Are You a Slave? Yes!
Every human being is a slave. But the questions is: To whom or what?
Are you a slave to your job, which dictates that the next project has to be finished by X date and time and therefore you work the 14 hour days to finish it? Or are you a slave to the current trends, which dictate what is fashionable and what isn’t and you follow that blindly? Or are you a slave to yourself, eating whatever you like, drinking whatever you like, and doing whatever you like without any limit?
Consider this: True freedom can only be obtained by being a slave to the One who gave you life and the One who will bring you to death. The One who gives you the air to breathe, food to eat, and light to see with. The One who created you from nothing and created everything around you and set it in balance and harmony.
God Almighty says:
“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” [Noble Quran 51:56]
The word “worship” is a rough translation of the Arabic word “Ibadah”, which not only includes praise, glorification, and appreciation of God, which is what we typically think of when we hear the word “worship”, but also obedience to God.
All of the noble Prophets and Messengers of God, including Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad being the final and last (Peace and blessings be upon them all) were slaves of God, praising, glorifying, and thanking Him, along with doing what he ordered and staying away from what He prohibited. They all submitted themselves completely to Him.
That’s what a Muslim is; any peaceful person who has submitted himself to God.
The only religion that calls for this complete submission to the Creator and not His creation is Islam. As a matter of fact, the word “Islam” means submission, worshipping the Creator alone and not His creation.
So you have two choices, either be a slave to the creation or be a slave to the Creator and submit yourself to Him like all of his noble Prophets and Messengers did.
