By Arman Neyazi, New Age Islam
3 June 2021
Duties towards Allah and Duties Towards His Vicegerent Are Equal in More Than One Ways
Main Points:
1. Our service to the human being, the animals, the birds and all that constitute environment is a service to Almighty, Allah.
2. Guidance issued by Islam to be worthy and successful mankind is for the world population, irrespective of any religious distinction.
3. We can find God in every bit of the universe.
4. We must take ‘serving the people as worship and pray for peace, solidarity and brotherhood in the world.
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All of us on this planet earth are, in our ways, busy wooing the Creator of this universe by the way of our good deeds and worshipping him in abundance for His blessings of prosperity. We visit Mandirs, Dargah and Tombs requesting our religious guides, dead or alive, to guide us on to the path of righteousness that brings the blessings of the Almighty. What we forget is that we can find God in every bit of the universe and therefore we just have to be true to ourselves and behave humanely. Consider the following:
सृष्टि -दृष्टि, सूक्ष्म -स्थूल
सब प्राणों का कौन है मूल?
जल,थल,अग्नि,वायु-आकाश,
इनमें करता कौन निवास?
कण-कण में बसता कृष्ण है एक,
कण-कण में बसता कृष्ण है एक।।
(कण-कण में कृष्ण है एक Vijay Kumar/ Amar Ujala)
God resides in every bit of His creation and from this logic He resides in all the human being, whom He calls ‘Ashraf ul Makhluqat’, the best of all His creations. Our service to the human being, the animals, the birds and all that constitute environment is a service to Almighty, Allah.
Allah, the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, created the human being as His vicegerent and commanded them to behave like brothers and sisters among themselves. Muslims most revered duty is to obey the commands of their Creator by accepting His Oneness, singing His praise and remembering Him through Salah, Sawm, Zakat and Haj, if they have the required resources. Performing their duties towards their Creator transforms them into a soul that can never be at fault with their fellow humankind. Always being on the right side of our brothers and sisters in performing our duties allocated by Allah, the Most Gracious, towards the Best of His Creation, that is we, the human being.
Performing our duties towards Allah is like performing our duties towards His vicegerent as Allah, the Most Gracious says in the Holy Quran, ‘You are the best ‘Ummah ever raised for mankind. You bid the Fair and forbid the Unfair, and you believe in Allah’ (Surah Ali 'Imran - 110 — Mufti Taqi Usmani). Bidding the fair and forbidding the unfair, if performed believing that nothing is unknown to Allah and that He is the All-knower, will guide the human being to be brotherly and humane with their fellow humankind.
Our duties like Salah, Sawm, Zakat and Haj towards Allah should carry humility and love towards Him. Allah loves humility. Consider the following Ayat:
The servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say words of peace. (Surah Al-Furqan: 63)
Lower to your parents the wing of humility out of mercy and say: My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up when I was small. (Surah Al-Isra: 24)
Give good news to the humble-hearted. (Quran: 34)
If our duties towards Allah are performed unwillingly and in an unsuitable manner just for the sake of accepting His Commands, Allah knows the best whether those acts will be accepted in the court of Allah or not. Allah does not like a show-off. Even when performing our duty of Huquq ul Ibad we have to be very conscious that there is no show off in it. Consider the following Hadees what Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has said:
“…A man who gives in charity and hides it, such that his left-hand does not know what his right hand gives in charity… (Saheeh al-Bukhari)
Our duties like Salah, Sawm, Zakat and Haj will bring us the desired results, if Insha’Allah we will perform Huqooq ul Allah and Huqooq ul Ibad with all humility just for seeking God’s mercy and not to show off the world. Allah says in the Quran:
They seek to hide from men and seek not to hide from Allah. He is with them when by night they hold discourse displeasing unto Him. Allah ever surroundeth what they do. (Surat an-Nisa:108) M. Pickthall
The above mentioned Ayat addresses human being and says in clear terms that they can not conceal their acts from Allah as He knows what is there in their hearts. Therefore Haqooq-ul Ibaad will be fulfilled if Haqooq ul Allah is performed with grace and humility, which He likes the most.
Islam is a universal religion so all human beings, by its standard, are bound in a relationship of kinship. Therefore, the guidance issued by Islam to be worthy and successful mankind is for the world population, irrespective of any religious distinction. Everyone with a conscience will accept that he/she is obliged to live in peace with everyone in the world. Huqooq ul Ibad is a beautiful concept, given by Islam, of being at peace and in harmony with each other forever.
Even in worldly parlance, we find ourselves obliged to pass our obligation and thanks to those who work for our good, in a manner and way that pleases them. Likewise, performing our duties towards Allah and His creation, to receive His kindness, is a way of expressing our ‘thanks’ to Allah.
Many verses command people to serve the creation of God with utmost mercy to attain the mercy of the Most Merciful Allah. Consider the following two verses that proclaim that human being has to be good to himself as Allah changes the condition of a person only when they change and guide themselves on to the right path :
…Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves… (Ar-Ra'd, Ayah 11) Yusuf Ali
…He whom God guides, he alone has found the right way; whereas for him whom He lets go astray thou canst never find any protector who would point out the right way (Al-Kahf: 17) - Muhammad Asad
A list of ‘Rights Of Allah On Us’ (Huqooq ul Allah)and ‘Rights Of Our Fellow Beings On Us Regardless Of Their Religion/Believe’ (Huqooq ul Ibad) with space for addition and deletion in it:
List Of Huqooq Ul Allah (Rights Of Allah On Us)
1. Believe in the oneness of Allah (Tawheed), nobody is worthy of any kind of worship except Allah. Supplication with Him only.
2. Believe in all Allah’s Messengers (From Adam (AS) to Muhammad (SAW).
3. Believe in All his divine books (Quran being the final book of Allah)
4. Believe in Angeles.
5. Believe in resurrection and Day of Judgment.
6. Believe in Qadar (destiny)
7. Prayers (Salah) 8)Fasting 9)Performing Hajj (If able to physically and financially)
8. Fasting
9. Performing Hajj (If able to physically and financially)
10. Zakat (Giving in Charity)
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List Of Huqooq Ul Ibad (Rights Of Our Fellow Beings On Us Regardless Of Their Religion/Believe)
1. Rights of orphans
2. Rights of our neighbours
3. Rights of parents
4. Rights of husband on wife
5. Rights of wife on husband
6. Rights of children on parents
7. Rights of inheritors
8. Rights of inheritors among each other
9. Rights of relatives
Let all of us be honest to ourselves and express our gratitude to our Creator, for everything there in the world. He has created it for our good and all-around development. Our foremost duty after complying with ‘Rights Of Allah On Us’ is to serve the world to comply with ‘Rights Of Our Fellow Beings On Us’. We can do our bit as and where and in whatever situation or condition we are. We should not make excuses for ourselves as it is not worth it. We must encourage others around us to struggle and do their bit for the welfare of the world society.
All the religious people, whether a Muslim, a Hindu, a Christian, a Jews or belonging to any other religion, worship in their way to please the creator. We must take ‘serving the people’ also as worship and pray for peace, solidarity and brotherhood in the world.
And Allah knows the best.
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Arman Neyazi is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/allah-creation-righteousness-/d/124926
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