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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Faith and Reason Question 5: Being Allah’s Servant Question: Who is a “slave” and what is slavery? How can we become the slaves of Allah (awj)? A true servant of Allah (awj) is he for whom obedience to Allah (awj) is sweet and Allah’s (awj) love is delight; he is intimate with Allah (awj) and relies on Him for all his needs. Servitude can be summed up in three things.

First is that the servant doesn’t consider himself to own any of what has been bestowed upon him, for slaves own no property. They see all property as Allah’s (awj) and when He commands, they spend it; second, a servant doesn’t plan for himself; and third, a servant is preoccupied only with Allah’s (awj) prescriptions and proscriptions. With the aforementioned definition, we can understand the essence of servitude and how to achieve it.

Servitude is the key to sanctity and “servant” is the best of names. A perfected human is a servant of Allah (awj) and is effaced in the Divine Identity and the Divine Names. Worship (‘Ibadah) , has been defined by lexicographers as utmost of modesty and humility. They say since “‘ ibadah ” (worship) is the highest level of humility; it wouldn’t be fitting except towards the highest being, possessing the greatest perfections and the highest level of generosity.

This is why worshiping other than Allah (awj) is false worship tantamount to polytheism, especially since sincerity in worship hasn’t materialized. As Imam Ja’far b. Muhammad as-Sadiq (ع) has explained, the word ‘abd is composed of three letters: ‘ayn, ba’, and dal. “‘Ayn” indicates ‘ilm , knowledge and certainty that a servant has of Allah. The “ba’” indicates bu’d , the separation and distance he has from other than Allah.

And the letter “dal” points to dunuw , his closeness to Allah.[^1] The slave is indebted to Allah (awj) for not only all of his perfections, but indeed for his very existence. It is because of this that he submits to Him. By not looking at himself and his own desires, he takes on the colour of his Master and His perfections to the extent that according to the saying of the Noble Prophet (ص), “The true slave of Allah Almighty is he for whom the obedience and love of Allah becomes sweet.

He presents his needs to his Lord and becomes intimate with Him. He puts all his trust in Him and has hope in no one else.” ^2 According to the saying of Imam Ja’far b.