Importance of Worship According to the Quran & Sunnah – Types of Worship in Islam

According to the religion of Islam, worship is the very purpose of our existence.  Worship defines as: “inclusive term for all that Allah Almighty loves of external and internal sayings and actions of a person.” Worship is not just offering prayer, fasting, and giving charity, worship is everything that an individual says or does to please Allah (SWT). Every act or deed considered an act of worship if it performed with sincerity & according to the teachings of Islam.

Worship played a vital role in human life as through worship one can communicate with his Lord. Worship has a unique role in religion Islam as it shows that a person is a true Muslim who lives his/her life according to the will of Almighty Allah by accepting His commands and implementing them in real life. The basic purpose of worship is to attain nearness to Allah (SWT) with what He loves and is pleased with. It is necessary for worship that it has to be based on clear guidance and to be free from divergence. In the Holy Quran, Almighty Allah defines worship in these words: “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” (Quran, 51:56)

Worship includes rituals in Islam as well as beliefs, social activities, and personal contributions to the welfare of one’s fellow human beings. One should require submitting himself completely to Allah Almighty, as the Holy Quran instructed the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to do: “Say (O Muhammad) my prayer, my sacrifice, my life, and my death belong to Allah; He has no partner and I am ordered to be among those who submit, i.e.; Muslims.” (Quran, 6:162, 163)

Allah SWT sent messengers for the guidance of mankind with the command of worship. Allah Almighty said in the Holy Quran: “And assuredly We have sent among every people a messenger (with the command): worship God…” (Quran 16:36)

Acts of worship play as a means through which one remembers Allah and maintains a relationship with Him.  Muslims offer prayer five times a day in order to maintain this relationship with Allah Almighty. Even the most natural acts which we do in our daily life can become acts of worship if they have done with proper & good intention. These acts include eating, sleeping, working, and also attributes of good characters, such as truthfulness, honesty, hospitality, courage, and humbleness, can become worship through sincere intention and intended obedience to Allah (SWT). Allah’s Messenger (SAW) said about good intentions in these words: “Allah is pure and good, and He accepts only what is pure and good.” (Sahih Muslim)

Worship involves that one fulfills certain deeds which Almighty Allah has commanded in His religion Islam, whether they deal with the inner self or the outer body, and whether they be obligatory or voluntary. Worship is not only limited to following Allah’s commandments, but it is also inclusive of leaving those things which He has forbidden to do so. Now we can define worship as anything believed, felt, or done as an act of obedience to Allah Almighty. In Holy Quran Allah (SWT) said: “There is none in the heavens and the earth but comes unto the Most Beneficent (God) as an obedient slave.” (Quran 19:93)

Types of Worship in Islam

The four basic acts of worship recommended in Islam are mentioned below that every one of us should perform with proper attention for the sake of Almighty Allah.

  • Prayer
  • Zakat (Charity)
  • Fasting
  • Pilgrimage (Hajj) 

Negligence in performing these acts of worship is considered a major sin and can lead to abandonment. Muslims are encouraged to perform more than this in order to get closer to Allah Almighty. Other than these basics act of worship below mentioned are some types of worships we can do to get closer Allah SWT.

  • Telling the truth
  • Fulfilling trust
  • Dutifulness to parents
  • Maintaining the ties of kinship
  • Fulfilling promises
  • Enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil
  • Fighting against the hypocrites and disbelievers 
  • Being kind to orphans, poor, wayfarer, servants & animals
  • Making Dua
  • Dhikr
  • Slaughtering sacrificial animals
  • Seeking refuge in Allah from evils
  • Asking Allah for help and support
  • Tawakul
  • Repentance
  • Istighfar

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