Assalam Alaikum !!
Nowadays with so muc exposure and opportunities ,its so easy to get swayed away by the zeal to enjoy and conquer the glamarous world while forgetting herafter completely as the distractions are tremendous each of them equally alluring and exciting such as busying oneself totally in making it to the top in ones career while neglecting prayers/Quran etc
Most of us
remain safe from comitting major sins but do not stay
vigilant enough about their religious obligations ( such as Acquiring knowledge of deen, work on one's relationship with Allah, regularity in prayers , striving to increase one's eemaan) and thereby forgetting their real purpose of creation and that purpose is:
I created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me. [1]
O mankind! worship your Lord, Who has created you and those before you, so that you may ward off (evil). [2]
What exactly does worship mean?
We restrict the meaning of 'worship' to the religious rituals as prayers,fasting ,hajj etc.This is indeed a misconception. If worship merely meant these rituals then why didnt Allah ask us to pray and fast all day ,night??
so how do we define worship?
Ibn Kathir (d.774H), rahimahullaah, said:
"And ’ibaadah is obedience to Allaah by acting upon what He commands, and abandoning what He forbids"
So Prayer, fasting, zakaat (alms), Pilgrimage, supplication, vows, fear and trust and other than these are from the acts of worship.Doing zikr.making peace between people,speaking truth in adversity etc etc are
all forms of worship.Even trying to ward off a sinful temptation for Allahs sake is a worship. Shaykhul-Islaam decsribed it so well
Shaykhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah (d.728H) - rahimahullaah - said:
"Worship (al-’Ibaadah) is a comprehensive term covering everything that Allaah loves and is pleased with - whether saying, or actions, outward and inward."
Additional note:
Worship is a comprehensive word for all that Allaah loves and is pleased with from speech and actions, inwardly (i.e. fear, hope, trust in Allaah) and outwardly (i.e. prayer, dhikr); and freedom from all that which negates or contradicts this. [al-Haafidh al-Hakamee]