THE DAILY ISLAMIC REMINDERS. Yawm Al-Khamis. 12th day of Sha’abaan, 1445AH (Thursday, 22nd February 2024). THE CORRECT AND COMPREHENSIVE MEANING OF ISLAAM continues. BismilLah. 

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 would 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.