I have a pure heart, so I don’t have to perform worship?

Why do I need to perform worship? Isn’t it enough to have a pure heart to be a good servant to God? How should we answer people who assume worship unnecessary saying “The important thing is to have pure heart, I don’t have to worship”?

Allah (swt) created the world for human beings with countless bounties. In return for these boundless blessings, Allah (swt) demands worship of His servants as a sign of shukr (thanks) to Him. So, worship is actually “a servanthood debt” to be performed to thank Allah swt for the endless bounties He has bestowed upon us already.

As to the “pure heart”;

The Creator of man and his heart is Allah swt. So, the real owner of the heart, who knows how it is dirtied and how to keep it pure is no one but Allah swt.

In the Holy Quran Allah swt states that hearts can only find satisfaction and rest only in “remembrance of Allah swt” which can be properly fulfilled just through worshipping:

“Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest!” (Surah al Raad, 28)

In one of his blessed hadiths, our Blessed Prophet (pbuh) informs us how our heart loses its purification:

 “When a person commits a sin, a black dot appears in his heart. If he makes repentance, this mark is removed. If he does not make repentance and repeats the sin, this mark expands and covers the whole heart. His heart becomes completely black.” (Tirmidhi)

According to Islamic morality, purity of heart includes believing in Allah, trusting in Allah, obeying His orders and avoiding His prohibitions. Heart cannot be kept purified without fulfilling these.

Imagine a deceitful man who doesn’t pay his debt by claiming that he has a pure heart. Can you believe and trust that he really has a pure heart despite his opposite actions? Then what about avoiding paying “servant hood debt” to Allah swt by claiming having a pure heart?

"Pure Heart" is achieved through both good moral and worship

Besides, “a pure heart” is achieved not only with being good and helpful to people. As well as good manners, worship such as salah (prayer), sawm (fasting) is the basic for the purity of heart.

Allah (swt) describes goodness in the Quran:

“…it is righteousness- to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfill the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the Allah fearing.” (Baqarah, 177)

Narrated Abu Huraira:

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "If there was a river at the door of anyone of you and he took a bath in it five times a day would you notice any dirt on him?" They said, "Not a trace of dirt would be left." The Prophet added, "That is the example of the five prayers with which Allah blots out (annuls) evil deeds." (Bukhari, Book 1, Volume 10, Hadith 506, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Nasai, Ibn Maja)

It’s the situation of a man who takes a bath five times a day in prayer river.  Well then, how about a man who has never taken a bath not even once in his life in such a river?