Al-Quran states in very clear terms that duty of believer toward his Lord is to worship Him. ALLAH said in the quran :
(وَمَا خَلَقۡتُ ٱلۡجِنَّ وَٱلۡإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعۡبُدُونِ (٥٦
"And I have not created the Jin and man but that they worship Me" Holy Quran (51:56)
(مَآ أُرِيدُ مِنۡہُم مِّن رِّزۡقٍ۬ وَمَآ أُرِيدُ أَن يُطۡعِمُونِ (٥٧
"I seek nor any provision from them(i.e. provision for themselves or for my creatures) nor do i ask that they should feed me (i.e. feed themselves or my creatures)." (51:57)
(إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلرَّزَّاقُ ذُو ٱلۡقُوَّةِ ٱلۡمَتِينُ (٥٨
"Verily ALLAH is the All-provider,owner of Power,the most strong." (51:58)
The oneness of Allah is the one most important theological principal in Islam. The first of the five pillars, the declaration of faith, which is the first act that one does to embark on Islam, It begins with the negation of any god other than Allah:
أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله و أشهد أن محمد رسول الله
"I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Mohammed is His messenger."
A single honest recitation of the Shahadah in Arabic is all that is required for a person to become a Muslim. This declaration, or statement of faith, is the most important of the Five Pillars of Islam for Muslims.
Allah, the Creator has perfect knowledge. Muslims believe in the omniscience of Allah, He knows all that is tangible and that is manifest, He knows the past and the future.
To be a Muslim it is essential to believe in the destiny, whethergood or bad, that Allah has set for us (known as Qadr in Arabic). The Quran says:
"Say, Nothing shall befall us save that which Allah has ordained for us"
However, one may look at the purpose of creation from a different aspect and thus end up with an altogether different answer as to what the primary reason is.
If you go back to the question of how can we benefit from Allah, we may come up with a different reason, other than worship. All of creation isalready at benefit. Our existence is benefit. Being created is an example of Allah's mercy towards us.
Thus one can conclude that we were created, fundamentally because Allah is merciful.However, although there are many different perspectives to the answer as to why we were created, they are all connected and in a way each of them is right.
In defining what is meant by a Muslim's duties, we may generalise that a Muslim's duty is to worship Allah. To elaborate further, Muslims do not see the term worship in the vague sense of praying and fasting, etc - worship can be any aspect of a Muslim's daily life depending on the intention.
For example even when a Muslim goes to get an education, provided that hein tends to use it for good, it is seen as worship and will be rewarded.
Each of Allah's divine attributes has practical implications in thelife of a firm Muslim. Clear, comprehension of the uniqueness of Allah's nature improves a persons Taqwa, or belief in god. Having taqwa in our hearts throughout our daily life adds a feeling of contentment peace with one's self and constant happiness, for when they return to Allah He will say:
(ٱرۡجِعِىٓ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً۬ مَّرۡضِيَّةً۬ (٢٨
And thou, O soul at peace. Return to thy Lord well pleased with Him and He will be pleased with thee Holy( Quran 89:28)
Realisation that Allah knows all, hears all and sees all that we do is one of the most important aspects of Allah's nature that a Muslim can benefit from.
Increases what we might call our'self-policing'. For example, when one is alone such as when a teenager is away from his strict parents, he may say that there is no one to fear so why bother praying? The answer to this is given in the following hadith:
"Fear Allah as if you can see Him, if you cannot imagine seeing Him, know that He sees you." (Al-bukhari and Al- muslim)
Allah sees everything that we do and so we should be faithful in our duties even when we are alone.
For those who have a very high realisation of the nature of Allah, they do not worship him for the fear of His hell, nor forthe want of His paradise but because Allah is worthy of all praise.
Imam Ali (AS), the cousin of the prophet says:
"O Allah, I did not worship You for the greed of your paradise nor for the fear of hell, but because you are worthy of all praise."
This is the ideal that all Muslims should aim for..
