Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: (It is You we worship and You we ask for help)
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Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: (It is You we worship and You we ask for help)]
Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: [Surat al-Fatihah: 5] The two clauses contain exclusivity,So the meaning of: (It is You we worship) means: we do not worship except You, and (and You we ask for help) means: we do not seek help except from You. The method of exclusivity is that the object is placed before the verb, whereas its proper position is after it. Whenever what is properly placed after is brought forward, it signifies exclusivity. This is in the Arabic language, as stated by the scholars of rhetoric and the scholars of grammar.
So what is the meaning of the worship that Allah spoke of: (It is You we worship) ?Worship: It is humbling oneself to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and submitting to Him, obeying His commands, avoiding His prohibitions, believing His news, magnifying Him, loving Him, and so on from the types of worship.Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Worship: a comprehensive name for everything that Allah loves and is pleased with, of words and deeds, both apparent and hidden.
So ritual purity is worship, prayer is worship, voluntary charity is worship, the obligatory alms is worship, fasting is worship, the major pilgrimage is worship, a vow is worship, and reliance upon Allah—which is absolute entrustment—is worship, and so on from the types of worship mentioned by the scholars. The worshipping person feels that he is a slave to his Master and his God.When He commands him, he says: We hear and we obey.
And part of the perfection of servitude: Love for the sake of Allah and hatred for the sake of Allah, for this is the strongest bond of faith: that you love for the sake of Allah and hate for the sake of Allah, and show loyalty for the sake of Allah and enmity for the sake of Allah. So whoever is among the righteous servants of Allah is your beloved in any place on earth, and in any time of the times, even those who believed in Moses from the Children of Israel, and those who believed in Jesus from the Children of Israel, are our beloveds and our brothers.
Do not think that the beloved or the brother is only one from this Ummah, but rather it is every Muslim in any time and any place, for he is our brother; because this is the requirement of worship. So love for the sake of Allah and hatred for the sake of Allah, and loyalty for the sake of Allah and enmity for the sake of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), this is part of the perfection of worship.
Part of the perfection of worship: That when Allah commands something, you say: We hear and we obey.Some people now, if I say: Allah commanded such-and-such, or the Messenger commanded such-and-such, and he says: Is the command for obligation or for recommendation? Glory be to Allah! Did the Companions inquire in this manner when Allah commanded them something or the Messenger commanded them something?They say: Is this for recommendation or for obligation? No.
Rather, they say: We hear and we obey. Yes, if a person falls into disobedience, then at that time this question is directed, saying: Is this for obligation and does it require a ransom payment or an expiation or something similar?When Allah and His Messenger prohibit something, he says: Is the prohibition for dislike or for prohibition?Glory be to Allah! When something is prohibited, say: We hear and we obey, and we avoid it.
And for this reason, no one can bring a single letter from the Companions that when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded them, they said: Are you commanding us by way of obligation or by way of recommendation?And when He prohibited them something, they said: Are you prohibiting us by way of prohibition or by way of disliking? Never. Yes, if something occurred that necessitated inquiry, they inquired.
Example: The case of Barirah (may Allah be pleased with her), for when she was freed and her husband was a slave,The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (You have the choice, if you wish to remain with him, and if you wish to annul the marriage, then annul the marriage.So she said: I choose myself and I annul the marriage, so she annulled the marriage) And her husband was Mughith, who loved her intensely, and she disliked him intensely. So he would walk behind her in the markets of Medina, asking her to return and to change her opinion, but she refused. So Mughith asked the Messenger of Allah to intercede for him, so he interceded for him, hoping he would return to her.She said: (O Messenger of Allah, are you commanding me? Then we hear and obey. Or is it a command you are suggesting to me, in which case I have no need for it.He said: Rather, it is a command I am suggesting to you.She said: I have no need for it) .
And likewise, if the context indicates that the command is not for obligation, such as the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah: (Sell me the camel for a uqiyah) So he bargained with him until the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) bought it from him. The point is that the scholars cannot say regarding the legal command: O Messenger of Allah, is the command for recommendation or for obligation.
So part of the perfection of worship is that when you hear the command of Allah and His Messenger, you do not hesitate,And do not say: whether it is for obligation or for recommendation,Rather, say: we hear and we obey, and do it, and you will be rewarded.Likewise, when you hear the prohibition, do not hesitate and do not say: Is it for prohibition so you avoid it as an obligation, or for dislike so you avoid it as a precaution?Rather, say: We hear and we obey, except if a person falls into disobedience,Then at that time he asks: is it obligatory or forbidden, in order to make up what he missed. The point is that part of the perfection of worship is complete obedience, by doing the commands and avoiding the prohibitions.
(And You we ask for help) the meaning of we ask for help,Meaning: we seek help from Allah.And seeking help occurs in two aspects: The first aspect: seeking help in worship.Meaning: That a person entrusts his affairs to Allah, and knows that he has no power over anything except with the help of Allah. This is only for Allah.
The second aspect: Seeking help in a matter that the helper is capable of, and the person does not see that he is entrusting his affairs to this one he seeks help from, but rather he sees it as a matter of assistance. So this is permissible.Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (And helping a man with his mount, carrying him on it, or lifting his luggage onto it, is charity) helping him, so it established the help of the created for the created.
(It is You we worship and You we ask for help) What is meant by seeking help here? The seeking help that is only suitable for Allah, or the one that is suitable for Allah and the created? The first is meant, the seeking help that contains absolute entrustment and that the one seeking help has no power over anything except with help. This seeking help is from Him, and this is only for Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said:
It is You we worship and You we ask for help.
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُSo what is the meaning of the worship that Allah spoke of: (It is You we worship) ?Worship: It is humbling oneself to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and submitting to Him, obeying His commands, avoiding His prohibitions, believing His news, magnifying Him, loving Him, and so on from the types of worship.Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Worship: a comprehensive name for everything that Allah loves and is pleased with, of words and deeds, both apparent and hidden.
So ritual purity is worship, prayer is worship, voluntary charity is worship, the obligatory alms is worship, fasting is worship, the major pilgrimage is worship, a vow is worship, and reliance upon Allah—which is absolute entrustment—is worship, and so on from the types of worship mentioned by the scholars. The worshipping person feels that he is a slave to his Master and his God.When He commands him, he says: We hear and we obey.
And part of the perfection of servitude: Love for the sake of Allah and hatred for the sake of Allah, for this is the strongest bond of faith: that you love for the sake of Allah and hate for the sake of Allah, and show loyalty for the sake of Allah and enmity for the sake of Allah. So whoever is among the righteous servants of Allah is your beloved in any place on earth, and in any time of the times, even those who believed in Moses from the Children of Israel, and those who believed in Jesus from the Children of Israel, are our beloveds and our brothers.
Do not think that the beloved or the brother is only one from this Ummah, but rather it is every Muslim in any time and any place, for he is our brother; because this is the requirement of worship. So love for the sake of Allah and hatred for the sake of Allah, and loyalty for the sake of Allah and enmity for the sake of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), this is part of the perfection of worship.
Part of the perfection of worship: That when Allah commands something, you say: We hear and we obey.Some people now, if I say: Allah commanded such-and-such, or the Messenger commanded such-and-such, and he says: Is the command for obligation or for recommendation? Glory be to Allah! Did the Companions inquire in this manner when Allah commanded them something or the Messenger commanded them something?They say: Is this for recommendation or for obligation? No.
Rather, they say: We hear and we obey. Yes, if a person falls into disobedience, then at that time this question is directed, saying: Is this for obligation and does it require a ransom payment or an expiation or something similar?When Allah and His Messenger prohibit something, he says: Is the prohibition for dislike or for prohibition?Glory be to Allah! When something is prohibited, say: We hear and we obey, and we avoid it.
And for this reason, no one can bring a single letter from the Companions that when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded them, they said: Are you commanding us by way of obligation or by way of recommendation?And when He prohibited them something, they said: Are you prohibiting us by way of prohibition or by way of disliking? Never. Yes, if something occurred that necessitated inquiry, they inquired.
Example: The case of Barirah (may Allah be pleased with her), for when she was freed and her husband was a slave,The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (You have the choice, if you wish to remain with him, and if you wish to annul the marriage, then annul the marriage.So she said: I choose myself and I annul the marriage, so she annulled the marriage) And her husband was Mughith, who loved her intensely, and she disliked him intensely. So he would walk behind her in the markets of Medina, asking her to return and to change her opinion, but she refused. So Mughith asked the Messenger of Allah to intercede for him, so he interceded for him, hoping he would return to her.She said: (O Messenger of Allah, are you commanding me? Then we hear and obey. Or is it a command you are suggesting to me, in which case I have no need for it.He said: Rather, it is a command I am suggesting to you.She said: I have no need for it) .
And likewise, if the context indicates that the command is not for obligation, such as the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah: (Sell me the camel for a uqiyah) So he bargained with him until the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) bought it from him. The point is that the scholars cannot say regarding the legal command: O Messenger of Allah, is the command for recommendation or for obligation.
So part of the perfection of worship is that when you hear the command of Allah and His Messenger, you do not hesitate,And do not say: whether it is for obligation or for recommendation,Rather, say: we hear and we obey, and do it, and you will be rewarded.Likewise, when you hear the prohibition, do not hesitate and do not say: Is it for prohibition so you avoid it as an obligation, or for dislike so you avoid it as a precaution?Rather, say: We hear and we obey, except if a person falls into disobedience,Then at that time he asks: is it obligatory or forbidden, in order to make up what he missed. The point is that part of the perfection of worship is complete obedience, by doing the commands and avoiding the prohibitions.
(And You we ask for help) the meaning of we ask for help,Meaning: we seek help from Allah.And seeking help occurs in two aspects: The first aspect: seeking help in worship.Meaning: That a person entrusts his affairs to Allah, and knows that he has no power over anything except with the help of Allah. This is only for Allah.
The second aspect: Seeking help in a matter that the helper is capable of, and the person does not see that he is entrusting his affairs to this one he seeks help from, but rather he sees it as a matter of assistance. So this is permissible.Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (And helping a man with his mount, carrying him on it, or lifting his luggage onto it, is charity) helping him, so it established the help of the created for the created.
(It is You we worship and You we ask for help) What is meant by seeking help here? The seeking help that is only suitable for Allah, or the one that is suitable for Allah and the created? The first is meant, the seeking help that contains absolute entrustment and that the one seeking help has no power over anything except with help. This seeking help is from Him, and this is only for Allah (Mighty and Majestic).