The Right of Allah upon His slaves

It is narrated that Mu'adh bin Jabal (May Allah be pleased with him) said:
I was riding behind the Prophet (May the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) on a
donkey and he said to me "O Mu'adh, do you know what is the right of Allah on his slaves and
what is the right of the slaves upon Allah?" I responded: "Allah and His Messenger know best."
He continued, "The Right of Allah upon His slaves is to worship Him Alone and never to
associate anything with him. The right of slaves upon Him is not to punish any person who does
not associate anything with Him." I said: "O Allah's Messenger, may I not give the glad tidings to
the people?" He replied: "No. Do not inform them lest they rely on (this promise and lapse in
their service to Him)1.” [The above Hadith is mentioned in two Sahih Books (Al-Bukhari and
Muslim)].

If we think this is an easy way out for us to enter Heaven, we need to stop and ponder. What does it mean to "worship Allah Alone and never to associate anything with him"?

The obvious one is of course not to assign Allah SWT, partners, or representation, or intermediary - for which we have no authority to. Our communication with Allah SWT is direct. There is no need for any other person or thing as intermediary whatsoever. And the fact that Allah SWT does not allow us to do that is being repeated over and over and over again from the old prophets to Prophet Muhammad SAW, and also very often reminded in the Qur'an.

If we are not worshipping or depending on any other person (imam, sheikh, medium ) or things (grave, makam, limau, broomstick etc), THEN, alhamdulillah - we've saved ourself from clear shirk. But what about the subtle and unknowing worship of other things?

Definition of WORSHIP (from Merriam-Webster)
1 chiefly British : a person of importance —used as a title for various officials (as magistrates and some mayors)
2 : reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; also : an act of expressing such reverence
3 : a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual
4 : extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem [worship of the dollar]

Do you think you can spend 23 hours a day, forgetting about even the existence of Allah SWT, 1 hour (in total) for praying the 5 solats and you're done? If this is so, what happens to the other 23 hours. What do we worship in the other 23 hours?

If in the other, okay minus 8hrs of sleep, that leaves 15 hours of your waking hours - you spend your time and money and energy on glorifying or attaining something that you feel is of more importance to you - e.g. material goods, money, status, position, fame, your own desires - then, is this is what you may be worshipping.

Hast thou (Muhammad SAW) seen him who chooseth for his god his own lust? Wouldst thou then be guardian over him?
Al Quran, Al Furqan, 25:43

Does it mean we have to pray 24 hours a day? NO, of course not. The Mercy of Allah SWT is that, our daily usual act can be an act of 'worship' just because we are doing it for the sake of Allah SWT alone. E.g. When we go to work, to get halal income, to feed the family for the sake of Allah SWT - that is an act in the worship of Allah SWT. We decide not to lie or cheat our friend for fear of Allah SWT alone, that is an act in the worship of Allah SWT.. Intending to sleep early in order that we can wake up for Fajr/Subuh prayers, that is an act in the worship of Allah SWT.

We act that way or do the things you do, because we revere, respect, fear and devote to Allah SWT - that is worship.
To put it simply - if we are God-Conscious most of the time, in our every word and act - then, that's because we worship Allah SWT.

We need to take a look at our lives, what our priorities are, and is Allah SWT in mind and as the ultimate reason, when we plan to do the things we want to do, when we plan our lives?

Surely, everything on us is just a test, to see who is best in taqwa. The good life comes later in Hereafter (if we are saved). Aamiin.