Humans are first informed by God that every human being is born with an innate consciousness of God. In the Quran, God said: "[Remember] when your Lord extracted from the loins of Adam's children their descendants and made them testify [saying]: 'Am I not your Lord?' They said: 'Yes, we testify to it.' [This was] in case you say on the Day of Judgment: 'We were unaware of this.' Or you say: 'It was our ancestors who worshipped others besides God and we are only their descendants. Will you then destroy us for what those liars did?'" (Quran 7:172).
The Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, explained that when God created Adam, He took from him a covenant at a place called Na,maan on the 9th day of the 12th month. He then extracted from Adam all of his descendants who would be born until the end of the world, generation after generation, and spread them out before Him to take a covenant from them also. He spoke to them, face to face, making them bear witness that He was their Lord. Consequently, every human being is responsible for belief in God, which is imprinted on each and every soul. It is based on this inborn belief that God defined the purpose of mankind's creation in Quran: "I have created the jinn and humankind only for My worship." (Quran 51:56)
A. Worship
The English term 'worship' comes from the Old English weorthscipe meaning 'honor.' Consequently, worship in the English language is defined as 'the performance of devotional acts in honor of a deity.' According to this meaning, man is instructed to show gratitude to God by glorifying Him. In the Quran, God says: "Glorify the praises of your Lord..." (Quran 15:98) In glorifying God, man chooses to be in harmony with the rest of creation which naturally glorifies its Creator. God addresses this phenomenon in many chapters of the Quran. For example, in the Quran, God states: "The seven heavens and the earth and whatever is in them glorify Him and there is nothing which does not glorify His praise. However, you do not understand their glorification." (Quran 17:44)
B. The Meaning of Worship
To understand why human beings need to worship God, one must first understand what is meant by the term 'worship.' The English term 'worship' comes from the Old English weorthscipe meaning 'honor.' Consequently, worship in the English language is defined as 'the performance of devotional acts in honor of a deity.' According to this meaning, man is instructed to show gratitude to God by glorifying Him. In the Quran, God says: "Glorify the praises of your Lord..." (Quran 15:98) In glorifying God, man chooses to be in harmony with the rest of creation which naturally glorifies its Creator. God addresses this phenomenon in many chapters of the Quran. For example, in the Quran, God states: "The seven heavens and the earth and whatever is in them glorify Him and there is nothing which does not glorify His praise. However, you do not understand their glorification." (Quran 17:44)
