The First Duty – Personal
Submission
The following four Qur’anic terms
express the essence of personal submission in slightly different ways: Islam,
obedience (ita`ah), abstinence (taqwa) and worship (`ibadah).
1. Islam
Islam is the most basic of these four
terms. Literally it means to completely
surrender, to give up resistance, and unquestioningly obey Divine
commandments. The Qur’an requires of us that
we enter Islam wholly:
O ye who believe! Enter into Islam wholly (Al-Baqarah
2:208)
There is no such thing as partial
acceptance of Islam or partial obedience to God. It is unacceptable to obey certain commands
and disregard others. If one is not
prepared for an attitude of total submission then he/she must choose another
path. Islam represents a case of “take
it all or leave it all”. There cannot be
any compromise in this principle.
2. Obedience (ita`ah)
Obedience represents the spirit of Islam
from an enhanced perspective. While
Islam signifies surrender and giving up any resistance, obedience denotes one’s
willing submission in an active and positive sense. One’s resolve to observe the dictates of
faith willingly is branded as obedience. The Qur’anic position is:
“Obey Allah and obey the Messenger, but if you turn away, the duty of our
Messenger is only to convey clearly.” (At-Taghabun: 64:12)
What is stated in the definition of
Islam also lies at the core of obedience (ita`ah), which is the “all or
none” law. The Messenger, Prophet Muhammad (SAW), had the duty of conveying the Divine message, a duty that he
discharged in an exemplary fashion. If
one who has received the message turns away from it, he/she will be solely
responsible for this defiance and rebellion.
There is no room for partial obedience.
3. Abstinence (taqwa)
The term abstinence approaches the
concept of Islam from the opposite direction of `ita`ah. Whereas
obedience represents an active and positive response to the requirements of
Islam (submission), abstinence is its active but negative dimension. Implicit in the term are the following
connotations: Avoiding any disobedience
to divine commands, shunning any disobedience to God, entertaining the fear of
His displeasure and striving for avoiding His punishment. Taqwa is a
very comprehensive attitude and it is difficult to define this term in a single
expression. The Qur’an comprehensively
uses the term Taqwa in the following ayah:
O believers! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and
die not except in a state of Islam. (Al-i-‘Imran
3:102)
4. Worship (`ibadah)
This is perhaps the most comprehensive
term regarding personal submission. As a
term it might be defined as, “To surrender oneself completely out of love”.
The Qur'an declares that the very purpose
of the creation of human beings is to worship God, a point made in ayah
56 of Surah AzZariyat:
I have only created Jinns and men, that they may serve Me. (Az-Zariyat 51:56)
The Arabic word "`ibadah"
stands for both worshipping and praising, embracing the twin connotations of
obedience and love. A person’s
relationship with God is similar to the relationship between a master and his slave. A slave by definition submits his/her entire
life to the will of the master. The
distinction between a slave and a servant is crucial to understanding this
concept. A slave is at the master’s beck
and call twenty-four hours of the day, fulfilling every command, whereas a
servant is merely an employee who is there for part of the day and then free to
live as he/she desires. The former
serves the master all the time and constantly, while the latter merely fulfils
the terms of a mutually agreed upon contract.
If a servant has chosen to work as a clerk, he/she is not obliged to do
any other task unless there is an amendment to the contract and salary. Furthermore, a servant who is employed for
particular hours will be paid overtime salary if asked to stay longer, and has
the option of refusing to do so. The
Persian poet, Sheikh Sa'di, draws attention to this truth in his profound
couplet:
Life has come for slavery
Life devoid of slavery is shame
Let us be absolutely clear that God’s
servitude alone does not constitute worship.
It should be permeated by extreme love and devotion.
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