of all worlds. He has no partner. This I have been commanded, and I am the first of those who submit.’”
Allah Most High also says:
“Do not invoke another god alongside Allah.”
In explaining His words, “my rites of worship,” commentators have mentioned sacrificing animals for Allah and making Hajj to the House of Allah. They have also stated that the term encompasses worship in general.
Allah, glorified is He, has made clear in the Quran that both sacrifice and Hajj are rites of worship. He says:
“For every community We have appointed a rite of sacrifice, so that they may mention Allah’s name over the livestock He has provided for them.”
The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“Whoever slaughters after the prayer has properly performed the sacrificial rite. Whoever slaughters before the prayer has merely slaughtered a sheep for meat, providing it early for his family; it does not count as a ritual sacrifice at all.”
Allah Most High relates that Abraham and Ishmael said:
“Our Lord, accept this from us. Indeed, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.
“Our Lord, make us both submissive to You, and from our descendants a community submissive to You. Show us our rites and accept our repentance. Indeed, You are the Accepter of Repentance, the Most Merciful.”
Allah thus showed Abraham and his son Ishmael the places to be visited during Hajj and the acts to be performed there, such as circumambulation, walking between Safā and Marwah, the ritual standing, and casting pebbles, as several of the early generations have explained.
Prayer encompasses invocation both in the sense of worship and in the sense of petition. It combines both. Allah Most High says:
“Your Lord has said, ‘Call upon Me; I will answer you. Indeed, those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell, humbled.’”
Calling upon Him has thus been interpreted as asking Him. Allah commanded the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to say:
“Say, ‘Indeed, my prayer, my rites of worship, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of