Thus do we derive the conclusion that the unseen in worship...

Thus do we derive the conclusion that the unseen in worship is strongly linked to its educating role in attaching the individual to his Lord, deepening his relationship with his Lord. When we observe the different Islamic rites, we find in them an element of inclusion of all different aspects of life.

Rites have never been limited to specific norms of rituals, nor have they been restricted to only needs which embody the manner of glorifying God, the Praised, the High, like bowing, prostrating, praying and invoking; rather, they have been extended to include all sectors of human activity. Jihad, for example, is a rite. It is a social activity. Zakat is a rite. It, too, is a social activity, a financial one. Fasting is a rite. It is a nutritious system.

Both ablution and Ghusu1 (ceremonial washing) are norms of worship. They are two ways of cleaning the body. This inclusion of worship expresses a general trend of Islamic upbringing aiming at linking man, in all his deeds and activities, with Almighty God, converting each useful deed to worship, no matter what field or type.

In order to find a fixed basis for this trend, fixed rites were distributed to the different fields of human activity, preparing man to train himself on pouring the spirit of worship over all his good activities, and the spirit of the mosque over all places of his works: in the field, the factory, the shop or the office, as long as his deed is a good one, for the sake of God, the Glorified, the High.

In this respect, Islamic jurisprudence differs from two other religious trends, one: a trend to separate worship from life; and the other: a trend to limit life to a narrow frame of worship as do monks and mystics. As for the first trend, it separates worship from life, leaving worship to be conducted at places made especially for it.

It requires man to be present in these places in order to pay God His dues and worship Him, so much so that when he gets out of them to different fields of life, he bids worship farewell, giving himself up to the affairs of his life until he goes back again to those holy places. From here came Islamic jurisprudence to distribute the rites on the different fields of life, urging the practice of ritual rites in each good deed.