspring) and made them testify as to themselves (saying): "Am I not your Lord?" They said: "Yes! We testify,"” [Surah al’Araf (7): 172]
So those who reject the worshipping instinct are infact suppressing that which is innate in man and are insincere to their natural inclination and emotions.
[The Islamic View on Worship]
However when this instinct is left alone without being directed by the true belief than the emotions in man becomes its arbitrator i.e. it becomes its director and controller. The emotions add mythical and unfounded ideas. Idolatry, superstitions, and mythology are its outcomes. These unwarranted elements of belief causes one to further stray from the true belief and catapults one into disbelief and infidelity. The Rasulillah (saws) said,
“Each child is born in a state of Fitrah (nature), but his parents make him a Jew or a Christian” [Muslim]
The true belief is the Islamic belief. So the true concept of worship can only come from Islam. Indeed the Rasulillah (saws) said in hadith sahih,
“How amazing is the affair of the believer. All of his affair is good, and that is not the case with anyone except the believer. If ease comes to him he gives thanks for it so that is good for him; and if trouble comes to him he has patience and so that is good for him.” [Muslim]
The Arabic word for worship is ibadah. Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an:
“And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone)” [Surah az Zariyat (51): 56]
Hence Islam has placed great emphasis on the issue of worship. It has made the worship the only purpose to the human existence.
Linguistically ibadah means submission, devotion, humbleness and compliance. Its root word ‘abd means slave, which is what possess these qualities. This can also be understood by the hadith al qudsi reported in the sahi’ane where Allah (swt) addresses the people as ‘Ya ibadih’ – O my servants.
One of the Scholars, Ibn Kathir, said: “Ibadah in the language is humbleness (dhillah). It is sometimes levelled (said 'a), smoothed road (mu'abbad) and an uneven road (ghair mu'abbad)' meaning (one has been) humbled, lowered, debased”
The shariah (legal) meaning can be understood by that which achieves the rewards (thwabs) from Allah (swt). It is the ultimate obedience, submission, love and humility to the complete deen of Islam. It comprises the whole Islamic deen in its entirety from personal morals and ethics to international relationships and regulations. The following statement is agreed by the ulemah concerning the legal meaning of Worship:
“Worship is an all inclusive term for all that Allah loves of external and internal sayings and actions of a person.”
Imam Ibn Taymiyah says in his book Al Uboodiyah, “Islam as a whole (ad-Deen) is included in al Ibaadah. The word ad-Deen denotes submission and humility. The word ‘daana’ in arabic means to become humble; it is also said in Arabic ‘yadeenul Llaaha’ or ‘yadeenu li laahi’ to mean to worship Allah, obey Him and submit to Him. Deenul Laahi therefore means the worship of Him, obedience to Him and submission to Him. Al Ibaadah itself also means humility”
Imam Al-Qurtubee mentions, “The basis of Ibadah are: humbling oneself (tadhallull) and submission (khudoo') and the duties of the Shari'ah are called 'Ibadat' (pl. for Ibadah) because the (worshippers) stick to them and perform them with submissiveness and out of humility to Allah the Most High.”
So worship in Islam is to do, with absolute sincerity and complete submission to Allah (swt), all the obligatory (fard), the Mandub (recommended) and to keep away from the Makruh (detested), Haram (prohibited), Shirk (polytheism), bid’a (ritual innovation) and Kufr (disbelief), since these actions possesses rewards. There are many hadith sahih that illustrates this. The Rasulillah (saws) said,
“There is a reward for him who performs it lawfully” [Muslim]
“What I have forbidden to you, avoid; what I have ordered you [to do], do as much of it as you can” [Bukhari]
“He who has intended a good deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds to seven hundred times, or many times over. But if he has intended a bad deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down as one bad deed.” [Muslim]
[Certain Prerequisites to True Worship]
The prerequisites to the acts of true worship for any human is that he has to be a Muslim and his intentions have to for Allah (swt) alone. This necessitates the human to learn and fully accept the conditions of imaan (eg ikhlas, yaqeen), and to know that which negates imaan (eg.shirk), the concept of tawhid (eg tawhid ur rubibiyah), to posses the obligatory qualities of character (eg. taqwa, ihsan) and to do all the actions which are made a condition to enter Jannah (eg Fard) and keep away from all those actions which are made a condition to enter Jahannam (eg. Haram).
Those who view Islamic actions other than its rituals as less important should take note of what was reported by Ibn Abdul Barr in his book ‘at Tamhid’,
Imam Malik was asked (by Abdullah Al Umari) about why he is more into his academic studies rather than the Islamic rituals (like salah), he replied, “Allah has distributed actions just as He distributed sustenance. So some people are eager to offer (voluntary) prayers but are not eager to (voluntary) fast. Some others may be interested in giving (voluntary) charity whilst not being eager to (voluntary) fast. And then, there may be others who are very keen to go out jihad. Propagating knowledge is one of the highest forms of virtue, and I am very happy with whatever has been made easy for me. I cannot think that I am doing whatever I am doing without the reward of that which you are engaged in. I hope both of us are on goodness and virtue”
What differentiates the actions is the hukm shari’. If the actions are of the mandub, which is better or more rewardful depends upon the objective and the circumstances. Given the situation, one may feel the naflihi prayer is more rewardful than the naflihi recitation of the Qur’an or vice versa. In essence it is up to the individual Muslim since there is no punishment if not performed, since they are of the mandub (recommended). However the mandubat must not be taken lightly since they are commands (‘amr) from Allah (swt) that have not reached the level of obligations and not mere good actions for the sake of being good.
[Basic Misunderstanding of Worship amongst the Muslims]
Now that Islam has in essence defined worship as the complete obedience to the Islamic belief and its systems, than why is it we have Muslims who separate certain actions as ibadah. The impact of this misunderstanding leads Muslims to act upon hukm shari’ in certain occasions like in the month of Ramadhan and viewing certain obligations as vital (e.g. eating halal food) and rejecting others like mu'amalat (transactions) and salah. There are two main causes.
(i) The Implementation of Systems based upon the Secular Belief:
The secular belief propagates that God has no part in societal affairs. So the individual is directed to keep his belief separate from society. This is what has happened to the Christians and Jews. This is precisely what today’s society propagates to the Muslims. So the Muslims separate those actions which have no bearing in society or produce no material rewards as ibadah and leave other actions to the decision of the prevalent systems.
(ii) Absenteeism of the Islamic Systems.
The non-existence of the Islamic System in effect means there is no Islam, since Islam is an indivisible whole. The meaning of ibadah is implemented practically by the enforcement of the Islamic rules and by the actions of the Muslims in their everyday life. The misunderstanding of ibadah is due to the absence of the Islamic rules. Specific to ibadah, there are two main reasons to this: the weakness in the Arabic language and the weakness in the Islamic fiqh (jurisprudence).
The Arabs who heard the call to Worship Allah (swt), during the time of the Rasulillah (saws) knew exactly what the order “ya’bodoon” in the Qur’an meant, i.e. transforming their whole life around the worshipping of Allah (swt) from personal rituals to societal affairs. Since many Muslims have lost the Arabic tongue it should not be surprising that they have also lost the meanings of the Qur’an. Infact this weakness is promoted and pushed by the orientalist and the secularist to distant the believers from Islam.
The other erroneous understanding of ibadah also came from the fact that when the ‘ulemah categorised the books of Fiqh, they made them into two parts: the part of ibadat (worships) and the part of mu'amalat (transactions). This was due to the nature of the rules regarding certain actions e.g. some actions dictate a shariah reason (illah) for its performance and these are among the mu’amalat and not the i’badat. It also made easy access to derive new rulings by the later scholars. It was not used to demonstrate that the issues of I’badat are more important or more significant than the issues of mu’amalat since are of obligations (Fard).
However for many Muslims to abide by all of the Islamic shariah are well established. There are two main reasons why the majority of the Ummah today do not. One is to do with time and the other is to do with ‘necessity’ (meaning ‘no-other alternative’ (not dharoorah)). The first thing to address is their sincerity to deserving Paradise (Jannah) i.e. have we done enough to attain Jannah [surely we always need to do more since it is never enough]
Those who delay their obligations implicitly insist they will live for many years. They should be reminded of the Islamic concept of death and that Hell fire is full of those where tomorrow never came.
Those who use ‘necessity’ to do the prohibited (e.g. sell alcohol) should be reminded of the Islamic concept of accountability and that the days of ‘holding on to Islam would be like holding on to a hot coal’ have come and that the rewards of doing the obligations are greater.
[Conclusion]
In conclusion it is important to point out that the jinns and the humans have been given a choice whether to worship the Creator or not and are not physically compelled to do so. The human becomes a true worshipper once he becomes a Muslim and abides by all of the Islamic laws and etiquettes.
The Non Muslims should really examine, from a rational standpoint, their concept of worship. They will soon realise it is not based upon truth but mere opinions of the clergy and human emotions. Those who reject worship in form and sprit are sadly suppressing an instinct, which only leads them to more misery.
For the Muslim who has reached the age of puberty must comprehend the true meaning of ibadah, that it is not only to do with the five daily prayers or the gatherings in mosque but live his whole life according to the laws of Islam. This means he has to abide by Islam in his dealings with other colleagues at work or school, avoid interest in his bank account, avoid intimate relationships outside marriage, do all his prayers on time, spread the call of Islam, read more of the Qur’an, keep his body fit, keep away from foul language, etc. Truly Allah (swt) has not made this deen unbearable. He (swt) has given this deen as a Mercy and has shown us how to attain Jannah in all areas of human activity. The Muslims sincerity, honesty, integrity, goodness and submissiveness should be reflected in his actions at all times and at all circumstances.
Indeed the Muslims should ask himself everyday questions like “Have I become a better Slave of Allah?” “Have I exhausted my very best to do what I owe to Allah?” “Am I ready to meet Allah” “Do I show mercy to the young and honour the old?” “Do I have khushoo (consciousness) in my Prayers and du’a” “Am I truly doing the action for Allah”
Indeed Allah (swt) will test His slaves and the best of those is who keeps firm in his deen and indeed we will sin and the best of sinners are those who repent.
[Ending]
May Allah azza wa jal reward you for reading this. Please forgive me for any mistakes and feel free to correct me. I end with the sayings of Allah (swt)…
“Say (O Muhammad (saws)) “Verily, my Salat (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the 'Alamin. He has no partner. And of this I have been commanded and I am the first of the Muslims.” [Surah al An’am (6): 162-3]
Assalaamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatahu