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Since the total submission of one’s will to God represents
the essence of worship, the basic message of God’s divine religion, Islam, is
the worship of God alone. It also requires the avoidance of worship
directed to any person, place or thing other than God. Since everything
other than God, the creator of all the things, is God’s creation, it may be
said that Islam, in essence, calls man away from worship of creation and
invites him to worship only his Creator. He is the only one deserving of
man’s worship, because it is only by His will that prayers are answered.
Accordingly, if a man prays to a tree and his prayers are
answered, it is not the tree which answers his prayers, but God, who allows the
circumstances prayed for to take place. One might say, “That is obvious.”
However, to tree-worshippers, it might not be so. Similarly,
prayers to Jesus, Buddha, or Krishna or Saint
Christopher, or Saint Jude or even to Muhammad are not answered by them, but
are answered by God. Jesus did not tell his followers to worship him, but
to worship God, as the Quran states:
“And behold! God will say: ‘O Jesus, the son of Mary!
Did you say to men, worship me and my mother as gods besides God?’
He will say: ‘Glory to you, I could never say what I had no right (to
say)...’” (Quran 5:116)
Nor did Jesus worship himself when he worshipped, but rather
he worshipped God. And Jesus was reported in the Gospels to have said:
“It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him
only.’” (Luke 4:8)
This basic principle is contained in the opening chapter of
the Quran, known as Surah al-Faatihah, verse 4:
“You alone do we worship and from You alone do we seek
help.” (Quran 1:5)
Elsewhere, in the final book of revelation, the Quran, God
also said:
“And you Lord says: ‘Call on Me and I will answer your
(prayer).’” (Quran 40:60)
It is worth emphasizing that the basic message of Islam
(namely, the worship of God alone) also proclaims that God and His creation are
distinctly different entities. God is neither equal to His creation nor a
part of it, nor is His creation equal to Him or a part of Him.
This might seem obvious, but man’s worship of creation
instead of the Creator is to a large degree based on ignorance, or neglect, of
this concept. It is the belief that the essence of God is everywhere in
His creation or that His divine being is or was present in some parts of His
creation, which has provided justification for the worship of God’s creation
and naming it the worship of God. However, the message of Islam, as
brought by the prophets of God, is to worship only God and to avoid the worship
of His creation either directly or indirectly.
In the Quran God clearly states:
“For we assuredly sent amongst every people a prophet, with
the command worship God and avoid false Gods…” (Quran 16:36)
When idol worshippers are questioned as to why they bow down
to idols created by men, the invariable reply is that they are not actually
worshipping the stone image, but God, who is present within it. They
claim that the stone idol is only a focal point for God’s essence and is not in
itself God! One who has accepted the concept of God being present in any
way within His creation will be obliged to accept this argument for
idolatry. Whereas, one who understands the basic message of Islam and its
implications would never agree to idolatry no matter how it is rationalized.
Those who have claimed divinity for themselves down through
the ages have often based their claims on the mistaken belief that God is
present in man. Taking one step further, they claim that God is more
present in them than in the rest of us, and that other humans should therefore
submit to them and worship them as God in person or as God concentrated within
their persons. Similarly, those who have asserted the godhood of others
after their deaths have found fertile ground among those who accept the false
belief of God’s presence in man.
It should be abundantly clear by now that one who has
grasped the basic message of Islam and its implications could never agree to
worship another human being under any circumstance. God’s religion, in
essence, is a clear call to the worship of the Creator and the rejection of
creation-worship in any form. This is the meaning of the motto of Islam:
“Laa Ilaaha illaa Allah” (There is no God but God)
The sincere declaration of this phrase and the acceptance of
prophethood automatically bring one within the fold of Islam, and sincere
belief in it guarantees one Paradise .
Thus, the final Prophet of Islam, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon
him[1] is reported to have said:
“Anyone who says: ‘There is no God but God’ and dies holding
that (belief) will enter paradise.”
Belief in this declaration of faith requires that one submit
his/her will to God in the way taught by the prophets of God. It also
requires the believer to give up the worship of false gods.
Footnotes:
[1] ‘Peace
be Upon Him’: A phrase which is stated after mentioning any of the prophets out
of respect.
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