The cornerstone of every outward act of goodness and piety is the sincere thought of Allah. It is this sincerity toward Allah that helps us to develop a logical analysis and reasoning for every practical act of piety we perform. Otherwise we run the risk of being heedless of the practical importance of those acts. This is a common problem with many including Muslims, often leading to preaching what they do not practice.
Worshipping Allah Almighty confirms our loyalty to Tawheed (Monotheism). Our Monotheistic salaat which we offer five times daily by recitation of the Divine words from the Glorious Quran also helps us to derive the ideology of right conduct, it's purpose and it's ultimate importance. Without the sincere thought of Allah and total submission to Him alone, every practical act of piety will only be a facade, empty from within. It will simply be an act to be seen from the outside but with no strength nor ethical power from the inside.
Let's study this topic with reference to some Quranic verses.
"Lo! worship preserveth from lewdness and iniquity, but verily remembrance of Allah is more important. And Allah knoweth what ye do." (29:45) I wonder how many of you grasped the beauty of this verse. The clear reference in this verse is that without the realisation of the importance of Allah, His infinite power, His flawless Justice and our unconditional love for Him in our hearts, our worship will not achieve the purpose it is meant to acquire. All such realisations about Allah bring about the remembrance of Allah in our minds and hearts. And when we worship Allah with this remembrance of Him, our worship becomes meaningful and helps to guide us in our practical lives by enabling us to avoid obscenity, indecency, injustice, unkindness etc. Hence, offering salaat without the thought of Allah and His principles, would render that salaat pointless. The above verse also carries a reference between two kinds of people:
(1) those who are regualr with their worship but without much sincerity towards Allah,
(2) and those who might miss their daily practical worship from time to time but constantly have the thought of Allah in their hearts and minds.
My interpretation would be that the latter are closer to Allah than the former.
Needless to say, the best course is to be regular in worship with constant remembrance of Allah and the thought of Allah and every moment of our lives. Then only can we utilize our worship to the fullest to improve our conduct.
Allah states this concept even more explicitly in the following verses of Surah Al-Maoon:
"Ah, woe unto worshippers
Who are heedless of their prayer;
Who would be seen (at worship)
Yet refuse small kindnesses!"
(107:4-7) Another wonderful example cited by the Glorious Quran on the importance of harboring a decent intent with sincerity towards Allah is in connection to modest clothing. Let me quote verse 26 of Surah Al-Araf.
"O Children of Adam! We have revealed unto you raiment to conceal your shame, and splendid vesture, but the raiment of restraint from evil, that is best. This is of the revelations of Allah, that they may remember." (7:26) "
raiment" means dress or clothing. "
vesture" means something that covers like a cloak or robe. In the above verse it would refer to something that covers the body modestly. "
splendid" means having beauty and radiance.
Thus, can you now follow what this verse is referring to? It's very simple to understand. Allah is telling us that He has bestowed on us modest clothing which we use for covering our bodies, and this modest garment also contains outward elegance for us. But the best form of 'clothing' is the one that covers us or protects us from evil thoughts and acts .. meaning, our good intent and sincerity towards Allah is indeed the best raiment. If we nurture good intent with constant remembrance of Allah at every step of our lives, then only will our modest clothing and coverings fulfil their purpose, otherwise they will only be meaningless outward acts of show.
This aspect has been very skilfully explained by Sister Zeynab in our post titled
Women's dress code as in the Noble Quran which I quote below for your information.
"....
it's just as vital as per the dictates of the Noble Quran to nurture a clean & modest intent and decent behaviour which compliment and support the ideology of the modest dress code, without which, modest clothing might not carry too many blessings for us in the Sight of Allah Almighty. Referring to verse 7:26, Allah Almighty makes it very plain that though He has informed humankind the importance to conceal their shame and observe modesty by wearing the right kind of clothes, yet what's even more important without which modesty of outer garments won't serve any purpose, is to adhere to proper conduct and avoid the forbidden acts through restraint and self-control."
May Allah, The Exalted, cleanse our hearts, grant us guidance to the maximum, make us regular in prayers and protect us from evil. Ameen.
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