عبد
ʿAbd
Servant or slave of God: the name for a human being in relation to his Creator.
What it means
Many names begin with it: Abdullah is “servant of God”, Abd al-Rahman “servant of the Merciful”. In the Quran the highest title is to be God’s servant. Muhammad (17:1, 25:1), Jesus (19:30, 4:172), Job (38:41) and Noah (17:3) are all called His servants.
Often misunderstood as
That Islam’s “slave of God” is degrading, in contrast to Jesus calling his disciples “friends” (John 15:15).
What the sources say
The Quran has both ideas. It calls Abraham God’s friend (khalīl, 4:125), and says that the friends of God (awliyā’) “have no fear, nor do they grieve” (10:62). Being His servant means freedom from serving anything else, and the word carries honour as well as obedience.