1:5

1:5 اياك نعبد واياك نستعين
[1:5]
Iyyaka naAAbudu wa-iyyaka nastaAAeenu

Iyyaka: You

naAAbudu: We Worship/We enslave ourselves to/We Serve and obey
naAAbudu: The usual meaning that is used to explain this word is Worship. The word is a derivative of the word “AABD” which means “Slave”, therefore the meaning is that we make ourselves your slaves with what comes with that meaning as in Obey you, Serve you, Acknowledge your authority over us, and the refusal to make ourselves slaves of anything nor anyone else (All at once). Worship is included in this meaning. In the Qur’an, the same word AABD was used to talk about all human beings, the people that are close to GOD (The slaves of GOD) and ,rarely, to talk about Slaves.

wa-iyyaka: And you

nastaAAeenu: We seek aid from

My Note:
The meaning here is “We voluntarily make ourselves slaves to you (GOD) with ALL what comes with it (worship, obey, serve, acceptance of your authority and refusal to be slaves of anyone nor anything else), and from you we seek aid.

Another personal note here:
By being GOD’s slaves, we free ourselves from the slavery to things and from slavery to other people. This is a refusal of humans enslaving humans, because we are all the slaves of GOD.

Have a great day and have a happy new year.

Hussein