Surely he is your open enemy...

Surely he is your open enemy, and that you should serve Me; this is the right path.” (36:60,61) The prophet Jesus (a.s.) also told the children of Israel: “Surely Allah is my Lord and your Lord, therefore serve Him, this is the right path.” (3:51) Worship does not necessarily mean special kinds of worshipping. Every action or even thought which is done for Allah's pleasure is considered as a worship. The worship in this broad sense is able to occupy all our life.

Our works or jobs, our speaking or listening, our eating or drinking and even our sleeping can be for His pleasure and can be helpful in our spiritual movement. We studied during our discussion about the goal of the creation that human beings are created to worship Him and that it is to their own benefits. We knew that there is a hierarchy of goals and we understood the place of worship, as one goal within the hierarchy.

If we want to worship Him and get close to Him, it is not enough to practice some prayers or fasting and the like. It changes all aspects of our being. First of all, we should know Allah and His religion. Secondly, we should obey those laws (act according those laws). Thirdly, we should make our characters and spiritual qualities as He pleases. Thus, there are three realms of improvement: creeds, deeds and virtues. What should we do in respect to our creeds?

According to Islam every person is asked to investigate religion. One should think, reflect, study and discuss religion. Some religious beliefs are necessary for all people, such as the main principles and some are not necessary for all people. So it is not necessary nor expected, that every person must know al the details about, say, the resurrection through personal investigation. To make an inquiry into religious beliefs one should first of all depend on one's reason.

After realising the truth of the religion or the Prophet (S) one can use the guidance of the Glorious Qur'an and traditions of the Prophet for further studies. Moreover the Prophet (S) has wanted all Muslims to refer to his household for understanding the real interpretation of the Glorious Qur'an and his pure tradition. The Prophet said: “I leave two precious things among you that by grasping them you will never go astray after me: the Divine book and my Household.

And they will never separate from each other until they come to me near the fountain (kawthar).