The Arabic word
ibadah (عبادة) or
ibada, usually translated "worship", is connected with related words literally meaning "every", and has connotations of obedience, submission, and humility. In terms of
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
,
ibadah is the ultimate obedience, the ultimate submission, and the ultimate humility to God along with the ultimate love for him. Muslims believe that
ibadah is the reason for the existence of all humanity.
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The Arabic word
ibadah (عبادة) or
ibada, usually translated "worship", is connected with related words literally meaning "every", and has connotations of obedience, submission, and humility. In terms of
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
,
ibadah is the ultimate obedience, the ultimate submission, and the ultimate humility to God along with the ultimate love for him. Muslims believe that
ibadah is the reason for the existence of all humanity. That is, Muslims believe that all people exist only to worship God.
Ibadah consequently means following Islamic beliefs and practices – its commands, prohibitions, the
halalHalal is an Arabic term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. It is the opposite of haraam. The term is widely used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
, and the
haramHaraam is an Arabic term meaning "forbidden". In Islam it is used to refer to anything that is prohibited by the faith...
. For Muslims,
ibadah is also something that comes from the heart, or sincerity, as a result of belief in Islam. Therefore,
ibadah is something that can not be forced upon another person.
Some Muslims believe that in Islam all types of worship and prayers have been decided by Allah and his
rusulIn Islam, a Messenger is a prophet sent by Allah with a shariah "Divine Law" ....
(prophets), so there is no need to resort to reasoning things out (
ijtihadIjtihad is a technical term of Islamic law that describes the process of making a legal decision by independent interpretation of the legal sources, the Qur'an and the Sunnah...
). According to this view of Islam the duty of humans is to follow and practise what Allah and his prophets have taught humanity, so there are no substitutions for
ibadah.
Many devout Muslims perform their religious duties during all circumstances. One example is that of
Sheikh Muszaphar ShukorSheikh Muszaphar Shukor is a Malaysian orthopaedic surgeon and was the first Malaysian to go into space. He was launched to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-11 with the Expedition 16 crew on October 10 2007...
, who practiced his Islamic obligations while an astronaut aboard the
International Space StationThe International Space Station is an internationally developed research facility currently being assembled in Low Earth Orbit. On-orbit construction of the station began in 1998 and is scheduled to be completed by 2011, with operations continuing until at least 2015...
.