‘Ibaadah

What does the word ‘ibaadah mean?

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• The common translation of ‘ibaadah in English is ‘worship’. However, the meaning in Arabic is more comprehensive. According to the Sharee’ah, the word ‘ibaadah means ‘to obey Allah ﷻ by doing all that He commands and to stay away from all that He forbids’. This is called ‘ibaadah because the Islamic meaning refers to both serving Allah ﷻ and submitting to His will at the same time.
• For Muslims, being called an ‘Abd of Allaha ﷻ is a great honor. This is because being a true ‘Abd of Allah ﷻ means to submit oneself to the will of Allah ﷻ . This is done by doing the things that He orders and avoiding that which He forbids. One of the things that Allah ﷻ orders is to worship Him alone and to avoid shirk. If a person does this, then Allah ﷻ promises not to punish her/him. Not punishing a person means giving her/ him the reward of Paradise. This is known from the hadeeth narrated by Mu’aadh ibn Jabal, whilst he was sitting behind the Prophet ﷺ on a mule:

عَنْ مُعَادٍ قَالَ أَنَا رَدِيف النَّبِيِّ ﷺ : فَقَالَ يَا مُعَادُ قُلْتُ لَبَّيْكَ وَسَعْدَيْكَ ثُمَّ قَالَ مِثْلَهُ ثَلاثًا هَلْ تَدْرِي مَا حَقُّقُ اللهِ عَلَى الْعِبَادِ قُلْتُ لَا ، قَالَ حَقُّ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْعِبَادِ أَنْ يَعْبُدُوهُ وَلَا يُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا ثُمَّ سَارَ سَاعَةَ فَقَالَ يَا مُعَادُ قُلْتُ لَبَيْكَ وَسَعْدَيْكَ قَالَ هَل تَدْرِي مَا حَقُّ العِبَادِ عَلَى اللهِ إِذَا فَعَلُوا ذَلِكَ أَنْ لَا يُعَذِّبَهُمْ. (رواه البخاري)

The Prophet ﷺ said, ” Mu’aadh!” I replied, “Labbaik wa Sa’daik” (I am at your Service). He repeated this call three times and then said, “Do you know what Allah’s Right over His slaves is?” I replied, “No.” He said, “Allah’s Right over His slaves is that they should worship Him (Alone) and should not join partners in worship with Him.” He said, ” Mu’aadh!” I replied, “Labbaik wa Sa’daik.” He said, “Do you know what the right of (Allah’s) slaves on Allah is, if they do that? It is that He will not punish them.” (Al-Bukhaari)

• One of the best names that a Muslim can have is ‘Abd of Allah ﷻ (Abdullaah). This name is so great that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ told the people to call him this:

عَنْ ابْنِ عَبَّاسَ سَمِعَ عُمَرَ رَضي الله عنه يَقولُ عَلَى الْمُنْبَرَ سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ لا تُطروني كَمَا أَطْرَتْ النَّصَارَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ فَإِنَّمَا أَنَا عَبْدُهُ فَقُولُوا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ (رواه البخاري)

‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab said on the pulpit: I heard the Prophet ﷺ saying, “Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians praised the son of Mary, for I am only a servant (‘Abd). So, call me the Servant of Allah (‘Abdullaah) and His Messenger.” (Al-Bukhaari)

• The words Islam and ‘ibaadah have very similar meanings. This is because Islam means to submit to the will of Allah ﷻ and to avoid shirk. Since the foundation of the life of a Muslim is Islam, every action can be ‘ibaadah. An example of this is the everyday act of preparing to go to sleep. This act can be ‘ibaadah if a person does the following:
• Recite the last two aayaat of Soorat al-Baqarah, making this the last thing that is said before going to bed.
• This simple example shows how easy Islam is. Thinking about what is done can change an everyday action into an act of ‘ibaadah.

What we learn from the lesson:

1. The Islamic meaning of the word ‘ibaadah is ‘to obey Allah ﷻ by doing all that He commands and to stay away from all that He forbids’.
2. Everyday actions can be ibaadah if people think about what they are doing.

Discussion

1. Why are the words “baadah and ‘abd closely related?
2. Why did the Prophet Muhammad tell the people to call him ‘Abdullaah?
3. What happens if someone gives Allah his full rights ?
4. How can going to school be an act of ‘Ibaadah’ ?