House; or it may be a consequential fā. Either way, it follows from what has preceded: because of these immense blessings, they must worship Allah. Worship is to humble oneself before Allah—Glorified and Exalted is He—out of love and veneration. When a person worships Allah, he humbles himself before Him by listening and obeying. When a command from Allah and His Messenger reaches him, he says, “We hear and obey”; and when a report reaches him, he says, “We hear and believe”—all with love and veneration. Through love, a person carries out the commands; and through veneration, he refrains from what is forbidden, fearing the Almighty—Glorified and Exalted is He. This is one meaning of worship.
The word “worship” may also refer to the acts by which Allah is worshipped. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya—may Allah have mercy on him—defined it in this sense, saying: “Worship is a comprehensive term encompassing all inward and outward words and deeds that Allah loves and is pleased with.”
His words, “the Lord of this House,” refer to the revered Kaaba. Allah Most High attributed it to Himself when He said:
“Purify My House for those who circumambulate it, those who stand in prayer, and those who bow and prostrate.” [al-Hajj: 26]
Here, He associated His Lordship with it, saying, “the Lord of this House.” This association of His Lordship with the House serves to honor and venerate it. In the words, “Purify My House for those who circumambulate it,” Allah attributed the House to Himself to honor and venerate it. Thus, on one occasion He singled out the House by associating His Lordship with it, and on another He attributed it to Himself, thereby honoring and venerating it.
In another verse, He said:
“I have only been commanded to worship the Lord of this city, Who has made it sacred.”
He then said, “To Him belongs everything,” lest anyone imagine that He is the Lord of this city alone. Every context has wording appropriate to it. In the verse:
“I have only been commanded to worship the Lord of this city, Who has made it sacred, and to Him belongs everything” [al-Naml: 91],
it was appropriate to affirm the universality of His dominion, lest the polytheists claim that He is the Lord of the city alone. Here, however, the context is one of venerating the House, so it was appropriate to mention it alone.
His words, “Who fed them against hunger and granted them safety from fear”: the relative pronoun “Who” is an adjectival qualifier of “Lord” and therefore occupies the accusative position. It is therefore preferable—