T h e V i s i o n o f I s l a m
10
(
Al Bahr al Muhit
, Vol. 1, p. 23). That is why the Quran uses the
word “arrogance” as the antonym of worship. It says, “Those who
are too arrogant to worship Me will certainly enter Hell.” (40:60).
Although worship’s real connotations are humility and
fearfulness, when the word is used in relation to God, it also
includes the concept of love. Ibn Kathir writes: “According to the
dictionary, worship stands for lowliness. In the Islamic Shari‘ah
it is used to express a condition of extreme love coupled with
extreme humbleness and apprehension.” (
Tafsir al Quran
, Vol. 1, p.
25). Ibn Taymiyah says: “The word worship expresses a mixture of
extreme humility and extreme love.” (Pamphlet on
Ubudiyah
, p. 28)
Ibn Qayyem also writes:
“There are two components of worship: extreme love and
extreme humility” (
Tafsir Ibn Qayyem
, p. 65).
The essence of worship then is the adoption of an attitude of
humility before God. In the Quran, this is expressed by different
Arabic words, such as
Khashiyyah
,
Tadhurru
,
Ikhbat
,
Inabat
,
Khushu
,
Khudu
and
Qunut
, etc. Enshrined in each of these words is the
concept of God-consciousness. To worship God means utter
prostration of oneself before Him. The Being before whom the act
of worship is performed is no tyrant or tormentor but an extremely
kind and compassionate Being, towhomwe owe limitless blessings.
So this expression of lowliness before Him is necessarily tinged
with love.
The relation of man to God is the relation of extreme humility
with an extremely beloved Being. At the very moment when man is
shivering in awe of God, when his eyes fill with tears at the thought
of Him, his best feelings are even then reserved for his Lord, and he
draws closer to God in great attachment. Man, then, finds himself
rapt in a love of the greatest poignancy. Though his humility in the
presence of God is undoubtedly the result of fear, this fear is not
of the kind produced by the sight of a fearful object. It is a feeling
which no single word can properly convey. It is a mixed feeling of
extreme hope and extreme apprehension, and man is never able to
decide which of the two is to be preferred—hope or apprehension.
