Categories Of People When It Comes To Worship

بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ، وبعد

🔥 When it comes to worship, people fall into one of these categories: 

1. Those who sincerely worship Allaah alone and nothing else: 

They worship Allaah the way Allaah wants to be worshiped. They worship Allaah upon the guidance and light from Allaah. They worship Allaah upon the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ. They are the ones who are upon Tawheed, as Allaah تعالى mentions: 

قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

{Say (O Muhammad): “Verily, my Salaah (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allaah, the Lord of the `Aalameen (mankind, jinns and all that exists).} 

📚 [Surah al-An`aam (6): 162] 

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2. Those who worship the Taaghoot (false gods): 

This is further divided into two categories:

⚡️A) The first category thinks that there are beings equal to Allaah in power and Majesty, and who can answer their prayers and remove their suffering. So, they worship Allaah and also worship others besides Him. As Allaah تعالى says: 

وَمَا يُؤْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُم بِاللَّهِ إِلَّا وَهُم مُّشْرِكُونَ

{And most of them believe not in Allaah except that they also attribute partners unto Him [i.e. they are Mushrikoon} 

📚 [Surah Yusuf (12): 106]

Allaah تعالى also says:

وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِن دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَىٰ

{And those who take protectors besides Him [say]: “We only worship them that they may bring us nearer to Allaah in position.”} 

📚 [Surah al-Zumar (39):3]

In Saheeh Muslim it is mentioned that Ibn `Abbaas رضي الله عنهما said: The idolaters used to say:

لَبَّيْكَ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَكَ

‘Labbaika laa Shareeka lak (Here we are (O Allaah!), You have no partner).’

The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ would say: ❝Woe to you, stop there, stop there (don’t say anything further).❞ But they would continue:

إِلاَّ شَرِيكًا هُوَ لَكَ تَمْلِكُهُ وَمَا مَلَكَ

‘Except a partner that You have, and You control him and all that he possesses.’ And they would say this as they circumambulated the Ka`bah. 
📚 [Saheeh Muslim (2671)]

They acknowledged that Allaah has no partner, but they still associated partners with Allaah while knowing that these are false gods.

The Mushriks (the pagans) of Makkah, the saint worshipers, and the grave worshipers (those who beseech the dead) fall into these category. 

⚡️B) Then there are those who worship everything other than Allaah.

وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَندَادًا يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ اللَّهِ

{And of mankind are some who take (for worship) others rather than Allaah, (taking them) as rivals (to Allaah). They love them as they (should) love Allaah.} 
📚 [Surah al-Baqarah (2): 165]

The Satanists and the Hindus are from this category. They will worship anything except Allaah and they will follow everything except the truth.

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3. Then there are those who worship their desires: 

Many people are misled into thinking that their freedom becomes restricted if they worship Allaah. They feel they have the freedom of choice and speech, and that they can do and say whatever they want. They believe that their freedom is in not worshiping Allaah or anything else. But what they don't realize is that the greatest freedom is in worshiping Allaah willingly, and that those who do not worship Allaah either end up worshiping Shaitaan or their own desires, there is no escape from this, as Allaah تعالى said:

أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَٰهَهُ هَوَاهُ وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ عِلْمٍ وَخَتَمَ عَلَىٰ سَمْعِهِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَجَعَلَ عَلَىٰ بَصَرِهِ غِشَاوَةً فَمَن يَهْدِيهِ مِن بَعْدِ اللَّهِ ۚ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ

{Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire, and Allaah has sent him astray due to knowledge and has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart and put over his vision a veil? So who will guide him after Allaah? Then will you not be reminded?} 
📚 [Surah al-Jaathiyah (45): 23]

And what a beautiful statement Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله had said:

هربوا من الرق الذي خلقوا لهُ

وبلوا برق النفس والشيطانِ

❝They fled from the servitude for which they were created...

So, they were plagued with the servitude of the self and Shaitaan.❞

📚[al-Nooniyyah (1/308)]

A person either becomes a slave of Allaah or he becomes a slave of Shaitaan or his own desires. These are the people who got misled after knowing the right from the wrong, the truth from the falsehood, the good from the bad, because they gave precedence to their desires and became its slave.

This group is further divided into three categories:

⚡️A) Those who deny the existence of Allaah and they are the atheist and those who tread their path. As Allaah تعالى says:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُلْحِدُونَ فِي آيَاتِنَا لَا يَخْفَوْنَ عَلَيْنَا ۗ أَفَمَن يُلْقَىٰ فِي النَّارِ خَيْرٌ أَم مَّن يَأْتِي آمِنًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ۚ اعْمَلُوا مَا شِئْتُمْ ۖ إِنَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ

{Verily, those who turn away from Our Aayaat (proofs, evidences, etc. by attacking, distorting and denying them), are not hidden from Us. Is he who is cast into the Fire better or he who comes secure on the Day of Resurrection? Do what you will. Verily! He is All-Seer of what you do (this is a severe threat to the disbelievers).} 
📚 [Surah Fussilat (41): 40]

⚡️B) Those who worship Allaah upon doubt. Such people lack in conviction in Allaah and His promise, and are not firm in their beliefs. Like the one with the enormous garden, as mentioned in Surah al-Kahf:

وَدَخَلَ جَنَّتَهُ وَهُوَ ظَالِمٌ لِّنَفْسِهِ قَالَ مَا أَظُنُّ أَن تَبِيدَ هَـٰذِهِ أَبَدًا * وَمَا أَظُنُّ السَّاعَةَ قَائِمَةً وَلَئِن رُّدِدتُّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّي لَأَجِدَنَّ خَيْرًا مِّنْهَا مُنقَلَبًا * قَالَ لَهُ صَاحِبُهُ وَهُوَ يُحَاوِرُهُ أَكَفَرْتَ بِالَّذِي خَلَقَكَ مِن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ ثُمَّ سَوَّاكَ رَجُلًا * لَّـٰكِنَّا هُوَ اللَّـهُ رَبِّي وَلَا أُشْرِكُ بِرَبِّي أَحَدًا

{And he went into his garden while in a state (of pride and disbelief) unjust to himself. He said: “I think not that this will ever perish. And I do not think the Hour will ever come, and if indeed I am brought back to my Lord, (on the Day of Resurrection), I surely shall find better than this when I return to Him.” His companion said to him, during the talk with him: “Do you disbelieve in Him Who created you out of dust (i.e. your father Aadam), then out of Nutfah (mixed semen drops of male and female discharge), then fashioned you into a man?  But as for my part (I believe) that He is Allaah, my Lord and none shall I associate as partner with my Lord.} 
📚 [Surah al-Kahf (18): 35-38]

⚡️C) Those who have abandoned the prayers. They are like criminals who do evil and yet expect to be rewarded, they are like those who expect grapes from the thorns. Just as grapes are not grown on thorns, so will the evildoers not reach the status of the righteous. As Allaah تعالى says:

أَفَنَجْعَلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ كَالْمُجْرِمِينَ *‏ مَا لَكُمْ كَيْفَ تَحْكُمُونَ

{Then shall We treat the Muslims like the criminals? What is (wrong) with you? How do you judge?}
📚 [Surah al-Qalm (68): 34-35]

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اللّهُـمَّ أَعِـنَّا عَلـى ذِكْـرِكَ وَشُكْـرِك ، وَحُسْـنِ عِبـادَتِـك

O Allaah, help us to remember You, to be grateful to You, and to worship You in an excellent manner!