Beginners guide to Islam (Vol-01)

'Ibaadah (عبادة)

"'Ibaadah" (عبادة) in Arabic means submission and humbling oneself. 'Ibaadah is to humble oneself before Allah and to submit to His commandments. Any action that is done in complete obedience to Allah can be referred as 'Ibaadah. This is the general understanding. In detail, with the intention of only pleasing Allah, any action done through words or limbs in accordance to Quran and Sunnah is called 'Ibaadah. Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Saleh Al Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on his soul) in his commentary "القول المفيد شرح كتاب التوحيد" writes :

اسم جامع لكل ما يحبه الله وير ضاه من الأقوال و الأعمال الظاهر ة و الباطنة

"It is a word ('Ibaadah) which encompasses all that Allah loves and that pleases Him, from things we say and from actions, apparent ones and hidden ones."

Every worship ('Ibaadah) must include 3 aspects-

1. Love for Allah.
2. Fear of Allah.
3. Hope to get rewarded by Allah.

Rituals such as Salah, Zakat, Hajj etc. are called 'Ibaadah. On the other hand, a person's action such as performing Salah, paying Zakat, performing Hajj, etc. are also called 'Ibaadah. From this we get an idea of how the word 'Ibadaah is used in two senses that are connected with each other.

Salah, Hajj, Zakat, Siyam, Dua, vow, sacrifice, seeking knowledge, helping the poor, maintaining modesty, fearing Allah, relying on Allah, being hopeful of Allah's mercy, etc. are some of the examples of 'Ibaadah. It is important to note that, people tend to limit worship ('Ibaadah) in few acts like Salah, Zakat, Hajj, Siyam, etc. This concept of theirs is wrong as it is apparent that any form of obedience that is done in accordance to Quran and Sunnah with the only intention to get closer to Allah is 'Ibaadah. Thus, minor acts such as smiling at a muslim brother for the sake of Allah is also 'Ibaadah. Planting trees and repairing roads can also be 'Ibaadah if it meets the conditions of 'Ibaadah. There are two crucial conditions for any act of worship ('Ibaadah) to be accepted-

1. Sincerity: Sincerity means that the act should be done with a view to only pleasing Allah, there should be no other worldly desires like showing off or gaining fame, etc. The intention should only be to serve Allah to the best of one's ability and please Him. One must only hope to receive rewards from Him. Sincerity also means you worship only Allah, you invoke only Allah and you do not associate any creation or fictional being and object to Allah in His Lordship, His right to be worshipped and His names and attributes. From an authentic Hadith recorded in Sahih Bukhari:

حَدَّثَنَا الْحُمَيْدِيُّ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الزُّبَيْرِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الأَنْصَارِيُّ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ التَّيْمِيُّ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ عَلْقَمَةَ بْنَ وَقَّاصٍ اللَّيْثِيَّ، يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏ "‏ إِنَّمَا الأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ، وَإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى، فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى دُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا أَوْ إِلَى امْرَأَةٍ يَنْكِحُهَا فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِ

Narrated 'Umar bin Al-Khattab:
I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saying, "The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for."

2.The act should be in accordance to the teachings of our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ was sent to us to teach the religion and matters of worship, thus it is our duty to only follow the methods he taught us. No other way can be followed in cases of worshipping Allah because it is the prophet ﷺ who was sent by Allah Himself to teach us all about the matters of worshipping Allah.

Imam Muslim (may Allah have mercy on his soul) recorded in his Sahih that the Prophet (ﷺ) said :

'بعثني معلّما'

"Allah sent me as a teacher."

Imam Ibn Majah (may Allah have mercy on his soul) has recorded the following words on the authority of Sayyiduna 'Abdullah Ibn 'Amr (may Allah be pleased with both of them):
'بعثت معلّما'

"I have been sent as a teacher."

'Ibaadah can be catagorized from many point of views. One way to catagorize it is on basis of due rights. 'Ibaadah can be of 2 types based on due rights-

1. Rights of Allah: Such are acts of worship that is done only to please Allah by serving Him alone like Prayer, Pilgrimage etc.

2. Rights of creation: Such are acts of worship that is done to please Allah by benefitting the creation of Allah like being kind to animals, feeding the poor, etc.

From another point of view, 'Ibaadah is of 3 types-

1. Physical 'Ibaadah: Actions that are done to please Allah by physical means. Example- Prayer, fasting etc.

2. Financial 'Ibaadah: Actions that are done to please Allah by financial means. Example- Charity.

3. Physical and Financial 'Ibaadah: Act of worships that requires both physical and financial efforts. Example- Hajj (Pilgrimage).

Another way, we can catagorize 'Ibaadah in 3 types:

1. By heart: Acts of worship that are done by the heart of a muslim. Sincerity, believing the Articles of Islam and so on.

2. By tongue: Acts of worship that are done by the tongue of a muslim. Speaking the truth is one of its example.

3. By Limbs: Acts of worship that are done by the limbs of a muslim. Prayer, Pilgrimage and many more are its examples.

There are some 'Ibaadah that are obligatory and some that are voluntary. Examples of obligatory 'Ibaadah would be 5 times prayer, fasting the month of Ramadan, performing Pillgrimage, Obligatory Charity, seeking knowledge etc. The examples of voluntary prayer would be voluntary prayer, fasting outside the month of Ramadan, general charity and giving gifts to family and neighbours, feeding the poor, helping people, etc.