The Quran states...

The Quran states: and whoever does not judge by what Allah revealed, those are they that are the unbelievers. 5:44. Also, And whoever does not judge by what Allah revealed, those are they that are the transgressors. Elsewhere: And whoever does not judge by what Allah revealed, those are they that are the unjust.

5:45 Unity in Worship The most significant issue in regard to the unity in worship deals with what worship signifies, for all Muslims unanimously agree that worship is solely due to Allah, and no one else should be invoked. The Glorious Quran states: Thee do we serve and Thee do we beseech for help. 1:4.

The Holy Quran declares that worshipping Allah has been a general principle that all prophets and Divine Emissaries have been missioned to invited people to: And certainly We raised in every nation an apostle saying: Serve Allah and shun the Shaitan. 16:40. It is thus an undoubted principle that all worship is due to Allah and no one else should be worshipped. No one is considered a monotheist unless he accepts this principle.

The basic question concerns the criteria to distinguish worship from non-worship. Does the kissing of the hand of, say, the teacher, the parents, the learned or bowing in respect before those to who we are indebted mean worshipping thema There is in fact a certain element which, if not actualized, renders no respect whatsoever into worship, even though it is to the extent of prostration. We will now examine the element that changes respect into worship; this is a very important discussion.

Worship, Misinterpreted A number of authors have taken worship as equal to humbleness, whether usual or excessive in form. These people have failed to grasp the meaning in a chain of the Quranic verses such as: And We said to the angels, Bow y ourselves to Adam, 2:24. This was an action similar in manner to the way the angels had bowed themselves before God; the former a representation of humbleness, and the latter a sign of worshipping, a prostration similar in form but different in essence.

Elsewhere, the Quran states: And he lifted his father and mother upon the throne; and the others fell down, prostrating before him. See, father, he said, this is the interpretation of my vision of long ago, my Lord has made it true. 12:100. This refers back to Prophet Josephs past vision: eleven stars, the sun and the moon bowing before him, as mentioned in the Quran: I saw eleven stars and the sun and the moon bowing down before me. 12:4.