THE DAILY ISLAMIC REMINDERS. Yaum Ithnayn. 19th day of Jumaadal Aakhir.. (Monday 1st February 2021).

THE CORRECT AND COMPREHENSIVE MEANING OF ISLAAM. Bit long but please don't miss a line before typing Aameen and share to all including non Muslims.  BismilLah. 

Unfortunately, when you ask most Muslims the meaning of Islam; some often quote a simple response to mean PEACE. No please, the meaning of Islam is not just PEACE. In actual fact the short meaning of Islaam is SUBMISSION and these two meanings are mutilated definition of Islaam. The comprehensive definition of Islam is THE PEACE WE ACQUIRE WHEN WE SUBMIT TO THE WILL OR COMMANDS OF THE CREATOR, ALLAH. Meaning we cannot submit to our tradition, culture, our own desires, our jobs, relationships or to anything but to ALLAH'S commands. Those who submit and surrender to ALLAH’S commands are called MUSLIMS that's why ALLAH referred to all Past Prophets and Messengers such as Abraham, Moses, Jacob, Joseph,  Jesus peace be upon them all as Muslims in the Quran because they all submitted to the commands of ALLAH. That's why Jesus Christ said in John 6:38, I came to do what ALLAH commanded me to do and that makes him a Muslim by submitting to the commands of ALLAH to do whatever he did including all his miracles none were by his authority but by the power and permission of his CREATOR, ALLAH. Meaning, Islam is a complete ways of life. How to worship, how to sleep, eat, relate to others, etc Must be from the teachings of ALLAH and HIS Messenger sallallahu alaihi wasallam. 

The concept of worship in Islam is misunderstood by many people including some Muslims. Worship is commonly taken to mean performing ritualistic acts such as prayers, fasting, charity, etc. This limited understanding of worship is only one part of the meaning of worship in Islam. That is why the traditional definition of worship in Islam is a comprehensive definition that includes almost everything in any individual's activities. The definition goes something like this:

"Worship is an all inclusive term for all that ALLAH loves of external and internal sayings and actions of a person."

In other words, worship is everything one says or does for the pleasure of ALLAH. This, of course, includes rituals as well as beliefs, social activities, and personal contributions to the welfare of one's fellow human-beings.

Islaam looks at the individual as a whole. He is required to submit himself completely to ALLAH, as the Quran instructed the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi and to do and instruct us to do as follows:

"Say (O Muhammad) my prayer, my sacrifice, my life and my death belong to ALLAH; HE has no partner and I am ordered to be among those who submit, i.e.; Muslims." (6:162-163). Meaning this command is for whoever claims to be Muslim. 

The natural result of this submission is that all one's activities should conform to the instructions of the one to whom the person is submitting. Islam, being a way of life, requires that its followers model their life according to its teachings in every aspect, religious or other wise. This might sound strange to some people who think of religion as a personal relation between the individual and ALLAH, having no impact on one's activities outside rituals.

As a matter of fact Islam does not think much of mere rituals when they are performed mechanically and have no influence on one's inner life. The Quran addresses the believers and their neighbors from among the People of the Book who were arguing with them about the change of the direction of Qibla in the following verse:

"It is not righteousness that you turn your faces toward the East or the West, but righteous is he who believes in ALLAH and the Last Day and the Angels and the Book and the Prophets, and gives his beloved money to his relatives and the orphans and the needy and for the ransoming of captives and who observes prayer and pays the poor-due; and those who fulfill their promises when they have made one, and the patient in poverty and affliction and the steadfast in time of war; it is those who have proved truthful and it is those who are the God-fearing." (2:177). 

The deeds in the above verse are the deeds of righteousness and they are only a part of worship. The Prophet told us about faith, which is the basis of worship, that it "is made up of sixty and some branches; the highest of which is the belief in the Oneness of ALLAH, i.e., there is nothing worthy of worship but ALLAH and the lowest in the scale of worship is removing obstacles and dirt from people's way."

Decent work is considered in Islaam a type of worship. The Prophet said: "Whoever finds himself at the nightfall tired of his work, ALLAH will forgive his sins." Seeking knowledge is one of the highest types of worship. The Prophet told his companions that "seeking knowledge is a (religious) duty on every Muslim."  Social courtesy and cooperation are part of worship when done for the sake of ALLAH as the Prophet told us: "Receiving your friend with a smile is a type of charity, helping a person to load his animal is a charity and putting some water in your neighbor's bucket is a charity."

It is worth noting that even performing one's duties is considered a sort of worship. The Prophet told us that whatever one spends for his family is a type of charity; he will be rewarded for it if he acquires it through legal means. Kindness to members of one's family is an act of worship as when one puts a piece of food in his spouse's mouth. Not only this but even the acts we enjoy doing very much, when they are performed according to the instructions of the Prophet, are considered as acts of worship. The Prophet told his companions that they will be rewarded even for having sexual intercourse with their wives. The companions were astonished and asked: "How are we going to be rewarded for doing something we enjoy very much?" The Prophet asked them: "Suppose you satisfy your desires illegally; don't you think that you will be punished for that?" They replied, "Yes." "So," he said, "by satisfying it legally with your wives you are rewarded for it." This means they are acts of worship. Islaam is beautiful isn't it? Anyway my apologies for the length. May ALLAH keep guiding us all and protect us from any satanic influences. Aameen.