What are the benefits of worship in terms of individuals and the society?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Deeds of worship are conducive to the happiness of social life

A strong belief is necessary to fulfill the commands and to avoid the prohibitions of Allah. The maintenance and continuity of such belief is possible only through the continuation and repetition of worship.

A slave’s turning toward Allah makes it necessary for him to worship Allah and obey His commands. Obeying the commands of Allah makes the servant attain a perfect order.

For the perfection and progression of the society, an unshakable fraternity and a genuine love among the members of that society are necessary. Believers renew and strengthen the fraternity and love among them seriously and regularly through five daily prayers and duas to one another. What enables it is only worship.¹

Deeds of worship are conducive to a person’s perfection

Worship fills the spirit and heart of man with peace and joy, refreshing him. For example, the mind, the spirit and the heart attain great comfort in the worship of prayer. Worship causes the emergence, advancement and development of the abilities that are planted in the form of seeds in the human spirit. For example, deeds of worship such as fasting and zakah develops the feelings like patience, help, generosity, compassion and self-control, which exist in the human spirit.

Man distinguishes the good from the bad with worship, moves away from mistakes and is purified from sins thanks to it. For example, thanks to worship, man keeps away from sins like backbiting, gossiping and having bad thoughts about others.For example, five daily prayers purify man from minor sins committed between two prayers.

It is worship that makes man attain vision and perspective and puts his ideas into a certain order and system. Thanks to worship, the blessing of intellect given to man sees and evaluates the truth as the truth and the wrong as the wrong. Good judgment, which protects man from falling into heedlessness, is attained through worship.

It is worship that purifies man from the spiritual dirt and rust of all sins that he gets with his inner and outer feelings, that is, his eyes and ears from haram things and his mind from doubt and denial.²

Man’s duty is to improve his abilities with worshipping

The most important work of man in this world is to develop his abilities, which are his most valuable things. These abilities are like seeds in the soil. They can develop in both a useful and harmful way. Man’s duty is to cultivate and develop the beneficial ones through worship. For example, the feelings such as ambition, obstinacy, concern for the future, love and curiosity exist in the human spirit. These abilities can be used to gain the life of the world, temporary posts and wealth of the world, and fame; they can also be used in the services that enable man to gain the eternal bliss in the Hereafter through the high and eternal realities of belief and the principles of Islam. Worship increases the devotion of man to Allah.

In conclusion, deeds of worship are signs that show the degree of loyalty and respect of man to Allah. Thus, the more man obeys Allah’s commandments and prohibitions, the higher his acceptance will be in the presence of Allah; and, he will be a beloved servant. The highest rank for man is to be able to attain the love of God Almighty.

The criterion of loving Allah is to act in the way that Allah loves. The way that Allah loves is the deeds of worship that He informed us through His prophet, whom He sent as a guide to humanity. The forms and shapes of those deeds of worship are shown in the Sunnah of the Prophet. The Sunnah consists of the words, deeds and acts of the Prophet.

The spirit of worship is sincerity. Sincerity means doing something just because it is a command of Allah.

1.Nursi, B. S. İşârâtü’lİ’caz. p. 406.
2.Nursi, B.S. İşârâtü’lİ’caz. p. 408.

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