By: Bayynat editor
However, this does not mean that a person cannot carry our certain other voluntary obligations, in all the avenues of good, on behalf of other people. Providing for the poor and performing visitation to the holy shrines are just two examples of such works.
Should a person feel the need to do another one a service by way of worship, they are free to do so by performing that particular act of worship directly; without the niyyah of performing it by proxy. They could then ask Allah to accept it and register its thawab (reward) for the intended person, in the trust that it will be accepted.
It is permissible to perform all acts of worship, be they wajib or mustahab, for someone who had passed away. Likewise, performing such acts directly by the person carrying out the devotion and dedicating the potential thawab to the deceased, as has already been discussed in the previous paragraph, as in order.
Just volunteering to performing acts of worship for another person is in order, so is hiring someone for the same purpose. However, there is a fundamental condition for the validity of the work. The overriding objective for the person charged with the task should be the fear of Allah, the Exalted that they could be receiving the remuneration without their being ready and able to fully honor the commitment.
It is sufficient for the hired person to acquire this minimum level of niyyah of qurbah, without which any act of worship would not be deemed acceptable. Should the hired person be ready to receive the money unless they carried the work out, their proxy shall not be in order and the work not be deemed sound. This is because their objective has been pure business, is that they were not mindful of their duty towards Allah and safeguarding His right.
Regardless of a person’s sincere worship and submission to his Creator, it is haram to assume that they are beyond His punishment. By the same token, it is haram for them to give up all hope on Allah’s mercy and forgiveness, irrespective of what misdemeanors or sins they may have committed.
Assumptions of being spared Allah’s chastisement or being denied His mercy are among cardinal sins. Acts of worship are not confined to certain devotions such as prayer and fasting. From a Sharia law standpoint, a person can transform all work in different spheres of life to acts of worship, if they carried them out for the sake of life to acts of worship, if they carried them out for the sake of Allah and in the trust that they meet with His acceptance.
This was an outline of the rules and regulations of ibadat.