The Worship of Allah Alone

Jamaal al-Din Zarabozo





Undoubtedly, the greatest goal of Islam and its greatest contribution to the welfare of humanity is the true and pure worship of Allah alone, without associating any partners with Him.[1] This is in reality the ultimate purpose and goal of a human.

Allah says

And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone)

(51:56)

There can be no goal more honorable or noble than this goal for a human being.

Pure monotheism is the only belief system that provides the true answers to the questions that perplex virtually every human: “Where have I come from? Where am I headed? For what purpose do I exist?”

As for the question, “Where have I come from?” Islam explains that humans are honored creatures created by Allah in a very special way and having the freedom to choose to be among the noblest of creatures or among the basest of all creatures. Thus, Allah says:

Verily, We created man of the best stature (mould), Then We reduced him to the lowest of the low, except those who believe and do righteous deeds, they shall have a reward without end (Paradise)

(95:4-6)

The answer to, “Where I am headed?” is that the human is headed back to a meeting with his Lord and Creator. This momentous occasion will occur after his death in this worldly life. There will be no escape from this encounter. At that time, the human will be fairly and equitably judged. All of the deeds that he performed in this life will be weighed.

That Day mankind will proceed in scattered groups that they may be shown their deeds. So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it. And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it

(99:6-8)

This reckoning will start with his most important deed: his attitude toward his Gracious and Merciful Creator who created him, provided for him, sent him guidance, warned him of a punishment for those who turn away from the truth and promised a great reward for those who accepted the truth, were grateful to Him and submitted to Him.

Concerning, “For what purpose do I exist,” the human has been created for the noblest of all purposes: the worship of Allah alone or, in other words, to become a true and sincere servant of Allah. One can imagine all sorts of goals that people may have in this world. They may seek to end diseases in this world or bring about world peace. In general, though, those admirable goals are usually tainted.

One may seek them just for egotistic reasons, such as to be remembered or praised as the person who did such and such. They may be sought while the individual turns his back on his Creator, thus showing arrogance and ungratefulness as well as demonstrating an ignorance of how truly noble goals can be achieved. In reality, however, all of those goals, which can be considered simply sub goals, fail in comparison to the goal that will lead to excellence in one’s soul and one’s deeds as well as eternal bliss in the Hereafter. Actually, any truly good goal of this life can only be part of the true worship of Allah.

Fulfilling one’s true purpose and being successful upon meeting one’s Lord is completely dependent on adhering to a true and unadulterated monotheism. This is the monotheism found in Islam. Many people claim to believe in “monotheism” and the fact that there is only one God. However, on many occasions, this “monotheism” is tainted in many ways. In some early pre-modern civilizations, people began to identify “sons” and “daughters” with God. Unfortunately, this clear contradiction of pure monotheism has been carried over into the modern age by no less a popular religion than Christianity. It is not unusual to hear Christians praise Jesus, thank Jesus and even pray to Jesus, sometimes virtually forgetting "the Father." Although Christians may resort to logical gymnastics to affirm that this is still worshipping only one God, in reality it cannot be considered a true monotheism. In fact, most, if not all, of the contemporary trinitarians will argue that Jesus is co-equal yet unique from the Father. In other words, they have lost pure monotheism.

It may take some time for the new Muslim to realize all the ways in which people associate partners with God and fail to realize true monotheism. The Christian convert to Islam may readily recognize that the above referred to belief in Trinity is certainly not monotheism. At the same time, though, he may not yet realize how accepting priests, for example, as ultimate lawgivers is also a way of associating partners with God.

No priest—nor any human for that matter—has any right to over rule or abrogate any of God’s laws. This is also a contradiction of pure monotheism. Hence, Allah says:

They (Jews and Christians) took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah [by obeying them in things which they made lawful or unlawful according to their own desires without being ordered by Allah], and (they also took as their Lord) Messiah, son of Mary, while they were commanded to worship none but One God. None has the right to be worshipped but He. Praise and glory be to Him, (far above is He) from having the partners they associate (with Him)

(9:31)

Islam is a religion that establishes pure monotheism completely and eradicates all forms of associating partners with Allah, from the most obvious to the most obscure. (Undoubtedly, Islam is the only religion that can make such a claim.) As the convert learns more and more about his faith, the light of pure monotheism, Allah willing, will shine brighter and brighter in his heart.

 

People do say that ‘seeing is believing’ and therefore they believe only what they see. They say that they do not see God, and therefore ….

How strange! Why don’t they look around?


Do you see this shapeless morsel of flesh? It may be Einstein, or Leonardo da Vinci, or Tolstoy, or Fyodor Dostoyevsky, or Hitler. Or it may be Cain or Able, or you or me. Who takes care of such an embryo in the deep darkness surrounding it? None other than God.

Look at the universe around you. Who runs it and is always in full control of it? In the Qur’an we read: 

It is God alone who holds the celestial bodies and the earth, lest they deviate [from their courses]. If they should ever deviate, no one else could uphold them after Him. He is indeed ever clement, much forgiving’.

(35: 41)

There is another universe nearby. It is inside your head.

Who has made these universes and established their accurate balance? None other than God.

A single cell that reproduces itself according to its own DNA points to the Creator in the same way that stars and galaxies point to Him:

God says in the Qur’an:

‘On earth there are signs for those with sure faith, and in yourselves too: can you not see?’

(51: 21-22)

You wake up in the morning after last night’s party and 37.2 trillion cells in your body start to work, without you being aware of them or giving any of them your orders. Never did any of them fail to work, not even by chance. Do you find this figure hard to perceive? It simply has 13 zeros, and may be written thus: 3,72x10.

Who has made such perfect creation? None other than God.


Archaeologists have discovered cities that had no forts, and others without palaces, or without schools, but they have never discovered the remains of cities that had no places of worship. Regardless of his colour, race, constitution, or way of thinking, man has always searched for God and worshipped Him.

I wonder: is it possible that billions of people may differ on all types of things and agree on something of their own imagination that has no reality? That is certainly hard to believe.

Millions of people spend their whole life trying to understand man’s physical constitution, yet man continues to suffer from thousands of diseases. Millions try to understand space, the universe and natural laws. Millions study animals, and million others give their attention to the study of marine life, while others spend their lives studying philosophy or human history. Yet if you take the total sum of human learning and knowledge, you will realise that it represents nothing more than a particle of dust by a mountain side. Such is the reality.

Millions of people reject the incoherent concepts of God presented by religions that suffered distortion. But even these have come to the conclusion that beyond the physical universe, there is a transcendent being. Although they cannot fathom the nature of this being, they instinctively believe in it. This is a certainty we feel within ourselves. Who placed it there? None other than God.

It is a certainty that may be concealed by our immediate life concerns, but a look at the eyes of a newly born child is sufficient to bring it back, clear in our minds