The right of Allah over His servants and the wisdom behind the creation of jinn and humans is explained in the Quran. Allah says in His clear Book:
“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. I do not want from them any provision, nor do I want them to feed Me. Indeed, it is Allah who is the [continual] Provider, the firm possessor of strength.” [Surah Adh-Dhariyat: 56-58] In this noble verse, Allah clarifies that He created the jinn and humans to worship Him alone without associating any partners with Him. He is the Provider and does not seek provision from His servants; rather, He is the one who provides for them. This wisdom is the reason for the creation of jinn and humans and the sending of messengers. As Allah says: “And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], ‘Worship Allah and avoid Taghut (false gods).’” [Surah An-Nahl: 36]
And He says:
“And We sent not before you any messenger except that We revealed to him that, ‘There is no deity except Me, so worship Me.’” [Surah Al-Anbiya: 25] Therefore, it is obligatory for all jinn and humans to pay attention to this wisdom, which is to worship Allah alone without associating any partners with Him, to maintain it, to understand it deeply, and to adhere to it until they meet their Lord. Worship is obedience to Allah and His Messenger, and its core and foundation is the oneness of Allah in all acts of worship, avoiding associating anything with Him, befriending His allies, and opposing His enemies, and disassociating from everything worshipped besides Him. As Allah says: “So whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.” [Surah Al-Baqarah: 256]
The essence and foundation of religion is the sincere worship of Allah alone and disassociation from the worship of anything besides Him, avoiding associating anything with Him. This is the meaning of “La ilaha illallah” (There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah). It is a statement of negation and affirmation: it negates worship of anything other than Allah and affirms worship for Allah alone.
As Allah says:
“That is because Allah is the Truth, and that which they call upon other than Him is falsehood.” [Surah Al-Hajj: 62] Worship is the right of Allah alone; no one else has any right to it, not even a close angel or a sent prophet. Therefore, Allah says: “And [He revealed] that the masjids are for Allah, so do not invoke with Allah anyone.” [Surah Al-Jinn: 18]
And He says:
“And do not invoke besides Allah that which neither benefits you nor harms you, for if you did, then indeed you would be of the wrongdoers.” [Surah Yunus: 106]
And He says:
“And whoever invokes besides Allah another deity for which he has no proof - then his account is only with his Lord. Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed.” [Surah Al-Mu’minun: 117]
And He says:
“That is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs sovereignty. And those whom you invoke other than Him do not possess [as much as] the membrane of a date seed. If you invoke them, they do not hear your supplication; and if they heard, they would not respond to you. And on the Day of Resurrection they will deny your association. And none can inform you like [one] Acquainted [with all matters].” [Surah Fatir: 13-14] It is obligatory for all jinn and humans to recognize the value of worship, to understand it deeply, and to dedicate it solely to Allah. This is the great command they were given and the purpose for which they were created. As Allah says in this verse: “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” [Surah Adh-Dhariyat: 56]
And He says:
“And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth, and to establish prayer and to give zakah. And that is the correct religion.” [Surah Al-Bayyinah: 5] It is confirmed from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the hadith of Mu’adh (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: “The right of Allah over His servants is that they worship Him and do not associate anything with Him.” This is Allah’s right over His servants, and it is the purpose for which they were created, the reason for sending messengers, and the revelation of scriptures. However, many people have neglected this right and have worshipped others besides Allah, such as trees, stones, prophets, saints, stars, and jinn. This is the far-reaching misguidance and grievous shirk (associating partners with Allah). Allah says: “Indeed, shirk is great injustice.” [Surah Luqman: 13]
And He says:
“Indeed, he who associates others with Allah - Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers.” [Surah Al-Ma’idah: 72]
And He says:
“Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills.” [Surah An-Nisa: 48]
This verse clearly shows the gravity of shirk, as it is the greatest sin that will not be forgiven except through repentance. Allah says:
“Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin.” [Surah An-Nisa: 48]
And in another verse:
“And he who associates others with Allah has certainly gone far astray.” [Surah An-Nisa: 116] Shirk is directing any act of worship to other than Allah, such as supplicating to the dead, idols, trees, stones, angels, jinn, or anything similar, or sacrificing or making vows to them. Anyone who directs any act of worship to other than Allah has committed shirk and worshipped others alongside Him. It is obligatory for such a person to repent sincerely to Allah and to dedicate worship solely to Him. This is the meaning of Allah’s statement: “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” [Surah Adh-Dhariyat: 56]
And His statement:
“And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth, and to establish prayer and to give zakah.” [Surah Al-Bayyinah: 5]
And His statement:
“And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment.” [Surah Al-Isra: 23]
And His statement:
“So worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion. Unquestionably, for Allah is the pure religion.” [Surah Az-Zumar: 2-3] As previously mentioned, this is the meaning of “La ilaha illallah” (There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah). It means dedicating worship solely to Allah and abandoning the worship of anything besides Him. It affirms worship for Allah alone and negates it for anything else. Its meaning is that there is no true deity except Allah. Therefore, every person must dedicate worship to Allah alone and realize the meaning of this statement, “La ilaha illallah.” If someone does not do this and directs any act of worship to other than Allah, whether it be an idol, a statue, an angel, a prophet, a jinn, a star, or anything else, this nullifies the statement “La ilaha illallah” and invalidates all acts of worship. As Allah says: “But if they had associated others with Allah, then worthless for them would be whatever they were doing.” [Surah Al-An’am: 88]
And He says:
“And it was already revealed to you and to those before you that if you should associate anything with Allah, your work would surely become worthless, and you would surely be among the losers.” [Surah Az-Zumar: 65] We must all be attentive to this matter, dedicating worship solely to Allah and none other. We should remain steadfast in this, maintain it, and encourage one another in it. Our acts of worship, such as prayer and fasting, are only valid if this fundamental principle is correct. The foundation is the oneness of Allah and sincerity to Him, abandoning the worship of anything else, whoever or whatever it may be, and not associating partners with Him. This is the core meaning of “There is no god but Allah.” No act of worship is valid unless this principle is correct. We must preserve this, remain steadfast in it, call to it, and warn against anything contrary to it, as the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did, and as his righteous companions did, followed by those who came after them in righteousness up to this day.
One of the most important tasks is also to beware of the means and causes that lead to shirk (associating partners with Allah), such as building mosques over graves, erecting domes over them, decorating and perfuming them, as these are means to shirk. Similarly, swearing by anything other than Allah, such as swearing by trust, the Prophet, the Kaaba, someone’s life, and so on, is also shirk. It is minor shirk, but it can be major, and it is a means to major shirk, which is relying on and worshiping other than Allah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever swears, let him swear by Allah or keep silent.” He also said: “Whoever swears by anything other than Allah has committed disbelief or shirk.” And he said: “Whoever swears by trust is not one of us.”
It is obligatory for all Muslims to preserve their religion and strive to protect it from all forms of shirk and innovations, while being extremely cautious of the means and causes that lead to shirk and bring one closer to it. We ask Allah to grant us and all Muslims what pleases Him, to preserve our religion for us, to grant us understanding in our religion and steadfastness in it, and to protect us from all that angers Him, including shirk and lesser sins. Indeed, He is Generous and Noble. May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.
