Welcome to know Islam

Assalaamu alaikum [peace be to you],

I know. I have not been submitting anything for the past few months. well, I had issues to deal with in my life blah blah blah, and could not find time to draw blah blah... sorry for the long hibernation.

so, following my path of trying to explain Islam and the way of the Muslims using Art, I am going to continue posting artworks and articles. so, Internet! be warned!

Today I'd like to talk about worship in Islam.

According to Wikipedia: "As of 2009, over 1.6 billion or about 23% of the world population are Muslims."
nearly 1/4 of world population are Muslims spread across the globe in all nationalities, languages and ethnic backgrounds...
so it is a MUST for everyone to know what do these MUUUUUUSLIMS believe. how do they live and how do they see the world. who knows, you may meet or deal with some Muslims at a certain time in your life. you may need to know how to better deal with them. the first step to have this understanding is to learn about the true Islam.
you can start from my humble page here:


PURPOSE OF CREATION
In his Final Testament, The Almighty God teaches human beings that they were created for a purpose and their purpose is to worship the God.

you may interrupt me saying: "wait a second! this is funny. do you mean all of us are created merely to bow down in prayer to worship Allah? and nothing else? come on, just to worship?"

Well, here, we need to first define the word worship.

THE CONCEPT OF WORSHIP IN ISLAM:
The concept of worship in Islam is misunderstood by many people including some Muslims. Worship is commonly taken to mean performing ritualistic acts such as prayers, fasting, charity, etc. This limited understanding of worship is only one part of the meaning of worship in Islam. That is why the traditional definition of worship in Islam is a comprehensive definition that includes almost everything in any individual's activities. The definition goes something like this:
"Worship is an all inclusive term for all that God loves of external and internal sayings and actions of a person."
In other words, worship is everything one says or does for the pleasure of the God. This, of course, includes rituals as well as beliefs, social activities, and personal contributions to the welfare of one's fellow human-beings and the environment. Islam looks at the individual as a whole. He is required to submit himself completely to Allah.

The natural result of this submission is that all one's activities should conform to the instructions of the one to whom the person is submitting. Islam, being a way of life decreed by the God himself, requires that its followers model their life according to its teachings in every aspect, religious or other wise.
This might sound strange to some people who think of religion as a personal relation between the individual and God, having no impact on one's activities outside rituals. As a matter of fact Islam does not think much of mere rituals when they are performed mechanically and have no influence on one's inner life.

EXAMPLES OF WORSHIP
Seeking knowledge is, for example, one of the highest types of worship. The last Prophet of Islam, Mohammed -peace be upon him- told his companions that "seeking knowledge is a (religious) duty on every Muslim." In another saying he was reported to say: "Seeking knowledge for one hour is better than praying for seventy years."

Social courtesy and cooperation are part of worship when done for the sake of the God as the Prophet Mohammed -peace be upon him- told us: "Receiving your friend with a smile is a type of charity, helping a person to load his animal is a charity and putting some water in your neighbor's bucket is a charity."
these actions are 'charity' means they will be rewarded by the God as charity.

Not only that. It is worth noting that even performing one's duties is considered a sort of worship. The Prophet told us that whatever one spends for his family is a type of charity; he will be rewarded for it if he acquires it through legal means. Kindness to members of one's family is an act of worship as when one puts a piece of food in his spouse's mouth.

It is now clear that the concept of worship in Islam is a comprehensive concept that includes all the positive activities of the individual. This of course is in agreement with the all inclusive nature of Islam as a way of life. It regulates human life on all levels: individual, social, economic, political and spiritual. That is why Islam provides guidance to the smallest details of one's life on all these levels. Thus following these details is following Islamic instructions in that specific area. It is a very encouraging element when one realizes that all his activities are considered by the Almighty God as acts of worship. This should lead the individual to seek Allah's pleasure in his actions and always try to do them in the best possible manner whether he is watched by his superiors or he is alone. There is always the permanent supervisor, who knows everything, namely, Allah.



^{from Concept of Worship in Islam [link] with a little change}

I hope this was beneficial for you.



Want to learn more about Islam? check out these articles:
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If I am right, it is from the God. if I am wrong, it is from myself.