A little recap on the previous Soul Crunch posts.
Reflecting on the state of our society today, it is clear that while technology is advancing, our spirituality is being left behind. It seems as if this modern world has no room for morality, kindness, love, consideration, religion and God. The materialistic philosophy has become the predominant principle in the lives of many people. Should it matter? Of course it should! Do we want to continue living our lives with the constant worry that there are people who are waiting or finding ways for us to fail so they could get ahead of us? Do we want our future generation to be living in a society that has no clear sense of right and wrong? Do we want to keep doing stupid, impulsive things each time we’re faced with a dilemma? Do we want to continue running after the same things that we think are good of us, but only hurts the soul? Do we really want to keep living our lives with ingratitude to God, our Creator?
So in the lecture by Moez Masoud last month, he highlighted 3 things that we need to help us restore that peace, happiness, tranquility, contement and cohesiveness in ouselves and our lives. In this post, I’ll be focusing on ibadatillah – worshipping God; forming the right relationship with Allah.
Ibadatillah has more to do with the outward worship. The Quran states that humans are created to worship Allah (Az Zariyat: 56). To worship God alone and in the correct form. Al-Miqreeze noted that this entails 4 aspects:
- Determining what Allah and His Messenger (pbuh) love and are pleased with;
- The embodying of and enacting upon those beloved aspects in one’s own heart;
- Enacting upon those aspects in one’s speech;
- Further enacting upon those aspects in one’s actions.
Thus, ibadatillah covers areas such as fulfilling the pillars of Islam, complying with the syariah, and behaving according to what’s written in the Quran and the sunnah. Sounds boring and restrictive? Would that mean that one would have to spend his days and nights stablishing prayer and going to the masjid ? Does that mean that one would not have a life beyond the praying mat? Of course it isn’t! Ibadah (worship) is more than establishing prayers and fasting at the month of Ramadhan. Ibadah can be incorperated in every single aspect of our daily life. Putting on a cheerful face at the presence of others is an act of worship. Undergoing training to become a doctor is an act of worship. Sleeping is an act of worship. As long as theyfulfilling those 4 criterias mentioned above, and are:
- performed sincerely and purely for the sake of Allah, and
- in accordance with what Allah has revealed in the Quran and Sunnah.
…then it’s ibadah. Pretty simple, isn’t it? Just to elaborate a bit on what is considered as an act of worship, take offering food to somebody as an example. If we’re offering that bag of chips merely because we want to be nice wouldn’t really be considered as ibadah. If we offered it to them because Allah has commanded us to be kind to others, to share our food even if it’s just a bit, only then will it be accounted as a form of worship. This is how the intention of every action ties in really close with ibadatillah.
So we do as commanded by Allah to the T. Will we get anything in return? Of course we do! Allah doesn’t need anything from us. It is US who are in desperate need of Him. Everything that are between the heavens and the earth, and the entire universe is ruled by Allah. Every single thing, even the falling of a leaf, occurs with His knowledge and His consent. He is also the One who holds our souls. So you see, Allah gave us all the things that we have right now. From all things material to all the things internal (feelings, thoughts, etc). Sure, on a very superficial level we’d think that we worked for it, we purchased it, we experienced it. But think again. None of it would have been possible if God didn’t allow it.
So if I was feeling really depressed and sad, would talking to another person really help? Would drinking my sorrows away really help? Would clubbing really help? Temporarily, maybe. But I’d still feel dreadful, or maybe even worse, after that. One temporary fix after another is not going to get us far. Those who are in constant ibadah will become dear to Allah, and once Allah loves us, He would want the best for His servants. He’d help His servants get through their life with little trouble. There would still be times of sadness and failure, but we’d have patience and we’d know that it’s not without a reason. So when we’re going through a bad patch in our life, it is only God Whom can take away our sorrows, show us the way, and make it easier for us to endure. And if we dedicate our lives in doing things that pleases Allah and His Messenger, Allah has promised us that we should have no fear, nor grief. God willing.
No doubt! Verily, they who are close to God [the Awliya – those who believe in the Oneness of Allah and fear Allah by abstaining from sins and evil deeds, and love Allah by perfoming all forms of good deeds which He has ordained), no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve. (Surah Yunus:62).
