The Concept of Worship in Islam

"I have watched this video and the speaker says that for a Muslim any lawful action done with a good intention is worship of God. Is this really Islamic doctrine? This implies that an act of worship need not be directed to God as prayer is!"

The answer is "yes.

In Islam an act worship need not be just a prayer or fast or things like this. Every act in our lives can be considered an act of worship if certain conditions are observed."

[6:162]

"Say: 'My prayer and my rituals, and my living, and my dying, are all for God, the Lord of the Worlds. "

Am ayah in the Qur'an reads,

Say: 'My prayer and my rituals, and my living, and my dying, are all for God, the Lord of the Worlds. [6:162]

In the Qur'an Allah says,

"And I have not created Jinn and Man but to worship [Me]."

But what is worship? Are we supposed to stay day and night worshiping God in seclusion: praying, fasting, etc?

The answer is of course not. In sura 73 in the Quran, Allah addresses the Prophet, pbuh, and the believers saying:

"Assuredly your Lord knows that you stand vigil less than two thirds of the night, or [at times] a half of it or a third of it along with a group of those with you; and God measures the night and the day. He knows that you will not be able to keep count of it, and so He has relented to you.

So recite as much as is feasible of the Qur’ān. He knows that some of you will be sick, while others will be travelling in the land, seeking the bounty of God, and others will be fighting in the way of God. So recite as much as is feasible of it and perform prayer and pay alms and lend God a goodly loan for whatever good you send ahead for [the sake of] your souls, you will find that, with God, it will be better and greater in terms of reward. And seek forgiveness from God; assuredly God is Forgiving, Merciful." [73:20]

Islam enjoins that worship is not seclusion in a mosque but should be embodied in your daily life: in dealing with neighbors, in working, in study, in taking your meals, in caring for your family through observing Allah in everything. A Muslim is someone from the mischief of his hand and tongue others are safe.

The simplicity, care, diligence, helping others with a smile on one's face always as shown in this video portrays how a Muslim should be. With Allah as the centre of one' life, one will be loving, caring, peaceful, charitable, helpful, revering the elderly, working hard, etc:

In Islam, when you smile in your brother's face, it is as if you are doing the good deed of giving charity.

The Prophet, pbuh, said what means that every one of us is a guardian, and each guardian is responsible for those he looks after. A 'guardian' means the father/mother with regard to their families, a wife/husband with regard to their spouses, a teacher with regard to his students, a headmaster with regard to his school, a director with regard to his employees, a President with regard to his people, Man with regard to his body and health, etc. anyone with regard to what he/she is in charge of.

Islam does not assume that a man will live in an ideal isolated ivory tower, just to worship God. God knows man, his capabilities, his needs, and his limitations. That is why, He offered us as the final message a Code of Life that takes into consideration all these aspects, a code that helps us make every act in our lives a form of worship without depriving us of everything that we can enjoy. Islam does not assume that we can live in a 'virtual' reality in which we need to suppress normal aspects of our lives to be considered "saints." You can become a saint while living your normal life. By perfecting that aspect of your life, you will be doing a form of worship because you are observing your 'guardianship' and obeying the Qur'anic ayah,

And say: 'Act for God will surely see your actions, and [so will] His Messenger and the believers, and you will be returned to the Knower of the unseen and the visible, and He will tell you what you used to do'. [9:105]

and the hadith:

"Allah likes if any of you engages in an action that he perfects it."

Facebook can lead you to Hell directly if you are using for befriending people from here and there and wasting your life in nothing but worthless chat. However, the image will be reversed 180 degrees if you use it in religious discussions and trying to guide people, for instance.

You can wait for the bus at the station and be so bored, and this is a mundane act, but you can turn it into worship if you make your waiting time a time for tasbeeh -- remembrance of Allah saying something like "There is no God but Allah!", "There is no God but Allah!", "There is no God but Allah!", or "Thanks to Allah", ""Thanks to Allah", "Thanks to Allah", etc.

Hence, worship does not only mean the performance of certain religious rituals because any activity in Islam could be considered as an act of worship, so long as two main conditions are met. One condition is the pure and wholesome intention behind this activity, and that it is intended for obedience to God, regardless of the type of activity. The other condition is that this activity should be done within the limits prescribed by God. In that sense the entire life of the believer could basically be a continuous act of worship, whether a person is at work or school, or even shopping and times of recreation.