https://www.khutbah.info/the-purpose-of-life/ Is a person’s description as a servant, worshipper or from the servants or worshippers something disgraceful and lowly? The answer can either be yes or no. How is that possible? This depends on the person’s object of worship. If Allah alone is being worshipped, then this description is an honor, prestige, esteem and dignity. It indicates their high station. How not and Allah (ﷻ) described the most noble and honorable of His creation our Prophet Mohammad (ﷺ) with this description in many verses of the Quran as in the first verse of Sura Al Isra:
إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ ,نَحْمَدُهُ ,وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ , وَنَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا ,مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ , وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ , وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ
Verily, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, we seek His assistance and we ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Him from the evils of our selves. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide. Whoever He misguides, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.
يَا أَيُّهَا الّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ – آل عمران:102
Al Imran 102 : O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.
Oh people:
Allah says in His Book Surah AdDhaariyaat verses 56 to 58:
وَمَا خَلَقۡتُ ٱلۡجِنَّ وَٱلۡإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعۡبُدُونِ ﴿٥٦﴾ مَآ أُرِيدُ مِنۡهُم مِّن رِّزۡقٖ وَمَآ أُرِيدُ أَن يُطۡعِمُونِ ﴿٥٧﴾ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلرَّزَّاقُ ذُو ٱلۡقُوَّةِ ٱلۡمَتِينُ
AdDhaariyat (51) 56-58: And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. I seek no provision from them, nor do I need them to feed Me. Verily, Allah is the All-Provider, Owner of Power, the Most Strong.
This is among the most important verses in the Noble Quran that every Muslim must have full awareness of and understand.
When we look at the word (يَعۡبُدُونِ) “that they worship” we find that it is derivative of the word (عبد) “he worships”. And there are also other words derived from the verb such as (عبد وعابد وعبيد وعباد) which mean servant, worshipper, servants, worshippers, respectively. Also there are more words derived from the same verb (معبود عبادة وعبودية) which mean object of worship, act of worship and servitude, respectively. Let us explore some of these words.
The word ( عبد ) “he worships” is a verb and a verb in the Arabic language is a word that indicates that a specific action occurred in a specific time. As for (عبد وعابد وعبيد وعباد) servant, worshipper, servants, worshippers, they are those who perform the action of “worship”. What is intended are people and jinn. And these terms mean submission, humility, asking to fulfill one’s needs from The Worshipped and seeking help from Him.
As far as the term (معبود ) “The Worshipped” the basis for those practicing tawhid is that it is Allah The One. As far as the polytheists they have many objects of worship as we shall see.
Is a person’s description as a servant, worshipper or from the servants or worshippers something disgraceful and lowly? The answer can either be yes or no. How is that possible? This depends on the person’s object of worship. If Allah alone is being worshipped, then this description is an honor, prestige, esteem and dignity. It indicates their high station. How not and Allah (ﷻ) described the most noble and honorable of His creation our Prophet Mohammad (ﷺ) with this description in many verses of the Quran as in the first verse of Sura Al Isra:
Al Isra (17) 1: Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al- Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed
And in the first verse of Surah Al Kahf He said:
Al Kahf (18) 1: [All] praise is [due] to Allah, who has sent down upon His Servant the Book and has not made therein any deviance.
And in verse 1 of surah Al Furqan He said:
Al Furqan (25) 1: Blessed is He who sent down the Criterion upon His Servant that he may be to the worlds a warner
And in verse 36 of Surah Az-Zumar He said:
Az-Zumar (39) 36: Is not Allah Sufficient for His servant? Yet they try to frighten you with those (whom they worship) besides Him! And whom Allah sends astray, for him there will be no guide.
Also in verse 10 of Surah An-Najm He said:
An-Najm (53) 10: And he revealed to His Servant what he revealed.
And in verse 9 of Surah Al Hadid He said:
Al Hadid (57) 9: It is He who sends down upon His Servant verses of clear evidence that He may bring you out from darkness into the light. And indeed, Allah is to you Kind and Merciful.
Like He (ﷻ) used this description for some of the Prophets. He said of Zakariyya in verse 2 of Surah Maryam:
Maryam (19) 2: [This is] a mention of the mercy of your Lord to His servant Zechariah
He said about the dedicated servants in verse 186 of Surah Al Baqarah:
Al Baqarah (2) 186: And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me – indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.
And in verse 42 of Surah Al Hijr He said:
Al Hijr (15) 42: Indeed, My servants – no authority will you have over them, except those who follow you of the deviators.
And in verse 53 of Surah Az-Zumar He said:
Az-Zumar (39) 53: Say, “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah . Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.”
However when the worshipped is other than Allah, then it is a disgrace, humiliation, degradation, abasement and a shame. And some examples of deities that are wrongly worshipped aside from Allah include but are not limited to:
1. The Shaytan who invites to worship other than Allah and the evidence is Allah’s (ﷻ) words in verse 60 of Surah Yasin:
Yasin (39) 60: Did I not enjoin upon you, O children of Adam, that you not worship Satan – [for] indeed, he is to you a clear enemy
2. Next, is idols. Allah said about Ibrahim ( عليه السلام ) in verses 70-74 of Surah As-Shu’raa:
As-Shu’raa (26) 70-74: When he said to his father and his people: “What do you worship?” They said: “We worship idols, and to them we are ever devoted.” He said, “Do they hear you when you supplicate? Or do they benefit you, or do they harm?” They said, “But we found our fathers doing thus.”
3. Also, the sun and the planets. Allah (ﷻ) said about the tribe of Saba in verse 24 of Surah An-Naml:
An-Naml (27) 24: I found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of Allah, and Satan has made their deeds pleasing to them and averted them from [His] way, so they are not guided,
4. Also, scholars, monks and messengers. Allah said in verse 30 of Surah At-Tawbah:
At-Tawbah (9) 30: They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah, and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God; there is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him.
5. Also, the Angels and the Jinn. Allah the Most High said in verses 40-41 of Surah Saba:
Sura Saba 40-41: And (remember) the Day when He will gather them all together, and then will say to the angels: “Was it you that these people used to worship?” They will reply, ‘May You be exalted! You are our supporter against them! Really, they worshipped the jinn- most of them believed in them.’
6. Also, animals like the calf and cow. Allah said in verse 51 of Surah Al Baqarah:
Al Baqarah (2) 51: And (remember) when We appointed for Musa (Moses) forty nights, and (in his absence) you took the calf (for worship), and you were wrong-doers.
7. Also, wealth. Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“Wretched is the slave of the Dinar and the slave of the Dirham, and the slave of velvet and the slave of fancy clothes. If he is given, he is pleased and if he is not given, he does not fulfill (his oath of allegiance).” [Al Bukhari 2887]
8. Also the urges and desires, Allah said in verse 23 of Surah Al Jathiyah:
Al Jathiyah 23: Have you seen him who takes his own desires as his god , and Allah knowing (him as such), left him astray, and sealed his hearing and his heart, and put a cover on his sight. Who then will guide him after Allah? Will you not then remember?
And Allah’s words in verse 43 of Surah Al Furqan:
Al Furqan 43 – Have you seen the one who takes as his god his own desire? Then would you be responsible for him?
أَقُولُ مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
I say what you have heard and I seek forgiveness from Allah for me and you from every sin. So seek forgives from Him, Verily He is Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Second Khutbah
الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ, وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ , وَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَاْ إِلَهَ إِلَّاْ اَللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَاْشَرِيْكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدَاً عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُوْلُهُ
All praise is to Allah, and peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.
Oh Muslims:
Under the category of following urges and desires, many gods arose in modern times that are worshiped besides Allah. And unfortunately many Muslims do not pay attention to it and they fall into shirk without them realizing it. For the most part, it falls under the so-called personal freedom and freedom of thought. And judging matters based on reason and logic only and neglecting the criteria and the scale of the shariah. To the point that some of them call for freedom to wear what they want and appear as they wish. So that the man wears women’s clothing and the woman wears men’s clothing. And the woman is invited to shed her modesty and dress inappropriately in the name of personal freedom.
Some of them call to adultery and other indecencies and freedom from the teachings of religion that forbid such chaos. Some have legitimized the riba transactions claiming that it results in personal benefits.
And there are many other claims like this all of them calling for freedom and abandoning the teachings and morals of the religion.
And such people have forgotten that the believer’s Iman (faith) is not complete until his thoughts, heart and all his senses and feelings follow what the Prophet (ﷺ) came with, which is stated in the Noble Quran multiple times such as in verse 65 of Surah An-Nisa:
An-Nisa (4) 65: But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission.
As well as in verse 36 of Surah Al Ahzab
Al Ahzab (33) 36: It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error.
It is blameworthy to give the priority to what comes from the inner self over the shariah. And it is necessary for the wise person to strive within himself until his desires comply with the shariah of his Lord. And this is what was stated in the noble Hadith cited by Ibn Rajab:
None of you truly believes until his desires comply with what I have brought.
هَذَا وَصَلُّوا وَسَلِّمُوا عَلَى نَبِيِّكُم كَمَا أَمَرَكُمْ بِذلِكَ رَبُّكُمْ , فَقَالَ
I conclude with this and send prayers of blessings and peace upon your Prophet as your Lord commanded:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
Al Ahzaab (33) 56: Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [ Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [ Allah to grant him] peace.
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنا فِيمَنْ هَدَيْتَ وَعَافِنا فِيمَنْ عَافَيْتَ وَتَوَلَّنا فِيمَنْ تَوَلَّيْتَ وَبَارِكْ لنا فِيمَا أَعْطَيْتَ وَقِنا شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ إِنَّكَ تَقْضِي وَلاَ يُقْضَى عَلَيْكَ وَإِنَّهُ لاَ يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ تَبَارَكْتَ رَبَّنَا وَتَعَالَيْتَ
O Allah, guide us with those whom You have guided , grant us well-being among those You have granted well-being, be an ally to us along with those whom You are an ally to, and bless what You have bestowed upon us, and save us from the evil of what You have decreed. For verily You decree and none can decree over You. He whom You support can never be humiliated. Glory is to You, our Lord, You are Blessed and Exalted.
اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْنا مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ نَعْلَمْ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْنا مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ نَعْلَمْ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ خَيْرِ مَا سَأَلَكَ عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا عَاذَ بِهِ عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ وَنَسْأَلُكَ أَنْ تَجْعَلَ كُلَّ قَضَاءٍ قَضَيْتَهُ لَنا خَيْرًا
O Allah, We ask You for all that is good, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we seek refuge with You from all evil, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we ask You for the good that Your servant and Prophet has asked You for, and we seek refuge with You from the evil from which Your servant and Prophet sought refuge. O Allah, we ask You for Paradise and for that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed, and we seek refuge in You from Hell and from that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed. And we ask You to make every decree that You decree concerning us good
عِبَادَ اللّهِ, إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ, يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
اُذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ واشْكُرُوهُ يَزِدْكُمْ واسْتَغْفِرُوهُ يَغْفِرْ لكُمْ واتّقُوهُ يَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَمْرِكُمْ مَخْرَجًا , وَأَقِمِ الصّلَاة
Servants of Allah. Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.
Remember Allah, the Great – He will remember you. Thank Him for His favors – He will increase you therein. And seek forgiveness from Him – He will forgive you. And be conscious of Him – He will provide you a way out of difficult matters. And, establish the prayer.