“O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous. [He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know.”
The first thing to note is that Islam, unlike many other religions, is a religion for all people, irrespective of their gender, ethnicity or any other worldly barrier which separates people from one another. The thing which makes one superior to another is then mentioned in these verses: the sincere obedience of Allah, the Exalted, which involves using the blessings one has been granted in ways pleasing to Him, as outlined in the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 21:
“O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you…”
And chapter 49 Al Hujurat, verse 13:
“O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allāh is the most righteous of you…”
As the Creator of all is One, it means all are equal in His sight and no one has superiority over another except in how much they sincerely obey Him.
The worship of Allah, the Exalted, the Creator of all things, does not only include a few daily, monthly and annual rituals. It in fact, involves sincerely obeying Him in every situation and how one uses every blessing they have been granted, those which are internal, such as one’s health, and those blessings which are external, such as one’s wealth and time. One of the greatest weapons of the Devil is to separate these two things so that a muslim is fooled into believing worshipping Allah, the Exalted, only involves some rituals and Allah, the Exalted, does not care about what one does in their day to day activities or how they use the blessings they have been granted.
The fact that Allah, the Exalted, created and continuously provides people with countless blessings, is enough of a reason to sincerely obey Him. A person should never become the slave of another person, a person who is a creation just like them. This can occur when one obeys another person in the disobedience of Allah, the Exalted. Nor should one become a slave to the worldly inventions of people, such as social media, fashion and culture. This can occur when one prioritizes following these things over sincerely obeying Allah, the Exalted. As all people are equal, one should only submit to and obey their Creator: Allah, the Exalted. The one who takes multiple lords will lead a stressed and difficult life, just like the employee who answers to multiple supervisors. Whereas, the one who only obeys Allah, the Exalted, will obtain a relaxed and easy-going life, as Allah, the Exalted, does not demand things which a person cannot bear and everything He commands benefits none but the person themself. Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 286:
“Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity…”
And chapter 39 Az Zumar, verse 29:
“Allāh presents an example: a man [i.e., slave] owned by quarreling partners and another belonging exclusively to one man – are they equal in comparison? Praise be to Allāh! But most of them do not know.”
When one submits solely to Allah, the Exalted, and obeys Him, which involves using the blessings they have been granted in ways pleasing to Him, as outlined in the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, they will adopt the path of righteousness which leads to peace of mind and success in both worlds. Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 21:
“O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous.”
And chapter 16 An Nahl, verse 97:
“Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer – We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do.”
The past people are mentioned in the main verses, so that one is encouraged to observe the people that came before them, the choices they made, meaning, whether to sincerely obey Allah, the Exalted, or not, and the consequences of their choices. This alone is enough for one to understand that wellbeing, peace and success in both worlds lie only in adopting righteousness which involves sincerely obeying Allah, the Exalted. Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 21:
“O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous.”
Mentioning the past people coupled with the command to sincerely obey Allah, the Exalted, also reminds people not to adopt wishful thinking. This can occur when one relies on the piety of their righteous ancestor hoping they will somehow same them on Judgement Day. By commanding all people to sincerely obey Him, Allah, the Exalted, has eliminated this false and misguided belief. Each person will be held accountable for their actions and must therefore strive to sincerely obey Allah, the Exalted, so that they too adopt righteousness like their righteous ancestors. Chapter 53 An Najm, verse 39:
“And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives.”
As advised in a Hadith found in Jami At Tirmidhi, number 2451, a muslim cannot become righteous unless they avoid something which is lawful out of fear it may take them to something which is unlawful. This Hadith is enough to eliminate the foolish attitude that as long as something is lawful one can and should do it. It is important to understand that just because one is allowed to do a particular action, does not mean they should do it. For example, over eating is not considered a sin in Islam, yet a wise person will not over eat as it leads to many health problems. The vast majority of sins people commit begin from lawful actions. For example, backbiting and slandering others often results from vain speech, speech which is lawful in Islam. People often fall into a life of crime when they befriend certain people. Befriending these types of people is not a sin, yet it can lead to many. It is easy for a person to waste their blessings, such as their wealth, when they utilize them on lawful yet unnecessary things. The examples of how a lawful thing can lead to unlawful things are virtually endless. Therefore, muslims must avoid this trap by adhering to fulfilling their necessities and responsibilities as much as possible. This will ensure they minimize interacting with the lawful things which could potentially take them to unlawful things.
Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 22:
“[He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you…”
When one observes the perfect balanced systems within the Heavens and the Earth, such as the perfect distance the Sun is from the Earth, the water cycle which ensures the creation obtains palatable water and water needed for growing crops, the perfect density of the oceans and seas, so that ships can sail on top of them while sea life thrives within them, the perfect structure of the Earth, whereby buildings can be built on top of it while weak crops and plants can burst out from within it, and many more systems, they will realize that these perfectly balanced systems cannot occur randomly. Nor can multiple Gods exist, as each one would desire something different, which would lead cause chaos to these perfectly balanced systems within the Heavens and the Earth. Chapter 21 Al Anbiya, verse 22:
“Had there been within them [i.e., the heavens and earth] gods besides Allah, they both would have been ruined…”
When one sincerely reflects on these perfect balanced systems within the Heavens and the Earth with an open mind, they will have no choice but to admit the Oneness of Allah, the Exalted. This has been indicated at the end of verse 22. Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 22:
“…So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know.”
But as admitting this truth directly challenges the lifestyle of many people, which involves using the blessings they have been granted in ways pleasing to themselves, they associate partners with Allah, the Exalted, either directly by worshipping false deities or indirectly by obeying their own desires or the desires of others, such as society, fashion and culture. But this only leads them down the path of misery, stress and anxiety in both worlds, as the very worldly things they obtain through their behaviour becomes a source of stress for them, such as their family, wealth, careers and businesses. Chapter 20 Taha, verses 124-126:
“And whoever turns away from My remembrance – indeed, he will have a depressed [i.e., difficult] life, and We will gather [i.e., raise] him on the Day of Resurrection blind.” He will say, “My Lord, why have you raised me blind while I was [once] seeing?” [Allāh] will say, “Thus did Our signs come to you, and you forgot [i.e., disregarded] them; and thus will you this Day be forgotten.””
Therefore, muslims must avoid associating things with Allah, the Exalted, directly or indirectly by obeying and following things which lead to neglecting the obedience of Allah, the Exalted, which involves using the blessings one has been granted in ways pleasing to Him, as outlined in the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.
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