Why does Allah threaten those who abandon worshipping to send to Hell?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Worshipping means a slave fulfilling his duties like takbir, hamd and shukr toward Allah in the way that He orders. Man has to fulfill his duty of hamd (praising) and shukr (thanking) toward Allah Almighty in ultimate humbleness and modesty thinking that he is fed by His endless grants, treats and boons. This can be done only through worshipping.

A person who worships in this world guesthouse sits, stands up, eats, drinks and does all of his deeds and acts according to His commands. He lives as the slave of Allah, not anyone else. This servitude makes him attain the true humanity honor, dignity and innocence. Besides, the purpose of the creation of people is to attain this honor through worshipping. As a matter of fact, Allah Almighty states the following in the chapter of adh-Dhariyat:

“I have only created jinn and men, that they may serve Me.” (adh-Dhariyat, 51/56)

He states the following in another verse:

“O ye people! Adore your Guardian-Lord, who created you and those who came before you, that ye may have the chance to learn righteousness. Who has made the earth your couch, and the heavens your canopy; and sent down rain from the heavens; and brought forth therewith fruits for your sustenance; then set not up rivals unto Allah when ye know (the truth).” (al-Baqara, 2/21-22)

Yes, Allah Almighty created the skies with the sun and stars, the earth with the sea and the land in a perfect way. And He extracted man from the magnificent tree of the universe with the delicate measure of His knowledge through so many fine sieves as the most perfect fruit. He made that little man an extract of this magnificent universe.

He placed faculties each of which is more precious than the universe into the spirit of man.  He gave man eyes that could see all kinds of beauties, a tongue that could enjoy the different flavors of the foods, and a mind that would transform the perceptions and pleasures he would obtain with these feelings into knowledge and wisdom. And He gave man conscience that could appreciate the boons sent to him in order to help him and the material and spiritual gifts that placed in his body.

He also placed a heart that could respond to these endless grants and boons with endless love into man's chest. 

With the mind given to him as a gift, man understands that he was not created only for this world and that he cannot be without a duty and purpose. He knows with his conscience that he should see his Lord in return for these eternal grants bestowed on him and that he should praise and thank him.

He devotes his worshipping to Allah alone. He does not associate partners with Him. Allah's love in the heart of man becomes manifest, develops and strengthens only by worshipping.

And he loves only Allah with his heart; he loves all the creatures that are worthy of love for Him too. Suppose that man is not held responsible for worshipping by the religion; his mind, heart and conscience will order him to worship and obey Allah. For, only worshipping satisfies them.

It is clear that Allah, who is the Absolute Rich, who does not need anything, does not need our worshipping. On the contrary, we are in need of worshipping.

In the Gathering Place on that horrible day of Reckoning, where we will go willy nilly, Allah Almighty will address people as follows:

"O my slaves! I created you out of nothing. I turned toward you with all my boons in the universe in order to meet your endless needs. I fulfilled all of your needs in time. I was with you in the world with My mercy and grace. Who were you with then? Who did you thank and worship by forgetting me though I deserve thanking and worshipping? "

How will we answer then? Will the spiritual torment in that sacred presence originating from shame and bashfulness be more dreadful than Hell torture? The strong feeling of shame that make unbelievers say “We wish we were earth” is probably this.

Yes, man cannot be without worshipping; similarly, Islam without worshipping cannot be imagined. Let us explain this reality with an example: Think of a Muslim village. No adhan is called in this village. No one performs any prayers - neither eid, nor Friday, nor daily prayers. Nobody performs fasting, gives zakah, or go to hajj. Those who live in that village do not read the Quran, do not care about haram-halal, and do not know what fard and wajib is. They do not have love and fear of Allah in their hearts. Nobody thinks of praising and thanking Him for His boons and blessings.

Will the people of such a village not be in a position that is contrary to the widest path that the Quran opened, the lifestyle of the Prophet (pbuh), all of the Companions, saints, righteous people, mujtahids, mujaddids, tafsir and hadith scholars, and finally all of the worshippers, good and pious people?

Yes, Islam is not just a theoretical system and a system based on conscience. In many verses of the Quran, the concept of righteous deeds is used immediately after belief, and it is taught that righteous deeds are a result of belief.

We will finish our explanations about worshipping with the following nice expressions in İşarâtü’l-İ'caz, a tafsir book written by Badiuzzaman Said Nursi:

“...As for worship, it expands his spirit and raises his value; it causes his abilities to unfold and develop, allowing him to become worthy of eternal happiness. Worship is also a means of rectifying and purifying his inclinations, and of realizing his hopes and making them fruitful, and of marshalling his ideas and setting them in order, and also of reining in and limiting his three powers of appetite, anger, and intellect. Worship also removes the rust of nature from his members, physical and spiritual, each of which when transparent is like a window onto his private world and that of humankind. Also when performed with both conscience and mind and heart and body, worship raises man to the dignity of which he is worthy and to his appointed perfection. It is a subtle, elevated relation, an illustrious lofty connection between the bondsman and the One Worshipped. This relation constitutes the utmost degree of human perfection.”

Yes, the wisdom behind sending prophets is to teach people the principles of belief and pillars of Islam. That is, to place belief in Allah and all of the other truths of belief into their hearts and to teach them fully the duties of worshipping that will perfect their belief. Man's belief matures only with worshipping. The value of a slave in the eye of Allah is based on the sensitivity and care he will show in the duty of worshipping Him.

If belief without worshipping is likened to a fruit tree, worshipping is the causes that develop it and make it a fruitful tree. If one is like the sun, the other is like the air; if one is like the soil, the other is like the water.

No believer, including prophets and saints, has been excluded from this responsibility of worshipping. No personal virtue and maturity can replace fard worshipping.

The punishment of a person who does not fulfill such a lofty deed will definitely be Hell.

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