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Fatwa CenterTrue Meaning of Verse {And I Did Not Create the Jinn and Mankind Except to Worship Me}
Question
is it true that some of the salaf like Mujahid and Ibn Abbas as well as Ibn jurayj said that when Allah explains the purpose life is to worship him in [51:56] of ad-dhariyat they interpreted worship me as know me. is it authentically reported from them. I know there is mention of it in Tafsir al Baghawi in al Qurtubi and ruhul ma'ani as well as Ibn Kathir but is it authentic attributed to them? and is it o.k. to believe it?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
This interpretation was stated by the scholars of Tafseer that the questioner mentioned and by others, but we could not find it cited (in references) along with its chain of narration so that we can judge the authenticity of the chain of narration. Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah underlined that the interpretation of Ibn Jurayj was quoted from Ibn Abu Haatim. He said in his book Dar’ Ta‘aarudh Al-‘Aql wa An-Naql: “Ibn Abu Zaa’idah narrated on the authority of Ibn Jurayj regarding the verse (which means): {And I did not create the Jinn and mankind except to worship Me} [Quran 51:56] that he said, ‘It means, except to know Me.’ These sayings (opinions) were narrated by Ibn Abu Haatim with his own chains of narration.” [End of quote]
However, the interpretation of Sooraht Ath-Thaariyaat (no. 51) is missing from the manuscript of Tafseer Ibn Abu Haatim!
The meaning is correct independently from the verse, but it is not the intended meaning of that particular verse, according to what Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah 
clarified in Majmoo’ Al-Fataawa.
He cited all the seven interpretations of the verse and underlined that the correct one is that the word ‘worship’ in the verse means the worship enjoined by the Messengers of Allah, namely the worship of Allah alone with no partner, and stated that the verse means, ‘except to command them to worship Me.’ This meaning was narrated on the authority of the Commander of the Believers, ‘Ali ibn Abu Taalib, and other scholars from the righteous predecessors. They reported that ‘Ali ibn Abu Taalib said: “(It means) except to command them to worship Me and call them to My worship.” They added that this interpretation is supported by His Saying (which means): {And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, sincere to Him in religion} [Quran 98:5] and His Saying (which means): {And they were not commanded except to worship one God; there is no deity except Him.} [Quran 9:31] This was the interpretation chosen by Az-Zajjaaj and others, and it is also the known opinion reported from Mujaahid with an authentic chain of narration. Ibn Abu Haatim said: “Abu Sa‘eed Al-Ashajj narrated on the authority of Abu Usaamah from Shibl, narrating from Ibn Abu Najeeh that Mujaahid said, ‘{And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me} means, To command and forbid them…’” [End of quote]
The well-versed scholar Ash-Shinqeeti stated the same in his book Adhwaa’ Al-Bayaan.
We would like to point out here that it is not valid to interpret the knowledge (of Allah) in this context as being the innate knowledge of Him (inculcated within the human soul) or the mere confession and affirmation [by the heart], as some followers of religious innovations, such as the Jahmiyyah and the Murji’ah, do. They held that faith is the mere knowledge or affirmation [by the heart]. This opinion entails that Satan and his followers are considered believers! Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said in Majmoo’ Al-Fataawa: “Whoever claims that worship is that innate knowledge of Allah inculcated by Him within us, and that this is faith, and it applies to human beings and Jinn only, then if this were true, it would essentially mean that none from mankind and Jinn is a disbeliever. However, Allah, The Exalted, informed us of the disbelief of Satan and others from the Jinn and mankind … and it is known that the disbelievers do not believe in Allah, and they do not have enough knowledge of Him to qualify them to be believers.” [End of quote]
Allah Knows best.
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