According to a hadeeth:
"A Momin is like a tethered horse, which is free to move but as far as his tether allows it"
The explanation of the above hadeeth is that the situation of 'momin' on this earth resembles that of a horse attached to a peg placed in the ground via a piece of rope. As long as the rope's length allows it to be stretched, the horse is free in his movement but as soon as the rope reaches its maximum length, the horse can't move an inch forward. The horse hence is free with in that virtual circle of the rope attached to the peg (center of the circle) but can't transgress an inch beyond that. Similarly a momim is free to chose his action as long as he is within the circle of Islam and limits set by Allah (Hudood-Allah). Every action of his would be constituted as ibaadh as long as he doesn't transgress the divinely set limits and try his level best to act in the way which is the favorite to Allah i.e. the way of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
We go about on our life every day for the sake of our own existence and seemingly it has nothing to do with ibaadah of Allah (SWT). We however, have to bear this fact in mind that Allah(SWT) has prescribed a way of life for us which was revealed via Quran and was put into practice by our beloved prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) proving that it is humanely possible to do so. If we simply follow those extra steps and straighten out our acts a little bit, our mere existence itself would become an ibadaah. As humans we have two choices, either follow our own desires and do what our 'nafs' wants us to do to or follow the steps that prophet Muhammad (peace be upon) did to perform the same action. The later would obviously elevate one's status in the eye of Allah (SWT).
A Simple act like drinking water could become ibaadah if we only recite 'Bismillah' before it and drink it in three sips while sitting just like our beloved prophet use to drink. Similarly if we recite the 'kalimat/dua' that prophet (peace be upon him) taught us before daily acts like going to sleep, traveling, eating, going to restroom, starting our work/business, greeting people etc. every act of ours would automatically become ibaadah. The existence of a true momin is ibaadah at every passing moment of his life regardless of the fact that whether or not he is actually offering ritualistic prayers at a given time. Iqbal has put this concept it in a very subtle way:
Qari nazar aata hey haqeeeqat mein hey Quran
Har Lehza hey momin ki nai aan nai shaan
Guftar mein kirdar mein Allah ki burhan
A momin is in the state of ibaadah all the time whether he is actually offering ritualistic prayers at a given time like performing salah/hajj, observing sayam (fasting), paying zakat OR going by his daily routine provided he doesn't violate the premises of Islam set by Allah (SWT). The ritualistic prayers at a prescribed timings are his obligation towards Huqooq Allah(SWT) (rights toward Allah(SWT)) while his obligation towards the rights of his fellow human beings or Huqooq-ul-Ibaat are also ibaadah and infact are greatly emphasized in Islam. Even fulfilling the right of his own body and soul is ibaadah e.g. feeding his body with halal and permissible food and fullfilling the core needs of his soul by means of spritual activities etc. All the activities that a momin does that are not against Islam is like showing his obedience towards Allah and by avoiding all such actions that may envoke Allah's anger. Hence every deed of his becomes ibaadah automatically. Some examples based on hadeeths are:
- Cleanliness is half the faith.
- Seeking halal income is ibaadah.
- Nikah is half the deen.
This mortal body that Allah (SWT) has been given to us humans is made 'musakhar' or obedient to us during the time of our life on this earth. Our hands, feet, eyes, body etc. will all either be witness for us or against on the day of judgment. If we see something that is unlawful in Islam, we are exploiting the blessing of our vision in an unwanted manner. On the other hand if we use our eye to look at our spouse, children or parents with love and affection it would mean that we are using it for a good purpose and hence that act would become ibaadah and we would be rewarded for that. However, one thing should be kept in mind is that inorder for these acts to be considered ibaadah, the minimum requirement is 'Imaan' on Allah's uniqueness, His messengers, His angel and His books, and day of judgement etc. hence these acts performed by non-muslims won't be considered ibaadah as they are missing the pre-requisite that makes them eligible for Allah's blessing.
May Allah(SWT) show us the right path and make us better muslim. Ameen!!
