Abdurrahman.org Website Review

“iyyāka na’budu wa iyyāka nasta’īn” – shaykh al-‘uthaymīn  إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ  “you alone” (iyyāka): this is a case in grammar when the direct object comes before the verb, “we worship” (na’budu). in arabic grammar, when the direct object precedes the verb, it gives a sense of restriction, so the meaning would be, “we do not worship anyone or “we worship” (na’budu): meaning: we humble ourselves to you in complete humility. in this way, you find the believers placing the most honorable part of their bodies (their faces) at the level of their feet in humility to allah (عزّ وجلّ). they prostrate on the ground, covering their foreheads with dirt. this is from their humbleness before allah. and if another person were to say, “i will give you the whole world and what it contains, just prostrate to me once,” you will never find true believers accepting this because this type of humility is a form of worship specifically for allah alone. the word “worship” includes doing everything allah commands and avoiding everything he forbids. whoever is not in accordance with this, not carrying out what he is commanded to do and avoiding what he is forbidden to do then he is not a true worshipper and servant. a worshipper is someone who obeys the one he worships in whatever he legislates. so, worship requires that mankind carry out everything they are commanded to do and avoid everything they are forbidden from doing. however, it is not possible to fulfill all of these duties without the help and as*istance of allah. because of this, allah ( سبحانه وتعالى ) then says: “and from you alone we seek help” (wa iyyāka nasta’īn): meaning, “we do not seek the help of anyone else in worship or in anything else.” this “seeking of help” is to request the help and as*istance, and allah combines between worship and the seeking of as*istance or reliance in many places the noble qur’an. this is because worship could not be completely established except with the