Ana Muslim

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Allaah (SWT) commanded :

And I (Allaah) did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me (alone).

[ Surat Adz-Dzariyaat (The Winnowing Winds), 51:56 ]

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The meaning of this ayat (51:56) is that,

Allah the Exalted, the Blessed created the creatures so that they worship Him Alone without partners. Those who obey Him will be rewarded with the best rewards, while those who disobey Him will receive the worst punishment from Him. Allah stated that He does not need creatures, but rather, they are in need of Him in all conditions. He is alone their Creator and Provider.

And I (Allaah) did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me (alone).

meaning, “I, Allah, only created them so that I order them to worship Me, not that I need them.“

Ali bin Abi Talhah (RA) reported that Ibn Abbas (RA) commented on the ayat (…except that they should worship Me).

meaning, “So that they worship Me, willingly or unwillingly.”

Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah (RA) said that Allaah’s Messenger (SAW) said,

Allah the Exalted said,

O Son of Adam ! Busy yourself in worshipping Me, and I will fill your chest with riches and dissipate your meekness. Otherwise, I will fill your chest with distracting affairs and will not do away with your meekness.

At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah collected this Hadith and At-Tirmidhi said, “Hasan Gharib”.

[ Source : Tafsir Ibn Katheer ]

Those were the famous saying of Socrates (circa 470-399 BC), the greatest of Greek philosophers. Today, those words still adorns the temple at Delphi in Athens.

His predecessors, namely, Thales, Heraclitus, Permendes, Zeno, Phythagoras, etc. were themselves interested in knowing the nature and characteristics of matter. The search for laws of the material world and its things was their subject.

Socrates drew attention to man, instead of the trees, stones, the sky and stars. He argued that man should know himself, the purpose of his creation, and the faculties with which he has been endowed with to determined his role in this world. [1]

1000 years later, Muhammad SAW was prophesised as the last messenger. Islam came to shine the light of truth to mankind. Along came the answer to Socrates’s question.

Allah commanded :

And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone).
[Al-Qur'an 51:56]

Ali ibn Abi Talhah reported that Ibn Abbas commented on the verse, “So that they worship Me, willingly or unwillingly.” [2]

So in essence, all of mankind are to worship Allah SWT without any exception. But once men are born into this world, the shaitaan (devil) have managed to deceive some to take them astray.

Abu Farhan

Footnotes

1. Man’s Place in the Universe by Amin Ahsan Islahi (Translated by : Saeem Ahmad)
2. Tafsir Ibn Kathir