Ibadah
Encyclopedia
The Arabic word ibadah (عبادة) or ibada, usually translated "worship", is connected with related words literally meaning "slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

", and has connotations of obedience, submission, and humility. In terms of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

, ibadah is the ultimate obedience, the ultimate submission, and the ultimate humility to Allah (God) along with the ultimate love for Him. Muslims believe that ibadah is the reason for the existence of all humanity. That is, Muslims believe that all people exist only to worship Allah. Ibadah consequently means following Islamic beliefs and practices – its commands, prohibitions, the halal
Halal
Halal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...

, and the haram
Haraam
Haraam is an Arabic term meaning "forbidden", or "sacred". In Islam it is used to refer to anything that is prohibited by the word of Allah in the Qur'an or the Hadith Qudsi. Haraam is the highest status of prohibition given to anything that would result in sin when a Muslim commits it...

. For Muslims, ibadah is also something that comes from the heart, or sincerity, as a result of belief in Islam. Therefore, ibadah is something that can not be forced upon another person.

Some Muslims believe that in Islam all types of worship and prayers have been decided by Allah and his rusul
Rasul
In Islam, an Apostle or Messenger is a prophet sent by God.According to the Qur'an, God sent many prophets to mankind. The five universally acknowledged messengers in Islam are Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and Muhammad, as each is believed to have been sent with a scripture...

(prophets), so there is no need to resort to reasoning things out (ijtihad
Ijtihad
Ijtihad is the making of a decision in Islamic law by personal effort , independently of any school of jurisprudence . as opposed to taqlid, copying or obeying without question....

). According to this view of Islam the duty of humans is to follow and practise what Allah and his prophets have taught humanity, so there are no substitutions for ibadah.

Many devout Muslims perform their religious duties during all circumstances. One example is that of Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor
Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor
Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor is a Malaysian orthopaedic surgeon and was the first Malaysian to go into space. He was launched to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-11 with the Expedition 16 crew on October 10, 2007...

, who practiced his Islamic obligations while an astronaut aboard the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...

.
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