Role of worship

Worship means devoting all the dimensions of life to the divine will and pleasure. Giving divine meaning to all activities has significant effects on the life of man, some of which are the following:

1. Making the perishable perpetual

Man and all his efforts will perish, but whatever is done for His pleasure will remain as an asset. The Holy Qur’an says:

﴿ ما عِنْدَ كُمْ يَنْفَدُ وَ ما عِنْدَ اللهِ باقٍ ﴾

“That which is with you will be spent but what is with Allah shall last.”

It also says elsewhere:

﴿ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ هَالِكٌ إِلَّا وَجْهَهُ ﴾

“Everything is to perish except His Face.”

2. Changing the material into the spiritual

If the purpouse behind {man’s} deeds be a Godly one if man could set the intention, motive and direction of his activities along the path of the divine will, and conduct himself as a true servant of God, even his mundane acts such as eating, dressing, traveling, visiting, housekeeping, studying, and all his daily chores would become spiritual. On the contrary, sometimes even the most sacred of works, if done with materialistic and worldly motives, could lose their worth.

3. Individual and collective development

Worship of God demands a total disregard of personal whims and caprice; non-glorification of any race, garment, language, land, and city; association with God, the Ultimate Power and Perfection. And gratitude to the Bestower of blessings. Taken together, they play an important role in the intellectual development of the individual and society collectively. Worship means moving along the straight path of God:

﴿ وَأَنْ اعْبُدُونِي هَذَا صِرَاطٌ مُّسْتَقِيمٌ ﴾

“Worship Me. This is a straight path.”

﴿ وَاسْتَعِينُواْ بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلاَةِ ﴾

“And take recourse in patience and prayer.”

Also, worship individually protects human beings from caprice, sin and temptation, and a devoted society that worships God consciously rejects the worship of taghuts, tyrants and superpowers. ‘Allamah Iqbal Lahuri said:

آدم از بى بصرى بندگى آدم کرد

گوهرى داشت ولى نذر قباد و جم كرد

يعنى از خوى غلامى ز سگان پستتر است

من نديدم كه سگى پيش سگى سرخم كرد

Due to a lack of insight, man serves another man,

He possessed a gem but gave it to others,

He is worse than dogs in his slavish demeanor,

I have yet to see a dog bow down before another.

Worship improves individuals as well as societies. In most cases, the corruption in society emanates from, and is caused by the inclination to worship any other, besides God.