In the context of religion, any act\nthat brings about the satisfaction of Allah (SWT) and causes the nearness of\nthe salve towards Him is known as an act of worship. Are all the acts of\nworship similar in terms of their value?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The acts of worship are indisputable\nof different kinds. Some of the acts are joyful and pleasant in nature, besides\nthe fact that they can be acts of worship and obedience of Allah (SWT), such as\neating, sleeping, and performing marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some other acts are not desirable in\nnature or driven by the instinct, yet approved logically and common among wise\npeople, examples of which including seeking knowledge and helping the poor.\nSuch acts, when performed as an act of worship and done with the intention of\ngaining the satisfaction of Allah (SWT), can combine the two aspects of\nobedience (Divine approval) as well as wisdom (logic approval). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some other acts are not desirable in\nnature or driven by the instinct, yet approved logically and common among wise\npeople, examples of which including seeking knowledge and helping the poor.\nSuch acts, when performed as an act of worship and done with the intention of\ngaining the satisfaction of Allah (SWT), can combine the two aspects of\nobedience (Divine approval) as well as wisdom (logic approval).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These two types of acts are acts of\nworship; however, nobody can be absolutely certain that his intention for\nperforming such acts is only and only for the sake of Allah (SWT), or rather\nthe intention of obeying Allah (SWT) is overruled by his wisdom or desires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nevertheless, besides these two types\nof acts, sometimes Allah (SWT) orders His slaves to do acts which are neither\njoyful nor wisely beneficial; such acts are favorable neither by one\u2019s desires\nnor logic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A research in the history reveals that\nAllah (SWT) has sometimes prescribed such actions for specific nations. For\nexample, when the army of children of Israel, who were marching towards a\nbattle in the way of Allah (SWT) under the command of Saul (Talut), reached a\nriver, they were ordered not to drink from that river, even though they were\nextremely exhausted and thirsty(1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another example is a group of\nfishermen among the children of Israel who lived on a seashore. They were\nordered by Allah (SWT) to refrain from fishing on Saturdays. However, with the\norder of Allah (SWT), lots of fish used to appear near the surface every\nSaturday, yet disappeared until the next Saturday (2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We all know that the merciful Lord\n(SWT) does not want to put His slaves in difficulty, neither wished to deprive\nthem from his blessings. So what is His purpose for making such orders?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By examining the verses of the Holy\nQuran, it would become clear that the purpose of Allah (SWT) for such orders is\nto evaluate the obedience of mankind, and to reveal whether what they claim in\nterms of obedience of Allah on their tongues matches their action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone gets married and seeks\nknowledge; most of the people help the poor; however, as long as desires and\nfame are involved, it is not easy to distinguish between one who acts based on\ndesires from one who is truly submissive to Allah (SWT) and prefers His orders\nover any other benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When a test is difficult and\nconfusing, it provides the opportunity to increase the level of sincerity and\nsubmission and gain proximity towards the Lord through fighting the carnal\ndesires and controlling the worldly measures of logic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many years ago, the merciful Lord\n(SWT) put His two sincere servants, Abraham and Ishmael (PBUT), into an\nextremely difficult test. These tests are such that neither one\u2019s desires nor\nlogic is able to handle it. In these cases, it is only the love for the Creator\nand affection towards the Lord that can save one from slipping into the valley\nof destruction and rescue him from the trap of doubt and hesitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We Muslims revive the memory of that\nglorious incident, which was the manifestation of true submission and ultimate\nobedience, every year by the order of Allah (SWT); we commemorate the day which\nAllah (SWT) has declared as Eid(4), because a day on which the flag of the\nSatan is taken down and the flag of the Beneficent (SWT) is raised is worthy of\ncelebration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(The above is a\nselection taken from \u201cHajj, the plan for perfection\u201d, by Ayatullah Sayyid\nMuhammad Zia\u2019Abadi (with some additions))<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Roshd Website congratulates all\nMuslims and Monotheists, especially you dear friend, upon Eid al-Adha, the day\nof hoisting the flag of obedience on the base of humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
——————————————————————————————————-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1- \nThe Holy Quran (2, 249)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2- \nThe Holy Quran (7, 163)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3- \nThe issue of testing human beings is referred to in\nthe phrases \u201cAllah will test you\u201d and \u201cthus did We test them\u201d in these two\nverses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4- \nIn the prayer of Eid al-Adha, we recite:\u201d I ask You\nin the name of this day which You have ordained as a day of Eid for Muslims\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the context of religion, any act that brings about the satisfaction of Allah (SWT) and causes the nearness of the salve towards Him is known as an act of worship. Are all the acts of worship similar in terms of their value? The acts of worship are indisputable of different kinds. Some of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28431,28248],"tags":[25032,22506,17778,25031,24920,18894,18418,20457,19566,19683],"class_list":["post-4896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eid-al-adha","category-occasional-letters","tag-2011-11-07","tag-act","tag-allah","tag-distress-in-the-path-of-worship","tag-eid-qurban","tag-kind","tag-occasion-letters","tag-religion","tag-sleep","tag-value"],"yoast_head":"\n