Since the total submission of one's will to Allah
represents the essence of worship, the basic message of Allah's divine religion,
Islam is the worship of Allah alone and the avoidance of worship directed to any
person, place or thing other than Allah. Since everything other than Allah, the
Creator of all things, is Allah's creation; it may be said that Islam, in
essence calls man away from the worship of creation and invites him to worship
only its Creator. He is the only one deserving man's worship as it is only by
His will that prayers are answered. If man prays to a tree and his prayers are
answered, it was not the tree, which answered his prayers, but Allah who allowed
the circumstances prayed for to take place. One might say, "That is obvious, "
however , to tree-worshippers it might not be. Similarly, prayers to Jesus,
Buddha, or Krishna, to Saint Christopher, or Saint Jude or even to Muhammad, are
not answered by them but are answered by Allah. Jesus did not tell his followers
to worship him but to worship Allah. As the Qur'aan states:
"And behold
Allah will say: "O Jesus the son of Mary Did you say to men, Worship me and
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He will say-"Glory to you I could never say what I had no right (to
say')"
(Qur'an Al-Maa'idah- 5: 116)
Nor did he worship himself
when he worshipped but rather he worshipped Allah. This basic principle is
enshrined in the opening chapter of the Qur'an, known as Qur'an Al-Fatihah,
verse 4:
"You alone do we worship and from you alone do we seek
help".
Elsewhere, in the final book of revelation, the Qur'an, Allah also
said:
"And your Lord says: "Call on Me and I will answer your(prayer).
"
(Qur'an Mu'min 40: 60)
It is worth noting that the basic message
of Islam is that Allah and His creation are distinctly different entities.
Neither is Allah His creation or a part of it, nor is His creation 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 of this concept. It is
the belief that the essence of Allah is everywhere in His creation or that His
divine being is or was present in some aspects of His creation, which has
provided justification for the worship of creation though such worship maybe
called the worship of Allah through his creation. How ever, the message of Islam
as brought by the prophets of Allah is to worship only Allah and to avoid the
worship of his creation either directly or indirectly. In the Our'aan Allah
clearly states:
"For We assuredly sent amongst every people a prophet,
(with the command) worship me and avoid false gods ".
(Qur'an Al-Nahl 16:
36)
When the idol worshipper is questioned as to why he or she bows down
to idols created by men, the invariable reply is that they are not actually
worshipping the stone image, but Allah who is present within it. They claim that
the stone idol is only a focal point for Allah's essence and is not in itself
Allah! One who has accepted the concept of the presence of God's being within
His creation in any way will be obliged to accept this argument of idolatry.
Whereas, one who understands the basic message of Islam and its implications
would never concede 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 Allah is present in man. They merely had to
assert that although Allah according to their false beliefs, is in all of us, He
is more present in them than in the rest of us. Hence, they claim, we should
submit our will to them and worship them as they are either God in person or God
concentrated within the person.
Similarly, those who have asserted the
godhood of others after their passing have found fertile ground among those who
accept the false belief of God's presence in man. One who has grasped the basic
message of Islam and its implications could never agree to worship another human
being under any circumstances. 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 Elaaha lllallaah" (There is no
god but Allah)
Its repetition automatically brings one within the fold of
Islam and sincere belief in it guarantees one Paradise.
Thus, the final
Prophet of Islam is reported to have said:
"Any one who says: There is no
god but Allah and dies holding that (belief) will enter
paradise".
(Reported by Abu Dharr and collected by Al-Bukhari and
Muslim).
It consists in the submission to Allah as one God, yielding to
Him by obeying His commandments, and the denial of polytheism and
polytheists.
The Message Of False Religion
There are so many
sects, cults, religions, philosophies, and movements in the world, all of which
claim to be the right way or the only true path to Allah. How can one determine
which one is correct or if, in fact , all are correct? The methods by which the
answer can be found is to clear away the superficial differences in the
teachings of the various claimants to the ultimate truth, and identify the
central object of worship to which they call, directly or indirectly. False
religions all have in common one basic concept with regards to Allah. They
either claim that all men are gods or that specific men were Allah or that
nature is Allah or that Allah is a figment of man's imagination.
Thus, it
may be stated that the basic message of false religion is that Allah may be
worshipped in the form of His creation. False religion invites man to the
worship of creation by calling the creation or some aspect of it God. For
example , prophet Jesus invited his followers to worship Allah but those who
claim to be his followers today call people to worship Jesus, claiming that he
was Allah!
Buddha was a reformer who introduced a number of humanistic
principles to the religion of India. He did not claim to be God nor did he
suggest to his followers that he be an object of worship. Yet, today most
Buddhists who are to be found outside of India have taken him to be God and
prostrate to idols made in their perception of his likeness.
By using the
principle of identifying the object of worship, false religion becomes very
obvious and the contrived nature of their origin clear. As God said in the
Qur'an:
That which you worship besides Him are only names you and your
forefathers have invented for which Allah has sent down no authority: The
command belongs only to Allah:
He has commanded that you only worship
Him; that is the right religion, but most men do not understand
".
(Qur'an Yoosuf 12: 40)
It may be argued that all religions
teach good things so why should it matter which one we follow. The reply is that
all false religions teach the greatest evil, the worship of creation.
Creation-worship is the greatest sin that man can commit because it contradicts
the very purpose of his creation. Man was created to worship Allah alone as
Allah has explicitly stated in the Our'aan:
"I have only created Jinns
and men, that they may worship me"
(Qur'an Zaareeyaat 51:
56)
Consequently, the worship of creation, which is the essence of
idolatry, is the only unforgivable sin. One who dies in this state of idolatry
has sealed his fate in the next life. This is not an opinion, but a revealed
fact stated by Allah in his final revelation to man:
"Verily Allah will
not forgive the joining of partners with Him, but He may forgive (sins) less
than that for whom so ever He wishes".
(Qur'an An- Nisaa 4: 48 and 116)
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