All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the noblest of messengers, Muhammad, and upon his family and companions.
Shaykh Ibrahim al-Ruhayli, professor of creed at the College of Sharia in Madinah, said:
“Truth (ḥaqq) in the language is that whose existence is realized; for example, when a statement conforms to reality, it is said: this is true. Rights are either fulfilled or injustices are redressed on the Day of Resurrection. Thus, rights are never lost: whoever loses a right in this world will recover it in the Hereafter. The first matter to be judged between people on the Day of Resurrection will be bloodshed. Rights will be settled such that no injustice remains except that its owner will take it back from the wrongdoer, or pardon him. They are called ‘rights’ because their occurrence is certain, or because punishment for them is certain in the case of retribution.
The greatest of rights is the right of Allah, Exalted be He. This right is the very reason for the existence of humans and jinn, and upon it revolves their happiness in this world and the Hereafter. Whoever worships Allah succeeds and attains salvation in both worlds; whoever turns away from worship and falls into associating partners with Him loses both worlds, because his existence was for this great purpose. It is the most emphasized of rights, and its punishment is the severest, for whoever neglects this right will abide eternally in the Fire of Hell—seeking refuge in Allah. As for the rights of people, they do not cause one to abide eternally in the Fire, but they will be settled on the Day of Resurrection.
A servant’s perfection lies in realizing servitude to Allah. There is no stability for his soul, nor tranquility for his spirit and body, except through the worship of Allah. The more one deviates from worship, the greater his deficiency, because the foundation of a Muslim’s life and his interests in this world and the Hereafter rests upon obedience to Allah, Mighty and Majestic. The more devoted one is in worship to Allah, the more complete his life is in both worlds.
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to Mu‘adh, may Allah be pleased with him, regarding Allah’s right over His servants: {that they worship Him and do not associate anything with Him}. Worship encompasses everything that Allah has legislated—acts of the heart, of the limbs, and all branches of faith. The second principle is {that they do not associate anything with Him}. Most people worship Allah, and the polytheists of Quraysh used to worship Allah, yet their worship was not accepted because they associated partners with Him. Even the second principle alone is not sufficient; if a person does not associate partners with Allah but does not worship Him, it will not be accepted from him. Both principles are necessary: worship of Allah along with disbelief in false deities (ṭāghūt) and freedom from polytheism. Upon this rests happiness in this world and the Hereafter. This is not specific to this nation; rather, it is a universal principle in all divine laws: {We certainly sent to every nation a messenger, [proclaiming]: Worship Allah and avoid false deities}. Polytheism leads to eternal punishment in the Fire in this law and others. All the messengers called to monotheism and warned against polytheism, and the dispute between them and their peoples centered on this principle. This right has been enjoined by Allah upon this nation and upon others; indeed, all humans and jinn were not created except for this عظيمة principle.”
And Allah knows best. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and companions.
