Servitude of Prophet Muhammad

Editor

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) performed his religious acts in the most perfect manner and taught people how to perform these acts. When we look at the Holy Quran in terms of the religious acts and worship of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), we find the following issues:

1. The most important issue that the Holy Quran emphasizes about the worship of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) is sincerity:

Sincerity in servitude is referred to in the following verses: “Say (O Muhammad): O! I am commanded to worship Allah, making religion pure for Him only.” (Az-Zumar 36/11), “Nay, but Allah must you serve, and be among the thankful” (Az-Zumar 36/66). Sincerity means the purification of the heart from all kinds of idolatry and hypocrisy, and praying only to Allah by clearing the heart from all things except Him.

The oneness of Allah (that there is no god but He) and practicing religion with sincerity only for Him is not just found in the spoken word. This sincerity enters the human heart as an idea and as faith, and it is a perfect life-style that encapsulates both individual and social life.

2.  There is an eternal regularity and consistency in the worship of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh):

“And serve your Lord till the Inevitable (absolute information or death) comes unto you” (Al-Hijr 15/99). In this verse, the word inevitable refers to one’s time of death. Servitude is a vital responsibility that continues throughout the entire life of a person, that develops and that must be completed with success. The following hadith (saying of the Prophet) states that the most important aspect of worship is regularity and consistency: “The most pleasant and the most beautiful worship according to Allah is that which is consistent, if not long” (Bukhari, "Iman" 32, "Riqaq" 18; Muslim, "Salatu al-Musafirin" 216,218, "Munafiqin" 78; Abu Dawud, "Tatawwu" 27).

 3. Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) tried to perform his servitude at the highest level:

The fact that Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) did not neglect to perform his prayers, even in the last period of his life, shows his meticulousness and his efforts to carry out the religious duties as perfectly as possible, and his ability to integrate the prayer with the community. (Bukhari, "Adhaan" 51; Muslim, "Salat" 90–97).

 4. No fear caused by any incident hindered the Prophet’s worship.
In response to the cruelty and unpleasantness to which he was subjected by the unbelievers the Prophet was ordered to worship as a result of his faith:

“So submit patiently to your Lord's command, and obey not of them any guilty one or disbeliever! Remember the name of your Lord at morning and evening. And worship Him a portion of the night. And glorify Him through the livelong night” (Al-Insan 76/124-26).

In these verses, Allah tells Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) to bear the cruelties of the disbelievers and not to be affected by them. Allah also tells the Prophet to worship Allah day and night, and informs him that the only way to bear such cruelty is to worship.

5. Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) gave a great importance to worshipping in a group:

In the verses of the Holy Quran which order worship, it is stated that worshipping should be performed in a group. In the following verses, the performances of different parts of the prayers (sajda and rukun) are ordered to be performed in a group: “But celebrate the praise of your Lord, and be of those who make prostration unto Him” (Al-Hijr 15/98), “Establish worship, pay the poor-due, and bow your heads with those who bow in worship” (Al-Baqarah 2/43).

Performing prayers together is beneficial in many ways. In the hadiths, Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) says: “The person who performs prayer at night in a group spends the middle of the night in worship. The person who performs the morning prayer in a group spends the whole night in worship” (Muslim, “Masajid” 260; Tirmizi, “Salat”, 165).

6. The five daily prayers and the tahajjud prayer (that performed in the middle of the night) had a great importance in the worship of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh):

To follow the way of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) while performing one’s prayers is necessary. That is to say, the performance of prayers is ordered in the Holy Quran, but the details of how to perform the prayer perfectly, the number of rakats, the prayers recited, and the times of the prayers were all learned from the words or actions of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh). Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) ordered “Perform the prayers as I perform them.” Accordingly, it is stated that all Muslims must follow Prophet Muhammad in this issue.

7. Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) gave importance to the nafila (supererogatory) prayers as well as the prescribed prayers.

One of the most important features of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) is that he gave great importance to nafila prayers as well as the prescribed prayers. For instance, he performed duha prayers in addition to the five daily prayers, between the morning prayer and the noon prayer, he performed the awwabin prayer between the evening prayer and the night prayer, and he performed tahajjud prayer between the night prayer and the morning prayer. He practiced fasting on every Monday and Thursday in addition to the fasting during Ramadan.