(based on a series of lectures by Dr. Tariq Abdelhaleem)
All praise is to Allah and may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon His messenger, his companions and all those who follow in their path.
Muslims in the West are presented (almost daily) with different interpretations of the message of Islam. Western Orientalists, Westernized Muslims who adopted the Orientalists’ approach, defeated Muslims who are willing to modify the beliefs of Islam either intentionally or unintentionally in order to be accepted by the West, even the Western Media and the so-called TV “Experts on Islam” are all contributing to the mass confusion of what Islam stands for and what Prophet Mohammad’s message is.
Islam is peace; Islam is compassion; Islam is mercy; Islam is justice; Islam is freedom. These are all message that we hear on television, in speeches in conferences and Friday sermons. However, all of them focus on a specific text in Shariah (either a verse or a hadith) and ignore the remaining texts; hence they all fall short of the true message of Islam.
In addition, the majority of Muslims speakers in the West have fallen into the trap of presenting Islam in a way that they think is acceptable to the West. It is what I call “Western Islam”. It is a version of Islam that doesn’t include any issue that may be controversial in the West; such as: Jihad, polygamy, Islamic Government and punishments. Some have even gone as far as claiming that we cannot consider non-Muslims in the West non-believers and that only Allah SWT will determine their ultimate abode. These messages vaguely resemble the original message of the Prophet PBUH.
The best description of this mass confusion was summed up by Abu Al-Ala Al-Maududi in 1941 in his great book “Four Basic Quranic Terms”, he wrote “… the teachings of the Qur'an, or rather, the real spirit thereof, have become obscured, and this is the main cause of the shortcomings that are to be seen in peoples' beliefs and acts despite the fact that they have not formally given up the faith of Islam but are still in its fold. It is therefore of utmost importance that in order to have a full and complete understanding of the Qur'anic teachings and of their central idea, one should know, as a fundamental to being a good Muslim, what these terms really mean.”1
So what is the message of Islam? What is the core message that the Prophet Mohammad PBUH was sent to deliver and teach?
Allah SWT states the message of Islam in many verses of the Quran. Allah says:
إِنَّ هَذِهِ أُمَّتُكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَأَنَا رَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُونِ
“Verily, this Brotherhood of yours is a single Brotherhood, and I am your Lord and Cherisher: therefore serve Me (and no other).” (21:92)
إِنَّ اللّهَ رَبِّي وَرَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُوهُ هَـذَا صِرَاطٌ مُّسْتَقِيمٌ
“It is Allah Who is my Lord and your Lord; then worship Him. This is a Way that is straight.” ( 3:51 )
ذَلِكُمُ اللّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لا إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَاعْبُدُوهُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَكِيلٌ
“That is Allah, your Lord! There is no god but He, the Creator of all things; then worship ye Him; and He hath power to dispose of all affairs.” (6:102)
إِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ اللّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ يُدَبِّرُ الأَمْرَ مَا مِن شَفِيعٍ إِلاَّ مِن بَعْدِ إِذْنِهِ ذَلِكُمُ اللّهُ رَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُوهُ أَفَلاَ تَذَكَّرُونَ
“Verily your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days, then He established Himself on the Throne (of authority), regulating and governing all things. No intercessor (can plead with Him) except after His leave (hath been obtained). This is Allah your Lord; Him therefore serve ye: will yet not receive admonition?” (10:3)
وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ رَبِّي وَرَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُوهُ هَذَا صِرَاطٌ مُّسْتَقِيمٌ
“Verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord: Him therefore serve ye: this is a way that is straight.” ( 19:36 )
إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ رَبِّي وَرَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُوهُ هَذَا صِرَاطٌ مُّسْتَقِيمٌ
“For Allah, He is my Lord and your Lord: so worship ye Him: this is a Straight Way ” (43:64)
إِنَّنِي أَنَا اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدْنِي وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِي
“Verily, I am Allah: there is no god but I: so serve thou Me (only)” ( 20:14 )
Allah SWT commanded us in the aforementioned verses to “فَاعْبُدُوهُ” (perform ‘ibadah to Him). Allah SWT unequivocally states the purpose of our creation in the verse:
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ
“I have only created Jinns and men, that they may serve Me.”(51:56)
Now, the word ‘ibadah is a Quranic term that is not well understood. It is sometimes translated as servitude and sometimes as worship. But, ‘ibadah carries a much more comprehensive meaning in the Arabic. Maududi writes:
“The term ‘ibadah has several different meanings, though all related to each other. The basic concept implied by the root word, 'abd, is that of acknowledging someone other than oneself as holding supremacy or enjoying over lordship and of abdicating one's freedom and independence in big favour, of relinquishing any resistance to or disobedience of him, and of surrendering oneself totally to his authority. Since slavery or bondage too are tantamount to similar status, the first sense the word conveys to the mind of any Arab is of this very factor, namely, slavery or bondage.
Also, since the primary role of a slave is to obey his master and carry out his wishes, the word also carries the sense of submission and obedience. Next, a slave not only submits himself to the will of his master physically, but mentally too he accepts his supremacy, and if he at the same time has feelings of gratitude for his kindnesses and favors, he is inclined spontaneously to go out of his way in extolling the master and in showing respect and regard for him. He expresses and demonstrates his obligation in many ways to show his deep attachment, in a manner amounting almost to worship although, obviously, this comes into play only when, in addition to physical bondage, there is mental attachment too.”2
Therefore obedience is the true meaning of Ibadah as is understood from the Arabic language. We can further study the texts of Quran and Hadith to reach the same conclusion.
Allah SWT says:
أَلَمْ أَعْهَدْ إِلَيْكُمْ يَا بَنِي آدَمَ أَن لَّا تَعْبُدُوا الشَّيْطَانَ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ
“Did I not enjoin on you, O ye Children of Adam, that ye should not worship Satan; for that he was to you an enemy avowed?” (36:60)
The word “تَعْبُدُوا” (perform ‘ibadah) cannot be understood here as worship as in most translations, because the majority of human beings do not worship Satan (with the exception of a very small population over history). But Allah SWT is rebuking the children of Adam for making ‘ibadah to Satan; this can only be interpreted as rebuke for obeying Satan in his commands as oppose the orders of Allah.
The meaning is again very obvious in the following verse:
أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ
“Then seest thou such a one as takes as his god his own vain desire?” (45:23).
Clearly, no one actually worships himself or his desires by prostrating or performing rituals to himself in the mirror. It is clear that taking a god as one’s desires is in obeying one’s own desires against the commands of Allah SWT. The Arabs used to say:
اطعت مطامعى فاستعبدتنى ولو انى قنعت لكنت حرا
“I followed my desires and they enslaved me.
If only I had been content with my lot, I would be free”
Ibn Katheer reported in his tafseer that:
قدم عدي إلى المدينة وكان رئيسا في قومه طيئ وأبوه حاتم الطائي المشهور بالكرم فتحدث الناس بقدومه فدخل على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم وفي عنق عدي صليب من فضة وهو يقرأ هذه الآية " اتخذوا أحبارهم ورهبانهم أربابا من دون الله " قال : فقلت إنهم لم يعبدوهم فقال " بلى إنهم حرموا عليهم الحلال وأحلوا لهم الحرام فاتبعوهم فذلك عبادتهم إياهم " وقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم " يا عدي ما تقول ؟ أيضرك أن يقال الله أكبر ؟ فهل تعلم شيئا أكبر من الله ؟ ما يضرك أيضرك أن يقال لا إله إلا الله فهل تعلم إلها غير الله ؟ ثم دعاه إلى الإسلام فأسلم وشهد شهادة الحق
‘Adey ibn Hatim At-Taey (with a silver cross around his neck, meaning before he accepted Islam) walked in on the Prophet PBUH while he was reciting the verse:
اتَّخَذُواْ أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ
“They take their priests and their anchorites to be their lords in derogation of Allah”. ‘Adey objected to the Prophet by saying: “they did not worship them”. The Prophet replied “Indeed, they forbade them what is permissible and permitted what is forbidden, so they obeyed them and that is their worship of them”.
Thus, the Prophet PBUH concluded that obedience of rules and laws against those of Allah is the act of worshiping.
In another narration,
عن عدي بن حاتم , قال : أتيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وفي عنقي صليب من ذهب , فقال : " يا عدي اطرح هذا الوثن من عنقك ! " قال : فطرحته وانتهيت إليه وهو يقرأ في سورة براءة , فقرأ هذه الآية : { اتخذوا أحبارهم ورهبانهم أربابا من دون الله } قال : قلت : يا رسول الله إنا لسنا نعبدهم ! فقال : " أليس يحرمون ما أحل الله فتحرمونه , ويحلون ما حرم الله فتحلونه ؟ " قال : قلت : بلى . قال : " فتلك عبادتهم "
‘Adey narrated that when he came to the Prophet PBUH, he had a gold cross around his neck, so the Prophet told him “O ‘Adey, remove this idol from around your neck!” ‘Adey removed it. ‘Adey reached the Prophet when he was reciting the verse (They take their priests and their anchorites to be their lords in derogation of Allah) so he said “O Messenger of Allah, we do not worship them!” He said, “Don’t they forbid what Allah permits so you forbid it; and they permit what Allah forbids so you permit it?” ‘Adey answered “Indeed”. So the Prophet said “Hence this is your worship of them”.
On the same verse (lords in derogation of Allah) Al-Tabari commented in his tafseer: masters to them instead of Allah, they obey them in disobeying Allah. Hence they permitted what their [priests and Rabies] permitted for them when Allah forbade it and forbade what their [priest and Rabies] forbade for them when Allah permitted it. Abu Al-Bakhtary added that if their [priest and Rabies] asked the people to worship them, the people wouldn’t have done it (i.e. performing rituals to someone is not the only requirement of worship, but worship is obedience in commands). Abdullah Ibn Abbas said “their [priest and Rabies] did not order them to prostrate to them, but they ordered them to disobey Allah and the people obeyed them; thus Allah called their lords (i.e. their worship is their obedience to them in disobeying Allah)”.
“If a person's avoidance of certain actions or performance of others is governed by the hope or fear that they would win him the pleasure or displeasure of some other person or being, he does so obviously because of belief that that person or being possesses some kind of supernatural authority in shaping the affairs of men. As for him who believes in God and yet turns to others for the fulfillment of his needs, he too can do so only because he believes them to have some share in God's authority. And, lastly, no different is the case of the person who accords the status of law to the commandments of someone other than God, and binds himself to obey the injunctions or prohibitions of that someone, for he in effect thereby accords him supreme authority. We can therefore safely conclude that the essence of godhood is authority, whether it is conceived as sovereignty of a supernatural kind over the whole universe or on the basis that man is bound by God's law in his worldly life and that all of His injunctions are to be complied with because they emanate from Him.”3
Obedience to Allah alone and avoiding commands opposed to those of Allah is a meaning that is repeated in the Quran in many verses:
وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولاً أَنِ اعْبُدُواْ اللّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُواْ الطَّاغُوتَ
“For We assuredly sent amongst every People a Messenger, (with the Command), "Serve Allah, and eschew taghoot"” ( 16:36 )
وَالَّذِينَ اجْتَنَبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ أَن يَعْبُدُوهَا وَأَنَابُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ لَهُمُ الْبُشْرَى فَبَشِّرْ عِبَادِ
“Those who eschew taghoot, and fall not into its worship, and turn to Allah (in repentance), for them is Good News: so announce the Good News to My Servants” (39:17)
فَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِن بِاللّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَىَ لاَ انفِصَامَ لَهَا
“Whoever rejects taghoot and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold that never breaks” (2:256)
Taghoot is anybody or any body that claims to share or hold any part of the authority of Allah and commands obedience to this authority.
This is the message that Raba'a ibn Aamir (the messenger of Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqas) delivered to Rostum (the leader of the Persian army) during Al-Qadisiyyah (the great battle between Muslims and Persians in the time of Omar ibn Al-Khattab). When Rostum asked Raba'a “Who sent you?”. Raba'a answered:
الله جاء بنا ، و هو بعثنا لنخرج من شاء من عبادة العباد إلى عبادة الله ، و من ضيق الدنيا إلى سعتها ، و من جور الأدبان إلى عدل الإسلام.
“Allah sent us. He sent us to take people away from obedience (he used the word Ibadah) of slaves to obedience (he again used the word Ibadah) of Allah, and from the neediness of life to its abundance, and from the transgression of worldly-systems to the justice of Islam.” Raba'a used the word Ibadah in the context of obedience and submission to authority since it is historically known that Persians did not worship their Kings in the sense of praying to them.
Hence, “it will be seen that there is one central idea running through all these verses, and that is that godhood and authority are inextricably interconnected and are, in essence and significance, one and the same thing. He who has no authority can be no god, and it is but fitting that he should not be so. And He Who has all due authority, He alone can be, and ought to be, God”.4
We must also recognize that this message of Islam is a universal message that all prophets and messengers were sent with. Allah says:
لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَى قَوْمِهِ فَقَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُواْ اللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـهٍ غَيْرُهُ
“We sent Nuh to his people. He said: "O my people! Perform ‘ibadah to Allah! ye have no other god but Him. I fear for you the Punishment of a dreadful Day!” ( 7:59 )
وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَى قَوْمِهِ فَقَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَهٍ غَيْرُهُ أَفَلَا تَتَّقُونَ
“We sent Nuh to his people: he said, "O my people! Perform ‘ibadah to Allah! Ye have no other god but Him: Will ye not fear (Him)?"” ( 23:23 )
وَإِلَى عَادٍ أَخَاهُمْ هُوداً قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُواْ اللّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـهٍ غَيْرُهُ أَفَلاَ تَتَّقُونَ
“To the 'Ad people', (We sent) Hud, one of their (own) brethren: he said: "O my people! Perform ‘ibadah to Allah! ye have no other god but Him. Will ye not fear (Allah)?"” (7:65)
وَإِلَى عَادٍ أَخَاهُمْ هُودًا قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُواْ اللّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـهٍ غَيْرُهُ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلاَّ مُفْتَرُونَ
“To the 'Ad People (We sent) Hud, one of their own brethren. He said: "O my people! Perform ‘ibadah to Allah! ye have no other god but Him. (Your other gods) ye do nothing but invent!” ( 11:50 )
وَإِلَى ثَمُودَ أَخَاهُمْ صَالِحًا قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُواْ اللّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـهٍ غَيْرُهُ
“To the Thamud people (We sent) Salih, one of their own brethren: he said: "O my people! Perform ‘ibadah to Allah; ye have no other god but Him.” (7:73)
وَإِلَى ثَمُودَ أَخَاهُمْ صَالِحًا قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُواْ اللّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـهٍ غَيْرُهُ هُوَ أَنشَأَكُم مِّنَ الأَرْضِ وَاسْتَعْمَرَكُمْ فِيهَا فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ ثُمَّ تُوبُواْ إِلَيْهِ إِنَّ رَبِّي قَرِيبٌ مُّجِيبٌ
“To the Thamud People (We sent) Salih, one of their own brethren. He said: "O my People! Perform ‘ibadah to Allah: ye have no other god but Him. It is He Who hath produced you from the earth and settled you therein: then ask forgiveness of Him, and turn to Him (in repentance): for my Lord is (always) near, ready to answer."” (11:61)
وَإِلَى مَدْيَنَ أَخَاهُمْ شُعَيْبًا قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُواْ اللّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـهٍ غَيْرُهُ
“To the Madyan people We sent Shu'aib, one of their own brethren: he said: "O my people! Perform ‘ibadah to Allah; ye have no other god but Him.” (7:85)
وَإِلَى مَدْيَنَ أَخَاهُمْ شُعَيْبًا قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُواْ اللّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـهٍ غَيْرُهُ
“To the Madyan people (We sent) Shu'aib, one of their own brethren: he said: "O my people! Perform ‘ibadah to Allah: ye have no other god but Him. And give not short measure or weight: I see you in prosperity, but I fear for you the Penalty of a Day that will compass (you) all round.” (11:84)
وَإِلَى مَدْيَنَ أَخَاهُمْ شُعَيْبًا فَقَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَارْجُوا الْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَلَا تَعْثَوْا فِي الْأَرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ
“To the Madyan (people) (We sent) their brother Shu'aib. Then he said: "O my people! Perform ‘ibadah to Allah, and fear the Last Day: nor commit evil on the earth, with intent to do mischief."” (29:36)
Thus, Allah SWT concludes:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدُونِ
“Not a messenger did We send before thee without this inspiration sent by Us to him: that there is no god but I; therefore perform ‘ibadah to and serve Me.” ( 21:25 )
This is the essential and fundamental message at the core of Islam: the sole obedience to Allah alone as our Lord and God.
So how was ‘ibadah reduced to the mere acts of worship as most Muslims understand it today?
In the golden age of knowledge during the second and third centuries of the Islamic calendar, scholars began to compile the great works of Fiqh (Jurisprudence). The scholars of Fiqh decided to divide the obligations as commanded by Allah and His messenger into عبادات (rituals; such as prayers, zakat, fasting, Hajj) and معاملات (transactions; such as financial contracts, marriage, divorce, corporal punishments). It is this classification that is the root of the problem. Overtime, people began to focus on rituals or ‘Ibadat as the primary commands of Allah and began to loose focus of the transactions. And since the words ‘ibada and ‘ibadat are so close, they were eventually thought of as being the same.
However, the religion of Allah is one and is complete and is incapable of divisions. We must accept and strive to obey and implement all the commands of Allah SWT in our lives both on the individual level and on the collective level. We must understand the true message of Islam as submission and obedience to Allah SWT in all aspects of our lives and that there’s no obedience to anybody or any body in disobeying Allah SWT. Certainly freedom, peace and justice are all aspects of Islam, but it is the freedom, peace and justice that Allah SWT commanded that we strive to achieve, not any other ideology or system. Allah is the ultimate and only authority in a Muslim’s life and it is in obeying Allah that we achieve success in this life and salvation in the hearafter.
May Allah SWT guide us to being true slaves of Him and to make us steadfast on the Truth in the face of adversity.
وآخر دعوانا أن الحمد لله رب العالمين
1 Four Basic Quranic Terms by Syed Abul-Ala Maududi. English rendering by Abu Asad Islamic Publications (Pvt.) Limited, Lahore ( Pakistan).
2 Ibid
3 Ibid
4 Ibid