Allah the Exalted said: << وإبراهيم إذقال لقومه اعبدوا الله واتقوه ذلكم خير لكم إن كنتم تعلمون >

It is the object of a deleted verb, estimated to be The benefit of deleting the operator is brevity and indicating emphasis on the object. Here, was deleted for brevity and emphasis on the object, which is Ibrahim, so that he would be mentioned first. Ibrahim (peace and blessings be upon him) is known to all of us as the second of the resolute prophets among the messengers. And who is the first? Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), then Ibrahim, then Musa, then Nuh and Isa. They differed as to which of them is better, and it is preferable to say that each of them has a distinct merit. As for the three—Muhammad, then Ibrahim, then Musa—their order is agreed upon. Allah the Exalted tested him with two matters: one in calling to Allah, and the other in his most beloved possession. As for the calling to Allah, Allah tested him by unleashing his people upon him to burn him, and the result was that Allah saved him from the fire and said to the fire: "Be coolness and peace upon Ibrahim." As for the second matter, it was in his most precious possession, which was his son. When he reached the age of exertion with him, and he was his only one and his first child, which is Isma'il according to the correct opinion, Allah the Exalted tested him by commanding him to slaughter him. He commanded him to slaughter him himself, and he submitted and agreed... and he submitted to this command. The story is well known, and Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, saved him from it when He said to him: [Al-Saffat: 106]. He was named Khalil (Intimate Friend) because Allah took him as His intimate friend due to this command, where he preferred the love of Allah the Exalted over the most beloved thing to him [thus, and he intends the opposite]. We have previously pointed out that some ignorant people in reality describe the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as the Beloved of Allah and Ibrahim as the Intimate Friend of Allah, and this is an error. For Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is also the Intimate Friend of Allah, as established regarding him. And whoever says that Muhammad is the Beloved and Ibrahim is the Intimate Friend has belittled the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), because the degree of love is lower than the degree of intimate friendship. This is a circumstantial phrase, and it is in the position of the accusative as a state, meaning the state of him being one who said to his people. And his saying: Who are the people? The people are the group to which a person is related by lineage or by a goal. Everyone to whom a person is related by lineage are his people, or by a goal, such that their claim is one and their path is one, they are also called people. And the meaning of "his people" here is those to whom he is related by kinship. The author said: "Fear His punishment" The origin of worship is taken from humiliation, and from this is their saying "a paved road," meaning a humbled road, because the slave humbles himself to his Lord. So worship is, therefore, the humiliation to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, by doing His commands and avoiding His prohibitions. And the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah defined it as "a comprehensive name for everything that Allah loves and is pleased with, from the apparent and hidden words and deeds" This is a definition for it in reality, considering the field of worship. As for its origin, it is humiliation, because this is what it necessitates in language, that a person humbles himself to Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, by his obedience, doing the commands and leaving the prohibitions. Know that worship is divided into two categories:
First: Submission to the cosmic command, and this is general for everyone, as in His saying, the Exalted: [Maryam: 93]. Everyone in the heavens and the earth, from believer and disbeliever, righteous and sinner, all of them come to Allah the Exalted in this description . And is His saying, the Exalted, part of that?
The student: If we say the exception is connected, then it is from it. And if we say it is disconnected, then it is not from it.

The Shaykh : Right? Do you understand, everyone? We mentioned that servitude is divided into two categories: the general, which is submission to the cosmic decree, and no one is excluded from this; all people, all of creation, are subject to Allah's cosmic decree, are they not? Can anyone lift illness or death from themselves? No. An example of this is His saying, the Exalted: . Is this included in His saying, the Exalted: , addressing Iblis: ? The answer, as Muhammad said: If we make the exception connected, then the intended meaning of servitude is the general; and if we make it disconnected, then the intended meaning of servitude is the specific.
Specific servitude: It is the humiliation to the legal command, the humiliation to Allah's legal command. And from this is His saying, the Exalted: [Al-Furqan: 63]. These people humbled themselves with what? With the legal command. Here in the noble verse, Ibrahim said: Which of the two commands does he mean?
The student: The legal one.

The Shaykh : The worship of Allah by legal worship. And his saying: is a conjunction to his saying: And the conjunction, as it is said, necessitates difference. And we mentioned that worship is the humiliation to Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, by obedience, and taqwa (mindfulness of Allah) is taking protection from His punishment by His obedience. This taqwa, its origin is from protection, so a person protects himself from Allah's punishment by His obedience. With these two interpretations, the conjunction of taqwa to worship is from the category of conjoining a thing to itself, and it is known that the eloquence of the Qur'an rejects that, meaning it rejects that a thing be conjoined to itself, because that is from the category of repetition. Yes, so what is the difference by which the conjunction becomes necessitating difference? Do you understand with me this? Meaning, if we say taqwa is taking protection from Allah's punishment by His obedience, and worship is the humiliation to Allah the Exalted by His obedience, their meaning becomes one, and the conjunction necessitates difference. So how can we interpret worship with a meaning that differs from the meaning of taqwa? We say: This answer to this is from one of two aspects: Either it is meant by worship here in this verse, by worship, doing the commands, and by taqwa, leaving the prohibitions, meaning that you protect yourself from sins and you do the acts of obedience. And this aspect, meaning that if the two words, each one includes the meaning of the other when separate, and differs from it when together, this has many examples, like the poor and the needy, they are one thing when separate and differ when together. Righteousness and taqwa are one thing when separate and two things when together. Here we say worship and taqwa are one thing when separate, and when together, worship is interpreted with what? With doing the commands, and taqwa with avoiding the prohibitions. This is one. Or we say the second aspect: That it is meant by worship, absolute commitment and humiliation, and taqwa is meant by protecting oneself from a specific deed, because not everyone who performs absolute worship performs taqwa. Many of the Muslims now worship Allah, but do they protect themselves from Him in everything? They do many things. This fasting we have now, we fast, but does the fasting person protect himself from Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in everything such that he leaves lying, backbiting, cursing, the forbidden, and speaking falsehood and acting upon it? The answer: Not every fasting person is like this. And with this, we say the meaning of worship is absolute commitment and humiliation, and by taqwa, that a person protects himself from his Lord in every individual or in every type of the types of sins and their individuals. The author says: "Fear His punishment" And if the author had interpreted the verse in what matches the wording, it would have been more appropriate if he said it would have been more appropriate, from what you are upon of worship of idols." He said: The referred to is worship and taqwa