سوداگری نہیں، یہ عبادت خدا کی ہےاے بے خبر! جزا کی تمنا بھی چھوڑ دے

English translation

This is not business, this is ibadat of God! O ignorant one, abandon the longing for reward also.
(Ibadat: This is wrongly understood to mean ‘worship’ and formal prayers and the latter are considered to be the climax of piety. This word is derived from the root abd, which literally means a ‘slave’ or ‘servant’. In the Holy Qur’an abd designates the nature, status and destiny of Man, that he is a slave of God and is neither Divine nor has any share in the Powers and Rights of God. According to this his destiny is Abdiyat, obudiyat, or bondage. He is required to be a perfect servant or ‘abd’. In Persian and Urdu ‘abdiyat’ is more commonly used than obudiyat. Bandah and bandagi are the Persian equivalents of abd and obudiyat respectively. Ibadat really means obedience with absolute self-surrender and humility. It includes worship, reverence, and prayer but is really comprised of honesty and sincerity to God in all phases and departments of life. The second line of this verse means that only the Love of God should be the motive force for a Mu’min’s virtuous actions. It is not a trade in which one offers his merchandise and expects a reward as its price. Only that piety is acceptable to God which is performed without the desire for sawab.)

Translated by Dr M.A.K. Khalil