The Meanings of “Sayyid,” “Mawla,” and “‘Abd”

Question

“Kitab al-Tawhid” cites a hadith that a delegation came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: [ar]أَنْتَ سَيِّدُنَا وَأَفْضَلُنَا وَخَيْرُنَا[/ar] “You are our sayyid, our best, and our finest” — or words to that effect — and he ﷺ replied: [ar]السَّيِّدُ هُوَ اللَّهُ[/ar] “The [true] sayyid is Allah.” This would seem to establish a prohibition on calling [anyone] sayyid. Yet elsewhere it is stated that the owner of a slave should not call him “my slave” (‘abdi), nor should the slave call his owner “lord” (rabb)

Answer

The word “sayyid” has a meaning by which the [true] sayyid is Allah alone; it is in that sense that it is said: [ar]السَّيِّدُ هُوَ اللَّهُ[/ar] “The sayyid is Allah.” But it also has another meaning by which applying it to others as well is correct. Thus the contradiction is resolved. Likewise, the word “‘abd” (servant)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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