Section: Selected verses that urge the fulfilment of Allah’s rights and the rights of His creatures
- Allah the Exalted says:
“Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and show kindness to parents, to relatives, to orphans, to the needy, to the near neighbour and the distant neighbour, to the companion at your side, to the traveller, and to those whom your right hands possess. Surely Allah does not love anyone who is arrogant and boastful.” (4:36)
And in Surah al-Isrā’ He says:
“Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him and that you show kindness to parents. Should one or both of them reach old age while in your care, never say to them ‘Uff!’ nor repel them; instead, address them with noble words.” (17:23)
…until His statement:
“This is part of the wisdom your Lord has revealed to you. Do not set up another deity alongside Allah, or you will be cast into Hell, blamed and banished.” (17:39)
These noble verses include the following themes:
• A command to worship Allah alone with no partner—entering fully into the servitude that is the highest honour for a human being. This entails submitting to His commands, avoiding His prohibitions, loving Him, humbling oneself before Him, and dedicating every outward and inward act of devotion solely to Allah while constantly turning to Him in every circumstance.
• A prohibition against shirk (associating partners with Him) in any form:
– Major shirk: directing any category of worship to anyone other than Allah.
– Minor shirk: the avenues that lead to it, such as swearing by something other than Allah, showing off, and similar practices that can become stepping-stones to polytheism.
Thus, what is categorically obligatory is to purify all worship for the One whose perfection is absolute in every respect, whose comprehensive governance admits no partner and no helper whatsoever.