Not a Slave but a Servant by Choice: Walking the Straight Path

Occasion: Transcript of an Isha khatira delivered on October 29, 2025.Source: Transcript of a recorded khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abou Seif, watch the original video on YouTube

The verses recited to us in the prayer lead us to an ayah just before the one we stopped at, in which Allah teaches His Prophet ﷺ a lesson and gives him a specific task: He tells him to say something, to announce it, to repeat it to the people.^[1] I do not want to translate those words so much as reach for what they mean.

Rabb, not only Allah

Notice that in this address Allah does not simply say "Allah." He says "my Lord," Rabb. What is the difference? "Allah," glory be to Him, is the source of command. "Rabb" is the source of protection. When we think about the structure Allah has given us, we find that it is a kind of protection, not merely a kind of order. We receive the commands, and we receive all the tasks, as a way of being protected. Whatever He asks of me, He is not putting me down and He is not trying to trap me. He is protecting me. He is putting me in a shelter, to the point where my heart is satisfied and I understand that I am safe because of the direction I have been given.

So the Prophet ﷺ is told to say something like: here I am. I am nothing, and yet I am everything, because I am the one who receives the message from Allah. The rest of humanity is nothing, because they have not connected themselves with the Lord of the worlds. Without standing in that position of receiving direction from Allah, I too would be nothing.

A slave or a servant?

Now we can understand what "servant" means. We usually translate the word as "slave." But imagine a slave to a man, a slave to a president, and a slave of the Lord of the worlds. These are different things. Even if the right translation is "slave," I am a slave of Allah, and in that position I stand higher than anyone else. We need to distinguish between the two. A slave follows the direction because he receives an order and cannot say no.

Think of it this way. Suppose I have lost my way in a desert and I call someone: "I do not know where I am." He tells me to turn right, to turn left. Do I have any choice to say no? At that moment I am a slave. But before I drove home tonight, I put my destination into the GPS, and the GPS gave me routes. I chose one of them. I was not a slave then; I was a servant, a person seeking guidance from someone else. I follow the direction by my own choice. I can change my route, I can take a different direction, or I can decide to cancel the trip and go nowhere. This is the meaning of "here I am."

And notice what the verse does not say. It does not say "He ordered me." It speaks of guidance, and guidance brings a kind of peace. I feel it when I feel I am being guided: it is love given to the one who receives it. It is said of "my Lord," because Allah is the source of orders and Rabb is the source of protection.

The straight path and the highway

Then comes the straight path, which we ask Allah to guide us to every single day, at least seventeen times. Imagine that, subhan Allah. What is its benefit?

Think of George Bush Highway. How many lanes does it have: five, six, four? Sometimes it widens and narrows depending on the exits. What is the limit of that road? Six lanes, seven, eight, ten? Now ask what din means. The verse describes the din with a further description, and we need to understand it.^[2] We translate din as "religion." But what is religion? You believe in something because you love it and are convinced by it, with the heart and the mind coming together to push you toward it. I cannot go anywhere else. My heart will not allow me another direction, and my mind will not allow me another route. This is the only route, this is my destination, and this is the time I will spend on the trip.

I will never waste my time at the gas station or the rest area. I travel a lot, and sometimes I just want to have some fun, but what can I do on the road? There are only two things: gas stations or rest areas. If I am to reach the city I am going to, I look at my watch and see that I must be there tomorrow at noon. I can take a break in a rest area for half an hour, five minutes, ten minutes; that is my chance in those places. When I go with the route Allah has assigned for me, I go with the din, and the din keeps me safe and keeps me on the road.

Something of real value

The verse then describes the din as something of real value.^[3] I am not going with nothing; I am going with the most valuable thing I have. This is why you find someone who can spend his whole life for the sake of his din. Because of my din I can give everything. Look at Abu Bakr: every time the Prophet ﷺ asked for money, Abu Bakr came with all his wealth and put it in the hands of the Prophet ﷺ. What kind of belief was that! And the rest of the Companions spent their lives for the sake of Allah.

I am not the first to walk this way. Before me there was Ibrahim, peace be upon him, as an example. When we take Ibrahim as an example we must look at his character and his personality, and ask what role model we are following, whether we are really going the same way he went. When we remember Ibrahim we must have his character, but also remember how many times he faced struggle and hardship. They put him in the fire. One time, in the fire. Am I ready to be in that situation even once? If we picture that, we can understand the position of the people in Gaza: they believe in their mission, and nothing is expensive for the sake of Paradise. When you look at Paradise, everything becomes cheap.

Not among those who join partners with Allah

The verse ends by saying that he is not among the mushrikin, those who associate partners with Allah. What does it mean to make a partner with Allah? Usually when we say that, we think of something major: I worship somebody else. But when we look at the definition of shirk through the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ, we find him speaking of the slave of money.^[4] That means a part, a sign, or a degree of shirk can be that I prefer to be with my money instead of being with my Lord in the masjid.

So to understand this position we must understand Ibrahim, peace be upon him. He left everything for his Lord, even his son and his wife, in a desert. When Allah asked him to take them there, he said yes, without any discussion, hesitation, or doubt. He did only what Allah asked. And she asked him: how can you leave us here with nobody around? Is it Allah who ordered you to do this? He said yes. She said: no problem. Then no problem. She had nothing but her heart, and it was connected with the Lord; they were worshipping Him, glory be to Him.

I am only trying to grasp the position of Ibrahim, walking away and leaving his little boy and his wife in the middle of nowhere. He keeps walking, looking behind him at the road, and once in a while looking back at them. What is going to happen to them? But his belief in Allah was stronger than any fear. He had nothing except the order, and he had to carry it out without a question.

I ask Allah to guide us to that level of faith and to keep that faith in our hearts. Peace be upon you.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: the Arabic wording of the verses is not audible in the automated transcript, so no verse text is quoted in the body. From the content (the Prophet ﷺ told to say that his Lord has guided him to a straight path, a "din" of real value, the creed of Ibrahim, "not among the mushrikin"), the passage appears to be from the end of Surat al-An'am (around 6:161-163); this is the editor's inference, not stated by the speaker. ^[2]: Editor's documentation: the word with which Allah describes the din is not audible in the transcript. ^[3]: Editor's documentation: the transcript is garbled here; from the explanation, the speaker is discussing the description of the din as of lasting value and rectitude. The Arabic word is not confirmed. ^[4]: Editor's documentation: the speaker does not give the wording; the reference appears to be the hadith "Wretched is the slave of the dinar..." (Sahih al-Bukhari), which is the editor's inference.