which deeds are equal with worshipping Allah

Worshipping Allah

The value of worshipping is not completely known to us, who are in the narrowness of this world and are unaware of many facts before coming of the Last Day. Worshipping Allah leads to progress, perfection, goodness, prosperity, purified life, and obtaining the Paradise.

The Messenger of Allah (s.a) has stated about worship:

أفْضَلُ النَّاسِ مَنْ عَشِقَ العِبَادَةَ فَعَانَقَهَا وأحَبَّهَا بِقَلْبِهِ وَبَاشَرَهَا بِجَسَدِهِ وَتَفَرَّغَ لَهَا فَهُوَ لاَ يُبَالِي عَلَى مَا أصْبَحَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا؛ عَلَى عُسْرٍ أمْ عَلَى يُسْرٍ.

The best man is the one who loves worshipping Allah in his heart, does it by his limbs, and leaves other activities for it, not fearing worldly hardships.[1]

يَقُولُ رَبُّكُمْ: يَا بْنَ آدَمَ! تَفَرَّغْ لِعِبَادَتِي أمْلأْ قَلْبَكَ غِنىً وَأمْلأْ يَدَيْكَ رِزْقاً. يَا بْنَ آدَمَ! لاَ تُبَاعِدْ مِنِّي فَأمْلأُ قَلْبَكَ فَقْراً وَأمْلأُ يَدَيْكَ شُغْلاً.

Your Lord says: O son of Adam! Leave other activities for serving Me so that I would fill your heart with independence and your hands with bountiful sustenance! O son of Adam! Do not get far from Me otherwise I would fill your heart with need and your hands with engagement![2]

On his ascension night to the heavens, the Almighty addressed the holy Prophet (s.a):

يَا أحَمْدُ! لَيْسَ شَيْءٌ مِنَ العِبَادَةِ أحَبَّ إلَيَّ مِنَ الصَّمْتِ وَالصَّوْمِ. مَنْ صَامَ وَلَمْ يَحْفَظْ لِسَانَهُ كَانَ كَمَنْ قَامَ وَلَمْ يَقْرَأ فِي صَلاَتِهِ، فَأعْطِيهِ أجْرَ القِيَامِ وَلَمْ أعْطِهِ أجْرَ العَابِدِينَ. يَا أحْمَدُ! هَلْ تَدْرِي مَتَى يَكُونُ العَبْدُ عَابِداً؟ (قال: لا يا ربّ، قال:) إذَا اجْتَمَعَ فِيهِ سَبْعُ خِصَالٍ: وَرَعٌ يَحْجِزُهُ عَنِ المَحَارِمِ، وَصَمْتٌ يَكُفُّهُ عَمَّا لاَ يَعْنِيهِ، وَخَوْفٌ يَزْدَادُ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ مِنْ بُكَائِهِ، وَحَيَاءٌ يَسْتَحِي مِنِّي فِي الخَلاَءِ، وَأكْلُ مَا لاَ بُدَّ مِنْهُ، وَيُبْغِضُ الدُّنْيَا لِبَغْضِي لَهَا، وَيُحِبُّ الأخْيَارَ لِحُبِّي لَهُمْ.

O A¦mad! Do you know when the man is worshipping Me? He said: No! Allah said: When he has seven features; a piety that prohibits him from the unlawful, a silence that keeps him from saying what is not useful, a fear that increases his weeping from day to day, a humility by which he fears Me in his privacy, an eating and drinking that is necessary for him, an enmity with the world because of My enmity with it, and a love for the righteous because of My love for them.[3]

It has been narrated that the Almighty has stated in some of His Divine Books:

يَا بْنَ آدَمَ! أنَا حَيٌّ لاَ أمُوتُ، أطِعْنِي فِيمَا أمَرْتُ حَتَّى أجْعَلَكَ حَيّاً لاَ تَمُوتُ. يَا بْنَ آدَمَ! أنَا أقُولُ لِلْشَيْءِ ’كُنْ‘ فَيَكُونُ، أطِعْنِي فِيمَا أمَرْتُكَ أجْعَلْكَ تَقُولُ لِلْشَيْءِ ’كُنْ‘ فَيَكُونُ.

O son of Adam! I am the Alive Who does not die, obey what I have ordered you so that I would make you an alive who would not die. O son of Adam! When I say to something ‘be’ it will become immediately, worship Me so that I would give you the ability to say to things ‘be’ and they would become immediately.[4]

Some of the facts have been mentioned, in traditions, as the best kinds of worship; knowing Allah and humility towards him, constant thinking about Allah and His power, saying ‘لا اله الا الله’ (there is no deity but Allah) and ‘لا حول و لا قوه الا بالله’ (there is no power except from Allah), sincerity, chastity, piety, thoughtfulness, observing the rights of the believers, silence, Hajj, fasting, prayer, ignoring the sins, hiding one’s own worship, humility, performing the obligatory deeds, seeking lawful sustenance, lenience in speech, and loving the Household of the Prophet (s.a).

Serving Allah’s servants

As stated in the divine traditions and other traditions, the believer servant is so much valued that respecting him is considered equal to respecting Allah and disrespecting him is as disrespecting Allah.

The Messenger of Allah (s.a) has narrated from Gabriel (a.s) from the Almighty:

مَنْ أهَانَ لِي وَلِيّاً فَقَدْ بَارَزَنِي بِالمُحَارَبَةِ.

Anyone who disrespects My friend and My favorite servant has indeed rose to fight Me.[5]

That’s why serving the believer servants is like worshipping Allah, because serving the believer is, in fact, serving Allah.

The Messenger of Allah (s.a) said:

مَنْ قَضَى لأخِيهِ المُؤْمِنِ حَاجَةً كَانَ كَمَنْ عَبَدَ اللهَ دَهْرَهُ.

One who fulfills a request of his religious brother is like one who has worshipped Allah all his lifetime.[6]

Imam Sadiq (a.s) stated:

مَنْ قَضَى لأخِيهِ المُؤمِنِ حَاجَةً قَضَى اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَهُ يَوْمَ القِيَامَةِ مِائَةَ ألْفِ حَاجَةً مِنْ ذَلِكَ، أوَّلُهَا الجَنَّةُ.

If one fulfills an exegesis of his religious brother, Allah would fulfill a hundred thousand of his exegeses, the first of which is the Paradise.[7]

إنَّ العَبْدَ لَيَمْشِي فِي حَاجَةِ أخِيهِ المُؤمِنِ فَيُوَكِّلُ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِهِ مَلَكَيْنِ: وَاحِدٌ عَنْ يَمِينِهِ وَآخَرُ عَنْ شِمَالِهِ، يَسْتَغْفِرَانِ لَهُ رَبَّهُ وَيَدْعُوَانِ لَهُ بِقَضَاءِ حَاجَتِهِ.

Surely the servant moves to fulfill his believer brother’s wish, so Allah sets two angels for him, one on his right and the other on his left. The two angels ask Allah to forgive him and pray for the fulfillment of his own exegesis.[8]

Imam al-B¡qir (a.s) said that the Prophet (s.a) was asked: “What deed is the most favorable to Allah?” He answered: “Making a Muslim happy.” He was then asked: “What is making a Muslim happy?” He replied: “It is feeding him, removing his sadness, and paying his debt.”[9]

Imam Sadiq (a.s) has narrated from the Almighty:

الخَلْقُ عِيَالِي؛ فَأحَبُّهُمْ إلَيَّ ألْطَفُهُمْ بِهِمْ وَأسْعَاهُمْ فِي حَوَائِجِهِمْ.

All the people are fed by Me; the best of them is the kindest one to the others and the one who tries more for fulfilling other’s wishes.[10]

After asking Allah strength of the limbs for serving the people, Am¢r al-Mu’min¢n (a.s) asks Allah determination in this service and continuity of being joined to His service, to the point that he would move toward Allah in the battlefields of the foremost, hurry to Allah among the prominent, desire His proximity, move near to Him like the sincere, fear Him with the fear of the faithful, and gather with the believers in His nearness.

Certainty

The great philosopher and knowledgeable author of the ‘al-M¢z¡n’ exegesis of the Holy Qur'¡n, the late `All¡mah ±ab¡§ab¡’¢ has defined certainty: Certainty is knowledge with no fault or doubt.[11] (For example we know that it is the day in the middle of the day and in darkness of night we know that it is night and know for sure that we are alive beings with characteristics and signs.)

There are three degrees for certainty; `ilm al-yaq¢n (known certainty), `ayn al-yaq¢n (exact certainty), and ¦aqq al-yaq¢n (true certainty). The difference among these three kinds of certainty becomes clear with an example; known certainty of fire is gained by seeing the smoke from behind a wall; exact certainty is acquired by seeing the fire itself; and true certainty is achieved by being burned by the fire. The Messenger of Allah (s.a) says:

عَلاَمَةُ المُوقِنِ سِتَّةٌ: أيْقَنَ بِاللهِ حَقّاً فَآمَنَ بِهِ، وَأيْقَنَ بِأنَّ المَوْتَ حَقٌّ فَحَذِرَهُ، وَأيْقَنَ بِأنَّ البَعْثَ حَقٌّ فَخَافَ الفَضِيحَةَ، وَأيْقَنَ بِأنَّ الجَنَّةَ حَقٌّ فَاشْتَاقَ إلَيْهَا، وَأيْقَنَ بِأنَّ النَّارَ حَقٌّ فَظَهَرَ سَعْيُهُ لِلنَّجَاةِ مِنْهَا، وَأيْقَنَ بِأنَّ الحِسَابَ حَقٌّ فَحَاسَبَ نَفْسَهُ.

The believers have six characteristics; they have certainty in Allah; a true certainty, so they have faith through this certainty; they have certainty in the reality of death, so they avoid its consequences including disgrace in the Hereafter; they have certainty in the reality of Paradise, so they are eager for it; they have certainty in the Hell, so they try to escape it; and they have certainty in the Last Day account, so they account for their own deeds not to be accounted for then.[12]

The three degrees of certainty can be obtained via the Qur’¡nic verses and the traditions of Prophet’s Household (a.s). Someone who does not reach certainty through these ways would not reach certainty at all.

For getting certainty through Qur’¡n, first we should ponder in its verses to make sure of their truth and their being revealed. The Holy Qur’¡n itself reads:

وَإِنْ كُنتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَى عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُوا بِسُورَةٍ مِنْ مِثْلِهِ.

And if you are in doubt as to that which We have revealed to Our servants, then produce a chapter like it. (2:23)

قُلْ لَئِنْ اجْتَمَعَتْ الْإِنسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَى أَنْ يَأْتُوا بِمِثْلِ هَذَا الْقُرْآنِ لا يَأْتُونَ بِمِثْلِهِ وَلَوْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ ظَهِيرًا.

Say if men and jinn should combine together to bring the like of this Qur’¡n, they could not bring the like of it, though some of them were aides of others. (17:88)

In view of these two holy verses, one can make sure that Qur’¡n is revealed from Allah, and then make sure of all its content. Likewise, one can reach certainty about the teachings of Imams (a.s), which are explanations of Qur’¡nic verses, and finally join the righteous faithful servants.