These are the dangers of engaging in worship in front of people.
This is the reason why God has made physical worship an obligation upon you to a certain degree
and commanded you to perform the concealed worship abundantly.
Arrogance Caused by Physical Worship and its Dangers
There is an entire mechanism behind the arrogance that comes along with worshipping.
What is that mechanism?
Let’s suppose that, in order to help the less fortunate,
I publicly announce that I’m donating £100,000 to them.
The news spreads in the media.
I write up the check but that check is bounced,
and they don’t receive the money.
But I maintain that I have given the money.
So, this is a deception.
In a similar way, when it comes to worship,
a common person is only aware that worship is obligatory.
A common person does not realise that along with their obligatory performance of worship,
they must also ensure their worship actually reaches God.
You see, there are so many folks worshipping in the mosques and temples and churches,
so why are they still deceitful despite worshipping?
The reason for that is their worship has not reached God.
When someone worships, it is seen by the people of this world.
Their daily performance of worship earns them the accolade of a worshipper.
People acknowledge that he is a worshipper for he worships every single day. He is an avid worshipper.
People begin to respect him.
This is what the Pakistani politicians do.
They make grand announcements of helping the less fortunate ones and the entire country begins applauding them,
while the needy receive nothing but the announcement.
In a similar way, when the performance of worship is seen by people but not by God;
their performance of worship circulates here [in this world],
and people begin to praise them.
This praise then inflates their lower self.
This is how one is ailed with arrogance.
However, the one whose worship reaches God is rendered God’s blessings.
People see their worship but it is also seen by God.
Therefore, they are bestowed with divine blessings and divine grace,
and it brings humility to the lower self.
These are the dangers of engaging in worship in front of people.
This is the reason why God has made physical worship an obligation upon you to a certain degree,
and commanded you to perform the concealed worship abundantly.
Now, namaz (salah) is physical worship.
No matter what you say about salah, no matter how high you elevate them, they shall never exceed their set number of five.
God has implemented two types of obligations on human beings.
Fardh are obligations in the form of worship that have been imposed by God.
That’s fardh ibadah (obligatory worship).
And God has implemented two obligations.
One is a temporal obligation and the other is an eternal obligation.
The eternal obligation is the concealed worship which you must perform at all times.
And for that, God commanded: ‘Allazeena yazkuroon allaaha qiyaaman wa qu'oodan wa 'alaa junoobihim’.
Meaning, ‘Do not be heedless of my zikr whether you’re standing, sitting or sleeping’.
This is something that must be done at all times.
And the worship that you are to perform in front of others is one that must be done five times a day.
Now just imagine, what would people think of someone who is engaged in worship 24 hours a day?
People would assume that he’s a great Saint of God.
Therefore, that [worship] has been concealed.
The abundant performance of worship has been concealed because it is between man and God.
For instance, Zikr e Qalb is a type of worship the performance of which is privy only to you and God.
Even the angels are unaware of it.
It is highly secretive worship.
When you obtain Zikr e Qalb which means you have attained the eternal obligation,
and God’s name is now constantly beating in the chambers of your heart,
this means that your lower self and spiritual heart are now protected.
For example, before you go outside, you check the weather and find out that it might rain later on, so you take an umbrella with you.
As soon as it starts raining, you take out the umbrella - this is your protection (against the rain); you will not get wet.
The one who doesn’t have an umbrella stays indoors.
The one who has an umbrella is able to go outside.
Why? Because he has protection.
Similarly, when Zikr Allah settles in the spiritual heart,
and God’s name is pronounced in the heartbeats,
the generation of divine light begins.
The divine light protects the heart
and begins the process of purifying the lower self.
Then you engage in physical worship along with the commemoration of God’s name in your heart,
and when people see you performing worship, they praise you which invites arrogance,
however, the commemoration of God’s name in your heart combats the arrogance.
Just as the umbrella shields you from the rain,
the commemoration of God’s name in your heart will combat arrogance.
This is how you can protect yourself against arrogance.
Those who do not have this inner system activated fall prey to arrogance.
When your inner system of protecting the heart and the lower self is activated,
the constant commemoration of God’s name in your heart will combat anything that launches an attack on you.
Thereafter, you have protection against all forms of arrogance.
It isn’t just worship that causes arrogance;
wealth causes arrogance, too.
When such a person [whose heart is enlightened] is attacked by arrogance,
God commands them to spend their wealth in the way of God.
‘wa mimma razaqnahu yunfiqoon’
‘Spend that which God has provided you in the way of God’.
And when he spends his wealth (in the way of God), it purifies his wealth.
When his wealth is purified, it cuts the arrogance by half.
And the remaining arrogance is nullified by the commemoration of God’s name in the heart.
This is the formula which protects our heart and lower self.
If we do not have this formula, all our worship is futile.
Why is it futile?
A hadith states: one who has in his heart arrogance the size of a mustard seed is not worthy of paradise.
So now, all those who are prostrating in the mosques;
puja in the temples; worshipping in the churches, gurudwaras and synagogues, although they are worshipping fervently,
the arrogance that is ensnaring their hearts due to their worship, they do not have a remedy to that arrogance.
The more they prostrate, the more arrogance enters their hearts.
Now, let’s say you have died and are present on the Day of Judgement and your heart is riddled with arrogance.
Why did God say this in the Qur’an: ‘wa hussila maa fee sudoor’?
Meaning, ‘And that which is (locked up) in the (human) breast is made manifest’.
You think that since you’ve offered salah and observed fasts, you have filled up your book of deeds and you shall be accepted by God.
No! God says ‘wa hussila ma fee sudoor’, which means God shall also inspect your spiritual anatomy.
And when your heart was taken out for inspection, it was full or arrogance which means it was not worthy of paradise.
For example, if you have an airline ticket, a passport and everything but you have not done the PCR test;
they will not let you board the plane.
You could show them the visa, passport and ticket,
but despite having everything else, if you do not have that one thing, you cannot travel.
Similarly, the one who houses arrogance in his heart is not worthy of paradise.
The common public is only concerned that they perform their worship,
that is why they are divided into 72-73 sects.