al-Ibadat fi al-Islam wa Atharuha fi Tadamun al-Muslimin
- Author died
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- Editions
- Islamic University of Madinah
al-Ibadat fi al-Islam wa Atharuha fi Tadamun al-Muslimin (Acts of Worship in Islam and Their Impact on Muslim Solidarity) is an academic treatise by Ali Abd al-Latif Mansur, associate professor in the College of Da'wah and Usul al-Din . The study examines the comprehensive nature of worship ('ibadah) in Islamic teachings and illustrates how ritual obligations cultivate social cohesion, mutual compassion, and communal solidarity among Muslims .
Concept and Scope of Worship
Mansur begins by defining 'ibadah linguistically as submission, obedience, and humility (al-tadhallul, al-khudu'), derived from expressions such as tariq mu'abbad (a well-trodden path) . In legal and theological terminology, he defines worship as the synthesis of ultimate submission and ultimate love and reverence for God, drawing on classical formulations by Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn al-Qayyim, and Ibn Kathir .
The author challenges the narrow view that restricts worship to isolated ritual performance and monastic seclusion from society . Citing Ibn Taymiyyah's treatise al-'Ubudiyyah, he emphasizes that worship is an all-encompassing term covering everything God loves and is pleased with—including outward and inward speech and deeds, fulfilling trusts, upholding ties of kinship, and engaging in acts of social righteousness .
Impact on Individuals and the Community
The work analyzes how worship shapes both individual morality and societal structure:
- On the individual: It refines character, purifies the soul, instills constant mindfulness of God (muraqabah), and elevates the believer toward the station of ihsan (spiritual excellence) .
- On the community: It molds believers into a cohesive collective founded on justice, brotherhood, mutual assistance, and commanding right and forbidding wrong . Mansur references Sayyid Qutb's commentary Fi Zilal al-Qur'an to demonstrate how shared spiritual duties produce organic social unity and eliminate discord within the Muslim community .
The Pillars of Worship and Communal Solidarity
Mansur dedicates detailed sections to analyzing how the four primary practical pillars of Islam generate solidarity:
- Prayer (al-Salah): Standing in unified rows behind a single prayer leader (imam) erases social stratification, wealth disparities, and pride, placing rulers and subjects on equal footing before God .
- Almsgiving (al-Zakah): Fulfills an obligatory mechanism of socioeconomic solidarity by transferring wealth from the affluent to those in need, fostering love and eradicating malice and poverty .
- Fasting (al-Siyam): Trains the soul in patience and self-restraint while awakening empathy among the well-off for the hunger and hardship endured by the destitute .
- Pilgrimage (al-Hajj): Serves as an annual manifestation of universal equality, wherein pilgrims cast off regional dress and social distinctions to wear the uniform garb of ihram and circumambulate the Kaaba together .
Publication
The treatise was published as an academic contribution in the scholarly journal of the Islamic University of Madinah (Majallat al-Jami'ah al-Islamiyyah bi-al-Madinah al-Munawwarah), featured in its 61st issue .
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