The essence of Ibadah in Islam

Beliefs are the defining features of the faith whereas Ibadah (worships) are conduit to access the Creator. Beliefs demand complete submission to Allah on part of the believers whereas Ibadah are expression and channel to offer this submission. While identifying the linkage between beliefs and worships, this article seeks to explore the human chemistry and divine providence for ultimate human salvation.

On this premise, I seek to make the point that Ibadah are the channels for the believers to secure ultimate human salvation. They need to be taken in a broader spectrum instead of being merely a set of religiously ordained rituals. Allah created the human beings from the matter. Quran says, “Verily We created man of potter's clay of black mud altered”, (Al-Hijr: 26) It also says, Who made all things good which He created, and He began the creation of man from clay”; (As-Sajadah: 7) However, besides matter, soul is also intrinsic constituent of the human beings. The soul, in Quranic expression, is called ‘inspiration at the Sustainer’s behest. (Al-Isra: 85) The matter and soul have different origins. The former has earthly origin whereas the latter has the origin divinely in essence. (Saad: 72) (Al-Hijr: 29) Being blend of two distinct elements, the human life becomes a reflection of interplay of two distinct forces -the material and spiritual. Each force attracts him to its respective source.

The material part attracts an individual to earthly objects whereas the spiritual part draws him towards the ultimate source of spirit. The material aspect appears fascinating to an individual since it offers material objects to satisfy the material desires of human life whereas the spiritual side provides for one’s spiritual satisfaction through leading him to Allah. The closeness to Allah is the highest form of spiritual satisfaction. Both forces pull the human beings in opposite direction towards their respective poles. Closeness to the one results in remoteness from the other. Attraction to one side leads to detraction from the other by default.

Nevertheless, both matter and spirit contain specific potentials within themselves which the human beings have the capacity to explore. It is through exploring the hidden potential of matter that the human beings have discovered such a novel aspects of the physical world which were hitherto beyond the human grasp. These discoveries became possible through scientific advancements.

On the other hand, the soul having metaphysical origin transcends all physical limits and enables an individual for his spiritual ascension to the realm of metaphysics. It is only through exploring the hidden potential of the spirit that an individual who is otherwise limited to the finite world can enter into the realm of infinite. The journey from finite to infinite domain is the journey of love (ishq). The final stage in this journey is reached when the seeker ultimately absorbs into his objective. In this pursuit, the question needs to be addressed whether one can acquire knowledge required for approaching the infinite domain while still living in the finite world. Naturally, the knowledge acquired in the realm of finite cannot be independent of limitations associated with the domain wherein it is acquired.

Knowledge is primarily acquired through human senses in the physical world. Since these human senses are subject to limitations, therefore, knowledge acquired through them would not be able to transcend the same limitations. Moreover, finite is ‘part’ whereas infinite is the ‘whole’. Knowledge of the ‘part’ cannot access the ‘whole’ whereas conversely, knowledge of the ‘whole’ can flow to the ‘part’. Thus, to access the realm of infinite, the required knowledge must be channeled from infinite to the finite world. In the vocabulary of religion, the channeling of this knowledge is called “Wahi”. This knowledge aims to guide the human beings to path to Allah (Sir t-e-Mustaqeem). No nation has ever been left unguided by the Creator. The knowledge was communicated to the human beings by Allah through His messengers starting from Adam, the first of human beings and also in the chain of the prophets. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the last in this chain of the prophets. Quran says, “And verily We have raised in every nation a messenger (An-Nahl: 36) The divine guidance reached its culmination with the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Quran expressed the culmination of this guidance in these words: “This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour unto you, and have chosen for you as religion al-Islam.” (Al-Maidah: 3) Islam has prescribed the codes of Ibadah to keep the believers on the straight path.

In practical life, the worships are important to cement the spiritual linkage of an individual with the Creator vis-à-vis the material fascinations. This ultimately relegates the material side subservient to the spiritual side where the material side serves as a means to achieve the spiritual ends. It helps a believer to achieve the spiritual ascension while still living in the material world. When a believer seeks divine help through establishing the prayers (Al-baqarah: 153), he rejects all forms of false deifications. While fasting, by doing away with his material desires, the believer ascends to such an exalted level of spirituality where the Creator Himself promises to reward him directly. (Sahih Bukhari) Moreover, when a believer ignores his personal needs and pays zakat as ordained by Allah, he becomes practical manifestation of reliance exclusively upon Allah (tawakkal). Pilgrimage to Ka’ba (Hajj) elevates a believer from individualism to such a high pedestal where he becomes part of Islamic universalism as warranted by faith itself. So far as a broader definition of Ibadah is concerned, it is linked with the expression of Quran itself. In Quran, where expression of absolutism and exclusivity is required, refutation precedes affirmation in speech. While proclaiming tawheed, Quran refutes the claims of all others before affirming this attribute exclusively for Allah. “There is none who is worthy of worship” is the refutation followed by ‘but Allah” which is affirmation exclusively for Allah. Refutation for all followed by exclusive affirmation creates an expression of absolutism of the highest degree. Similar expression is found in Quran while explaining the objective of the creation of the Jinn and human beings. Quran says, “I did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me”. (Az-Zariyat: 56) The sole purpose of the creation of Jinn and human beings was declared to be the worship of the Creator. The ideal practical manifestation of this declared purpose of human creation is the life of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Quran says, “Nor does he speak of his own whims. It is only a revelation sent down to him . (An-Najm: 3, 4). The life of the Prophet (peace be upon him) has been declared ideal for the believers to follow. (Ahzab: 21) This leads the believers to infer that whatever the Prophet (peace be upon him) did (Sunnah) is Ibadah ---Dr Munir Masood Marath (The author is a senior civil servant and holds PhD in Political Islam. He is graduate from London School of Economics (UK). He is also author of book Fallacy of Militant Ideology recently published from Routledge, UK.)