Page 106 - Commonly Disregarded Qur'anic Rulings

104 COMMONLY DISREGARDED QURANIC RULINGS

“To be resolute” is to be firm in purpose and persistent
therein. Allah orders Muslims not only to perform acts of
worship, but also to be resolute in performing them.
However, some people tend to limit the concept of being

resolute in worship to certain obligatory acts such as regular
prayer, giving alms, fasting or pilgrimage. Of course believers
are supposed to perform these acts of worship in a complete
and perfect manner. In its true sense, however, worship
means “being a servant.” That is, a person's attitudes, behav-
ior and whatever they do to serve Allah are all acts of wor-
ship. Compliance with what is ordered in the Qur’an com-
prises many important obligatory acts of worship, and is in
itself an act of worship.
Actions such as performing prayer five times a day, con-
trolling one’s temper, speaking gently and kindly, warning
people of the Hereafter, avoiding wicked thoughts and
refraining from pointless dispute are all obligatory acts of
worship. Therefore, this commandment refers to both the
physical acts of worship and the moral excellence that a
believer adopts for himself.

However, the resoluteness of Muslims will be put to test.
Stories of prophets and believers of the past portray events
by which their perseverance was tested. Trying times are
shown to be invaluable opportunities to demonstrate a
Muslim’s loyalty to Allah.
The verbal and physical attacks of unbelievers are among
the occurrences through which a Muslim’s loyalty to his reli-
gion is tested. Disease, thirst, starvation, exhaustion, threats