7. Monotheism in worship [‘ibādah]
The most important issue of monotheism in worship is discerning the meaning of ‘ibādah [worship] because all Muslims agree that the only object of worship is God, and no one other than Him should be worshipped. The Holy Qur’an says in this regard: ﴾ إِيّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَ إِيّاكَ نَسْتَعينُ ﴿ “You [alone] do we worship, and to You [alone] do we turn for help.”[1]
From the noble verses of the Qur’an, it is inferred that this issue is a common principle in the mission of all prophets (‘a), and all divine envoys are assigned the responsibility of propagating it. The Glorious Qur’an says in this regard:
﴾ وَ لَقَدْ بَعَثْنا في كُلّ ِ أُمَّةٍ رَسُولاً أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللّهَ وَ اجْتَنِبُوا الطّاغُوتَ ﴿
“Certainly We raised an apostle in every nation [to preach:] ‘Worship Allah, and keep away from the Rebel’.”[2]
Therefore, the principle that only God has to be worshipped and no other than Him is worthy to be worshipped is beyond dispute. A person is not considered a monotheist without accepting this principle.
The dispute is over other things such as: What is the criterion for distinguishing “worship” from other than worship?
Or, can the act of kissing the hand of one’s teacher, father, mother, or an ‘ālim or scholar, for example, and paying any kind of homage or showing respect to those who possess rights [dhū’l-ḥuqūq][3] be the same as worshipping them? Or, over the idea that worship in its absolute sense is not extraordinary humility and homage; rather, it has a valid element and so long as that element is not put into effect, humility of any sort—even that which has the form of prostration—is not deemed as “worship”.
So, it is necessary to see what element gives humility and homage the character of worship, which is an important subject.
Misconception about worship
A group of writers interprete ‘ibādah [worship] as “lowliness” or “extreme humility”, but when want to interpret some Qur’anic verses, they fail. The Glorious Qur’an unequivocally states: “We ordered the angels to prostrate before Adam” ﴾ وَ إِذْ قُلْنا لِلْمَلائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا ِلآدَمَ ﴿ “And when We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate before Adam…’”[4]
The way prostration was done to Ādam (Adam) (‘a) was the same as that which is done to God. This is while the first was intended to express humility and lowliness, and the second is regarded as worship and devotion.
Now, why do these two identical prostrations have different natures?
The Qur’an states in another place: “Ḥaḍrat Ya‘qūb (‘a), along with his sons, prostrated before Ḥaḍrat Yūsuf (‘a)”.
﴿ وَرَفَعَ أَبَوَيْهِ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ وَخَرُّواْ لَهُ سُجَّدًا وَقَالَ يَا أَبَتِ هَـذَا تَأْوِيلُ رُؤْيَايَ مِن قَبْلُ قَدْ جَعَلَهَا رَبِّي حَقًّا ﴾
“And he seated his parents high upon the throne, and they fell down prostrate before him. He said, ‘Father! This is the fulfillment of my dream of long ago, which my Lord has made come true.”[5]
It is is worth noting here that by the “dream of long ago”, Ḥaḍrat Yūsuf (‘a) means the dream about eleven planets,[6] the sun and the moon, prostrating to him. The Qur’an quotes Yūsuf (‘a) as saying: ﴾ إِنّي رَأَيْتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوْكَبًا وَ الشَّمْسَ وَ الْقَمَرَ رَأَيْتُهُمْ لي ساجِدينَ ﴿ “I saw eleven planets, and the sun and the moon: I saw them prostrating themselves before me.”[7]
Since Hadrat Yūsuf (‘a) considers the prostration of his close relatives as the interpretation of the dream, it is clear that what is meant by the eleven planets is his eleven brothers, and by the sun and the moon his father and mother, respectively.
Having said this, it is evident that not only his brothers but also his father, Prophet Ya‘qūb (‘a), prostrated before him.
Now, let us ask: Why cannot that prostration, which represents utmost humility and lowliness, be named “worship”?
