There are acts of worship, as Imam Shafi’i said: “related to people’s interests”, and there are rituals from the traits of earthly positive religions.

The rituals are movements, quietness, gestures, and meaningless mumbles, while the acts of worships are related to people’s interests.

{Take Sadaqah (alms) from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it,} (9:103; also 2:183; 5:97)

The remembrance of Allah is the greatest thing in prayer, yet, the remembering of you by Allah is greater than your remembering Him in it, because if He has remembered you, He would grant you wisdom, satisfaction, tranquility, safety, happiness, success, support, and victory. So, no one knows the rewards of the prayer but Allah.

{Nay! O Muhammad (Peace be upon him )! Do not obey him (Abu Jahl). Fall prostrate and draw near to Allah!} (96: 19)

Prayer is approaching, remembering, recognition, and purification.

Prayer purifies man from his filth, and from his deviated desires; it casts light in your heart by which you distinguish between right and wrong, and it is delight and happiness.

“O Bilal, let’s feel comfort in it (the prayer).” (Abu Dawud, 4985)

You have to be familiar with the infinite wisdoms of the acts of worships, because these wisdoms may help you to be devout in the prayer.

The Awareness of Wisdoms Helps to Be Devout to Allah

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:

“If there was a river at the door of anyone of you and he took a bath in it five times a day would you notice any dirt on him?” They said, “Not a trace of dirt would be left.” The prophet added, “That is the example of the five prayers with which Allah erases evil deeds.” (Al-Bukhari, 528)

So, the acts of worship are related to people’s interests. Hence, the awareness of wisdoms of worship helps you to be devout, yet, Imam Al-Ghazali clarified in his book “The reviving of religion sciences” the wisdoms and secrets of each worship.

The believer does not believe that in Hajj, Allah commands the believer to leave his home, his family, his wealth, and his work, and to come from distant lands in order to be in one place for moments in “Arafat” and it’s over, no.

The jurists are interested in the apparent meaning of worship, but the scholars who are interested in the essence of worship clarify its secrets and wisdoms; they say that the day of Arafah is the day of the greatest meeting with Allah, the day of Arafah is the day of the knowledge of Allah, and the day of Arafah is the day of approaching or getting closer to Allah.

When the acts of worship are emptied of content, of the high goals that Allah has intended them to be, they become just movements, mumbles, and words; at that time, because of the disgraceful ignorance, worships approach from rituals.

The acts of worship are very great deeds, because Islam is divided into two main parts; the first part includes aqidah ‘creeds’, and the other part includes the acts of worship, deals, and politesses…

It’s another one of reverence signs, the eye is tearing, the face is shining, there is heart reverence, skin shudder, nerves disturbance, and man weeps the cry of approaching Allah, the cry of love, and the cry of reverence.

Reverence is Going down with Humbling before Allah

Now, we have a concrete meaning for reverence. The meaning of reverence is to go down, and the evidence is the verse in which Allah says:

{Has there come to you the narration of the overwhelming (i.e. the Day of Resurrection) Some faces, that Day, will be humiliated (in the Hell-fire, i.e. the faces of all disbelievers, Jews and Christians, etc.)} (88:1–2)

The reverence is to go down, it has been said: “To make the head lower with the humbling before Allah the Almighty.”

Some scholars said:

“The more you humble yourself before Allah, the more your honor increases, and the lower you make your head, the more Allah raises your value.”

So, it’s an inverse relation, the more you roll your face in the doorsteps of Allah, the more He raises your station.

The Subsidence of the Fire of Desire in the Heart

Some scholars said:

“The reverence is to be submissive and subservient in the presence of our Lord, Almighty.”

And some other scholars said:

“The reverence is the submitting to the Truth as long as you have been subjected to the Rule of Allah.”

{It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision.} (33:36)

The injunctions mentioned in the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet are not subjected to discussing and studying, not a matter of debate, not a matter of consideration, and not a matter of acceptance or rejection, “It is not for a believer”, (It is not) is one of the most intense negation forms, the negation of affair.

Therefore, some scholars also said:

“Among the signs of reverence, the subsidence of the fire of desire, and the shining of the light of Allah in the heart. There is a fire, and there is a light, if you have approached to Allah, He would cast a light in your heart, and if you have submitted to your desire, the desire would be a raging fire; desires are symbolized by the fire, while the approaching from Allah is symbolized by the lights, and you are between fire and light, and the closer you were to the reverence, the more the light would shine, and the desire would go out.”

When You Get Closer to Allah, He Casts a Light in Your Heart

Unless you feel that you are close to Allah, unless you feel a state of happiness that is difficult to describe, and unless you feel tranquility which Allah has mentioned in the noble Quran, hence, there is a problem in the acts of worship, as reverence is the mystery of worship, reverence means that you worship Allah as He has wanted, not as you have imagined, so:

Look at the strong evidence that when we connect with Allah the Almighty, He will cast a light in your heart.

It means that Allah will give you mercy in the worldly life, and mercy in the afterlife.

That light makes you see the right as it is, and the wrong as it is.

Good Deeds Result in Safety and Happiness

Dear brothers and sisters, there is no deed, without exception, that man makes, but a vision is behind it, if this vision was right, the deed would be right, and if it was corrupted, the deed would be spoiled.

What did the thief see before he has stolen? He saw that theft is the shortest way to earn money without effort; but he missed that he would be arrested, and he would go to jail; he missed that theft is followed by killing, and the killer is executed, he missed the results of this sin, and had a wrong vision. He had a demonic vision, that theft is the shortest way to earn money; therefore, all those who paid the price for their mistakes were in a situation of blindness (to the truth).

If the act of a person was right, he would be safe and happy in the worldly life, and so in the afterlife. Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) was a young man, he was a stranger, far from his family, and he was not married, his lady, who was a beautiful woman with a senior post, called him to adultery, and it was not of her interest to spread the news. What did the Prophet Yusuf see in adultery so that he said: {I seek refuge in Allah.} (12:23)

Any other young man who is unaware of Allah thinks that this meeting is a huge benefit.

So it’s just a vision affair, either your vision is right, so your deed would be right, and you will be safe and happy, or it is corrupted because you are far from Allah, then the deed will be spoiled, and you will be miserable and perishable. This is the brief summary, as there is a vision, and this right vision is because of a light that Allah has cast in your heart.

Humbling Yourself before Allah Raises Your Value

Who is the real believer?

He is the one who has a right vision. If a person has imagined that the change in goods’ qualities will make them sold, he would be blind, if a man has thought that the false oath makes the trade widespread, he would be blind, and if a man has thought that cheating Muslims achieves large profits, he would be blind; it’s not possible that Allah leaves you without disciplining; so, it is certainly impossible to obey Allah and then you lose, and it is certainly impossible to disobey Him and then you win.

Allah has granted man a sense of honor, but when person deals with Allah, he should be humble and he should rub his face in His doorsteps, he should converse with Him confidently saying: “O my Lord, I am in a lack for Your wealth, I am ignorant, and I am neglectful.”

You should accustom yourself to converse with your Lord in humility. What did the Prophet Yunus say when he was inside the whale? He said:

{La ilaha illa Anta [none has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allah)], Glorified (and Exalted) are You [above all that (evil) they associate with You]. Truly, I have been of the wrong-doers. So We answered his call, and delivered him from the distress. And thus We do deliver the believers (who believe in the Oneness of Allah, abstain from evil and work righteousness).} (21:87–8)

Even if you enjoy a high affair, a high position, and if you own very large capabilities, you should habituate yourself to be humble before Allah when you are alone with Him.

As much as you could be humble before Allah between you and Him, He would raise your affair, raise your value, throw the light in your heart, and you would be successful.

Submissiveness is Placed in the Heart, not in the Organs

Some scholars said: “If reverence has been found in man’s heart, devil would never approach him.”

Reverence is the lack for Allah the Almighty, and you are either under the protection of Allah or He would forsake you. If you have been in the lack for Allah, He would take care of you, protect you, support you, help you, grant you victory, and He would preserve you.

The generous companions were in desperate need of Allah in the battle of ‘Badr’, so they achieved victory. But in the battle of ‘Hunain’, The Prophet’s companions admired their power and their large number, so they said:

“Twelve thousand fighters will not be defeated by few number of enemy fighters.” (Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi, 6)

In summary, they were proud of their large number, so Allah has forsaken them; so if you have been in the lack for Allah, He would take care of you. Therefore, before performing an act, before having an operation, before delivering a lesson, and before meeting with a person in a high position; you should say:

“O My Lord, I have resorted to You, I have forsaken my knowledge, my strength, and I have turned to Your knowledge and Your strength, O Lord of the Creations.”