Ibadah in the terminology of the Quran, signifies man’s sincere and total obedience to Allah in all affairs. It represents their physical obedience in formal acts of devotion as a demonstration of their allegiance to their Sovereign and also a fulfillment of their obligations to Allah,(i.e, huquq Allah) on the one hand; while practical acts of goodness, piety and justice(huquq al- ibad) which form the backbone of a righteous and just society demonstrate its wisdom and spirit on the other. Besides that, the true meaning and significance of `ibadah was not understood before the performed various forms of worship after the tradition of their elders without question. The Prophet Ibrahim was faced with this situation and he questioned the validity and authenticity of the worship of idols by his people: ```Behold!’ he said to his father and his people, `what are these images, to which you are (so assiduously) devoted?’ They said, ~We found our fathers worshipping them’ . He said, ` Indeed you have been in manifest error – you and your fathers’.”
The people who follow their fathers ways of life without understanding the wisdom and spirit of their religion are likely to forget the inner purpose of those forms of `ibadah and so gradually lose the wisdom and spirit of their religion. Such people are left with only the outer form of their religion, which they follow with great enthusiasm and devotion, but without gaining the practical benefit from it which their fathers did. The Quran here warns the Muslims of this danger, lest they should, like herds of cattle, merely hear the call and follow only the form of their religion, totally obvious of the wisdom, spirit and purpose behind its various forms and practices. It also implies that the mere performance of different forms of `ibadah without pursuing their inherent objective in daily life in the social, political and cultural spheres, will not be of much benefit to any nation. These practices are meant to instil a definite discipline in people, so that they are able to acquire the desired standard of mental culture necessary for the followers of the Divine Code of Life.
My prayer and my rites of worship and my life and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of the Universe, Who has no partner. This is what I am commanded, and I am the first to surrender to Him’. These last verses of Surah An’am present the true picture of the Right Way of Life, which lies between the extreme ways which people have invented without knowledge and which have misled mankind. The first two verses explain its basic and fundamental principle, while the third explains its important details. The Prophet is instructed to tell the people that “my Lord has guided me to the Straight (and Right) Way (of life)” and that if they wish they can follow this balanced Way and avoid all other ways, which will lead them into extreme practices and bypaths. This was the Way of the Prophet Ibrahim and of all the other Messengers of Allah. They all followed this Right Way, which is the best and most balanced, Way of Liife, avoiding all the extreme views of life invented by various crooked and evilpersons.In this verse, people are clearly told that all yheir actions, whether forms of ‘ibadah (worship), or acts of goodness, charity and benevolence, or even sacrifice of life, become virtues which help them to win the Pleasure (ridwan) of Allah and attain His Nearness (qurb), but only if they are performed merely to seek His Approval. All acts must be done for the Lord of the Universe, Who has no partner and is the Sole Sovereign and Master of all the worlds. It is a sign of perfect Faith when a man looks up to Him and Him alone in all his actions, movements and states, and performs all his activities in every sphere of life, secular (mundane or worldly), for the Sake and Pleasure of his Lord. Thus the entire life of Man, covering all his multifarious activities in different areas of life, must demonstrate that it is lived, used, enjoyed, spent, and even sacrificed, in seeking the Countenance of Allah, the Lord and Creator of the Universe.
This attitude of life creates healthy conditions in society for the betterment of humanity and helps in the establishment of a just, virtous and benevolent society in which all people, irrespective of their color, creed, nationality, language, tribe or status, enjoy equal rights and equal priviledges in all areas of life. No one claims any superiority over others on any of the above-mentioned bases, because they are all children of the same original parents and servants of the One Lord, Allah. This philosophy of life does not divide life into watertight compartments and therefore does not distinguish any human action as being secular or spiritual in itself. In its judgement, the nature of any human action- whether it is out wardly secular or spiritual- is determined by the intention of the doer of the act concerned. All actions performed for the Pleasure of Allah and for seeking His Countenence are considered good, virtuous and hence spiritual; whereas even so –called spiritual acts, if performed for show or for achieving any object other than the Pleasure of Allah, become evil and devoid of any goodness or spirituality. The Quran is very clear about it and explains this philosophy of life in various contexts.
The only way to remove a sense of doubt and complication is to present a comprehensive and inclusive view of true form of prayer and righteousness that may encompass the totality of human life and which has been specified by the Holy Quran itself in these words: “Righteousness or true form of prayer is of that you turn your faces to the East or the West; but truly righteous are those who believe in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Books and the Prophets, and spend their wealth, for love of Him, on the kindred and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and those who ask, and for procuring the freedom of captives, and who observe prayer and pay zakat, and whenever they make a promise carry it out, and are steadfast in adversity and under affliction and in battle. It is these who have proved faithful, and it is these who are righteous.”
This verse first condemns the erroneous conception of ‘Ibadah and righteousness and then presents the true and correct conception. Therefore the definition of righteousness embodied in this verse is both inclusive and exclusive. At first it exclude certain misconceptions and misunderstandings that are normally associated with the concept of righteousness. The common people interpret it in restricted terms. They equate prayer and other forms of similar obligation with righteousness. The other affairs of life are purged of all sanctity for them and are purely secular in their eyes. The Quran first of all rejected this monastic and Christian concept of righteousness. If a person identifies prayer only with turning to the East or the West, he is surely mistaken because a true form of prayer is not measured by the inflections of the head or the angles of the arms. It is a very restricted view of prayer and righteousness. Since Islam is a universal religion, it not only discourages but openly condemns these limited views. Islam does not accept any view of righteousness or any philosophy of life which excludes the practical life of man from its area of application. On the other hand, Islam takes a very broad view of human life that recognizes all of its speculative and practical aspects. In conclusion, the ibadah in Islam conception is the right mode of submission and righteousness.
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