Worship is the unification of Allah and obedience to Him.

 

Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, companions, and those who follow his guidance. As for what follows:

Allah Almighty said in His Noble Book: “O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment” [Al-Ahzab: 70-71].

Our Lord, Glorified and Exalted, commands His believing servants in many verses to fear Allah, because piety is the essence of religion. It is the worship for which people were created and commanded, as He said: “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me” [Adh-Dhariyat: 56], and He said: “O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous” [Al-Baqarah: 21]. It is the worship with which the messengers were sent, as He said: “And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], ‘Worship Allah and avoid Taghut’” [An-Nahl: 36].

This worship is the unification of Allah and obedience to Him. It is piety and faith, righteousness and guidance, as He said: “And there certainly came to them guidance from their Lord” [An-Najm: 23], and He said: “But righteousness is [in] one who fears [Allah]” [Al-Baqarah: 189], and He said: “But righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day…” [Al-Baqarah: 177].

It is obligatory upon all those who are accountable, from the jinn and mankind, Arabs and non-Arabs, males and females, to fear Allah. This is achieved by unifying Him, being sincere to Him, and following His Messenger, peace be upon him. This is the worship for which they were created. Its foundation and basis are the testimony that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. This is the foundation and essence of religion: the two testimonies. The testimony that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah means that there is no true deity except Allah. The believer testifies that there is no true deity except Allah and that Muhammad, the son of Abdullah, the son of Abdul-Muttalib, the Hashimite, the Arab, the Meccan, then the Madinan, is truly the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. It is obligatory to follow him, believe in what he brought, and adhere to his Sharia. This is obligatory upon everyone, as He said: “And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him” [Al-Isra: 23], and He said: “And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth” [Al-Bayyina: 5].
This worship for which they were created is to dedicate worship to Allah alone: through their supplications, fear, hope, sacrifices, seeking help, prayers, and other acts. Along with this, they must testify that Muhammad, the son of Abdullah, the son of Abdul-Muttalib, is truly the Messenger of Allah to all beings, both jinn and humans, Arabs and non-Arabs, males and females. All those who are accountable must testify to this, testifying that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, meaning there is no true deity except Allah, and testifying that Muhammad, the son of Abdullah, is truly the Messenger of Allah to all beings, both jinn and humans, and that he is the Seal of the Prophets, with no prophet after him, as Allah said: “Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets” [Al-Ahzab: 40], and He said: “Say, [O Muhammad], ‘O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you all’” [Al-A’raf: 158].
After this, it is also necessary to believe in the remaining pillars of Islam: prayer, zakat, fasting, and Hajj, as the Prophet  said: “Islam is built on five [pillars]: the testimony that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing prayer, giving zakat, fasting Ramadan, and performing pilgrimage to the House [Kaaba].”

These pillars are essential along with belief in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and predestination, both good and bad. These are the six pillars of faith. Following this, all that Allah and His Messenger have commanded must be followed, and all that Allah and His Messenger have forbidden must be avoided. This is all part of Islam and faith. Therefore, all those who are accountable must believe in Allah and His Messenger, believe in the six pillars of faith, and act upon the five pillars of Islam: the two testimonies, prayer, zakat, fasting, and Hajj. They must believe that these are obligatory for everyone. They must also believe that Allah has forbidden polytheism and all sins that Allah has explained in His Book and that His Messenger has explained, such as adultery, theft, drinking intoxicants, and usury, among other things that Allah has forbidden. All those who are accountable must believe in all that Allah has made obligatory and believe in all that Allah has forbidden. They must act by performing Allah’s obligations, avoiding Allah’s prohibitions, and adhering to Allah’s limits, hoping for Allah’s reward and fearing His punishment. They are also encouraged to hasten to do good deeds, such as voluntary prayers, voluntary charity, frequent remembrance of Allah, voluntary Hajj, and voluntary Umrah, among other voluntary acts that Allah has prescribed. When a believer hastens to do this and competes in it, they become among the close ones in the highest rank, as the ranks of Muslims are three:

The first rank: the one who wrongs themselves, the one who commits sins.

The second rank: the moderate, who performs the obligatory duties and avoids the prohibitions.

The third rank: the close ones, who are the foremost in good deeds, along with performing the obligatory duties. They hasten to acts of obedience and righteous deeds that are not obligatory, hoping for Allah’s reward and fearing His punishment.

My advice to my students and all listeners is to fear Allah in every place, in every situation, and at all times, and to remain steadfast in the religion of Allah. They should avoid Allah’s prohibitions and adhere to His limits, hoping for His reward and fearing His punishment, as Allah says: “Indeed, those who have said, ‘Our Lord is Allah’ and then remained steadfast – the angels will descend upon them, [saying], ‘Do not fear and do not grieve but receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were promised. We were your allies in worldly life and [are so] in the Hereafter. And you will have therein whatever your souls desire, and you will have therein whatever you request [or wish] as accommodation from a [Lord who is] Forgiving and Merciful’” [Fussilat: 30-32]. And He says: “Indeed, those who have said, ‘Our Lord is Allah’ and then remained steadfast – there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve. Those are the companions of Paradise, abiding eternally therein as reward for what they used to do” [Al-Ahqaf: 13-14]. And He said to His Prophet, peace be upon him: “So remain on a right course as you have been commanded, [you] and those who have turned back with you [to Allah]” [Hud: 112].
It is obligatory for all those who are accountable to remain steadfast, meaning to remain firm on the truth and to adhere to it by performing the obligatory duties and avoiding the prohibitions until death. This is obligatory for everyone: to fear Allah and adhere to His rights, to perform the obligatory duties and avoid the prohibitions out of faith in Allah and His Messenger, out of desire for what is with Allah, and out of sincerity and truthfulness, hoping for Allah’s reward and fearing His punishment until death. Therefore, Allah said to His Prophet: “And worship your Lord until there comes to you the certainty (death)” [Al-Hijr: 99], and He said: “O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him]” [Aal-E-Imran: 102].
This is obligatory for everyone: to fear Allah, to remain steadfast in His religion, to avoid His prohibitions, to love for the sake of Allah and to hate for the sake of Allah, to ally for the sake of Allah and to oppose for the sake of Allah. This is why they were created and this is what they were commanded to do. This is the worship for which they were created, as He said: “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me” [Adh-Dhariyat: 56]. This is the worship for which they were created, as He said: “O mankind, worship your Lord” [Al-Baqarah: 21].
Therefore, it is obligatory to strive in this matter and to ask Allah for success. Each person should ask their Lord for success and assistance. Allah, the Exalted, says: “And those who strive for Us – We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good” [Al-Ankabut: 69]. He also says: “And whoever fears Allah – He will make for him a way out and will provide for him from where he does not expect” [At-Talaq: 2-3]. He says: “And whoever fears Allah – He will make for him of his matter ease” [At-Talaq: 4]. And He says: “And whoever fears Allah – He will remove for him his misdeeds and make great for him his reward” [At-Talaq: 5]. He also says: “O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins” [Al-Ahzab: 70-71].
Whoever fears Allah, guards their tongue, and remains steadfast, Allah will rectify their deeds and forgive their sins. Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment. This is piety: obeying Allah and His Messenger. This is the religion of Allah and faith in Allah and His Messenger. “And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment” [Al-Ahzab: 71].
We ask Allah to grant everyone beneficial and righteous deeds, to grant us and you all understanding in His religion, and to protect us and you from the evils of ourselves and our bad deeds.
Once again, the advice is to act upon what we have mentioned and to call to Allah. Be callers to Allah in every place, hoping for Allah’s reward and fearing His punishment, as He says: “And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, ‘Indeed, I am of the Muslims’” [Fussilat: 33]. And as He says: “Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best” [An-Nahl: 125].
This is how our Lord, Glorified and Exalted, has commanded us. He says: “Say, ‘This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me. And exalted is Allah; and I am not of those who associate others with Him’” [Yusuf: 108].

We ask Allah to make us and you among the followers of the Messenger with insight and to protect us and you from the evils of ourselves and our bad deeds. Indeed, He is the One who is capable of that. May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.