Glorification Of God Book

Ch 40 — The Feelings of Worship

Glorification Of God Book — Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

Badges mark quoted or attributed material (Qur'an, hadith, another author, an opposing view). Unbadged passages are Maulana Wahiduddin Khan's own words.

Contents (44 chapters)
  1. Foreword
  2. Ch 1 — The Majesty of God in the Vast Universe
  3. Ch 2 — The Consciousness in Human Nature of God's Existence
  4. Ch 3 — The Omnipotent God and Helpless Man
  5. Ch 4 — Glorification of God
  6. Ch 5 — Consciousness in Nature
  7. Ch 6 — Limitless Majesty of God
  8. Ch 7 — Relationship with God
  9. Ch 8 — Two Aspects of God-Realization
  10. Ch 9 — The Importance of the Fear of God
  11. Ch 10 — Loving God the Most
  12. Ch 11 — Love, Obedience
  13. Ch 12 — Love of God
  14. Ch 13 — Closeness to God
  15. Ch 14 — Two Levels of Realization (Maarifah)
  16. Ch 15 — Making God One's Supreme Concern
  17. Ch 16 — Submission to God
  18. Ch 17 — Acknowledgement of God
  19. Ch 18 — Cause of the Failure to Love God
  20. Ch 19 — Praise Be to God (Alhamdulillah)
  21. Ch 20 — The Source of the Love of God
  22. Ch 21 — The Price of the Love of God
  23. Ch 22 — Strong, Emotional Attachment to God
  24. Ch 23 — Real Love, Relative Love
  25. Ch 24 — Two Categories of Paradise
  26. Ch 25 — Intense Love of God
  27. Ch 26 — Strong Believer, Weak Believer
  28. Ch 27 — People Worth Envying
  29. Ch 28 — Sacred Narration
  30. Ch 29 — A Case of Exceptional Mercy
  31. Ch 30 — God in Our Hearts
  32. Ch 31 — The Remembrance of God
  33. Ch 32 — Two Lifestyles
  34. Ch 33 — The Power of Helplessness
  35. Ch 34 — Crying in Remembrance of God
  36. Ch 35 — The Spirit of Religion
  37. Ch 36 — God's Pleasure, Man's Pleasure
  38. Ch 37 — Initial Hamd (Praise), Ultimate Hamd
  39. Ch 38 — Thankfulness and Acknowledgement
  40. Ch 39 — The High Degree of the Divine Experience
  41. Ch 40 — The Feelings of Worship
  42. Ch 41 — The Experience of God
  43. Ch 42 — Seeking God's Pleasure
  44. Ch 43 — In the Company of God

The Feelings of Worship p. 88

Those who make one God the centre of their feelings of worship are the true worshippers. Whereas those who make other than God their object of worship are indulging in shirk, or polytheism. And God will never accept this from anyone. p. 88

Man by birth is a worship-loving creature. Man wants that there should be a Deity or an object of worship, whom he may worship. Man wants that there should be someone whom he may make the centre of his attention, upon whom he can focus. This is why all the communities or nations become hero worshippers. They made their Mr. Bigs or VIP’s or saints (Akaabir) the centre of their feelings of worship. This extraordinary attachment to heroes is, in fact, the wrong use of the feelings of worship with which God has imbued man right from the time of his birth. Just as when man feels thirsty, he is compelled to drink water, similarly, every man is forced by his inner feelings to make someone his God, his object of worship and worship Him or It. No one can be free from this feeling. p. 88

This is the point upon which man is being tested. Those who make the one God the centre of their feelings of worship are the true worshippers. They are the ones who have passed their test, whereas those who make anything other than God the centre of their worship are false worshippers, and have failed in their test. p. 89

Those people who make the forces of nature, or idols, the centre of feelings latent in their nature and others who make national heroes their object of worship and reserve their feelings of worship for them, are indulging in shirk, or polytheism. And God will never accept this from anyone. p. 89

Similarly, there is another class which starts loving his Mr. Bigs, like leaders or saints, with the devotion that they ought to show to God. They start attaching such importance to the words of their Mr. Bigs as they should attach to the words of God. Such people are not ready to listen to any kind of criticism about their leaders or saints. This reverence for their saints becomes the best possession of their lives. This is undoubtedly what has been stated thus in the Quran: “They have taken their learned men and their monks for their lords besides God.” (9:31) This is to make God out of something which is not God. p. 89original + quote

The true monotheist is one, whose feelings are centered to the ultimate extent on God alone. One who is not focusing on any other personages, will never become enraged on hearing any criticism against their religious leaders or their Mr. Bigs. p. 90