Abdal Hakim Murad - The Cambridge Companion to Islamic Theology

11 Worship
william c. chittick
Worship can be defined as the appropriate human response to the divine.
Having said this, we might jump to an analysis of the rites, rituals and
other activities classified as ‘‘worship’’ in the Islamic tradition. But that
approach would ignore the basic theological questions: what exactly is
‘‘God’’ that he deserves to be worshipped? What exactly are ‘‘human
beings’’ that worship should be demanded of them? What exactly makes
the human response ‘‘appropriate’’? It is to these questions that I turn
my attention here. To keep the discussion within bounds, however, I
limit myself to notions connected with the Arabic word ‘ibada, which is
normally translated as ‘‘worship’’ or ‘‘service’’.
‘Ibada is a gerund from the verb ‘abada. In his Arabic–English
Lexicon, E. W. Lane offers a range of English equivalents for the religious
meaning of this verb, such as rendering God service, worship, or adoration,
and obeying God with humility or submissiveness. The verb also
means to be or become an ‘abd: a slave, servant, or bondsman. 1 This
word is familiar to those who do not know Arabic because of its common
usage in the names of Muslim men (‘abd þ divine name; e.g. ‘Abd
Allah, ‘‘the servant/slave of God’’). Generally, ‘abd designates the proper
situation of a human being before God. It is often discussed as the
complement of the divine name Lord (rabb), though it is also paired with
Master (sayyid) and Patron (mawla). The word is a near synonym of
the active participle ‘abid, but the latter can better be translated as
‘‘worshipper’’. The texts sometimes highlight the complementarity of
Lord and servant by using the past participles, ma‘bud or ‘‘object of
worship’’, as an equivalent for Lord and marbub, ‘‘vassal’’ (literally, ‘‘the
one who is lorded over’’) as an equivalent for servant.
Whether ‘abd should be translated as ‘‘slave’’ or ‘‘servant’’ has
often been debated. The different meanings of the two English words
reflect a constant tension in Islamic theology between divine
omnipotence and human freedom. Those who would like to stress the
absolute power and authority of God seem to prefer ‘‘slave’’. Those
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