format_quote Originally Posted by
LauraS
cat eyes- I always feel thankful for the natural world. Birdsong's one of the best sounds, there's a bird that sings in my garden every morning at a certain time and it's a lovely thing to wake up too. There was an original point to me putting this, that related to your post, but I can't remember it now lol sorry I'm tired. :p
vales lilly- I haven't made up my mind if God exists, I'm neither yes or no. I'm not complaining about the idea of worship, just what worship God actually wants and why. Me and my friend were talking about this yesterday and we were saying we don't believe, if there is a God, He necessarily wants people singing to Him all the time but to just live as He created us to. Surely even if you're really religious you ask these questions too.
aadil77- it's not pride, it's just what slave means. Like we're blindly meant to follow without even thinking about why. That makes it sound like tyranny. I feel it's more like a parent and children and that if there is a God that's how it's meant to be, not fearing Him.
Muhammad- That's what I meant earlier in this post. That a God would want us to live decent, happy lives and not to just be worshipping in a "your are so great" way all the time. I don't mean that offensively, I just mean I like that idea of a more practical form of worship lol. I think people just enjoy their lives and not worry so much.
The following is an extract from a book regarding the Love of Allah, it may be useful. I had questions also as to why I'm required to worship aside from the fact my creator commands it, I feel it's a way for me to express my love towards my creator.
Allah has said in his Qur'an "And I have not created the Jinn and mankind except that they should worship me alone" Surah 51:56
The question arises, what is the meaning of worship?
Is the meaning of worship to establish prayer only?
Or to give Charity?
Or to make pilgramige to the house of Allah?
Or to fast?
Are these things only worship?
Or are these things mere signs of worship?
As explained by Shaykh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyah "Worship is an expression of love for Allah and it expresses complete humility to Allah"
For worship does not merely mean prayer but prayer is just a sign of worship, worship is love for Allah. Many people claim that they love Allah and say " I have prayed, I have fasted, and I have performed the Hajj and I gave Charity. After all of this what does Allah want from me, I have done all these forms of worship? I have worshipped Allah"
Has this person really worshipped Allah?
Does Allah need our prayers?
Does Allah need our fasts?
Does Allah need our Zakah and Hajj?
Allah is above all these things, in a hadith the prophet said in that which he conveyed from his Lord:
"O my servants! I have forbidden oppresion for myself and I have made it forbidden for you, therefore do not oppress one another. O my servants! All of you are lost except for those whom I have guided, therefore seek guidance from me and I will guide you. O my servants all of you are hungary except for those whom I have fed, therefore seek sustenance from me and I will sustain you. O my servants all of you are naked except for those whom I have clothed therefore seek clothing from me and I will clothe you. O my servants, you sin by night and day and I forgive all sins, therefore seek forgiveness from Me and I will forgive you. O my servants! you will not be able to harm me so as to bring about any harrm to me and you will not be able to benefit me. O my servants if the first and last of you the human and jinn of you, were as pious as the most pious hearts of anyone amongst you it would not add anything to my dominion. O my servants if the first and last of you were as wicked as the most wicked hearts of anyone amongst you it would not decrease anything from my dominion. O my servants if the first and last of you the human and jinn were to gather at one place and all asked of me and if I were to give everyone of them what he asked that would not decrease what I have anymore than a neeedle decreases what is in the ocean when it is pulled out.
O my servants it is but your deeds that I judge for you then I recompense you for them. The one who finds good is to praise and thank Allah and the one who finds other than this has no one to blame but himself.
Can anyone take away from the majesty of Allah? No one can decrease from the majesty of Allah. He is great and supreme. Allah does not need our worship, He does not need our love, he does not need our prayer, he does not need our fasts.
Allah is the owner of all majesty and supremacy and he is independant of all neeeds. He does not need our worship, we need the worship of Allah, we need prayer, we need zakah and we need to fast. We are poor and Allah is rich, we are weak and Allah is strong. We need the love of Allah
O brothers! we relate to Allah as we relate to this world. Who from among us when someone comes to him, says to his brother: " I love you and I am this and that in obediance to you" and then you say to him, if he said these words to you, "Have you said these words from your heart?" Did he really understand what he said to you or are you merely speaking words that you have memorised.
O brothers are we truly relating to Allah in our prayers in this manner? How many of us recite Al Fatihah the opening chapter of the Qur'an in the right manner? How many of us when we prostrate to Allah feel in our hearts, humility? We enter prayer and the imam says "allah hu akbar" and we remember at that moment all the affairs of the world.
we remember only at this moment the affairs of the world and we forget Allah. We remember our food when we perform prayer and we remember our friends when we perform prayer and we remember our needs when we perform the prayer and we do not know what the imam is saying, what he is reading and we do not feel anything from the prayer except for when the imam says "aslaamu alaykum, Aslaamu alaykum"
Are we really loving Allah? when we are reciting surah al fatiha do we really understand the meaning of what we say?
Indeed Allah has said ‘And establish regular prayer for My remembrance.’ [20:14]‘My remembrance’ is said to have an active sense: ‘In order that I [God] might remember you thereby.’ It is also said to refer to the One remembered: ‘That you might remember Me thereby,’ with the letter lam [in ‘li-dhikrii’, ‘for My remembrance’] in both cases expressing purpose.