Summary of the concepts of Ahl al-Sunnah
The harm of restricting the meaning of worship to ritual acts of devotion
Whoever restricts the meaning of worship solely to ritual acts of devotion
will inevitably fall short in his obedience to his Lord, Glorified and Exalted is He.
And if you tell him that this contradicts his servitude to Allah,
he will reply that he has fulfilled his obligations of worship and prayer.
And that he is currently managing his life and livelihood.
As if he had not heard or understood the statement of Allah the Almighty, previously mentioned:
"Say, 'Indeed, my prayer, my rites, my life and my death are for Allah, Lord of the worlds.'" (Qur'an 6:162)
Similarly, restricting the meaning of worship solely to ritual acts of devotion will also result in
flaws and shortcomings in performing these rituals themselves
and in the fruits expected from them.
Prayer will become mechanical movements devoid of humility,
and will not prevent indecency and wrongdoing,
rather, he might be preoccupied during it with thinking about managing his life,
because he did not understand that humility, which is a matter of the heart, is a form of worship,
and that abstaining from indecency and wrongdoing is a form of worship.
Fasting will become mere abstention from food and drink,
after which he will feast on what overfills his stomach,
and will entertain himself, as he claims, during and after his fast
by watching vulgar game shows and series,
and will let his gaze wander to what Allah has forbidden.
And his fasting will not achieve the piety hoped for from it.
He will pay the zakat on his wealth,
and then will not care thereafter if his trade and wealth are based on usury and forbidden transactions,
because he did not understand that abstaining from that is part of worship,
which means his entire life should be for Allah and according to His will, Glorified is He.
Likewise, restricting the meaning of worship to ritual acts of devotion
is the gateway through which secularists and their ilk enter,
by making worship solely a private relationship between the servant and his Lord,
and having no connection to the other affairs of life,
such as economics, politics, women's and family matters, and dealings between people.