Devotion to God

This facet of worship entails that one fulfill certain deeds which God has commanded in His religion, whether they deal with the inner self or the outer body, and whether they be obligatory or voluntary.  This facet of worship is not only limited to following His commandments, however, but it is also inclusive of leaving those things which He has forbidden.  Worship in this sense, maybe defined as anything believed, felt, or done as an act of obedience to God.

In this respect, worship may also be called servitude, as it is in essence living one’s life in complete servitude to God, doing what He commands, and avoiding what he forbids, 

as a slave lives within the will of his master. 

In essence all creations are slaves of God, whether they like it or not, for they are all subject to the laws He has placed within His creation:

“There is none in the heavens and the earth but comes unto the Most Beneficent (God) as an obedient slave.” (Quran 19:93)

“To Him submitted all creatures in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly.” (Quran 3:83)

But worship differs from servitude in that it must be coupled with love, awe and reverence.  No act of obedience is regarded as worship unless it is coupled these feelings; one must love the action and love, hold in awe and have reverence for the One the action is being performed.

For this reason, in discussing this topic, it must be emphasized that worship is a right with is solely for God.  Islam adheres to the strictest form of monotheism and does not tolerate that any act of worship be directed towards other than God.  It is God alone who demands our obedience, and it is God alone who deserves our love.  Any veneration of other deities besides God, whether they be demigods, prophets, angels, saints or martyrs, or their relics, statues or pictures, is considered as a breach in this monotheism, and a person is rendered out of the fold of Islam if committed.  Even though one may justify that they venerate saints due to their service to God, or their relics as a remembrance of them, Islam does not differentiate between direct and indirect, or subordinate and superior worship.  All worship and acts of veneration, homage and obedience must be offered for God alone.