Every night as we lay our back upon the pillow, and every morning as we open our eyes, the same question stands before our heart: "Why am I here?" The Qur'an answers in five words: "I have not created jinn and humans except to worship Me." This sermon explores worship as the purpose of creation, its inner meaning, the discipline it brings into our lives, and the reason why ikhlas — sincerity — is the backbone of the entire life of servitude.
The Purpose of Creation: Worship
After bringing the human being into existence out of nothing, Allah states the very reason for that creation:
وَمَا خَلَقۡتُ ٱلۡجِنَّ وَٱلۡإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعۡبُدُونِ
— Surah Adh-Dhariyat 51:56I have not created jinn and humans except to worship Me.
Worship — ʿibadah — is to turn willingly and with one's whole heart toward Allah, and to obey His command. A servant worships out of gratitude to the One who brought them into existence and lavished upon them countless gifts; and this gratitude is woven into the very nature of the human being. Even an animal shows loyalty to the one who feeds and shelters it. How then can a human being — endowed with intellect and discernment — remain unmoved by all that has been given them, and refuse to thank the One who gave it?
Surah Al-Baqarah issues the same call:
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱعۡبُدُواْ رَبَّكُمُ ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَكُمۡ وَٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِكُمۡ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَّقُونَ
— Surah Al-Baqarah 2:21O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those who came before you, that you may become God-conscious.
Surah Al-Hijr makes clear that this is a service that does not retire:
وَٱعۡبُدۡ رَبَّكَ حَتَّىٰ يَأۡتِيَكَ ٱلۡيَقِينُ
— Surah Al-Hijr 15:99And worship your Lord until certainty comes to you.
Worship is not a season. It is a life-long path that begins at birth and continues until the last breath. No one ever ascends to a station where they may say: "I have worshipped enough." As the Prophet's own life teaches, the highest of stations is the station of being a servant — ʿabd.
"Does Allah Need Our Worship?" — The Misunderstanding
Those who fail to see the wisdom of worship — or who never taste its sweetness — sometimes ask: "Does Allah need our worship, that we should be told to perform it?" Allah Himself answers:
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلرَّزَّاقُ ذُو ٱلۡقُوَّةِ ٱلۡمَتِينُ
— Surah Adh-Dhariyat 51:58Indeed, Allah Himself is the All-Provider, the Owner of strength, the Firm.
The immediately preceding verse says: "I want from them no provision; nor do I want them to feed Me" (51:57). Allah is independent of all the worlds. He does not need our worship; we do. Worship disciplines our lives. The acts of worship that are tied to specific times save us from drift, from carelessness, and from irresponsibility. The believer who carries the watch of his Lord in his heart at every act becomes just toward himself first, and then careful not to wrong others.
Allah says in Surah Al-Furqan: "Say: My Lord would not have any regard for you, were it not for your worship" (Al-Furqan 25:77). Worship is the concrete proof of a servant's worth before Allah. A life without worship is a field over which the divine attention has been withdrawn.
Worship Elevates the Soul and Restrains From Evil
The prayer — the pillar of all acts of worship — leaves the deepest seal on both the spiritual and ethical life of the human being. Allah says:
ٱتۡلُ مَآ أُوحِيَ إِلَيۡكَ مِنَ ٱلۡكِتَٰبِ وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَۖ إِنَّ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ تَنۡهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلۡفَحۡشَآءِ وَٱلۡمُنكَرِۗ وَلَذِكۡرُ ٱللَّهِ أَكۡبَرُۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعۡلَمُ مَا تَصۡنَعُونَ
— Surah Al-Ankabut 29:45Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book, and establish the prayer. Indeed, the prayer restrains from indecency and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is the greatest. And Allah knows what you do.
A believer who turns to Allah five times a day cannot forget Him. They live with the awareness that one day they will return to His presence and account for everything they have done. This awareness shapes them into a person who is measured in word, honest in dealings, and restrained in temper. The Prophet draws the same connection for the fast: "If a man does not give up false speech and acting falsely, Allah has no need that he should give up his food and drink."
A'isha (may Allah be pleased with her) recounts: "The Prophet would stand in prayer at night until his blessed feet would swell. I once said to him: 'O Messenger of Allah, why do you weary yourself like this — when Allah has forgiven you any past and any future sin?' He answered: 'Should I not be a thankful servant?'" The Prophet's worship was not driven by fear of hell or hope of Paradise alone; it was driven by love and gratitude. His remark about the two units of sunnah before the dawn prayer — "They are more beloved to me than the entire world" — sums up that taste.
The Twin Rights of Worship
At the centre of this sermon stands a famous conversation between the Prophet and Mu'adh ibn Jabal:
— Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Jihad, no. 2856Mu'adh ibn Jabal reports: The Prophet said to me, "O Mu'adh, do you know what right Allah has upon His servants?" I said, "Allah and His Messenger know best." He said: "That they worship Him and not associate anything with Him." Then he said, "And do you know what right the servants have upon Allah?" I said, "Allah and His Messenger know best." He said: "That He not punish them, so long as they worship Him alone and associate nothing with Him."
The hadith binds worship and the rejection of shirk (associating anything with Allah) together. The true counterpart of worship is that no other being is set up beside Allah. If shirk leaks into worship, that worship is no longer worship.
In another tradition Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that a man asked the Prophet: "Tell me of an act that will admit me into Paradise." The Prophet answered: "You worship Allah, and associate nothing with Him in worship; you establish the prayer, give the zakat, and maintain ties with your kin."
Stories
Ibrahim Confronts His Father and His People
Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) asked his father and his people: "What do you worship?" They said: "We worship idols, and we shall remain devoted to them." Ibrahim asked: "Do they hear you when you call upon them? Do they benefit you, or harm you?" They said: "No — but we found our fathers doing so." Ibrahim answered with one of the great statements of monotheism:
"It is He who created me, and it is He who guides me; it is He who feeds me and gives me to drink; and when I am ill, it is He who heals me; it is He who will cause me to die and then bring me to life again; and it is He whose forgiveness I hope for on the Day of Reckoning" (Ash-Shu'ara 26:78-82).
Hidden in this speech is the logic of worship: the one who creates, feeds, heals, raises, and forgives — He alone is to be worshipped.
Abu Bakr's Address in the Mosque
When the Prophet (peace be upon him) passed away, the Companions were shaken. Even Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The Prophet has not died and will not die. Whoever says that Muhammad has died, I will strike off his neck." At that moment Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) entered the mosque and said: "Whoever among you used to worship Muhammad — Muhammad has died. Whoever worships Allah — Allah is ever-living, and never dies." Then he recited:
وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولࣱ قَدۡ خَلَتۡ مِن قَبۡلِهِ ٱلرُّسُلُۚ أَفَإِيْن مَّاتَ أَوۡ قُتِلَ ٱنقَلَبۡتُمۡ عَلَىٰٓ أَعۡقَٰبِكُمۡۚ وَمَن يَنقَلِبۡ عَلَىٰ عَقِبَيۡهِ فَلَن يَضُرَّ ٱللَّهَ شَيۡـࣰٔا
— Surah Al-Imran 3:144Muhammad is no more than a messenger; messengers have passed before him. If he dies or is killed, will you turn back on your heels? Whoever turns back on his heels will not harm Allah at all.
Abu Bakr's speech clarified the centre of Islam: worship is for Allah alone. Even the Prophet himself was to be loved — but not worshipped. His station is the station of ʿabduhu wa rasuluhu: His servant and His messenger.
The Hadith Qudsi Against Showing Off
The Prophet (peace be upon him) related that Allah said:
— Sahih Muslim, al-Zuhd, no. 2985I am the most independent of partners from the partnership of others. Whoever performs an act for Me in which he associates someone with Me, I leave him and his partnership.
This sacred hadith plainly declares the worthlessness — before Allah — of worship performed for the sake of being seen. Surah Al-Ma'un repeats the warning: "Woe to those who pray — those who are heedless of their prayer, those who do their deeds for show, and yet refuse small kindness" (Al-Ma'un 107:4-7).
Worship belongs to Allah in its inside and its outside. With what eye you hope, with what heart you offer — both decide the entire value of your worship.
Putting Worship Into Practice With VAAZ
In the VAAZ app, the 99 Beautiful Names of Allah collection introduces Al-Ma'bud, Ash-Shakur, and Al-Wahid — names that teach to whom servitude is given, and the tawhid dimension inside our worship. The dua archive gathers the morning and evening dhikr, the tasbih that accompanies the five daily prayers, and the intentions of fasting and zakat.
Worship is not one prayer alone. It begins with prayer, continues in the fast, becomes social in zakat, and is completed in the Hajj. For a practical guide to the prayer at the centre of the five pillars, see Sermon on Salah; for the intimate tone of sincerity that worship requires, see Sermon on Ikhlas. Allah says: "And worship your Lord until certainty comes to you" (Al-Hijr 15:99). Worship is the purpose of creation, the peace of the heart, the elevator on which the believer rises. May Allah make us among those who taste the sweetness of His worship.
References
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Adh-Dhariyat 51:56-58.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Baqarah 2:21.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Hijr 15:99.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Ankabut 29:45.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Furqan 25:77.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Ash-Shu'ara 26:78-82.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Imran 3:144.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Ma'un 107:4-7.
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Jihad, hadith no. 2856 (the conversation with Mu'adh).
- Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Zuhd, hadith no. 2985 (Hadith Qudsi on riya).
- Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim (A'isha's narration on the Prophet's night vigil).
- Imam al-Ghazali, Ihya' Ulum al-Din, Kitab Asrar al-Salah.