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432chapter sixOne decisive feature of any fight in God’s way is that it does nottolerate any form of compulsion in questions of religion. We hear inthe Book:Let there be no compulsion in religion [l§ ikr§h fi’l-dÊn]. Truth standsout clear from error; whoever rejects evil [fa-man yakfur bi"-l-ã§ghåt] andbelieves in God has grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold that neverbreaks. And God hears and knows all things. ( Al-Baqara 2:256)The verse identifies ‘no compulsion in religion’ as an essential partof people’s faith in God, while at the same time it associates compulsionand force with those who allow tyranny and despotic rule. TheArabic term for tyranny ( al-ã§ghåt) expresses, like other nouns of thef§#ål group such as ‘cleaver’ (s§ãår) or ‘counter’ (ȧsåb), the notion ofa prolonged and oft-repeated activity; a counter, for example, repeatedlycarries out arithmetical operations, a cleaver repeatedly cutsthrough wood or meat—both things are done more than just once.The same applies to tyranny, which is not just an isolated event inhistory but a frequent phenomenon of political absolutism throughoutthe entire human history. And yet, we learn that the ultimateaim of humankind is #ib§diyya (the worship of God), not #ubådiyya (thelife of slaves): ‘I have only created Jinns and men, that they may serveMe’ ( Al-Dh§riyy§t 51:56). The phrase ‘that they may serve Me’means ‘that they worship Me’, not ‘that they may be slaves’! Toworship God means to obey Him freely or to disobey Him freely. Incontrast to the much-too-narrow understanding of worship by thefuqah§" only as performance of rituals (prayer, fasting, pilgrimage,zak§h, etc.), #ib§diyya (the worship of God) is a much wider conceptand includes many activities of people’s daily life. Worship of Godin no way means just servitude symbolised in one’s outward (ritualistic)expression of slavish submission (e.g., through prostration inprayers) since that would turn worshippers ( al-#ubb§d) into slaves( al-#abÊd). This would, linguistically and theologically, be a graveerror.The Arabic term #ubb§d is the plural of #§bid (worshipper) whichhas a second plural: #§bidån, for example, ‘Nor will you worship(#§bidån) that which I worship’ ( Al-K§firån 109:3). 108 The Arabic term#abÊd, in contrast, is the plural of #abd (slave) which implies captivity,108See also ‘Verily in this (qur"an) is a message for people who would (truly) worshipGod [#§bidÊn]’ ( Al-Anbiy§" 21:106).