Who are we warned not to worship?
Who are we warned not to worship?
The Quran states that the human being is prone to worship any one, or all of the following:
1- Material possessions:
If the only thing you think of is money and how to make money, if your mind is primarily occupied with issues such as: 'how much will I make out of this deal?' and 'what will I gain out of this person?' etc, if everything in your life is assessed according to its material benefit, then it is said that you worship money. If your business or your property distracts you from worshipping God, then you worship your possessions.
a- The following parable in Sura 18, portrays the tale of the man who was so occupied with his garden to the extent of setting it up as his idol, arrogantly boasting about it to his friend, saying that it will never cease to yield its crop. Consequently, God wiped it out as a punishment and a lesson for his idol worship:
His fruits were totally ruined, so he started wringing his hands over what he had spent on it, as now it had fallen on its trellises, and said, "I wish I had not associated anyone with my Lord." 18:42
b- The story of Solomon and the horses that distracted him from worshipping God goes as follows:
When the thoroughbred horses were displayed before him in the evening, he said, "I loved the material things over the remembrance of my Lord until it disappeared behind a veil." 38:31-32
Solomon allowed material possessions to distract him from worshipping God. When he realised his error, the sun had already set causing him to miss his Salat! As a result, he repented. Realizing that nothing should have distracted him from worshipping God, he got rid of the horses.
c- Indeed the righteous in the sight of God are described in Sura 24:
Men who are not distracted by trade or sale from the remembrance of God. 24:37
2- Children and spouse:
The Quran warns strongly that our offspring and spouses are a 'Fetnah' (test) of our true Worship. Are we going to become totally wrapped up in them to the extent of being distracted from worshipping God? Consider the following verses:
a- .......when she got heavier, they implored God their Lord: "If You grant us a good one, we will be among the thankful." Then when He granted them a good one, they set up partners to Him in what He has given them. Exalted is God, far above whatever they associate with Him. 7:189-190
b- Your wealth and children are but a test, and with God lies a great reward. 64:15
3- One's own ego:
The Quran also warns against worshipping our own self. People with inflated egos are the ones most prone to such behaviour. They will idolize themselves and live in a permanent illusion of vanity:
a- Have you seen the one who has taken his personal desire as his god? Would you be his trustee? 25:43
b- The Quran states that to protect one's self against this danger we should always behave with modesty and humility. God does not like the conceited and egotistic:
God does not like the arrogant, boastful. 31:18
The close connection between worshipping God alone and being humble is also made evident in the following words:
Worship God and do not associate anything with Him ...... God does not like the ones who are arrogant and boastful. 4:36
c- A case of a whole people ending up worshipping themselves is narrated in the Quran in relation to the Jews. Their vanity and illusions of superiority deluded them into thinking that they were guaranteed God's mercy to the exclusion of all other people:
Say, "O you who are Jewish, if you claim that you are allies of God, to the exclusion of all other people, then long for death if you are truthful." 62:6
Equally, their vanity and egotism eluded them, proclaiming that Paradise was exclusively reserved for them!
Say, "If the Abode of the Hereafter is yours at God, to the exclusion of all other people, then long for death if you are truthful." 2:94
4- Objects:
Perhaps the more familiar example in this category is the worship of stone idols and statues. Sadly, many sects are guilty of such transgression. The Quran warns very strongly against any association with stone, altars or monuments (5:90). In the world today there are those who still worship such objects as statues, the sun, fire, or even certain animals. All these groups are committing great acts of idol worship. We know that shirk (associating others with God) is the only unforgivable sin (4:48).
5- The angels, messengers and saints:
There is a very thin line between idolization and worshipping. What would you call those who kiss the ground which the Pope walks on? Are they idolizing the Pope or are they in fact worshipping him? What do you call those who visit the shrines of 'Al-Hussein' or 'El-Sayeda Zeinab' (Muslim saints) and call on them to answer their prayers or to intercede on their behalf! The Quran states categorically that to call on anyone other than God is to commit idol worship. The Quran warns very specifically against idolizing or worshipping God's messengers, the saints or the angels:
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courtesy:quranislam.
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