After every ruling in the Quran, there comes a command related to worship. To be noted that worshipping is not, as people think, is just connected with the jurisprudent as the prayer, fasting, pilgrimage (Hajj) and zakat, rather, worship is in every beneficial action that brings good to human being, his society and his country. Whereas the prayer, fasting, Hajj and zakat are the pillars of Islam, as the Prophet (saws) has stated:
Islam is based on five things: The testimony that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger, the observance of the prayer, the payment of zakat, the Pilgrimage, and the fast during Ramadan.”[1]
Therefore, they do not represent all the Islam, rather they are parts of it; Islam is more comprehensive, it includes all the commands of Allah (swt). This is an example:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا نُودِيَ لِلصَّلَاةِ مِن يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ فَاسْعَوْا إِلَىٰ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَذَرُوا الْبَيْعَ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ % فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ الصَّلَاةُ فَانتَشِرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَابْتَغُوا مِن فَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
(O you who have believed, when [the adhan] is called for the prayer on the day of Jumu’ah [Friday], then proceed to the remembrance of Allah and leave trade. That is better for you, if you only knew. % And when the prayer has been concluded, disperse within the land and seek from the bounty of Allah, and remember Allah often that you may succeed.) (Al-Jumu’a’: 9-10)
Here, Allah (swt) commands the believers to disperse in the land and seek His bounties, as an act of worshipping.
In the verse of our study, Allah (swt) states a very important issue that are mentioned in all the heavenly books, and they are among the decisive verses:
(… وَاعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا ) (Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him,…): That is, to obey Him (swt). This obedience is achieved through applying the commands mentioned in the Noble Qur’an and the commands of the Prophet (swt), as we cannot understand the Noble Qur’an except through the Sunnah, behavior and commands of the Prophet (swt):
وَأَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ
(And obey Allah and the Messenger that you may obtain mercy.) (Ali-Imran: 132)
وَأَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
(And We revealed to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them and that they might give thought.) (An-Nahl: 44)
Making the message clear is achieved was achieved by his (saws) deeds, relationships with the community, his wives, neighbors and everyone.
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ
(And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.) (Al-Anbiyaa: 107)
(… وَاعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ ) (Worship Allah …): Worshiping Allah (swt) means obeying Him, doing what He (swt) commanded and refraining from what He (swt) prohibited. The basic principle is that things are permissible unless there is a text prohibiting them, for example, all the drinks such as water, juice …are lawful (halal) except the wine because Allah (swt) has prevented it, as such the pork which is prohibited whereas all the other meats are permissible (unless the dead animals). As noted, the circle of halal is very wide to facilitate for people.
(… وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا…) (…and associate nothing with Him,…): Associating anything in worshipping Allah (swt) does not mean only that you worship an idol or a stone, or that you believe that there is a Lord other than Allah (swt), or that you believe that there is no God, rather, it means that you believe that anything can benefit and harm, give and withhold, lower and raise, cherishes and humiliates.
It was narrated that Shaddad Ibn Awss was crying, so he was asked why he was crying, he said: because of the saying I heard from the Prophet (saws), which was:
“The thing I fear most for my nation is the shirk (polytheism) and the hidden desire”
I said: “Oh the messenger of Allah, will your nation associate with Allah after you? He (saws) said:
“Yes, they will worship the sun or the moon or idols, but showing their deeds to the people.”[2]
They are hypocrite with showing their deeds to people, thinking they can benefit them, this is a kind of polytheism.
(… وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا …) (…and to parents do good …): (and) comes in more than one place in the Book of Allah (swt) and it draws attention and care. This verse is very great, it gives broad meanings of the common good and true family education in society. The basis of any society are the father and the mother, and they are the origin of building the family. Let’s consider any other social relationship and compare it with the relationship of the fathers and mothers with the children, males and females, as long as this relation is clear and build on giving and mercy, it is reflected on all the other social relations on which any community wants to establish the good, morals and behaviours. Therefore, the apex of morals is the good treatment to the parents, for whoever does not do good to his parents, consequently, does not do any good to his county, neighbours and community or even to any person or group on the earth. That is why whenever Allah (swt) talks about worshipping Him, He (swt) shares this issue with a command concerns all the people that is the good treatment to parents.
قُلْ تَعَالَوْا أَتْلُ مَا حَرَّمَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ أَلَّا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا ۖ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا
(Say, “Come, I will recite what your Lord has prohibited to you. [He commands] that you not associate anything with Him, and to parents, good treatment,) (Al-An’aam: 151)
وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا
(And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment.) (Al-Issra: 23)
The very important point is that Allah (swt) begins this verse with a negative expression (associate nothing with Him), whereas the speech about parents begins positively, for example the following verse:
قُلْ تَعَالَوْا أَتْلُ مَا حَرَّمَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ أَلَّا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا ۖ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا ۖ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُم مِّنْ إِمْلَاقٍ ۖ نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُكُمْ وَإِيَّاهُمْ ۖ وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ ۖ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُم بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ
(Say, “Come, I will recite what your Lord has prohibited to you. [He commands] that you not associate anything with Him, and to parents, good treatment, and do not kill your children out of poverty; We will provide for you and them. And do not approach immoralities – what is apparent of them and what is concealed. And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed] except by [legal] right. This has He instructed you that you may use reason.) (Al-An’am: 151)
It contains many (do not) but when the parents are mentioned, it does not come as (do not disobey your parents), because Allah (swt) does not want the idea of disobedience to parents to just cross the children’s mind.
Ihsan (good treatment) is above what you are commanded to do, its definition in relation to Islam and Iman is: Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you do not achieve this state of devotion, then (take it for granted that) Allah sees you.
When you seek the pleasure of Allah (swt) in treating your parents well, being obedient and servile to them, by this way you worship Allah (swt) and get close to Him by the best and most merciful deeds at all. Therefore, we find that Allah (swt) talks about benevolence to parents in more than one place in the Holy Quran. It is not just enough avoiding telling them (Uff) (an Arabic word indicates bored with ugh), Ali bin Abi Taleb (may Allah honour his face) said:
“Had Allah known any word expressing the disobedience of parents lesser than Uff, He would have forbidden it, so let the disobedient person do whatever he wants to do, he will not enter Paradise, and let the obedient do whatever he wills; he will not enter the fire.”
That is because the Prophet (saws) said:
“The pleasure of Allah lies in the pleasure of the parent. The anger of Allah lies in the anger of the parents.”[3]
Allah (swt), as well, made the Paradise at the feet of the mothers, no doubt that this is the greatest honour and right to woman. The women represent the wife, the mother, the sister, the daughter, the top of them is the mother. There is not any worldly law whatsoever gives the mother its rights as Islam does, taking into consideration that she is the one who sacrifices, raises, toiles, stays awake, exhausts herself, and spends her life giving to her children. This story proves how Islam honours the woman: At the time of the Prophet (saws) a man held his mother on his shoulders in the very hot days and made the tawaff (going around the Ka’ba) for seven cycles, then he asked the Prophet (saws): Had I fulfilled her right? The Prophet (saws) said:
“No, not even one pain of parturition.”[4]
Additionally, when a young man came to the Prophet (saws) and asked him to go for fighting, the Prophet (saws) asked him:
“Is your mother alive?”
The young man said: Yes, then the Prophet (saws) said to him:
“Go and stay with her, since the Paradis is at her feets.”[5]
What great religion is Islam, and how do the enemies want to attribute to it extremism, terrorism, hatred and violence, while it is the religion of kindness, mercy, giving and goodness. The distorted version of Islam they wanted makes the sons kill the mothers and accusing them of disbelief, while Islam is what stated in the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (saws).
(… وَبِذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْجَارِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْجَارِ الْجُنُبِ وَالصَّاحِبِ بِالْجَنبِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ …) (…and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, the companion at your side, the traveler, and those whom your right hands possess.…): Doing good to the relatives, who are the wombs, is a branch of doing well to parents:
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالْأَرْحَامَ ۚ
(And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs.) (An-Nisaa: 1)
By the grace of Allah (swt) and by adhering to religious and faith values, the relationship between fathers and mothers with children in Arab societies is still within its limits and in accordance with the rules of faith, where any person is ashamed to be said that he disobeyed his parents. Whereas in the west, the children do not visit their parents except in in the mother day or any social occasion, moreover, when they get old the children send them to hospice homes, on the contrary, the Quran teaches us that when the parents get old, the children must stay with them:
وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا ۚ إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ الْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَا أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا فَلَا تَقُل لَّهُمَا أُفٍّ وَلَا تَنْهَرْهُمَا وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوْلًا كَرِيمًا
(And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with you, say not to them [so much as], “uff,” and do not repel them but speak to them a noble word.) (Al-Issraa: 23)
Parents’ place is not in the hospice homes, for when the son gets married and has children, he gets busy with them and no longer pays attention to that shriveled flowers (his parents), rather, he concentrates on the growing flowers (his children). A man came to the Prophet (saws) complaining that his father had taken his money, so the Prophet (saws) said to him:
“You and your wealth belong to your father.”
So, note the greatness of this religion of Islam. Sometimes the person is doing well to his parents but he is not good with his relatives because he considers them as enemies, this is not of the Islam principles at all, accordingly, after taking care of the parents comes to deal the relatives excellently.
(… وَالْيَتَامَى …) (…orphans …): Orphans come before the (the needy) because an orphan lost his father, the most important supporter, consequently, the society must be integrated and helpful, and avoid the orphans any sense of weakness.
أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يُكَذِّبُ بِالدِّينِ % فَذَٰلِكَ الَّذِي يَدُعُّ الْيَتِيمَ % وَلَا يَحُضُّ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ
(Have you seen the one who denies the Recompense? % For that is the one who drives away the orphan % And does not encourage the feeding of the poor.) (Al-Maa’oon: 1-3)
The one who denies the Recompense is he who does not pray nor fast or pay the alms. Hence, as stated this religion is very noble, it is not the religion of killing, slaughtering and terrorism.
The issue of how to treat the orphans is very serious.:
كَلَّا ۖ بَل لَّا تُكْرِمُونَ الْيَتِيمَ % وَلَا تَحَاضُّونَ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ
(No! But you do not honor the orphan % And you do not encourage one another to feed the poor.) (Al-Fajr: 17-18)
So if you seek accompanying the Prophet Muhammad (saws) in the Paradise, take care of an orphan. The Prophet (saws) said:
“I will be like this in Jannah with the person who takes care of an orphan”. Messenger of Allah (saws) raised his forefinger and middle finger by way of illustration.[6]
(… وَالْمَسَاكِينِ …) (…the needy …): The Islamic scholars differ in differentiating between the needy and the poor. It is said that the needy are those who own very insufficient of food and cloths. Thereof, we are recommended to treat the needy good after mentioning the parents, the relatives and the orphans.
(… وَالْجَارِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ…) (…the near neighbor …): The Prophet Muhammad (saws) said:
“Gabriel kept on recommending me about treating the neighbors in a kind and polite manner, so much so that I thought that he would order (me) to make them (my) heirs.”
If everyone in the community treat his neighbour in excellent manner, the whole society will be good and united, there will be no enmity, conflict, satanism or hatred. Here, the neighbor, in general, whether Muslim or not, he is described as close, may be his door is closest to yours or he may be a neighbor and a relative at the same time.
(… وَالصَّاحِبِ بِالْجَنبِ …) (…the companion at your side …): Possibly he is your companion in traveling or in job.
(… وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ …) (…, the traveler…): Because he lacks relatives and family.
(… وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ …) (…and those whom your right hands possess …): This issue relates to slaves which is no longer exist , however, Allah (swt) mentions it because it was common at that time and the Holy Quran is for all times and places, who knows, may be it will reappear at a time in future. The slavery at that time was connected with the wars, so anyone today cannot consider a servant in his house as a hand-posed.
( إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ مَن كَانَ مُخْتَالًا فَخُورًا … ) (…Indeed, Allah does not like those who are self-deluding and boastful): Allah (swt) does not like who enumerates his virtues and is arrogant over people, the human should be humble with others.
[1] Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book of Faith, Chapter of Faith and the Prophet saying : “Islam is based on five”, Hadith No. 8.
[2] Majma’ Az-Zawaed wa Manba’ Al-Fawaed, Vol.3, page. 259, Hadith No. 5226.
[3] Shu’ab Al-Iman, chapter 55, Hadith NO. 7830.
[4] Majma’ Az-Zawaed wa Manba’ Al-Fawaed. vol.8, page: 55, Hadith No. 13395.
[5] Shu’ab Al-Iman, Chapter: 55, Hadith No. 7830.
[6] Kanz Al-Ummal, Juz 3, Hadith No. 5994.