As Muslims we have a great responsibility to demonstrate to the world the true God. We should be leading by example and demonstrating to others what a true believer is and through our example, it can then bring a positive change to those around us. We need to help the world believe in the One God.
In order to achieve that, mankind needs to understand who Allah, the One God, is and why we should worship Him. The Holy Qur’an has mentioned 99 attributes to help us to understand about the God that we should be worshipping.
For instance, in the Holy Qur’an, Chapter 59 verse 25, it relates:
He is Allah, the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner. His are the most beautiful names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is the Mighty, the Wise
Mankind needs to understand their true purpose in life. When I ask this question to people, they will try to determine their purpose, saying that they will do good, etc. but it is not for us to determine what our purpose really is.
We did not come into this world by our own will, likewise, nor we will depart from it by our choice. It is for the One God, who created us all, to inform us what our true purpose in life really is, why He in fact decided to create us. Hence why we have been informed in the Holy Qur’an, Chapter 51, verse 57:
I have created men, high and low, that they may worship Me
Man has been called upon to worship God, but not by compulsion, instead through our own choice. But why? Why does God want us to worship Him? Some people feel that it is some power-related thing, that God wants or needs people to worship Him. But this is not the case. Allah is Ghani – The Independent. He doesn’t need us, it is in fact, us that need to worship Him. As it is through the worship of Allah that we can suppress our low desires and protect ourselves from sin. Likewise, it is through the submission to Allah and striving to worship Him, that we can change our direction, cut off our ego and instead submit ourselves totally to Allah. Become so lost in our love and worship for Allah that we strive to please Him only and not please ourselves. This in turn develops our Taqwa – Righteousness and gives us a true direction in life – running after the pleasure of Allah. A direction which will continue in the next life. The more we follow the heavenly guidance and laws, the more we develop a goodness in ourselves, the more we get closer to Allah.
I am presently reading the book ‘Truth about the Crucifixion’ and Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) the Third Khalifa (successor) of the Promised Messiah, has beautifully explained this. He has said:-
Islam teaches that in order to find God, it is necessary for a person to discard all vice, and this can be achieved only through such recognition of God Almighty as fills the heart with the realisation of God Almighty as fills the heart with the realisation of God’s Majesty and Greatness, and instils His fear in the human soul. To win the love of God it is necessary to love Him to a degree that entails losing oneself altogether in Him, and gaining a new and pure life from Him.
When we look at the state of mankind today, why are they so lost, dismissing sin in a quest to achieve what they believe is happiness, running after the pleasures of the world, not caring about the consequences? It is all due to a lack of God realisation. But as the Third Khalifa of the Promised Messiah has said, it is when we develop this Taqwa (Righteousness) in our hearts and run after winning Allah’s love, fearing His displeasure, that we can keep away from sin and immorality and instead purify ourselves and find that true inner peace that we all desire.
The Third Khalifa (may Allah have mercy on him) continued to say:-
Man’s true love of God attracts the love of God and the true lover of God, who is wholly devoted to God, in turn becomes the beloved of God. Such true and perfect love cannot subsist along with wrath of God – the Anger and displeasure of God – and the fire of hell. One of the signs of such perfect love is that such a lover deems the disobedience of his Beloved, and His displeasure, a poison, and is all the time apprehensive lest, in consequence of any sin or disobedience on his part, his Beloved should cut asunder from him.
Here the Third Khalifa (may Allah have mercy on him) has highlighted the problem, that without developing a true love for God, then a person does not see any real harm in committing sin, whereas, a believer will look at it as a sort of poison, a great harm, which could lead to a person cutting themselves off from God completely and entering the state of hell.
The Third Khalifa (may Allah have mercy on him) and now the present Fifth Khalifa of the Promised Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, may Allah always be his Helper, have been constantly urging for mankind to turn to God – if not then they are heading for a 3rd World War. We are currently passing through a period of darkness, but this is why Allah sent the Promised Messiah – Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, (may peace be upon him) to produce strong believers in Allah, believers who remain steadfast in the path of Allah. To help bring mankind out of this darkness into Allah’s light.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad, (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had an intense love for Allah and lived a God-fearing life. So much so, that he was known by all the Arabs as As-Siddiq, (The Truthful One) and Al-Amen (The Trustworthy One). Allah was everything to him and whatever said or did, he did for Allah’s sake. Before doing anything, it had to be with Allah’s blessings. He was always in prayer, seeking the blessings of Allah. He stood so long in prayer, that his feet would swell. His beloved wife, Hazrat Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) upon seeing his condition, would become very anxious and she said to him:
God has honoured you with His Love and Nearness, why subject yourself to so much discomfort and inconvenience?
The Holy Prophet responded to her:
If God has, by His Grace and Mercy, conferred His love and Nearness to me, is it not my duty in return to be always rendering thanks to Him? Gratitude should increase in proportion to the favours received.
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah (may peace be upon him) has said:
The purpose of your creation is to worship God and to become His. The world should not be your sole objective. In whatever you do, always ask yourself whether God approves of such a deed. Man has been created to attain Divine knowledge and nearness and God has invested human nature with the desire to worship Him.
These days scientists are constantly trying to attack religion and prove that there is no God. Man in his weakness and desire to justify not having to follow God so that he may run after worldly things – jumps at such ideas and desires and quickly dismiss God, but this is not what God wants from us. He wants us to fulfil our purpose and strive to be good and develop our relationship with Him and in turn, with all mankind. Therefore, we should constantly help mankind to find the One God, through our own love and worship of God.
The more a believer ponders over the beautiful teachings of the Holy Qur’an and over God’s creation, the more easily they will be able to recognise God. But the best way to recognise God and develop a close, loving relationship with Him is through our prayers.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad, (May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has said:
Prayer is the highest form of Divine worship, it is a means of communication with our Lord.
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the fifth successor of the Promised Messiah, (may Allah always be his Helper) once said:
God granted the Promised Messiah a Jama’at (community) of believers whose purpose is to worship Him. Our prostrations and our worship should not be mere form and words, rather they should have the quality of drawing us nearer to God. Unless one’s heart first bows down in humility, physical prostrations cannot benefit anyone. One has to put one’s whole heart in prayers and prostrations
We should constantly remember Allah, whether we are standing, sitting or on our sides. That will help to develop ourselves into a higher spiritual being and attain paradise and true nearness to Allah. We should all thank Allah for all His wonderful blessings and keep bowing with full humility before Him.