Explaining the correct meaning of worship.

The Shaykh : Here I must pause briefly; and that is regarding the meaning of worship. Many Muslims in this age do not understand worship; that is, the kind that if a Muslim directs it to other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic), he commits disbelief, except if he prays to other than Allah. This is how many people understand it today, whereas worship has a very, very broad meaning in Islam. Among the acts of worship is supplication: , ; that is, from my supplication. So supplication is worship. Therefore, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said before this verse: .
On this occasion, I remind you, for the reminder benefits the believers. The narration you read in some books and hear from some teachers with the wording: "Supplication is the marrow of worship"—this wording is weak. As for the correct wording: , this is more authentic in terms of narration and understanding. As for narration, this is a matter specific to the people of knowledge; that is, the chain of this narration: its chain is authentic. As for the other narration: "Supplication is the marrow of worship," its chain is weak; because in it is a man whose name is known to the people of knowledge as "Abdullah ibn Lahi'ah." He is a noble man, but he had poor memory; therefore, the scholars do not rely on his hadith when he is alone in narrating it, and even more so when he contradicts others. Here he contradicted them; because the trustworthy narrators narrated the hadith with the wording: , and he contradicted them by saying: "Supplication is the marrow of worship." This is from the perspective of narration.
From the perspective of understanding, the authentic hadith is more eloquent in explaining the status of supplication with Allah (Mighty and Majestic) than the weak narration that says: "Supplication is the marrow of worship." Why? Because the weak hadith gives us something indefinite, something that is most strongly rejected in this age. Many people have been influenced by this division, even among those who claim to call people to Islam. You find them in their sermons ruminating around dividing Islam or the Shari'ah into two parts: the core and the shell. Dividing the Shari'ah into core and shell, and they build upon that: "We do not want to focus on the shells now; we must focus on what? The core." This hadith is among the things that indicate, despite its weakness and rejection, that it made supplication the marrow of worship. And the meaning of that, as the jurists say, is that the concept of the hadith is clear in its explicit text: that the core of the Shari'ah and worship is supplication. What is its shell? Its shell is prayer, fasting, and the like. So this weak hadith makes the Shari'ah two parts: core and shell. And when the listener hears this, especially one who has no knowledge, as long as there is a core and a shell, "What do we want with the shell? We take the core and leave the shells." And this is what we hear from many people. If you say to him, for example: "My brother, do not let your garment hang below the ankles; for this is contrary to the Sunnah, indeed contrary to what the Messenger ordered." He will say to you: "These are formal matters with no value; rather, the point is what is in the heart." This is wrong. Dividing Islam into a core and a shell is wrong in style and expression, and its origin is this weak hadith: "Supplication is the marrow of worship." This is not authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Rather, the authentic one is: . This is an interjected sentence because we live in a time that compels us to include some sentences in order to alert and awaken people from their heedlessness.
We return to the authentic hadith, which is his saying (peace be upon him): ; meaning, on the pattern of his saying (peace be upon him): . This is a great Arabic style; because restricting something to worship means that this worship is something great, very great. As if Hajj is restricted to what? Standing at 'Arafah. As if worship is restricted to what? Supplicating to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) alone, with no partner. Therefore, when the Messenger (peace be upon him) uttered this authentic hadith: , he followed it with His saying (the Exalted): . Is there anyone who is too proud to supplicate to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) alone, with no partner? This used to be the case in the time before the message of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him); that is, the polytheists used to call upon Allah. And are there among the Muslims today those who supplicate to other than Allah? Unfortunately, tell and there is no harm. With the great difference—let me not miss the point—with the great difference between those polytheists, for they were polytheists disbelievers in the religion of Islam. As for these, they are Muslims like us who pray and fast, but they have not understood, unfortunately, the meaning of the word of tawhid (the oneness of Allah); the good word: "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no deity but Allah); because it means there is no worshipped entity with truth in existence except Allah. And if we know that supplication is worship, we thereby know that every Muslim who directs supplication to other than Allah has worshipped that other entity besides Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). And this is a great calamity in which many of the worshippers among the righteous have fallen. I am not speaking of the open sinners and criminals who do not fast or pray, but rather I am speaking of the righteous who may stand in night prayer while people are sleeping, and fast during the day while people are breaking their fast; meaning, they are among the worshipping righteous people. But they—unfortunately—have not yet understood the tawhid by which a person is saved on the Day of Resurrection from eternal abode in the Fire. This word is the good word about which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith: .