i In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful p
العالَمين رَبِّ للهِ اَلحَمدُ
اَجمَعينَ اَعدائِهِم عَلىٰ اللهِ لَعنَةُ وَ الطّاهِرِينَ آلِهِ وَ مُحَمَّدٍ نَبِيِّنَا وَ سَيِّدِنَا عَلىٰ اللهُ صَلَّى و
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and may the blessings of Allah be upon our Master and Prophet, Muḥammad, and his pure progeny, and may the curse of Allah be upon all their enemies.
I was glad to be present at the holy shrine of Imām ar-Ridā (‘a) and to have started writing this booklet, the drafts of which I had prepared earlier, prior to the beginning of the (Iranian) New Year 1374 AHS (which commenced on March 21, 1995).
In line with the efforts made after the [victory of the] Islamic Revolution in establishing the performance of Islamic prayer [ṣalāh] in schools, universities, military garrisons, and other public places, I also decided—after writing the books, Partū-ye az Asrār-e Namāz [Radiance of the Secrets of Prayer], Hamrāh bā Namāz [In the Company of Prayer] and Yekṣad va Chahārdah Nokteh Darbāreh-ye Namāz [One Hundred and Fourteen Points about Prayer]—to write about a commentary on the recitals [adhkār] in prayer such as the takbīr [recital of Allāhu akbar at the beginning of the prayer] and the recital of Sūral al-Fātiḥah and another sūrah, bowing down [rukū‘], prostration [sujūd], tashahhud and salām so that we could understand better what we are uttering to God in this regard, and have a conscious and gnostic involvement in the act of worship.
Before embarking on the subject proper, let us first take a cursory glance at “Worship [‘ibādah] and Servitude [‘ubūdiyyah]” which is the soul of prayer as well as all other devotional duties so as to better internalize its sublime station in our lives. ?
Muḥsin Qara’atī
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Chapter 1
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i Worship [‘ibādah] and Servitude [‘ubūdiyyah] p
Chapter 1
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What is worship [‘ibādah]?
Worship [‘ibādah] is the purpose behind our creation. The Qur’an states:
﴾ لِيَعْبُدُونِ اِلاّ الإنسَ وَ الجِنَّ خَلَقْتُ ما وَ ﴿
“I did not create the jinn and humans except that they may worship Me.”[1]
If the work we are doing is for the sake of seeking the pleasure of God, then it is an act of worship. It is so even though it may be a business or professional venture, the pursuit of knowledge, marriage, service to people, or anything that is meant to meet our needs or that of society.
That which makes an action an act of worship [‘ibādah] is the sacred motives behind its performance and in the parlance of the Qur’an, it has the “divine baptism” [ṣibghat Allāh] ﴾ الله صِبغَةُ ﴿.[2]
Natural disposition [fiṭrah] and worship [‘ibādah]
Some of our actions or activities are based on worship [‘ibādah] while others are anchored in natural disposition [fiṭrah]. A habit can be meritorious such as sports or not meritorious such as smoking. But if an action was anchored in natural disposition—that is, if it was done based on the natural disposition and pure mold which God has bestowed on the constitution of every human being—then it would always be meritorious.
The merit of natural disposition compared to worship is that time and place, gender and race, and age and condition have no effect on it, and every human being, on account of his being a human, possesses it. An example of this is the affection given to one’s child that is not true only to a particular generation and period rather, it is common for every parent to do so.[3] Issues such as form and style of dress or food are governed by habit and they vary in different times and places. In some regions, a certain thing is a custom while the same is not regarded as such in other places.
Worship and devotion are also among those actions that pertain to the natural disposition of man, and thus, the most ancient, beautiful and durable buildings constructed by man are related to worship such as temples, churches, mosques, and fire-temples.
Of course, many differences can be seen with respect to forms and types of devotion. One difference pertains to the objects of worship extending from stone, wood and idols to the Beloved Lord, and another difference is in the form and style of worship, which varies from dancing and singing to the most profound and subtle litanies [munājāt] of the awliyā’ [saints] of God.
The objective of the prophets (‘a) has not been to create the spirit of devotion in man but rather to reform worship in terms of its object and form.
The large sums of money spent on the construction of churches, synagogues, Hindu temples, and mosques; considering as sacred the national flags and heroes; and praising the excellences and values of individuals and even objects are all manifestations of the spirit of devotion which exists in man.
Even those who do not worship God worship their spouses, children, credentials, ideology, creed, or path and they are ready to move forward along this way even to the extent of sacrificing themselves. Worship has a deep natural root in man although he may be unaware of it, as Mawlawī (ar-Rūmī)[4] says:
لبان در نداند خود ميل سرّ مادران با كودكان ميل همچو
Just like the children’s fondness of their mothers,
He regards not the satisfaction of his desire in frankincense.
God, the All-wise, has endowed man with all desires and instincts while also creating outside of man the means to satiate and meet these desires. If man ever becomes thirsty, water is created (to quench it), and if there is hunger, food also exists. If man is endowed with the sexual instinct, spouses have been created for him, and if the sense of smell is created, things to smell have been created too.
Among the profoundest feelings of man are the desire for eternity, love of perfection and the yearning for immortality. A relationship with God and worshipping Him guarantee the fulfillment of these natural inclinations. Prayer and worship are the relationships of man with the Fountainhead of Perfections, familiarity with the Real Beloved, and seeking refuge in the Eternal Power.
[1] Sūrah adh-Dhāriyāt 51:56. In this volume, the translation of Qur’anic passages is adapted from Sayyid ‘Alī Qulī Qarā’ī, The Qur’an with a Phrase-by-Phrase English Translation (London: Islamic College for Advanced Studies Press, 2004). [Trans.]
[2] Sūrah al-Baqarah 2:138: “The baptism of Allah [ṣibghat Allāh], and who baptizes better than Allah? And Him do we worship.”
[3] Question: If affection to one’s child is indeed part of one’s natural disposition [fiṭrah], how is it that in some epochs such as the Pre-Islamic Period or Age of Ignorance [yawm al-jahiliyyah] some people used to bury their daughters alive?
Reply: The issues pertaining to natural disposition [fiṭrah] are numerous. Just as affection for one’s offspring is part of our natural disposition, regard for one’s honor is also a part of it. The Arabs during the pre-Islamic period used to regard their daughters as a source of shame and ignominy as they would be taken captive during wars and had no productive power and economic earning. Thus, in a bid to preserve their honor and dignity, they used to dispose of their daughters. Love for wealth and love for life are both related to the natural disposition [fiṭrī]. Some people sacrifice their lives for wealth while others do the opposite, i.e. sacrifice wealth for the sake of their lives. Therefore, sacrificing one’s daughter for the sake of preserving one’s honor is not inconsistent with the natural disposition of man, although it might be a result of ignorance or confusion.
[4] Mawlāwī: Jalāl ad-Dīn ar-Rūmī (1207-1273) was the greatest mystic poet in the Farsi language and founder of the Mawlawiyyah order of dervishes (“The Whirling Dervishes”). He is famous for his lyrics and for his didactic epic, Spiritual Couplets. [Trans.]
