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_-_The_Worship_of_God_001.jpg) From the perspective of humankind, the question “Why did
God create man?” implies “For what purpose was man created?” In the final
revelation (the Quran), this question is answered without any ambiguity. Humans
are first informed by God that every human being is born with an innate
consciousness of God. In the Quran, God said:
“[Remember] when your Lord extracted from the loins of Adam’s
children their descendants and made them testify [saying]: ‘Am I not your Lord?’
They said: ‘Yes, we testify to it.’ [This was] in case you say on the Day of
Judgment: ‘We were unaware of this.’ Or you say: ‘It was our ancestors who
worshipped others besides God and we are only their descendants. Will you then
destroy us for what those liars did?’” (Quran 7:172)
The Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon
him, explained that when God created Adam, He took from him a covenant at a
place called Na,maan on the 9th day of the 12th month. He then extracted from
Adam all of his descendants who would be born until the end of the world, generation
after generation, and spread them out before Him to take a covenant from them
also. He spoke to them, face to face, making them bear witness that He was
their Lord. Consequently, every human being is responsible for belief in God,
which is imprinted on each and every soul. It is based on this inborn belief
that God defined the purpose of mankind’s creation in Quran:
“I have created the jinn and humankind only for My worship.” (Quran
51:56)
Thus, the essential purpose for which humankind was
created is the worship of God. However, the Almighty is not in need of human
worship. He did not create human beings out of a need on His part. If not a
single human worshipped God, it would not diminish His glory in any way, and if
all of humankind worshipped Him, it would not increase His glory in any way. God
is perfect. He alone exists without any needs. All created beings have needs.
Consequently, it is humankind that needs to worship God.
The Meaning of Worship
To understand why human beings need to worship God, one
must first understand what is meant by the term ‘worship.’ The English term ‘worship’
comes from the Old English weorthscipe meaning ‘honor.’ Consequently, worship
in the English language is defined as ‘the performance of devotional acts in
honor of a deity.’ According to this meaning, man is instructed to show
gratitude to God by glorifying Him. In the Quran, God says:
“Glorify the praises of your Lord...” (Quran 15:98)
In glorifying God, man chooses to be in harmony with the
rest of creation which naturally glorifies its Creator. God addresses this
phenomenon in many chapters of the Quran. For example, in the Quran, God
states:
“The seven heavens and the earth and whatever is in them
glorify Him and there is nothing which does not glorify His praise. However,
you do not understand their glorification.” (Quran 17:44)
However, in Arabic, the language of the final
revelation, worship is called ‘ibaadah, which is closely related to the
noun ‘abd, meaning ‘a slave.’ A slave is one who is expected to do
whatever his master wills. Consequently, worship, according to the final
revelation, means ‘obedient submission to the will of God.’ This was the
essence of the message of all the prophets sent by God to mankind. For
example, this understanding of worship was emphatically expressed by Prophet
Jesus (the Messiah or Jesus Christ),
“None of those who call me ‘Lord’ will enter the kingdom of God, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”
It should be noted that ‘will’ in this quote means ‘what
God wants human beings to do’ and not ‘what God permits humans to do,’ because
nothing happens in creation without the will (permission) of God. The ‘Will of
God’ is contained in the divinely revealed laws which the prophets taught their
followers. Consequently, obedience to divine law is the foundation of worship.
In this sense, glorification also becomes worship when humans choose to obey
God’s instructions regarding His glorification.
The Need for Worship
Why do human beings need to worship and glorify God by
obeying the divinely revealed laws? Because obedience to divine law is the key
to success in this life and the next. The first human beings, Adam and Eve,
were created in paradise and later expelled from paradise for disobeying the
divine law. The only way for human beings to return to paradise is by
obedience to the law. Prophet Jesus, was reported in the Gospel according to
Matthew to have made obedience to the divine laws the key to paradise: Now
behold, one came and said to him,
“Good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I
may have eternal life?” So he said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one
is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the
commandments.”
Also Prophet Jesus was reported to have insisted on
strict obedience to the commandments, saying:
“Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these
commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of
heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the
kingdom of heaven.”
Divine laws represent guidance for humankind in all
walks of life. They define right and wrong for them and offer human beings a
complete system governing all of their affairs. The Creator alone knows best
what is beneficial for His creation and what is not. The divine laws command
and prohibit various acts and substances to protect the human spirit, the human
body and human society from harm. In order for human beings to fulfill their
potential by living righteous lives, they need to worship God through obedience
to His commandments.
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