The core sense of all the messages of all Prophets peace and blessings be upon them is making Ibadah for Allah alone without a partner, so we really need to understand what does Ibadah mean exactly in order to realize the sense of Islam, and that is what we will explain throughout the following axes:
- What does Ibadah mean in Arabic language?
- The best translation of Ibadah to English
- What is the Quranic meaning of Ibadah
What does Ibadah mean in Arabic language
Ibadah is derived from the verb "abada" which means slave, so Ibadah means slavery, submission and obedience with humiliation .
The best translation of Ibadah to English
Usually we translate Ibadah by worship which is a wrong translation because worship does not give all the meaning of Ibadah especially submission with humiliation.
The right translation of Ibadah must be slavery but here's a problem related to the culture and English history about the meaning of slavery which is linked with injustice and exploitation of human beings, whereas slavery in Islamic perspective means a kind of brotherhood because a slave in Islam must be fed by what his master feeds himself, and must be wearing from what his master wears himself and don't be charged what they don't able to do.
Even though the previous problem I think slavery is still the right translation of Ibadah because we are owned by Allah so we are His slaves.
What is the Quranic meaning of Ibadah
In the Quran Ibadah has the same meaning as in Arabic language which is submission and obedience with humiliation, therefore we can conclude that Islam, Iman and Ibadah have the same meaning which is submission to Allah alone without a partner .