"Mtu aliyefungwa ni yule ambaye moyo wake umefungwa mbali na Mungu, na mfungwa ni yule ambaye matamanio yake yamemtumikisha."560, Fikiria rafiki yako alikupa pauni 100 kila siku kwa sababu, bila kosa lolote lako, ulihitaji msaada wa kifedha. Wema huu haukudumu kwa siku chache tu; uliendelea kwa miaka. Pesa hizo ziliendelea kuingia kwenye akaunti yako ya benki. Hata hivyo, ulianza kusahau ni nani mfadhili, na katika hali hii ya shukrani ndogo sana, ukaanza kushukuru pesa badala ya yule aliyekupa. Hii ndiyo inaelezea ushirikina na kutokuamini Mungu kwa ufupi. Kwa mtazamo wa kiroho, ni kilele cha kutokushukuru na kukosa busara. Mtu mwenye akili ya kihisia na busara daima atamshukuru yule aliyempa kitu ambacho hakukipata kwa juhudi zake wala hakukimiliki. Hii ni kanuni ya kimaadili isiyoweza kujadiliwa. Lakini kwa nini hii inaelezea ushirikina na kutokuamini Mungu? Kuna kitu maishani mwako unachopokea bure, lakini hukipati kwa juhudi zako wala hukimiliki. Hakuna sababu nzuri ya kuamini kwamba unastahili pia. Kitu hicho ni wakati huu, na wakati unaofuata, na nyakati zote za kuwepo kwako. Huzipati nyakati hizi, kwa hiyo unaweza kufanya nini hasa ili kupata wakati mwingine wa maisha yako? Hii ndiyo sababu hasa katika utamaduni wa kawaida tunaiita zawadi: zawadi ya uhai. Ndiyo maana sote tunaona ni ya thamani kubwa. Huimiliki nyakati hizi kwa sababu huna uwezo wa kuleta chochote katika kuwepo; huwezi hata kuumba nzi. Hustahili wakati mwingine wa kuwepo kwako kwa sababu si wako; huna uwezo wa kuzalisha uhai, hata kwa sekunde moja. Kwa kuzingatia ukweli huu wa msingi, lazima uwe daima katika hali ya shukrani, kwa kuwa daima unapokea kitu ambacho hukipati, wala hukimiliki, wala hukistahili. Kwa kuwa washirikina na wasioamini kuwepo kwa Mungu hawana wa kumshukuru au wanamshukuru asiyestahili (kwa kawaida kiumbe tegemezi na chenye mipaka), inafuata kwamba mitazamo yao ya maisha si tu ya kiakili, bali ni kilele cha kutokushukuru. Kama ilivyojadiliwa katika Sura ya 6, Mungu ni Mwenye kujitosheleza na kila kitu kinamtegemea Yeye. Kwa hiyo, kila tunachosema, kutenda, kutumia na kupata kwa msingi kinamtegemea Mungu peke yake. Basi, ikiwa mtu ana akili timamu na maadili mema, kwa lazima itamlazimu kumshukuru Mungu na kukiri kwamba shukrani zote ni Zake peke yake. Kushukuru ni sehemu muhimu ya ibada. Lakini dhana ya ibada katika mapokeo ya Kiislamu haikomei kwenye shukrani pekee; ni pana zaidi. Ibada inahusisha kumpenda Mungu, kumjua na kumtii, pamoja na kuelekeza vitendo vyote vya ibada Kwake Yeye peke yake. Vitendo vya ibada katika Uislamu ni pamoja na Sala, kumsifu Mungu, toba, dua, kutenda mema, na kutakasa mioyo yetu na magonjwa yake ya kiroho. Vipengele hivi vya ibada si vya kiakili tu; pia vimetajwa mara kwa mara katika Qur'an.

“The one who is imprisoned is the one whose heart is imprisoned from God and the captive is the one whose desires have enslaved him.”560, Imagine a friend of yours gave you £100 each day because, without any fault of your own, you required financial assistance. This kindness did not last for a few days; it continued for years. The money kept on appearing in your bank account. However, you started to forget who the benefactor was, and in this state of immense ingratitude, you then began to thank the money and not the one who gave it to you. This describes polytheism and atheism in a nutshell. From a spiritual perspective, it is the height of ingratitude and irrationality. The emotionally intelligent and rational person would always thank the one who gave him something that he did not earn or own. This is a non-negotiable moral principle. Why, however, does this describe polytheism and atheism? There is something in your life that you receive freely, yet you do not earn it and do not own it. There is no good reason to believe that you deserve it either. This thing is this moment, and the next moment, and all of the moments of your existence. You do not earn these moments, so what can you possibly do to earn another instant in your life? This is exactly why in popular culture we call it a gift: the gift of life. That’s why we all consider it to be so precious. You do not own these moments because you do not have the capacity to bring anything into existence; you cannot even create a fly. You do not deserve another moment of your existence because it is not yours; you do not have the ability to produce life, even for a second. In light of these basic truths, you must always be in a state of gratitude, because you always receive something that you neither earn, nor own, nor deserve. Since polytheism and atheism have no one to thank or thank the wrong being (usually a created dependent and finite entity), it follows that their worldviews are not only irrational, but the height of ingratitude. As discussed in Chapter 6, God is independent and everything depends upon Him. Therefore, everything that we say, do, use and acquire is fundamentally dependent on God alone. It inevitably follows—if one is sane and moral—that we must be thankful to God, and acknowledge that all gratitude belongs to Him alone. Thankfulness and gratitude are a key aspect of worship. However, the concept of worship in the Islamic tradition is not restricted to gratitude, it is quite comprehensive. Worship entails that we must love, know and obey God, as well as dedicate all acts of worship to Him alone. Acts of worship in Islam include prayer, praising God, repentance, supplication, performing good deeds and purifying our hearts from their spiritual diseases. These aspects of worship are not only rational; they are also repeatedly mentioned in the Qur’an.

Nilianza sura hii kwa kujadili shukrani, kwa sababu shukrani ni ufunguo wa ibada. Usipokuwa mwenye shukrani, unakanusha kabisa ukweli kwamba unamtegemea Mungu peke yake, na unakanusha kwamba Yeye ndiye anayekupa kila kitu, hata kitu kidogo kiasi gani. Basi, mbali na kumshukuru Yule anayetupa uhai, kwa nini Mungu anastahili na ana haki ya kuabudiwa na sisi?

I started this chapter by discussing gratitude, because gratitude is a key to worship. If you are not grateful, you completely deny the fact that you are dependent on God alone, and you deny that He is the One who provides you with everything, no matter how small. So apart from being grateful to the One who gives us life, why is God worthy of and entitled to our worship?.

Kumjua Mungu.

Knowing God.

Kabla ya kujibu swali hili, ni muhimu kufafanua maana ya kumjua Mungu. Kumjua Mungu ni jambo la msingi katika kuelewa kwa nini Mungu anastahili kuabudiwa, kwa sababu hatuwezi kuabudu kitu ambacho hatukijui. Ndiyo maana, katika mapokeo ya Kiislamu, kufuata njia ya kumjua Mungu ni aina ya ibada.

Before I answer this question, it is important to elaborate on what is meant by knowing God. Knowledge of God is essential to understanding why God is worthy of our worship, because we cannot worship something we are ignorant of. This is why, in the Islamic tradition, traversing a path of knowing God is a form of worship:

"Basi jua kwamba hakuna mungu isipokuwa Mungu."561

“So know, that there is no deity except God.”561

Kumjua Mwenyezi Mungu kunamaanisha kwamba tunakubali kwamba Yeye ndiye Muumbaji pekee na Mtunzaji pekee wa kila kilichopo (kinachojulikana kama Umoja wa Ubwana wa Mungu). Pia kunahusisha kwamba tunakubali majina Yake na sifa Zake, huku tukitambua kwamba ni za kipekee na kwamba hakuna chochote kinachoweza kulinganishwa na Mungu (kinachojulikana kama Umoja wa Majina na Sifa za Mungu). Kumjua Mungu pia kunahusisha kwamba lazima tujue kwamba Yeye ni wa kipekee katika uungu Wake; Yeye peke Yake ndiye anastahili ibada zote (kinachojulikana kama Umoja wa Uungu wa Mungu). Ni lazima ieleweke kwamba katika theolojia ya Kiislamu, ni jambo la msingi kukubali kwamba hakuna chochote kabisa kinachoshiriki nguvu na uwezo wa Mungu wa kuumba, majina Yake, sifa Zake, wala uungu Wake. Kila aina ya kumfananisha Mungu na viumbe inakataliwa kabisa. Mungu yuko juu ya kila kitu na ni mkamilifu kabisa. Hana kasoro yoyote. Dhana ya umoja katika mila ya kiroho ya Kiislamu inaitwa tawheed, ambayo kwa lugha maana yake ni kukubali umoja au kufanya kitu kuwa kimoja au cha kipekee.

To know God means that we affirm that He is the sole creator and maintainer of everything that exists (known as Oneness of God’s Lordship). It also entails that we affirm His names and attributes in the context of recognising that they are unique and that nothing can compare to God (known as Oneness of God’s Names and Attributes). Knowledge of God also involves that we must know that He is unique in His Divinity; He alone is entitled to all acts of worship (known as Oneness of God’s Divinity). It must be noted that in Islamic theology, it is critical to affirm that nothing whatsoever shares God’s creative power and ability, names and attributes and Divinity. All forms of anthropomorphism are completely rejected. God is transcendent and maximally perfect. He has no imperfections. The concept of oneness in the Islamic spiritual tradition is referred to as tawheed, which linguistically means to affirm oneness or to make something one or unique.

Umoja wa Ubwana (Rububiyyah)

Oneness of Lordship.

Umoja wa Ubwana wa Mungu ni kukubali na kutambua kwamba Mungu ndiye muumbaji pekee, bwana pekee na mmiliki pekee wa kila kilichopo. Mungu ndiye anayelinda, kuhudumia na kulisha kila kitu. Kulingana na fundisho la Kiislamu la tawhidi, yeyote anayekataa hili amemshirikisha Mungu na washirika, jambo ambalo ni shirki (ushirikina) kama inavyojulikana katika theolojia ya Kiislamu. Yeyote anayeamini kwamba sifa hizi za Mungu zinaweza kushirikiwa na kiumbe chochote amekiinua kiumbe hicho hadi kiwe mungu. Kwa hiyo, amemshirikisha Mungu na washirika.

The oneness of God’s Lordship is to affirm and recognise that God is the sole creator, master and owner of everything that exists. God is the One who sustains, takes care of and nourishes everything. According to the Islamic doctrine of tawheed, anyone who denies this has associated partners with God, which is polytheism (known as shirk in Islamic theology). Anyone who believes that these descriptions of God can be shared by any created thing has deified that thing. Therefore, they have associated partners with God.

Umoja wa majina na sifa za Mungu.

Oneness of God’s names and attributes.

Maana ya 'umoja wa majina na sifa za Mwenyezi Mungu' ni kumsifu Mwenyezi Mungu kwa majina na sifa ambazo yeye mwenyewe amejisifu nazo, ambazo zinapatikana katika Qur'ani na mafundisho ya Mtume ﷺ (baadhi ya majina kama Al-Khaaliq, Muumbaji, na Al-Qadeer, Mwenye uwezo, yanaweza kuthibitishwa na akili timamu). Majina na sifa hizi, kama Mwenye upendo na Mwenye huruma iliyofichika, zinathibitishwa, lakini hazifananishwi na viumbe. Majina na sifa za Mwenyezi Mungu ni kamilifu bila upungufu wowote wala kasoro. Mwenyezi Mungu mwenyewe amevielezea majina yake kuwa ni mazuri zaidi: {وَلِلَّهِ الأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا}

The ‘oneness of God’s names and attributes’ means to describe God only by the names and attributes by which He has described Himself, which are found in the Qur’an and the Prophetic teachings (some names such as Al-Khaaliq, The-Creator, and Al-Qadeer, The-Powerful, can be affirmed by a sound rational mind). These names and attributes, such as The-Loving and The-Subtle, are affirmed, but they are not comparable to creation. God’s names and attributes are perfect without any deficiency or flaw. God’s names are described by God Himself as the most beautiful:

"Majina mazuri kabisa ni ya Mwenyezi Mungu: basi mwombeni kwayo."562

“The most beautiful names belong to God: so call on Him by them.”562

Kama ilivyotajwa katika kitabu hiki chote, Mungu ni mkamilifu kabisa. Yule anayelinganisha majina na sifa hizi na viumbe amefanya ubinadamu wa Mungu (tashbīh), na hivyo amemshirikisha Mungu. Yule anayelinganisha kiumbe chochote na Mungu amefanya kumfanya kiumbe kuwa mungu, ambalo nalo ni aina ya kumshirikisha Mungu.

As has been mentioned throughout this book, God is maximally perfect. The one who compares these names and attributes to creation has committed humanisation, and therefore has associated partners with God. The one who compares any created thing to God has committed deification, which is also a form of associating partners with God.

Umoja wa Uungu wa Mungu.

Oneness of God’s Divinity.

Upweke wa Uungu wa Mwenyezi Mungu ni kwamba lazima tuthibitishe kuwa ibada zote zinapaswa kuelekezwa Kwake Yeye peke yake. Mtu anayeelekeza ibada kwa chochote kingine isipokuwa Mwenyezi Mungu, na yule anayetafuta malipo kutoka kwa kitu kingine isipokuwa Mwenyezi Mungu katika ibada yoyote, amemshirikisha Yeye washirika.

The oneness of God’s Divinity is that we must affirm that all acts of worship must be directed to Him alone. Someone who directs acts of worship to anything other than God, and the one who seeks reward from anything other than God in any act of worship, has associated partners with Him.

Katika baadhi ya hali, baadhi ya vitendo vya utii, vinapoelekezwa kwa mwingine asiyekuwa Mungu, havimaanishi kumshirikisha Yeye. Kwa mfano, mapenzi ya mtu kwa Mungu yanaweza kuwa pungufu na yakahitaji kukamilishwa. Kumshirikisha Mungu katika suala la mapenzi kungehusisha kupenda kitu au mtu badala ya Mungu au kwa kiwango sawa na Mungu. Mtu anaweza kuwapenda familia yake na hilo halimaanishi kumshirikisha Mungu. Lakini akiwapenda familia yake badala ya Mungu, au kwa kiwango sawa na Mungu, basi hilo ni aina ya ushirikina kwa Mungu.

In certain contexts, some acts of obedience, if directed to other than God, do not constitute associating partners with Him. For example, one’s love for God may be deficient and require perfecting. Associating partners with God in the context of love would involve loving something or someone instead of God or as much as God. Someone can love their family and it would not constitute associating partners with God. If they loved their family instead of God, or as much as God, then that would constitute a form of associating partners with Him.

Dhambi kubwa zaidi.

The gravest sin.

Kumshirikisha washirika pamoja na Mungu ndio dhambi kubwa kuliko zote. Matokeo ya dhambi hii ni kwamba yule anayekufa katika hali hiyo, bila kutubu, anakufa katika hali ya kufuru. Jambo hili halitasamehewa kamwe na Mungu. (Hili linahusu aina kubwa za kumshirikisha Mungu washirika. Zipo aina ndogo ambazo hazipelekei kufuru, kama vile kutoa sadaka kwa ajili ya asiyekuwa Mungu, kumtii mtu badala ya Mungu, na kuonyesha matendo mema ili kujionyesha. Hata hivyo, aina kubwa za kumshirikisha Mungu washirika, kama vile kuomba kwa asiyekuwa Yeye na kuamini mambo mengine yanastahili kuabudiwa, huleta kufuru. Hata hivyo, hili ni suala lenye undani na mambo mengi ya kuzingatia. Nashauri kufanya utafiti zaidi kuhusu suala hili, kwa kuwa lengo si kuingia kwa undani hapa.)

Associating partners with God is the gravest sin. The consequence of this sin is that the one who dies in such a state and has not repented dies in a state of disbelief. This will never be forgiven by God. (This applies to major forms of associating partners with God. There are lesser forms that do not lead to disbelief, such as giving charity for other than God, obeying someone instead of God and showing off one’s good deeds. However, major forms of associating partners with God such as praying to other than Him and believing other things are worthy of worship lead to disbelief. This however is a nuanced topic with many variables to consider. I suggest further study on this topic, as it is not the objective to go into detail here):

Hakika Mwenyezi Mungu hasamehe kumshirikisha Naye, lakini husamehe yaliyo chini ya hayo kwa amtakaye. Na yeyote anayemshirikisha Mungu na kitu kingine basi bila shaka amefanya dhambi kubwa mno.563

“Indeed, God does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with God has certainly committed a tremendous sin.”563

Hata hivyo, mtu akimshirikisha Mungu na kisha akatubia kwake na kurejea katika njia ya Tawhidi, atasamehewa, na makosa yake yatageuzwa kuwa matendo mema:

However, if one associates partners with God and repents to Him and returns to the path of oneness, he or she will be forgiven, and their transgressions will be transformed into good deeds:

"Na wale wasioomba mungu mwingine pamoja na Mungu… Isipokuwa wale wanaotubu na kuamini, na kutenda mema; hao, Mungu atabadilisha maovu yao kuwa mema, na Mungu ni Mwingi wa Kusamehe, Mwenye Rehema."564

“And those who invoke not any other deity along with God… Except those who repent and believe, and do righteous deeds; for those, God will change their sins into good deeds, and God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”564

Yeyote aliyemshirikisha Mungu washirika na hakuwahi kutubu, akafa katika hali hiyo (wala hana udhuru), amejidhulumu yeye mwenyewe kwa kufunga mlango wa rehema ya Mungu. Nyoyo zao zimekataa milele uongozi na rehema ya Mungu; kwa hiyo, wamejitenga na Mungu. Wale wanaomkataa Mungu watamwomba kurudishwa duniani ili wafanye mema, lakini nyoyo zao zimekataa milele:

The one who has associated partners with God and has never repented, and dies in that state (and has no excuse), has essentially oppressed themselves by closing the door to God’s mercy. Their hearts have ‘eternally’ rejected God’s guidance and mercy; therefore, they have alienated themselves from the Divine. Those who reject God will plead to go back to earth to do righteousness, but their hearts have ‘eternally’ rejected:

“[Hali ndiyo ilivyo kwa makafiri], hadi kifo kinapomfikia mmoja wao, husema: ‘Mola wangu, nirudishe ili nifanye mema katika yale niliyoyaacha.’ Hapana! Ni neno tu analolisema.”565

“[For such is the state of the disbelievers], until, when death comes to one of them, he says, ‘My Lord, send me back that I might do righteousness in that which I left behind.’ No! It is only a word he is saying.”565

Hali hii ya kiroho aliyojiwekea mwenyewe ni aina ya kukataa. Mtu huyo amekataa fursa zote za haki na za usawa ambazo Mwenyezi Mungu amempa ili aikubali rehema na upendo Wake.

This self-imposed spiritual reality is a form of denial. The person has denied all the just and fair opportunities that God has given them to embrace His mercy and love:

"Mungu hakuwadhulumu, lakini wao walijidhulumu wenyewe."566

“God has not wronged them, but they wronged themselves.”566

"Huu ni malipo ya yale ambayo mikono yenu imeyatenda. Na Mwenyezi Mungu hadhulumu waja Wake kamwe."567

“This is reward for what your hands have done. And God is never unjust to His servants.”567

Inapaswa kufahamika kwamba kwa mujibu wa elimu ya theolojia ya Kiislamu, mtu ambaye hakupewa ujumbe sahihi wa Uislamu, na akatafuta ukweli, atakuwa na udhuru na atafanyiwa mtihani siku ya Hukumu.568 Mwenyezi Mungu ni Mwenye Haki, na hakuna mtu atakayedhulumiwa. Ndiyo maana, mtu asiye Muislamu anapofariki, inachukuliwa kuwa si ya Kiislamu kutoa hukumu kuhusu makazi yake ya mwisho (hata hivyo, baadhi ya wanazuoni wamesema jambo hili huenda lisihusu wale ambao hawakuwahi kutafuta ukweli au hawakuwa na elimu ya kutosha ya Uislamu). Hakuna anayejua kilichomo moyoni mwa mtu mwingine, na kama alipewa ujumbe sahihi kwa namna sahihi. Hata hivyo, kwa mtazamo wa imani na wa kijamii, wasiokuwa Waislamu waliofariki watazikwa kama wasiokuwa Waislamu. Hii haimaanishi kwamba hiyo ndiyo hukumu yao ya mwisho. Kwa kweli, Mwenyezi Mungu ni Mwenye haki na rehema kwa kiwango cha juu kabisa na kamili, kwa hiyo hakuna mtu atakayetendewa bila huruma wala kudhulumiwa.

It must be noted that according to Islamic theology, if someone was not given the right message of Islam, and sought the truth, they will have an excuse and will be tested on the Day of Judgment.568 God is The-Just and no one will be treated unjustly. This is why, when a non-Muslim has passed away, it is considered un-Islamic to pass judgment on their final abode (however, some scholars have said this may not apply to those who never sought the truth or had sufficient knowledge of Islam). No one knows what is in someone else’s heart and whether someone was given the right message in the right way. However, from a creedal and societal point of view, non-Muslims who died will be buried as non-Muslims. This does not mean that this is their final judgement. In reality, God is maximally and perfectly just and merciful, so no one will be treated unmercifully and no one will be treated unjustly.

Watu ambao wamesikia ujumbe wa Uislamu kwa njia sahihi na ya kweli watalazimika kutoa hesabu kwa kukataa kwao. Lakini yeyote atakayekufa bila kuwa amesikia ujumbe wa Uislamu, au ameusikia katika umbo lililopotoshwa, atapewa fursa ya kuukubali ukweli.

People who have heard the message of Islam in a sound and correct way will have to account for their denial. However, whoever dies without having heard the message of Islam, or heard it in a distorted form, will be given an opportunity to accept the truth.

Kwa kuzingatia kanuni zilizomo katika aya mbalimbali za Qur'ani na Hadithi za Mtume, Al-Ghazali anafupisha mtazamo huu wenye mambo mengi. Anasema: "Kwa kweli, nasema kwamba, Mungu akipenda, wengi wa Wakristo wa Byzantium na Waturuki wa zama hizi watajumuishwa katika rehema ya Mungu. Ninazungumzia hapa wale wanaoishi katika maeneo ya mbali kabisa ya Byzantium na Anatolia ambao hawajafikiwa na ujumbe… Wao wanasamehewa."569

Echoing the principles from the various verses of the Qur’an and the Prophetic traditions, Al-Ghazali summarises this nuanced approach. He argues that people who never heard the message of Islam will have an excuse: “In fact, I would say that, God willing, most of the Byzantine Christians and the Turks of this age will be included in God’s mercy. I’m referring here to those who live in the farthest regions of Byzantium and Anatolia who have not come into contact with the message… They are excused.”569

Al-Ghazali pia anasema kwamba watu waliosikia mambo mabaya kuhusu Nabii Muhammad ﷺ na ujumbe wake nao pia watasamehewa: "Watu hawa walijua jina 'Muhammad', lakini hawakujua chochote kuhusu tabia yake wala sifa zake. Badala yake, kitu pekee walichosikia tangu utotoni ni kwamba mwongo na mdanganyifu aitwaye 'Muhammad' alidai kuwa nabii... Kundi hili, kwa maoni yangu, ni kama kundi la kwanza. Ingawa wamesikia jina lake, walisikia kinyume cha sifa zake halisi. Na hili halitoshi kuwapa msukumo wa kuchunguza [hadhi yake halisi]." 570

Al-Ghazali also argues that the people who heard negative things of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلمand his message will also be excused: “These people knew the name ‘Muhammad’, but nothing of his character or his qualities. Instead, all they heard since childhood is that a liar and imposter called ‘Muhammad’ claimed to be a prophet… This party, in my opinion, is like the first party. For even though they’ve heard his name, they heard the opposite of what his true qualities were. And this does not provide enough incentive for them to investigate [his true status].” 570

Mafundisho ya kweli ya Uislamu ni kizuizi dhidi ya msimamo mkali. Kwa maoni yangu, misimamo yote mikali inatokana na "ugumu wa kiitikadi" unaoifanya mioyo ya watu kuwa migumu. Ninamaanisha kwamba watu huchukua dhana zisizoweza kujadiliwa, za pande mbili na hasi kuhusu dunia na kuhusu watu wengine. Hali hii huwafanya kundi moja la watu kuwa "wageni" kwa kundi jingine. Kuwaweka watu katika makundi tofauti sio kitu sawa na "kuwafanya wageni". Kuwaweka watu katika makundi tofauti ni jambo la kawaida na ni sehemu ya jamii ya kisasa. Kuwafanya wengine kuwa wageni kwa kawaida hutokea pale kundi moja linapoelezea kundi jingine kwa namna hasi na kushikilia kwamba kila mwanachama wake ni sawa. Hali hii huifanya mioyo ya watu kuwa migumu na kuwazuia kushiriki kwa njia chanya na watu wengine ambao wanaonekana kuwa tofauti. Uislamu haumfanyi mtu kuwa mgeni. Haudai kwamba kila asiye Mwislamu hatimaye ameangamia au ni mwovu. Qur'an inaweka wazi kwamba watu wanaounda makundi mengine "si wote sawa" 571, na inawaelezea baadhi yao kuwa ni "wanaosimama imara" katika haki.572

The true teachings of Islam are a barrier to extremism. In my view, all forms of extremism are based on an ‘ideological hardness’ that hardens people’s hearts. What I mean by this, is that people adopt non-negotiable, binary and negative assumptions about the world and other people. This makes one group of people ‘otherize’ another. Otherization is not simply labelling people as belonging to other groups. This is natural and part of modern society. Otherization usually happens when one group describes another group in a negative way and maintains that each member is the same. This hardens people’s hearts and prevents them from positively engaging with other people who seem to be different. Islam does not otherize people. It does not assert that everyone who is not a Muslim is ultimately doomed or evil. The Qur’an makes it quite clear that people constituting other groups “are not all alike” 571 and describes some of them as “upright”572

Qur'ani pia inatumia dhana hii kwa waumini pia; baadhi yao ni wema na baadhi yao si wema. Hata hivyo, Uislamu unafundisha kwamba kila binadamu lazima atendewe kwa rehema, huruma na uadilifu (angalia Sura ya 14).

. The Qur’an also applies this concept to believers too; some are righteous and some are not. Nevertheless, Islam teaches that every human being must be treated with mercy, compassion and fairness (see Chapter 14).

Kiini cha ibada.

The essence of worship.

Katika mila ya Kiislamu, ibada muhimu ni dua (inayojulikana kama du'a katika elimu ya theolojia ya Kiislamu). Mtume Muhammad ﷺ alifundisha kwamba dua ni "kiini cha ibada"573. Dua ni kwa Mwenyezi Mungu peke yake, kwa sababu Yeye peke yake ndiye awezaye kutusaidia tunapoomba msaada kwa jambo fulani tunalohitaji au tunalotaka. Kumwomba chochote kingine isipokuwa Mungu ni kitendo cha shirki, kwa sababu mtu anaomba kitu kutoka kwa kiumbe ambacho hakina uwezo wa kutoa au kutimiza ombi hilo. Kwa mfano, ikiwa mtu angemwomba sanamu ya jiwe amjalie watoto wa kike mapacha, hicho kingekuwa kitendo cha shirki kwa sababu anamwomba kiumbe ambacho hakina uwezo wa kutimiza ombi hilo. Hata hivyo, hii haimaanishi kwamba kumwomba msaada mtu mwenye uwezo wa kukusaidia ni shirki. Itakuwa shirki tu ikiwa mtu angeamini kwamba Mungu si Muumbaji wa mwisho wa uwezo huo wa kumsaidia. Kumwomba Mungu ni sehemu ya kufanya ibada yetu kuwa safi, na jinsi tunavyomwomba inapaswa kuwa kwa unyenyekevu. Mwenyezi Mungu anasema: "Mwombeni Mola wenu kwa unyenyekevu"574 na "Basi mwiteni Yeye, mkimtakasia dini"575.

In the Islamic tradition, a key act of worship is supplication (known as dua in Islamic theology). The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم taught that supplication is “the essence of worship”573. Supplications are to God alone, because only He can help us when we ask for help for something that we need or want. Supplicating to anything other than God is an act of polytheism, because the person is asking for something from an entity that does not have the ability to provide or fulfil that request. For example, if someone were to ask a stone idol to grant them twin girls, it would be an act of polytheism because they are supplicating to an entity that has no power to fulfil that request. This does not mean, however, that asking someone who has the ability to assist you for help is polytheism. It would only be polytheism if one were to believe that God was not the ultimate creator of their ability to help you. Supplicating to God is part of making our worship pure, and the way we supplicate to Him should be with humility. God says: “Invoke your Lord with humility”574 and “So call upon Him, [being] sincere to Him in religion.” 575.

Kulingana na mapokeo ya kiroho ya Kiislamu, vitendo vya ibada vinakubaliwa iwapo vinatimiza masharti mawili. Sharti la kwanza ni kwamba kitendo cha ibada kifanywe kwa ajili ya Mwenyezi Mungu peke yake. Sharti la pili ni kwamba kitendo chenyewe kimeagizwa katika vyanzo vya Kiislamu: Qur'ani na Hadithi za Mtume. Swali la kawaida linalofuata kutokana na hili ni: Vitendo hivi vya ibada ni vipi? Vitendo vya ibada ni vingi. Kama ilivyotajwa awali, tendo lolote jema linalofanywa ili kumridhisha Mwenyezi Mungu ni ibada. Hata hivyo, kuna vitendo vya msingi vya ibada ambavyo ni muhimu katika mazoezi ya kiroho ya Kiislamu. Mtume Muhammad ﷺ ameviweka muhtasari kama nguzo tano za Uislamu. Hizo ni: kukiri na kutambua moyoni kwamba hakuna mungu anayestahili kuabudiwa isipokuwa Mwenyezi Mungu, na kwamba Muhammad ﷺ ni Mtume wa mwisho wa Mwenyezi Mungu; kuswali mara tano kwa siku; kutoa zaka ya lazima endapo mtu anaweza kumudu; kufunga Ramadhani (mwezi wa tisa katika kalenda ya Kiislamu); na kwenda kuhiji endapo mtu anaweza kufanya hivyo. Vitendo hivi vya ibada vina maana kubwa na vipimo vya ndani. Hizi ndizo nguzo za msingi za Uislamu. Hata hivyo, katika kuendeleza mazoezi yake ya kiroho, mtu anaweza kushiriki katika shughuli nyingi za ziada za kiroho. Hizi ni pamoja na: kusoma Qur'ani; kumkumbuka Mwenyezi Mungu; kuondoa maradhi ya kiroho moyoni mwa mtu; sadaka ya hiari; kueneza ujumbe wa Uislamu kwa wengine; kuwalisha maskini; kuwatunza wanyama; kujifunza maisha ya Mtume Muhammad ﷺ; kuhifadhi Qur'ani; swala ya usiku; kutafakari matukio ya kimaumbile, na mengi zaidi.

According to the Islamic spiritual tradition, acts of worship are accepted if they fulfil two conditions. The first is that the act of worship should be done purely for the sake of God. The second is that the action itself is prescribed by the Islamic source texts: the Qur’an and the Prophetic traditions. So a natural question that follows from this is: What are these acts of worship? The acts of worship are many. As previously mentioned, any good action that is done to please God is an act of worship. However, there are some basic acts of worship which are essential to Islamic spiritual practice. These have been summarised by the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم as the five pillars of Islam. They include: affirming and recognising in one’s heart that there is no deity worthy of worship except God and that Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is God’s final messenger; praying five times a day; giving the obligatory charity if one can afford to; fasting in Ramadan (the 9th month of the Islamic calendar) and performing the pilgrimage if one is able to do so. These acts of worship have profound meanings and inner dimensions. These are the basic pillars of Islam. However, in developing one’s spiritual practice one can engage in a plethora of additional spiritual activities. These include: reciting the Qur’an; remembrance of God; removing the spiritual diseases in one’s heart; voluntary charity; conveying the message of Islam to others; feeding the poor; taking care of animals; studying the life of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم ;memorising the Qur’an; the night prayer; reflecting on natural phenomena and much more.

Kwa nini vitendo vyetu vyote vya ibada lazima vielekezwe kwa Mungu peke yake?

So why do all our acts of worship have to be dedicated to God alone?.

Nitaeleza kwa kina mambo yafuatayo ili kujibu swali hili:

I will elaborate on the following points to answer this question:

• Haki ya Mungu ya kuabudiwa ni ukweli wa lazima wa kuwepo kwake.

• God’s right to worship is a necessary fact of His existence.

• Mungu ameumba na anadumisha kila kitu.

• God has created and sustains everything.

• Mungu anatupa neema zisizohesabika.

• God provides us with innumerable favours.

• Ikiwa tunajipenda wenyewe, lazima tumpende Mungu.

• If we love ourselves, we must love God.

Mungu ni Mwenye Upendo, na upendo Wake ndio aina safi kabisa ya upendo.

• God is The-Loving, and His love is the purest form of love.

Ibada ni sehemu ya sisi tulivyo.

• Worship is part of who we are.

• Kumtii Mungu ni sehemu ya kumwabudu Yeye.

• Obeying God is part of worshipping Him.

Haki ya Mungu ya kuabudiwa ni ukweli wa lazima wa kuwepo kwake.

God’s right to worship is a necessary fact of His existence.

Mahali pazuri pa kuanzia ni kuelewa Mungu ni nani. Mungu, kwa maana yake, ndiye anayestahili kuabudiwa na sisi; ni ukweli wa lazima kuhusu uwepo wake mwenyewe. Qur'ani inasisitiza mara kwa mara ukweli huu kuhusu Mungu: {Hakika Mimi ni Mungu. Hakuna mungu isipokuwa Mimi, basi niabudu na simamisha swala kwa kunikumbuka.}576

The best place to start is to understand who God is. God, by definition, is the One who is entitled to our worship; it is a necessary fact of His own existence. The Qur’an repeatedly highlights this fact about God, “Indeed, I am God. There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance.”576

Kwa kuwa Mungu ndiye Mmoja pekee ambaye haki yake ni kuabudiwa, basi matendo yetu yote ya ibada yanapaswa kuelekezwa Kwake Yeye peke yake. Katika mapokeo ya Kiislamu, Mungu anachukuliwa kuwa Kiumbe aliye mkamilifu kabisa. Anamiliki majina yote mazuri na sifa zote kamilifu kwa kiwango cha juu kabisa kinachowezekana. Kwa mfano, katika theolojia ya Kiislamu, Mungu anaelezwa kuwa Al-Waduud, yaani Mwenye Mapenzi, na hii inamaanisha kwamba upendo Wake ni kamilifu zaidi na mkuu zaidi unaowezekana. Ni kwa sababu ya majina na sifa hizi ndipo Mungu lazima aabudiwe. Sisi daima tunawasifu watu kwa wema wao, elimu yao na hekima yao. Hata hivyo, wema, elimu na hekima ya Mungu viko katika kiwango cha juu kabisa kinachowezekana, pasipo upungufu wala kasoro. Kwa hiyo Yeye anastahili sifa za kina zaidi, na kumsifu Mungu ni aina ya ibada. Mungu pia ndiye Mmoja pekee anayestahili dua zetu na maombi yetu. Yeye anajua vizuri zaidi lipi jema kwetu, na Yeye anataka lililo jema kwetu. Kiumbe mwenye sifa hizi lazima aombwe na atafutwe msaada Wake. Mungu anastahili ibada yetu kwa sababu kuna kitu ndani Yake kinachomfanya astahili hivyo. Yeye ni Kiumbe mwenye majina na sifa zilizo kamilifu zaidi.

Since God is the only Being whose right is our worship, then all of our acts of worship should be directed to Him alone. In the Islamic tradition, God is considered a maximally perfect Being. He possesses all the perfect names and attributes to the highest degree possible. For example, in Islamic theology, God is described as the The-Loving, and this means that His love is the most perfect and greatest love possible. It is because of these names and attributes that God must be worshipped. We always praise people for their kindness, knowledge and wisdom. However, God’s kindness, knowledge and wisdom are to the highest degree possible with no deficiency or flaw. Therefore, He is worthy of the most extensive form of praise, and praising God is a form of worship. God is also the only One entitled to our supplications and prayers. He knows best what is good for us, and He wants what is good for us. Such a Being with these attributes must be prayed to and be asked assistance of. God is worthy of our worship because there is something about God that makes Him so. He is the Being with the most perfect names and attributes.

Jambo muhimu kuhusu kumwabudu Mungu ni kwamba ni haki yake, hata kama sisi hatupokei faraja ya aina yoyote. Ikiwa tungeishi maisha yaliyojaa mateso, bado Mungu lazima aabudiwe. Kumwabudu Mungu hakutegemei aina fulani ya uhusiano wa kubadilishana; Yeye ndiye anayetupa uhai, nasi tunamwabudu kwa kurudisha shukrani. Msinielewe vibaya ninachosema hapa: Mungu hutuneemesha kwa baraka nyingi (kama nitakavyojadili hapa chini); hata hivyo, anaabudiwa kwa sababu ya Yeye alivyo, na si kwa sababu tu ya jinsi anavyoamua—kupitia hekima yake isiyo na mipaka—kugawa neema zake. Tunawasifu watu kwa sababu ya ustadi wao katika michezo, ufasaha wao wa kusema, nguvu zao au sifa nyinginezo. Tunafanya hivyo ingawa hawatufaidishi moja kwa moja kwa njia yoyote. Vivyo hivyo, Mungu anastahili sifa nyingi kwa sababu ya majina yake kamilifu na sifa zake, si kwa sababu ya jinsi alivyoamua kuzidhihirisha katika maisha yetu. Ikiwa tunaweza kuwasifu watu wenye sifa chache na zenye kasoro, je, inamaanisha nini kuhusu jinsi tunavyopaswa kumsifu Mungu ambaye majina yake na sifa zake hazina upungufu wala kasoro?

An important point regarding worshipping God is that it is His right, even if we are not recipients of any type of comfort. If we were to live a life full of suffering, God must still be worshipped. Worshipping God is not dependent on some kind of reciprocal relationship; He gives us life, and we worship Him in return. Do not misunderstand what I am saying here: God showers us with many blessings (as I will discuss below); however, He is worshipped because of who He is and not necessarily how He decides—via His boundless wisdom—to distribute His bounty. We praise people due to their sporting skill, eloquence, strength or any other attribute. We do so even though they do not benefit us in any direct way. Similarly, God deserves extensive praise by virtue of His perfect names and attributes and not as a result of how He decided to manifest them in our lives. If we can praise people who have limited and flawed attributes, what does it mean on how we must praise God whose names and attributes have no deficiency or flaw?.

Mungu ameumba na anadumisha kila kitu.

God has created and sustains everything.

Mungu ameumba kila kitu; Yeye hukiendeleza kila mara ulimwengu wote mzima na kutupa riziki kutokana na fadhila yake. Qur’ani inarudia dhana hii kila mara kwa namna mbalimbali, jambo linalojenga hisia ya shukrani na heshima kuu moyoni mwa msikilizaji au msomaji: {Yeye ndiye aliyekuumbieni vyote vilivyomo katika ardhi.} 577

God has created everything; He continually sustains the entire cosmos and provides for us out of His bounty. The Qur’an continually repeats this concept in various ways, which evokes a sense of gratitude and awe in the heart of the listener or reader: “It is He who created for you all of that which is on the Earth.” 577

"Je, wao wanamfanyia Yeye washirika wa vitu ambavyo haviwezi kuumba chochote, bali vyenyewe vimeumbwa?" 578

“Do they indeed ascribe to Him as partners things that can create nothing but are themselves created?” 578

"Enyi watu, kumbukeni neema ya Mwenyezi Mungu juu yenu. Je, yuko muumbaji yeyote mwingine asiyekuwa Mwenyezi Mungu anayekuruzukuni kutoka mbinguni na ardhini? Hakuna mungu isipokuwa Yeye, basi mnageuzwa vipi?" 579

“O mankind, remember the favour of God upon you. Is there any creator other than God who provides for you from the heaven and Earth? There is no deity except Him, so how are you deluded?” 579

Kwa hiyo, kila kitu tunachotumia katika maisha yetu ya kila siku, na vitu vyote vya msingi tunavyohitaji ili kuishi, vinatokana na Mwenyezi Mungu. Basi, shukrani zote ni Zake. Kwa kuwa Mwenyezi Mungu ameumba kila kilichopo, Yeye ndiye Mmiliki na Bwana wa kila kitu, ikiwa ni pamoja nasi. Hivyo, ni lazima tuwe na hali ya kumwogopa na kumshukuru. Kwa kuwa Mwenyezi Mungu ndiye Bwana wetu, ni lazima sisi tuwe waja Wake. Kukataa hili si tu kukataa uhalisia, bali ni kilele cha kutokushukuru, kiburi na kutokuwa na shukrani, kama ilivyojadiliwa kabla katika sura hii.

Therefore, everything we use in our daily lives, and all of the essential things that we require to survive, are due to God. It follows then that His is all gratitude. Since God created everything that exists, He is the owner and master of everything, including us. Hence, we must be in a sense of awe and gratitude to Him. Since God is our Master, we must be His servants. To deny this is not only rejecting reality, but it is the height of ingratitude, arrogance and thanklessness, as discussed earlier in this chapter.

Tangu Mungu alipotuumba, uwepo wetu wenyewe unategemea Yeye peke yake. Hatujitoshelezi, hata kama baadhi yetu wanadanganyika kufikiri kwamba tunajitosheleza. Iwe tunaishi maisha ya anasa na starehe au ya umaskini na shida, mwishowe tunamtegemea Mungu. Hakuna kitu katika ulimwengu huu kinachowezekana bila Yeye, na chochote kinachotokea ni kwa mapenzi yake. Mafanikio yetu katika biashara na mambo makubwa tunayoweza kuyafanikisha, mwishowe ni kwa sababu ya Mungu. Yeye ameumba sababu katika ulimwengu ambazo sisi tunazitumia kupata mafanikio, na kama Yeye hataki mafanikio yetu, hayatatokea kamwe. Kuelewa utegemezi wetu wa mwisho kwa Mungu kunapaswa kuamsha hisia kubwa ya shukrani na unyenyekevu mioyoni mwetu. Kujinyenyekeza mbele ya Mungu na kumshukuru ni aina ya ibada. Moja ya vikwazo vikubwa vya mwongozo na rehema za Mungu ni udanganyifu wa kujitosheleza, ambao hatimaye umejengwa juu ya kiburi na majivuno. Qur'an inalifanya jambo hili kuwa wazi: "Lakini mwanadamu hupindukia mipaka anapojiona kuwa anajitosheleza."580

Since God created us, our very existence is solely dependent on Him. We are not self-sufficient, even if some of us are deluded in thinking that we are. Whether we live a life of luxury and ease or poverty and hardship, we are ultimately dependent on God. Nothing in this universe is possible without Him and whatever happens is due to His will. Our success in business and the great things that we may achieve are ultimately because of God. He created the causes in the universe that we use to achieve success, and if He does not will our success it will never happen. Understanding our ultimate dependency on God should evoke an immense sense of gratitude and humility in our hearts. Humbling ourselves before God and thanking Him is a form of worship. One of the biggest barriers to Divine guidance and mercy is the delusion of self-sufficiency, which is ultimately based on ego and arrogance. The Qur’an makes this point clear: “But man exceeds all bounds when he thinks he is self-sufficient.”580

"Yupo yule ambaye ni bakhili, na anajiona amejitosheleza, na anakanusha wema—Tutamwandalia njia ya taabu, na mali yake haitamsaidia atakapoangamia. Ni wajibu wetu kutoa mwongozo."581.

“There is the one who is miserly, and is self-satisfied, who denies goodness—We shall smooth his way towards hardship and his wealth will not help him as he falls. Our part is to provide guidance.”581.

Mungu hutupatia neema zisizohesabika.

God provides us with innumerable favours.

Na mkiyahesabu neema za Mwenyezi Mungu, hamtaweza kuzihesabu. Hakika binadamu kwa ujumla ni dhalimu sana na mwingi wa kukufuru.582

“And if you should [try to] count the favours of God, you could not enumerate them. Indeed mankind is [generally] most unjust and ungrateful.”582

Tunapaswa kumshukuru Mwenyezi Mungu milele, kwa sababu hatuwezi kamwe kumshukuru kikamilifu kwa neema Zake. Moyo ni mfano unaofaa kuonyesha jambo hili. Moyo wa binadamu hupiga takriban mara 100,000 kwa siku, ambayo ni takriban mara 37,000,000 kwa mwaka. Kama tungeishi hadi umri wa miaka 75, idadi ya mapigo ya moyo ingefikia 2,759,400,000. Je, ni wangapi kati yetu tumewahi kuhesabu idadi hiyo ya mapigo ya moyo? Hakuna aliyewahi kufanya hivyo. Kwa kweli haiwezekani kuhesabu mapigo mengi kiasi hicho. Kwanza, kwa miaka ya kwanza ya maisha yako hauwezi kuhesabu. Tayari kuna miaka kadhaa iliyopotea. Pili, huwezi kuhesabu mapigo ya moyo wako wakati unalala. Ili kuweza kuhesabu mapigo ya moyo ya maisha yote, ungelazimika kuanza kuhesabu kila pigo tangu siku ulipozaliwa, hata wakati wa kulala. Hili lingeingilia uwezo wako wa kuishi maisha ya kawaida, kwa sababu ungekuwa daima unahesabu kila mara moyo wako unapoanza pigo jipya. Kwa vitendo, jambo hilo haliwezekani. Hata hivyo, kila pigo la moyo lina thamani kubwa kwetu. Yeyote kati yetu angetoa mlima wa dhahabu ili kuhakikisha mioyo yetu inafanya kazi ipasavyo na kutuweka hai. Bado tunasahau na kumkana Yule aliyeumba mioyo yetu na kuiwezesha kufanya kazi. Mfano huu unatulazimisha kuhitimisha kwamba lazima tumshukuru Mwenyezi Mungu, na shukrani ni aina ya ibada. Mjadala huu hapo juu unahusu mapigo ya moyo tu, kwa hiyo fikiria shukrani tunazopaswa kuonyesha kwa baraka nyingine zote ambazo Mwenyezi Mungu ametupa. Kwa mtazamo huu, chochote kingine isipokuwa pigo la moyo ni ziada. Mwenyezi Mungu ametupa fadhila ambazo hatuwezi kuzihesabu, na kama tungeweza kuzihesabu, tungelazimika kumshukuru kwa uwezo wa kufanya hivyo.

We should be eternally grateful to God because we could never thank Him for His blessings. The heart is an appropriate example to illustrate this point. The human heart beats around 100,000 times a day, which is approximately 37,000,000 times a year. If we were to live up to the age of 75, the number of heartbeats would reach 2,759,400,000. How many of us have even counted that number of heartbeats? No one ever has. It is actually impossible to count that many heartbeats. Firstly, for the first few years of your life you cannot count. Already there are a few years of backlog. Secondly, you cannot count your heartbeats while you are sleeping. To be able to count a lifetime’s worth of heartbeats, you would have had to start counting each heartbeat from the day you were born and while you were asleep. This would interfere with your ability to live a normal life, as you would always be counting every time your heart started a new beat. As a practical matter it is impossible. However, every heartbeat is precious to us. Anyone of us would sacrifice a mountain of gold to ensure that our hearts function properly to keep us alive. Yet we forget and deny the One who created our hearts and enables them to function. This illustration forces us to conclude that we must be grateful to God, and gratitude is a form of worship. The above discussion just refers to heartbeats, so imagine the gratitude we must express for all the other blessings God has given us. From this perspective, anything other than a heartbeat is a bonus. God has given us favours we cannot enumerate, and if we could count them we would have to thank Him for the ability to do so.

Ikiwa tunajipenda wenyewe, lazima tumpende Mungu.

If we love ourselves, we must love God.

Kumpenda Mwenyezi Mungu ni msingi wa ibada. Kuna aina nyingi za mapenzi, na mojawapo ni kujipenda mwenyewe. Hii hutokea kutokana na hamu ya kuongeza muda wa kuishi kwetu, kupata furaha na kuepuka maumivu, pamoja na haja ya kutimiza mahitaji na misukumo yetu ya kibinadamu. Sote tunayo mapenzi haya ya asili kwa nafsi zetu kwa sababu tunataka kuwa na furaha na kuridhika. Mwanasaikolojia Erich Fromm alisema kuwa kujipenda si aina ya kiburi au kujiweka katikati. Badala yake, kujipenda ni kujali, kubeba wajibu na kujiheshimu. Aina hii ya mapenzi ni muhimu ili tuweze kuwapenda wengine. Kama hatuwezi kujipenda, basi tutawezaje kuwapenda watu wengine? Hakuna kitu kilicho karibu nasi kuliko nafsi zetu wenyewe; kama hatuwezi kujijali na kujiheshimu, basi tutawezaje kuwajali na kuwaheshimu wengine? Kujipenda ni aina ya ‘huruma kwa nafsi’. Tunajiunganisha na hisia zetu wenyewe, mawazo yetu na matarajio yetu. Kama hatuwezi kujiunganisha na nafsi zetu, basi tutawezaje kuwahurumia na kuwaunganisha wengine? Erich Fromm anarudia wazo hili kwa kusema kwamba mapenzi “yanamaanisha kwamba heshima kwa uadilifu na upekee wa mtu mwenyewe, mapenzi kwa kuelewa nafsi ya mtu mwenyewe, haviwezi kutenganishwa na heshima, mapenzi na kuelewa kwa mtu mwingine.”583

Loving God is a fundamental aspect of worship. There are many types of love and one of these includes self-love. This occurs due to the desire to prolong our existence, feel pleasure and avoid pain, as well as the need to satisfy our human needs and motivations. We all have this natural love for ourselves because we want to be happy and content. The psychologist Erich Fromm argued that loving oneself is not a form of arrogance or egocentricity. Rather, self-love is about caring, taking responsibility and having respect for ourselves. This type of love is necessary in order to love others. If we cannot love ourselves, how then can we love other people? There is nothing closer to us than our own selves; if we cannot care for and respect ourselves, how then can we care for and respect others? Loving ourselves is a form of ‘self-empathy’. We connect with our own feelings, thoughts and aspirations. If we cannot connect with our own selves, how then can we empathise and connect with others? Erich Fromm echoes this idea by saying that love “implies that respect for one’s own integrity and uniqueness, love for an understanding of one’s own self, cannot be separated from respect and love and understanding for another individual.”583

Ikiwa upendo wa mtu kwa nafsi yake ni jambo la lazima, basi upendo huo unapaswa kumpelekea kumpenda Yule aliyemuumba. Kwa nini? Kwa sababu Mwenyezi Mungu ameumba sababu na njia za kimwili ambazo kwazo binadamu hupata furaha na starehe, na kuepuka maumivu. Mwenyezi Mungu ametupa kwa hiari yake kila wakati wa thamani wa uhai wetu, lakini sisi hatuyapati wala kuyamiliki wakati huo. Mwanatheolojia mkubwa Al-Ghazali anaeleza vizuri kwamba ikiwa tunajipenda, ni lazima tumpende Mwenyezi Mungu.

If a person’s love for himself is necessary, this should lead him to love the One who made him. Why? Because God created the physical causes and means for human beings to achieve happiness and pleasure, and avoid pain. God has freely given us every precious moment of our existence, yet we do not earn or own these moments. The great theologian Al-Ghazali aptly explains that if we love ourselves we must love God:

"Kwa hiyo, ikiwa kumpenda nafsi yake mwenyewe ni jambo la lazima, basi kumpenda Yeye ambaye kwa sababu yake, kwanza, kuwepo kwake kulitokea na, pili, kuendelea kwake katika hali yake ya msingi pamoja na sifa zake zote za ndani na za nje, dutu yake na tabia zake, pia kunapaswa kuwa jambo la lazima. Yeyote aliyelewa sana na matamanio ya mwili hata akakosa upendo huu, huyo amemsahau Bwana wake na Muumba wake. Hana ujuzi halisi wa Yeye; macho yake yamebaki yamefungwa kwenye tamaa zake na kwenye mambo ya hisia tu. 584."

“Therefore, if man’s love for himself be necessary, then his love for Him through whom, first his coming-to-be, and second, his continuance in his essential being with all his inward and outward traits, his substance and his accidents, occur must also be necessary. Whoever is so besotted by his fleshy appetites as to lack this love neglects his Lord and Creator. He possesses no authentic knowledge of Him; his gaze is limited to his cravings and to things of sense.” 584.

Mungu ni Al-Wadud, Mwenye kupenda, na upendo wake ndio aina safi kabisa ya upendo.

God is The-Loving, and His love is the purest form of love.

Mungu ni Al-Wadud (Mwenye Kupenda). Yeye ana upendo safi kabisa. Hili linapaswa kumfanya kila mtu apende kumpenda Yeye, na kumpenda Yeye ni sehemu muhimu ya ibada. Fikiria kama ningekuambia kwamba kuna mtu ambaye ndiye mwenye upendo zaidi kuliko wote kuwahi kuwepo, na kwamba hakuna upendo mwingine unaoweza kulingana na upendo wake; je, haingekuamsha hamu kubwa ya kumjua mtu huyu na hatimaye kumpenda naye? Upendo wa Mungu ndio aina safi kabisa na kali zaidi ya upendo; kwa hiyo, mtu yeyote mwenye akili timamu angetaka pia kumpenda Yeye.

God is The-Loving. He has the purest form of love. This should make anyone want to love Him, and loving Him is a key part of worship. Imagine if I were to tell you that there was this person who was the most loving person ever, and that no other love could match his love; wouldn’t that instil a strong desire to get to know this person and eventually love him too? God’s love is the purest and most intense form of love; therefore, any sane person would want to love him too.

Kwa kuwa neno la Kiingereza la "love" lina maana mbalimbali, njia bora ya kufafanua dhana ya Kiislamu ya upendo wa Mungu ni kuchunguza maneno halisi ya Qur'ani yanayoelezea upendo wa Kimungu: rehema Yake (rahmah), rehema Yake maalum (raheem) na upendo Wake maalum (muwadda). Kwa kuelewa maneno haya na jinsi yanavyohusiana na asili ya Kimungu, nyoyo zetu zitajifunza kumpenda Mungu.

Given that the English word for love encompasses a range of meanings, the best way to elaborate on the Islamic conception of God’s love is to look into the actual Qur’anic terms used to describe Divine love: His mercy (rahmah), His special mercy (raheem) and His special love (muwadda). By understanding these terms and how they relate to the Divine nature, our hearts will learn to love God.

Huruma.

Mercy.

Inasemekwa kwamba neno lingine la upendo ni huruma. Mmoja wa majina ya Mungu ni Mwenye Huruma (The-Merciful); neno la Kiarabu linalotumika ni Ar-Rahmaan. Tafsiri hii ya Kiingereza haielezi kikamilifu kina na ukubwa wa maana ambayo neno hili hubeba. Jina Ar-Rahmaan lina maana tatu kuu: ya kwanza ni kwamba huruma ya Mungu ni huruma kubwa sana; ya pili ni kwamba huruma yake ni huruma ya papo hapo; na ya tatu ni huruma yenye nguvu sana kiasi kwamba hakuna kitu kinachoweza kuizuia. Huruma ya Mungu inajumuisha vitu vyote, na Yeye anapendelea kuwaongoza watu. Katika kitabu chake, Qur'an, Yeye anasema: "…lakini rehema Yangu inajumuisha kila kitu…." 585

It is said that another word for love is mercy. One of God’s names is The-Merciful; the Arabic word used is Ar-Rahmaan. This English translation does not fully represent the depth and intensity that the meaning of this word carries. The name Ar-Rahmaan has three major connotations: the first is that God’s mercy is an intense mercy; the second is that His mercy is an immediate mercy; and the third is a mercy so powerful that nothing can stop it. God’s mercy encompasses all things and He prefers guidance for people. In God’s book, the Qur’an, He says, “…but My mercy encompasses all things….” 585

Ni Mola Mwenye Rehema aliyefundisha Qur'ani. {الرَّحْمَٰنُ * عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ}

“It is the Lord of Mercy who taught the Qur’an.” 586

Katika aya iliyotangulia, Mungu anasema Yeye ni Mwenye Rehema (Ar-Rahmaan), ambayo inaweza kueleweka kama "Bwana wa Rehema", na kwamba Yeye ndiye aliyefundisha Qur'an. Hii ni dalili ya kiisimu inayoonyesha kwamba Qur'an iliteremshwa kama udhihirisho wa rehema ya Mungu. Kwa maneno mengine, Qur'an ni kama barua kubwa ya mapenzi kwa wanadamu. Kama ilivyo katika mapenzi ya kweli, anayependa hutaka mema kwa mpendwa wake, humwonya dhidi ya mitego na vikwazo, na humwonyesha njia ya furaha. Qur'an haina tofauti na hilo: inawaita wanadamu, na pia inawaonya na kutoa habari njema.

In the above verse, God says He is The-Merciful, which can be understood as the “Lord of Mercy”, and that He taught the Qur’an. This is a linguistic indication to highlight that the Qur’an was revealed as a manifestation of God’s mercy. In other words, the Qur’an is like one big love-letter to humanity. As with true love, the one who loves wants good for the beloved, and warns them of pitfalls and obstacles, and shows them the way to happiness. The Qur’an is no different: it calls out to humanity, and it also warns and expresses glad tidings.

Rehema Maalum.

Special Mercy.

Kuhusiana na Ar-Rahmaan ni Ar-Raheem. Majina haya yanashiriki mzizi mmoja wa kiisimu ambao unatokana na neno la Kiarabu linalomaanisha tumbo la uzazi. Hata hivyo, tofauti ya maana yake ni kubwa. Ar-Raheem inarejelea rehema maalum kwa wale wanaotaka kuikubali. Yeyote anayechagua kukubali uongozi wa Mungu kimsingi amekubali rehema Yake maalum. Rehema hii maalum ni kwa ajili ya waumini, na inadhihirika peponi; amani isiyo na mwisho, yenye furaha, pamoja na Mungu.

Connected to Ar-Rahmaan is Ar-Raheem. These names share the same linguistic root which comes from the Arabic word for womb. The difference in meaning however is significant. Ar-Raheem refers to a special mercy for those who want to embrace it. Whoever chooses to accept God’s guidance has essentially accepted His special mercy. This special mercy is for the believers and it is manifested in paradise; unending, blissful peace with God.

Upendo Maalum.

Special Love.

Kulingana na Qur'ani, Mungu ni Mwenye Upendo. Jina lake la Kiarabu ni Al-Wadood. Hili linarejelea upendo wa pekee unaoonekana wazi. Linatokana na neno wud, linalomaanisha kuonyesha upendo kupitia tendo la kutoa: "Naye ni Mwenye kusamehe, Mwenye upendo."

According to the Qur’an, God is The-Loving. The Arabic name is Al-Wadood. This refers to a special love that is apparent. It comes from the word wud, which means expressing love through the act of giving: “And He is The Forgiving, The Loving.” 587

Upendo wa Mungu unazidi aina zote za mapenzi. Upendo wake ni mkuu kuliko aina zote za mapenzi ya kidunia. Kwa mfano, upendo wa mama, ingawa hauna ubinafsi, unatokana na hitaji la ndani la yeye kumpenda mtoto wake. Unamkamilisha, na kupitia dhabihu zake anajisikia kuwa kamili na mwenye kutosheka. Mungu ni Mwenye kujitosheleza, asiyehitaji mwingine, Kiumbe huru aliye mkamilifu; Hahitaji chochote. Upendo wa Mungu hautegemei hitaji wala tamaa; kwa hiyo ndio aina safi kabisa ya mapenzi, kwa sababu Yeye hapati chochote kabisa kwa kutupenda sisi.

God’s love transcends all of the different types of love. His love is greater than all worldly forms of love. For example, a mother’s love, although selfless, is based on her internal need to love her child. It completes her, and through her sacrifices she feels whole and fulfilled. God is an independent Being who is self-sufficient and perfect; He does not require anything. God’s love is not based on a need or want; it is therefore the purest form of love, because He gains absolutely nothing from loving us.

Kwa mwanga huu, tunawezaje kutompenda Yule ambaye ana upendo zaidi kuliko chochote tunachoweza kukiwazia? Mtume Muhammad ﷺ alisema: "Mwenyezi Mungu ana huruma na upendo zaidi kwa waja Wake kuliko mama kwa watoto wake."588

In this light, how can we not love the One who is more loving than anything we can imagine? The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “God is more affectionate to His servants than a mother to her children.”588

Ikiwa Mungu ndiye mwenye upendo zaidi, na upendo wake ukiwa mkubwa kuliko upendo mkubwa zaidi wa kidunia ambao tumewahi kuuonja, hili linapaswa kutufanya tumpende Mungu kwa kina zaidi. Muhimu zaidi, hili linapaswa kutufanya tutake kumpenda kwa kuwa mmoja wa waja wake. Al-Ghazali alisema kwa usahihi: "Kwa wale waliopewa busara ya ndani, hakuna kitu cha kweli cha kupendwa isipokuwa Mungu, wala hakuna anayestahili kupendwa isipokuwa Yeye."589

If God is the most loving, and His love is greater than the greatest worldly love we have experienced, this should instil in us a deeper love for God. Significantly, this should make us want to love Him by being one of His servants. Al-Ghazali aptly said, “For those endowed with insight there is in reality no object of love but God, nor does anyone but He deserve love.”589

Kutoka mtazamo wa kiroho, mapenzi ya Mungu ndiyo baraka kubwa zaidi ambayo mtu yeyote anaweza kuyapata, kwani ni chanzo cha utulivu wa ndani, amani, na furaha ya milele katika Akhera. Kutompenda Mungu si tu aina ya kutokushukuru, bali ni aina kubwa zaidi ya chuki. Kutompenda Yule aliye chanzo cha mapenzi ni kukataa kile kinachowezesha mapenzi kuwepo na kujaza mioyo yetu.

From a spiritual perspective, God’s love is the greatest blessing anyone can ever achieve, as it is a source of internal tranquillity, serenity, and eternal bliss in the hereafter. Not loving God is not only a form of ingratitude, but the greatest form of hate. Not loving the One who is the source of love is a rejection of that which enables love to occur and fill our hearts.

Mungu hawalazimishi watu upendo wake maalum. Ingawa, kwa rehema yake, Yeye hutupa kwa upendo kila wakati wa maisha yetu, ili kuukubali kikamilifu upendo wa Mungu na kuwa wapokeaji wa upendo wake maalum, mtu lazima aingie katika uhusiano naye. Ni kama vile upendo wa Mungu unasubiri sisi tuukubali. Hata hivyo, sisi tumefunga mlango na kuweka vifunga. Tumeuweka mlango ukiwa umefungwa kwa kumkataa, kumpuuza na kumkataa Mungu. Kama Mungu angewalazimisha watu upendo wake maalum, upendo ungepoteza maana yake yote. Tuna uchaguzi: kufuata njia iliyo sahihi na hivyo kupata upendo maalum wa Mungu, au kukataa mwongozo wake na kukabiliana na matokeo ya kiroho.

God does not force His special love on us. Although, by His mercy, He lovingly gives us every moment of our lives, to fully embrace God’s love and be recipients of His special love, one must enter into a relationship with Him. It is as if God’s love is waiting for us to embrace it. However, we have closed the door and put up the shutters. We have kept the door shut by denying, ignoring and rejecting God. If God were to force His special love on us, love would lose all meaning. We have the choice: to follow the right path and thereby gain God’s special love, or reject His guidance and face the spiritual consequences.

Mwenye upendo mkuu zaidi anataka kukupenda, lakini ili uukubali upendo huo, na ili uwe na maana, unapaswa kuchagua kumpenda Yeye na kufuata njia inayoongoza kwenye upendo Wake. Njia hii ni njia ya Kinabii ya Mtume Muhammad ﷺ (angalia Sura ya 14):

The most loving Being wants to love you, but in order for you to embrace that love, and for it to be meaningful, you have to choose to love Him and follow the path that leads to His love. This path is the Prophetic path of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم)see Chapter 14):

Sema: "[Ewe Muhammad]: 'Ikiwa mnampenda Mungu, basi nifuateni, ndipo Mungu atawapenda na kuwasamehe dhambi zenu. Na Mungu ni Mwenye kusamehe, Mwenye kurehemu'."590.

“Say, [O Muhammad]: ‘If you love God, then follow me, [so] God will love you and forgive your sins. And God is Forgiving and Merciful’.”590.

Ibada ni sehemu ya sisi tunavyokuwa.

Worship is part of who we are.

Mungu anastahili kuabudiwa kwa sababu ibada ni sehemu ya sisi ni nani. Kama vile hitaji letu la kula, kunywa na kupumua, ibada ni mwelekeo wa asili uliomo ndani yetu (angalia Sura ya 4). Kwa mtazamo huu, sisi ni waabudu kwa asili, kwa sababu hivyo ndivyo tulivyo na ndivyo kusudi letu alilotupa Mungu linavyotaka. Kumwabudu Mungu ni jambo la lazima kimantiki, kama vile tunaposema gari ni jekundu. Ni jekundu kwa sababu sisi tumeliita rangi hiyo jekundu; ni jekundu kwa ufafanuzi. Vivyo hivyo, sisi ni waabudu kwa ufafanuzi, kwa sababu Mungu ndiye aliyetufafanua na kutuumba hivyo: “Sikuwaumba majini wala binadamu isipokuwa waniabudu.”591

God is worthy of our worship because worship is part of who we are. Just like our need to eat, drink and breathe, worship is an innate tendency (see Chapter 4). From this perspective, we are natural-born worshippers, because that is who we are and it is our Divinely given purpose. Worshipping God is a logical necessity, just as when we say a car is red. It is red because we have defined that colour as red; it is red by definition. Likewise, we are worshippers by definition, because God defined and made us that way: “I did not create the Jinn [spirit world], nor mankind, except to worship Me.”591

Hata watu wasiomwamini Mungu, wakiwemo wale wanaokataa kwamba Yeye anastahili kuabudiwa, huonyesha ishara za ibada, heshima na kujitolea. Ikiwa wewe humwabudu Mungu, bado utaishia kuabudu kitu fulani. Kwa mtazamo wa Kiislamu, kitu unachokipenda na kukiheshimu zaidi, ikiwa ni pamoja na chochote unachokihusisha na nguvu za mwisho na unachoamini kwamba unakitegemea kabisa, hicho ndicho kitu chako cha ibada. Kwa watu wengi, hili linaweza kujumuisha itikadi, kiongozi, mwanafamilia, na hata nafsi yako mwenyewe. Kwa maneno mengine, watu wengi huabudu vitu hivi. Ushirikina au uabudu sanamu si tu kuomba kwa kitu fulani au kuinama mbele yake.

Even people who do not believe in God, including those who reject the fact that He is entitled to worship, manifest signs of adoration, reverence and devotion. If you do not worship God, you’ll still end up worshipping something. From an Islamic perspective, the object that you love and revere the most, including whatever you attribute ultimate power to and believe you are ultimately dependent on, is essentially your object of worship. For many people, this can include an ideology, a leader, a family member and even your own self. In other words, many people idolise these things. Polytheism or idolatry is not just about praying to or bowing down in front of an object.

Mungu amejikita katika maumbile yetu ya ndani kabisa, na anapotuamuru tumwabudu, kwa kweli hiyo ni rehema na tendo la mapenzi. Ni kana kwamba kila binadamu ana shimo moyoni mwake. Shimo hili si la kimwili, bali ni la kiroho, na linahitaji kujazwa ili kupata utulivu wa kiroho. Tunajaribu kulijaza shimo hili kwa kazi mpya, likizo, nyumba mpya, gari jipya, starehe, safari, au kuchukua kozi maarufu ya kujiendeleza binafsi. Hata hivyo, kila tunapojaza mioyo yetu kwa vitu hivi, shimo jipya huibuka. Haturidhiki kamwe kikweli, na baada ya muda tunatafuta kitu kingine cha kujaza ombwe la kiroho. Lakini mara tu tunapojaza mioyo yetu kwa mapenzi ya Mungu, shimo hilo hubaki limefungwa milele. Hapo tunahisi amani na kupata utulivu usiowezekana kuelezwa kwa maneno, na utulivu wa moyo usiovurugwa na misiba.

God is rooted in our innermost nature, and when God commands us to worship Him, it is actually a mercy and act of love. It is as if every human being has a hole in his or her heart. This hole is not physical, it is spiritual, and it needs to be filled to achieve spiritual tranquillity. We attempt to fill this hole with a new job, a holiday, a new house, a new car, a hobby, travel or taking up a popular self-help course. However, every time we fill our hearts with these things, a new hole appears. We are never truly satisfied, and after a while we seek something else to fill the spiritual void. Yet, once we fill our hearts with the love of God, the hole remains permanently closed. Thus, we feel at peace and experience a tranquillity that can never be put into words, and a serenity that is undisturbed by calamity.

Kumtii Mungu ni sehemu ya kumwabudu Yeye.

Obeying God is part of worshipping Him.

“na mtiini Mwenyezi Mungu na Mtume ﷺ ili mpate kurehemewa.”593

“[A]nd obey God and the Prophet592 so that you may be given mercy.”593

Ninaposafiri kwa ndege, mara nyingi husikia rubani akitangaza—kupitia mfumo wa sauti ndani ya ndege—kwamba tufunge mikanda ya viti kwa sababu ya msukosuko wa hewa unaokuja. Jibu langu la kawaida ni kuketi, kufunga mkanda wangu na kutumaini (na kuomba) yaliyo bora. Sababu ninayomtii rubani ni kwamba ninaelewa kuwa yeye ndiye mwenye mamlaka kuhusu ndege, jinsi inavyofanya kazi na athari za msukosuko wa hewa. Utii wangu ni matokeo ya kutumia akili yangu ya kufikiri. Ni mtu mwenye kiburi tu ndiye angepinga mamlaka halali. Je, kuna yeyote kati yetu angechukulia kwa uzito mtoto wa miaka saba anayetuambia kuwa profesa wetu wa hisabati hajui jinsi ya kufundisha calculus?

When I travel by plane, I usually hear the pilot announce—via the inflight audio system—to fasten our seat belts due to oncoming turbulence. My typical response involves sitting down, fastening my belt and hoping (and praying) for the best. The reason I obey the pilot’s command is that I understand he is the authority concerning the plane, how it works and the effects of turbulence. My obedience is a result of using my rational faculties. Only an arrogant person would disobey a valid authority. Would any of us take seriously a seven-year-old telling us that our maths professor does not know how to teach calculus?

Kwa mtazamo kama huo, kumwasi Mungu ni upumbavu na hakuna msingi wowote nao. Kumtii Mungu, hata kama hatujui hekima kamili iliyo nyuma ya baadhi ya amri Zake, ndilo jambo la busara zaidi tunaloweza kufanya. Amri za Mungu zinategemea ujuzi Wake usio na mipaka na hekima Yake. Yeye ndiye mamlaka ya mwisho. Kukataa mamlaka hii ni sawa na mtoto wa miaka miwili kuchora michoro kwenye karatasi kisha kudai kwamba yeye ni mfasaha zaidi kuliko Shakespeare. (Kwa kweli, ni mbaya zaidi.)

In a similar light, disobeying God is foolish and unfounded. Obeying God, even if we do not know the full wisdom behind some of His commands, is the most rational thing to do. God’s commands are based on His boundless knowledge and wisdom. He is the ultimate authority. To deny this authority is like a two-year-old child scribbling on a piece of paper and claiming that he is more eloquent than Shakespeare. (Actually, it is worse.)

Hii haimaanishi kwamba tunaacha kutumia akili zetu tunapomtii Mungu. Mungu mwenyewe anatuambia tutumie akili zetu. Hata hivyo, mara tu tunapokwisha kuthibitisha alichosema Mungu, basi hilo linapaswa kupelekea utii. Kumtii Mungu kunamaanisha kwamba mtu amche Yeye. Muumini anapaswa kumcha Mungu ikiwa anataka kuwa katika hali ya utumwa na utii kwake. Hata hivyo, hofu hii si aina ya hofu inayohusishwa na kuogopa adui au nguvu mbaya. Mungu anataka mema kwetu. Badala yake, hofu hii inahusishwa na mshtuko wa heshima kuu inayotetemesha mwili, hasara, mapenzi na huzuni. Tunamcha Mungu kwa mtazamo wa kuogopa kupoteza upendo wake na radhi yake.594 Ili kufafanua jambo hili, zingatia mfano ufuatao:

This does not mean that we suspend our minds when obeying God. We are told by God Himself to use our reason. However, once we have established what God has said, then that should result in obedience. Obeying God entails that one should fear Him. A believer should fear God if he wants to be in a state of servitude and obedience. This fear, however, is not the type of fear that is associated with being scared of an enemy or an evil force. God wants good for us. Rather, this fear is associated with skin-shivering awe, loss, love and unhappiness. We fear God from the perspective of fearing losing His love and good pleasure.594 To explain this point, consider the following illustration:

Fikiria kwamba unatembea katika jengo la maduka makubwa. Unamwona msichana mdogo akikemewa na mama yake. Mtoto anaanza kulia na kushikilia mguu wa mama yake. Mtoto anaomba msamaha wa mama yake na kuomba kukumbatiwa. Mama anatabasamu na kumwambia mtoto wake kwamba alikuwa akimkemea ili kumlinda na kuhakikisha yuko salama. Hofu ya mtoto ni hofu ya kupoteza upendo na furaha ya mama yake. Mtoto hataki kupoteza upendo wa mama yake wala kumfanya asifurahi. Hii ndiyo aina ya hofu tunayopaswa kuwa nayo kwa Mungu.

Imagine you are walking through a mall. You notice a young child being told off by her mother. The child starts to cry and holds on to her mother’s leg. The child begs for her mother’s forgiveness and asks for a hug. The mother smiles and tells her child that she was telling her off to protect her and ensure she stays safe. The child’s fear is a fear of losing her mother’s love and pleasure. The child does not want to lose her mother’s love and make her unhappy. This is the type of fear we must have for God.

Tunapaswa kutaka kumtii Mungu kwa sababu tunaogopa matokeo ya kiroho ya kutotii. Matokeo haya ni pamoja na kupoteza upendo maalum wa Mungu, na kuvunjika kwa uhusiano tuliojenga naye kupitia matendo yetu ya ibada. Kutotii ni njia yetu ya kukimbia rehema ya Mungu, na kukosekana kwa rehema yake kunaongoza kwenye makao ya kutisha ya mateso tunayojiletea wenyewe; jehanamu. Al-Ghazali anaeleza aina hii ya hofu kwa kuieleza kama hofu ya kupoteza kitu kinachopendwa: "Anayependa kitu lazima aogope kukipoteza. Hivyo basi, upendo hauwezi kuwepo bila hofu, kwa sababu kitu kinachopendwa ni kitu kinachoweza kupotea."595

We should want to obey God because we fear the spiritual consequences of disobedience. These include losing God’s special love; including breaking the connection we have built with Him through our acts of worship. Disobedience is our way of running away from God’s mercy, and an absence of His mercy leads to a terrible abode of self-inflicted suffering; hell. Al-Ghazali summarises this type of fear by describing it as a fear of losing something that is loved: “Whoever loves something must fear to lose it. Hence love cannot be without fear, for the object of love is something that can be lost.”595

Qur'ani inataja khofu ya Mungu, na khofu hii lazima ieleweke kwa namna nilivyoeleza hapo juu. Hata hivyo, kitabu hicho cha Kiungu pia kinataja ucha Mungu, unaojulikana katika elimu ya theolojia ya Kiislamu kama taqwaa. Tafsiri nzuri ya Qur'ani ingeweza kutofautisha maneno haya mawili. Maana zao ni tofauti na zinaingiliana. Wakati khofu ya Mungu inamaanisha kuogopa hasara na matokeo ya kiroho ya kutotii, ucha Mungu unarejelea kuwa makini na kufahamu uwepo wa Mungu; Yeye anajua tunachokifanya, na kama wapenzi wa Mungu, tunapaswa kutamani kutafuta radhi zake njema na upendo Wake.

The Qur’an mentions the fear of God, and this fear must be understood in the way I have just explained above. However, the Divine book also mentions God-consciousness, known as taqwaa in Islamic theology. A good translation of the Qur’an would distinguish the two terms. Their meanings are different and they overlap. While fear of God entails fearing loss and the spiritual consequences of disobedience, God-consciousness refers to being mindful and aware of the Divine presence; He knows what we are doing and, as lovers of God, we should want to seek His good pleasure and love.

Je, Mungu anahitaji ibada yetu?

Does God need our worship?.

Swali hili la kawaida hutokea kutokana na kutoelewa vizuri dhana ya Mungu katika mapokeo ya Kiislamu. Qur'ani na Hadithi za Mtume zinaeleza wazi kwamba Mungu yuko juu ya kila kitu na hana haja yoyote; kwa maneno mengine, Yeye ni huru kabisa (angalia Sura ya 6).

This common question arises due to a misunderstanding of God in the Islamic tradition. The Qur’an and the Prophetic traditions clearly explain that God is transcendent and free of any need; in other words, He is absolutely independent (see Chapter 6).

Kwa hiyo, Mungu hahitaji kabisa sisi tumwabudu. Yeye hanufaiki chochote kutokana na ibada yetu, na kukosekana kwake hakupunguzi chochote kwa Mungu. Tunamwabudu Mungu kwa sababu—kupitia hekima na rehema ya Mungu—ndivyo alivyotuumba. Mungu alifanya ibada kuwa jambo jema na lenye manufaa kwetu, kwa mtazamo wa dunia hii na wa kiroho.

Therefore, God does not need us to worship Him at all. He gains nothing from our worship, and our lack of it takes nothing away from God. We worship God because—through God’s wisdom and mercy— He created us that way. God made worship good and beneficial for us, from both worldly and spiritual perspectives.

Kwa nini Yeye alituumba ili tumwabudu?

Why did He create us to worship Him?.

Kwa nini hii jibu mara nyingi hufuatiwa na swali: Kwa nini Mungu alituumba tumwabudu Yeye? Mungu ni Kiumbe mwenye wema wa kiwango cha juu zaidi, na kwa hiyo matendo yake si mema tu, bali ni udhihirisho wa asili yake. Zaidi ya hayo, Mungu anapenda wema. Ukweli kwamba Mungu ameumba viumbe wenye akili ambao kwa hiari yao wangechagua kumwabudu Yeye na kutenda mema, baadhi yao wakifikia kiwango cha juu cha fadhila kama Manabii, kisha kupewa uzima wa milele mbele ya Mungu, ili kupitisha milele yote katika upendo wa karibu na urafiki, ni hadithi kuu kuliko zote kuwahi kusimuliwa. Kwa kuwa Mungu anapenda kila wema, ni wazi kwa nini angeifanya hadithi hii kuwa halisi. Kwa muhtasari, Mungu alituumba tumwabudu kwa sababu anatutakia mema; kwa maneno mengine, anataka tuingie peponi. Amefanya wazi kwamba wale watakaofikia peponi wameumbwa ili wapate kuonja rehema zake.596

What follows from this answer is usually the question: Why did God create us to worship Him? God is a maximally good Being, and therefore His actions are not only good, they are expressions of His nature. In addition, God loves good. The fact that God has created rational creatures who would freely choose to worship Him and do good—some to the point of becoming exalted in virtue like the prophets, and then being given eternal life in the presence of God—to pass an eternity of intimate love and companionship, is the greatest story ever told. Since God loves all good, it is clear why He would make this story a reality. In summary, God created us to worship Him because He wants good for us; in other words, He wants us to go to paradise. He has made it clear that those who attain paradise have been created to experience His mercy:596

"Kama Mola wako angependa, angewafanya watu wote kuwa umma mmoja, lakini wataendelea kuwa na tofauti zao, isipokuwa wale ambao Mola wako amewarehemu; kwani aliwaumba wawe hivyo." 597

“If your Lord had pleased, He would have made all people a single community, but they continue to have their differences—except those on whom your Lord has mercy— for He created them to be this way.” 597

Kuumbwa kwetu tuweze kumwabudu Yeye kulikuwa jambo lisiloepukika. Majina yake makamilifu na sifa zake zilikuwa zitadhihirika. Msanii kwa lazima hutoa kazi ya sanaa kwa sababu ana sifa ya kuwa mbunifu wa sanaa. Kwa sababu hiyo kubwa zaidi, Mungu kwa lazima angetuumba tumwabudu kwa kuwa Yeye ndiye anayestahili kuabudiwa. Jambo hili lisiloepukika halitokani na haja, bali ni udhihirisho wa majina na sifa za Mungu.

God creating us to worship Him was inevitable. His perfect names and attributes were going to manifest themselves. An artist inevitably produces art work because he has the attribute of being artistic. By greater reason, God would inevitably create us to worship Him because He is the One worthy of worship. This inevitability is not based on need, but rather a manifestation of God’s names and attributes.

Njia nyingine ya kujibu swali hili ni kuelewa kwamba maarifa yetu ni ya kipande-kipande na ni machache, kwa hiyo hatutaweza kamwe kuyafahamu yote ya hekima ya Mungu. Kama tulivyotaja hapo awali, endapo tungeelewa hekima yote ya Mungu, ingemaanisha kwamba tungekuwa miungu au kwamba Mungu angekuwa kama sisi. Vyote viwili haviwezekani. Kwa hiyo, ukweli kwamba huenda hakuna jibu la swali hili unaonyesha kuwa maarifa ya Mungu yako juu ya ufahamu wetu. Kwa kifupi, alituumba tumwabudu kwa sababu ya hekima yake ya milele; tu hatuwezi kuelewa ni kwa nini.

Another way of answering this question is to understand that our knowledge is fragmentary and finite, so we will never be able to fathom the totality of God’s wisdom. As previously mentioned, if we comprehended all of God’s wisdom, it would mean we would become Gods or that God would be like us. Both are impossibilities. Hence, the very fact that there may be no answer to this question indicates the transcendence of God’s knowledge. In summary, He created us to worship Him due to His eternal wisdom; we just cannot comprehend why.

Njia ya vitendo ya kuangalia swali hili inaelezwa katika mfano ufuatao. Fikiria ulikuwa pembezoni mwa mwamba wa juu, kisha mtu akakusukuma ukaanguka baharini chini. Maji haya yamejaa papa. Lakini yule aliyekusukuma alikupa ramani isiyopitisha maji na tanki la oksijeni ili kukuwezesha kufika kwenye kisiwa kizuri cha kitropiki, ambako utaishi milele katika furaha. Kama ungekuwa mwerevu, ungetumia ramani na kufika salama kisiwani. Lakini ukikwama kwenye swali, kwa nini umenitupa humu? huenda utaliwa na papa. Kwa Mwislamu, Qur'ani na Hadithi za Mtume ﷺ ni ramani na tanki la oksijeni. Ni zana zetu za kuabiri njia ya maisha kwa usalama. Ni lazima tumjue Mungu, tumpende na tumtii, na tujitolee matendo yote ya ibada kwake Yeye peke yake. Kimsingi, tuna chaguo la kujidhuru kwa kupuuza ujumbe huu, au kuikumbatia rehema na upendo wa Mungu kwa kuukubali.

A practical way of looking at this question is explained in the following illustration. Imagine you were on the edge of a cliff and someone pushed you into the ocean below. This water is infested with sharks. However, the one who pushed you gave you a waterproof map and an oxygen tank to enable you to navigate to a beautiful tropical island, where you will stay forever in bliss. If you were intelligent, you would use the map and reach the safety of the island. However, being stuck on the question, why did you throw me in here? will probably cause you to be eaten by the sharks. For the Muslim, the Qur’an and Prophetic traditions are the map and the oxygen tank. They are our tools to navigate the path of life safely. We have to know, love and obey God, and dedicate all acts of worship to Him alone. Fundamentally, we have the choice of harming ourselves by ignoring this message, or embracing the love and mercy of God by accepting it.

Mtumwa aliyeachwa huru.

The free slave.

Kutoka mtazamo wa kiwepo (existential), kumwabudu Mungu ni ukombozi wa kweli. Ikiwa ibada inamaanisha kumpenda na kumtii Mungu zaidi ya yote, basi kwa kweli wengi wetu pia tuna miungu mingine maishani mwetu. Wengi wetu tunataka kuipenda na kuitii nafsi yetu na matamanio yetu zaidi ya yote. Tunadhani kila mara tuko sahihi, hatutaki kamwe kukosea, na daima tunataka kujilazimisha kwa wengine. Kwa mtazamo huu, tumefungwa utumwani kwa nafsi zetu wenyewe. Qur'ani inaonyesha hali hiyo duni ya kiroho na kumweleza mtu anayeona matamanio, shauku na matakwa yake kuwa mungu wake kuwa mbaya zaidi kuliko mnyama: "Je, umemwona yule aliyejifanya mungu wake ni matamanio yake? Je, wewe unaweza kuwa mlinzi wake? Au unadhani wengi wao wanasikia au wanafahamu? Hao si chochote ila ni kama wanyama; bali wao ni wapotevu zaidi kwa njia."598

From an existential perspective, worshipping God is true liberation. If worship entails loving and obeying God the most, then in reality many of us also have other gods in our lives. Many of us want to love and obey our own egos and desires the most. We think we are always right, we never want to be wrong, and we always want to impose ourselves on others. From this perspective, we are enslaved to ourselves. The Qur’an points out such a debased spiritual state and describes the one who considers his desires, passions and whims as his god, to be worse than an animal: “Think of the man who has taken his own passion as a god: are you to be his guardian? Do you think that most of them hear or understand? They are just like cattle—no, they are further from the path.”598

Kutoka kwenye kujiabudu nafsi, wakati mwingine tunahamia kuabudu aina mbalimbali za shinikizo la kijamii, mawazo, kanuni na tamaduni. Hizi huwa kipimo chetu cha marejeo, tunaanza kuzipenda, kutaka kuzifahamu zaidi, na kujikuta tukiongozwa 'kuzitii'. Mifano ni mingi; chukua, kwa mfano, ubepari wa mali. Tumejishughulisha sana na fedha na mali za kimwili. Ni wazi kwamba kutamani fedha na mali si jambo baya kila wakati, lakini tumeruhusu harakati zetu za kuvipata vitu hivyo ziamue sisi ni nani. Muda wetu na juhudi zetu zimeelekezwa kwenye kukusanya utajiri, hivyo dhana ya uongo ya mafanikio ya kimwili inakuwa lengo kuu katika maisha yetu. Kwa mtazamo huu, vitu vya kimwili huanza kututawala na kutuongoza kutumikia utamaduni wa kutamani mali kupita kiasi, badala ya kumtumikia Mwenyezi Mungu. Ninatambua kwamba hili halihusu kila mtu, lakini aina hii ya ubepari wa mali kupita kiasi imeenea sana. Utafiti wa Jean M. Twenge na Tim Kasser ulihitimisha kwamba kutamani mali miongoni mwa vijana kumeongezeka kadiri vizazi vinavyopita—utafiti huu ulitegemea data kutoka 1976 hadi 2007—na kumebaki juu sana. Kutokuwa na utulivu wa kijamii kama talaka, ukosefu wa ajira, ubaguzi wa rangi, tabia zisizo za kijamii, kupungua kwa kuridhika na maisha na matatizo mengine ya kijamii vina uhusiano fulani na viwango vya juu vya kutamani mali. Hili linaungwa mkono na utafiti uliofanywa na S. J. Opree na wenzake, ambao walihitimisha kwamba kiwango kikubwa cha kutamani mali wakati wa utoto kinaweza kupunguza kuridhika na maisha wakati wa utu uzima.

From self-worship, sometimes we move to worship various forms of social pressures, ideas, norms and cultures. They become our point of reference, we start to love them, want to know more about them, and are led to ‘obey’ them. Examples abound; take, for instance, materialism. We have become preoccupied with money and material belongings. Obviously, to want money and possessions is not necessarily a bad thing, but we have allowed our pursuit to define who we are. Our time and efforts are devoted to the accumulation of wealth, making the false notion of material success the primary focus in our lives. From this perspective, material things start to control us and lead us to serve the culture of avid materialism rather than serving God. I appreciate that this does not apply to everyone, but this form of excessive materialism is very common. Research by Jean M. Twenge and Tim Kasser concluded that materialism amongst youth has increased over generations—this study was based on data from 1976 to 2007—and it has remained very high. Social instability such as divorce, unemployment, racism, antisocial behaviour, decreased life-satisfaction and other social problems have some association with higher levels of materialism.599 This is supported by research conducted by S. J. Opree and others, where they conclude that a high level of materialism during childhood years may decrease life-satisfaction in adulthood.

600 Bila shaka, utafiti wa aina hii si wa uhakika kabisa, na utafiti zaidi unahitajika, lakini unaunga mkono hisia ya pamoja kwamba vipaumbele vya namna hii wazi kabisa si sahihi. Hisia yetu ya sisi ni nani inategemea kazi zetu, mapato yetu, utajiri wetu na mali zetu. Utambulisho wetu polepole unakuwa unategemea mambo ya kimali, na si juu ya yale ambayo wengi wangeyaona kuwa ni maadili ya juu zaidi, kama vile maadili yetu, viwango vyetu vya kimaadili, ubinadamu wetu, na uhusiano wetu na Mungu na wanadamu wengine.

600 Obviously, research of this kind is not entirely conclusive, and much more research needs to be done, but it supports a collective intuition that such priorities are clearly not right. Our sense of who we are is based on our jobs, earnings, wealth and possessions. Our identities are slowly becoming contingent on material factors and not on—what many would consider—higher values such as our ethics, moral standards, humanitarianism and connecting with God and other human beings.

Kimsingi, ikiwa hatumwabudu Mungu, bado tunaabudu kitu kingine. Hicho kinaweza kuwa nafsi zetu wenyewe na matamanio yetu, au vitu vya muda mfupi kama mali. Katika mapokeo ya Kiislamu, kumwabudu Mungu ndiko kunakotufafanua sisi ni nani, kwa sababu ni sehemu ya maumbile yetu. Tukimsahau Mungu, na kuanza kuabudu vitu visivyostahili kuabudiwa, polepole tutajisahau wenyewe: "Wala msiwe kama wale waliomsahau Mwenyezi Mungu, naye akawafanya wajisahau nafsi zao wenyewe."

Essentially, if we are not worshipping God, we are still worshipping something else. This can be our own egos and desires, or ephemeral things like material possessions. In the Islamic tradition, worshipping God defines who we are, as it is part of our nature. If we forget God, and start to worship things that are not worthy of worship, we will slowly forget our own selves: “And be not like those who forgot God, so He made them forget themselves.” 601

Uelewa wetu wa sisi ni nani unategemea uhusiano wetu na Mwenyezi Mungu, ambao unaundwa na utumwa wetu na ibada yetu. Kwa maana hii, tunapomwabudu Mwenyezi Mungu tunaachiliwa kutoka utiifu kwa "miungu" mingine, iwe ni nafsi zetu wenyewe au vitu tunavyomiliki au tunavyovitamani. Kama ilivyotajwa awali, Qur'ani inatuwasilishia mfano wa kina: "Mwenyezi Mungu ametoa mfano: je, mtu aliye na mabwana kadhaa wanaopingana wanaweza kulinganishwa na mtu aliyejitolea kikamilifu kwa bwana mmoja? Sifa zote ni za Mwenyezi Mungu, lakini wengi wao hawajui."602

Our understanding of who we are is dependent on our relationship with God, which is shaped by our servitude and worship. In this sense, when we worship God we are freed from submission to other ‘gods’, whether ourselves or things that we own or desire. As previously mentioned, the Qur’an presents us with a profound analogy: “God puts forward this illustration: can a man who has for his masters several partners at odds with each other be considered equal to a man devoted wholly to one master? All praise belongs to God, though most of them do not know.”602

Mungu anatufundisha kwa msingi kwamba tusipomwabudu Mungu, basi tutaishia kuabudu kitu kingine. Vitu hivyo hututumikisha na kuwa mabwana zetu. Mfano wa Kur'ani unatufundisha kwamba pasipo Mungu, tunakuwa na "mabwana" wengi, nao wote wanataka kitu kutoka kwetu. Wote wanapingana wao kwa wao, na sisi tunajikuta katika hali ya taabu, mkanganyiko na kutokuwa na furaha. Hata hivyo, Mungu, ambaye anajua kila kitu, ikiwa ni pamoja na nafsi zetu wenyewe, na ambaye ana rehema kuliko wengine wote, anatuambia kwamba yeye ndiye Bwana wetu, na kwamba ni kwa kumwabudu yeye peke yake ndipo tutajikomboa kweli kutoka katika minyororo ya vitu tulivyovichukua kuwa mbadala wake.

God is essentially telling us that if we do not worship God, we end up worshipping something else. These things enslave us and they become our masters. The Qur’anic analogy is teaching us that without God, we have many ‘masters’ and they all want something from us. They are all ‘at odds with each other’, and we end up in a state of misery, confusion and unhappiness. However, God, who knows everything, including our own selves, and who has more mercy than anyone else, is telling us that He is our master, and that only by worshipping Him alone will we truly free ourselves from the shackles of the things we have taken as replacements for Him.

Ili kuhitimisha sura hii, kumwabudu Mungu kwa upendo na kumnyenyekea Yeye kwa amani kunakuweka huru kutoka katika ibada iliyoharibika ya dunia ya muda mfupi, na kutoka katika utii wa tamaa kwa mambo ya kimwili na ya ubinafsi ya hali ya kibinadamu. Mistari ifuatayo ya ushairi wa Mshairi wa Mashariki, Muhammad Iqbal, inaeleza jambo hili kwa ufasaha:

To conclude this chapter, lovingly worshipping God and peacefully submitting to Him frees you from the degraded worship of the ephemeral world and the lustful submission to the carnal and egotistical realities of the human condition. The following lines of poetry by the Poet of the East, Muhammad Iqbal, eloquently summarises this point:

"Sujūd hii moja unayoiona kuwa ni nzito kupita kiasi inakuokoa na sujūd elfu moja."603

“This one prostration which you deem too exacting liberates you from a thousand prostrations.”603