The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 16
CH. 1 AL-FATIHAH 5. "Thee alone do we worship and "Thee alone do we implore for help. 5 إيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ª11:3; 12:41; 16:37; 17:24; 41:38. b2:46, 154; 21:113. but desires the good of the whole world, and begins to use his God- given powers for the achievement of this great end. This is the philosophy of bandi. e. the process of Descent and Ascent which has been so beautifully described in these three short verses. 5. Important Words: Commentary: True worship demands perfect and this is not possible unless there is humility and complete submissiveness, born in the heart of man a state agreeable to it. So a person can worship God in the real sense of the word only when acts of worship are performed with complete humility of heart. . عبد we worship) is derived from) نعبد We say meaning: he believed in the Oneness of God and served and obeyed Him with humility and sub- missiveness. which is the noun- infinitive from signifies humility, submissiveness, obedience and service; the idea is not of simple humility but of complete humility. It also implies belief in God's Oneness and declaration of it (Aqrab). the same meaning, but is more intensive and more extensive in its significance (Mufradāt). Another meaning of the word is to accept the impress of a thing. In Mufradāt we has away becomes طريق معبد ای مذلل have a way when, on account of constant travelling, it becomes susceptible to the travellers' footprints. With reference to God the meaning would be "receiving the impress of His attributes". means: a man, whether free or slave; a male slave or a bondman (Aqrab); a servant or worshipper of God. ,means الطاغوت one who serves or worships the devil (Lane). 16 It should, however, be noted that in Islam does not merely mean the performance of certain known acts of worship, e. g. Prayer, Fasting, etc. It has a much wider significance. In fact, the Holy Prophet of Islam is reported to have said that any act performed in obedience to God's commands and to seek His pleasure is an act of Ibadah. Says the Holy Prophet: "If you give a morsel of food to your wife (believing that you are thereby obeying a behest of God), you will find the reward thereof with God" (Bukhārī). In the verse the word has been placed before the word to signify that after man has become aware of God, his first impulse is to worship Him. The idea of invoking God's help comes after the impulse to worship. Man wishes to worship God but he finds that for doing so he needs God's help. That is why the word is placed after the word c. Man should first make up his mind to worship