Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Why does God ask people to worship him? Based on a paper by Muhammad al-Shinnawi. Questions about the rationale behind worshipping God are common. But these questions often involve incorrect assumptions about the nature of God and about what the benefits of worship are. Let's take a look at why the type of question itself is flawed. First, the divine is incomprehensible. It's impossible to critique what we don't understand. And as humans living on a tiny planet in a tiny corner of the universe, our understanding is inherently limited. Imagine if we were to demand that every person learn everything there is to know about the universe. It can't be done because there is too much we don't know and can't comprehend about infinity. Similarly, God is beyond comprehension. Even more so than the infinity of the universe, full of stars, dark matter, black holes and other mysteries we have yet to even discover. Second of all, the divine is not human. It's easy to read human impulses and needs into the actions of God, but God does not have human needs. And yes, anthropomorphizing the divine was and still is common in different religions. Think of the Greek pantheon of gods full of dramatic human desires. But the Islamic view is that God is inhuman and far above any base human desires or impulses. The final reason we can recognize the question as flawed is that the request is not one made out of any need. God wants for humans to achieve their utmost potential. And the act of worship itself is not just devotional, but beneficial and provides many positive outcomes for the people who engage in it. Imagine a doctor who asks a patient to open their mouth in order to provide medicine.
Does this benefit the doctor? Of course not. But they may request it open their mouth in order to per patient will benefit. These points address why the question of worshiping God is flawed. But it leads to another question. If worship is required for our benefit, then how exactly does it benefit us? The answer to this question relies on understanding certain principles that arise when we talk about worship. Only God is worthy of worship. If we understand that God is perfect beyond comprehension and has granted countless blessings to us, then recognizing the greatness of such a being becomes necessary and worship is an act of both recognition and acknowledgement to God is benevolent. God requests worship from us because it brings many benefits to our lives. Inner peace, self-actualization, a clear moral foundation, harmony within the universe, and more can arise all by simply recognizing and acknowledging the divine through worship. Three, God loves to hear from creation. Prayer is not just speaking empty words into the air, but a dialogue between worshippers and their Lord. God responds to those who seek him with mercy and affection. The responses God makes to specific actions in prayer are detailed in Quran and Hadith. For example, God says, If my worshipper remembers me in private, then I will remember him in private. If he comes to me walking, I will go to him running. Four, worship is also the perfect exam question. The purpose of life is to test our virtue, and worship in its various forms constitute exam questions.
Though exams always do involve a degree of difficulty, the tranquility and meaningful nature of worship is also its own reward. So, the question of why God asks for our prayers results from a faulty image of God, a God who asks out of need or who asks pointlessly without need. But the reason God wants to be worshipped by his creation is not out of some need for validation, but because he loves to see the benefit we achieve from it. The sublime nature of God negates the possibility of his asking for something without a deeper purpose. A verse of the Quran notes, And whomsoever is guided is guided only for the benefit of himself.
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