The Teachings of Islam
Worship of God
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WORSHIP OF GOD
Worship, in form, consists of the performance of
certain ritual actions. In essence, it is to form a
central focus. From this point of view everyone is
worshipping something or the other. It is a rare
being who does not cherish some overriding
ambition, which he will do his utmost to realize. All
men feel some insufficiency in themselves and need
some help from outside to make up for it. When one
yearns for God alone and puts implicit trust in Him,
one is, in reality, worshipping Him. To concentrate
one’s emotions on something else is to worship
others besides Him.
A person who worships God will invoke Him
alone, and the prescribed prayers are the day-to-day
form which this supplication will take. The
worshipper becomes so involved with His Lord that
his requirements become minimal; a particular form
that this diminution takes is fasting. His adoration
of God compels him to strive towards God, and one
historic manifestation of his longing is Hajj. He does
unto others as he would be done by, and in
zakat—
charity—this takes a regular, practical form.
