Many times the Shi'a are criticized for naming their children 'Abd al-Husayn' or 'Abd al-Zahraa' or their likes. This is because people see that calling yourself an 'Abd' of someone would mean to deem that person as your master. This is correct, but mastership here is not the equivalent of 'Lordship' or 'Godlihood' (God forbid).
In Arabic, عبد means to be enslaved to, or to be a servant of. If you're a servant [or slave] of someone, it merely means you must obey this individual. A man is only enslaved to his desires if he won't do anything but obey them. A man is a slave to a master, if he won't do anything but obey him.
This is why we see Imam al-Ridha (as) says in Al-Amali al-Mufid, H. # 290 and in al-Kafi, H. # 486:
قال علي ابن موسى عليه السلام: لكنا نقول: الناس عبيد لنا في الطاعة
Imam al-Ridha (s) said: What we have said is that people are submissive (‘abeed) to us [in matters] of obedience.
It is also recorded in Kitab al-Tawhid by al-Saduq, Ch. 28, H. 3:
فقال: يا أمير المؤمنين فنبي أنت؟ فقال: ويلك، إنما أنا عبد من عبيد - محمد صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم. قال مصنف هذا الكتاب رضي الله عنه: يعني بذلك: عبد طاعته لا غير ذلك .
Then he asked, “O Commander of the Faithful! Are you a Prophet?” So he answered, “Woe be upon you! Verily, I am but a servant from the servants of Mohammad.” The Compiler of this book says: What he meant was that he was a servant in obedience, and nothing more than that.
So Shaykh al-Saduq (ra) has said, the reference to ‘Abd’ is only obedience, not worship (God forbid). If the objection is made that even this is allegedly shirk, then let the accuser open the Qur'an and read:
وَأَنكِحُواْ ٱلۡأَيَٰمَىٰ مِنكُمۡ وَٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ مِنۡ عِبَادِكُمۡ وَإِمَآئِكُمْۚ إِن يَكُونُواْ فُقَرَآءَ يُغۡنِهِمُ ٱللَّهُ مِن فَضۡلِهِۦۗ وَٱللَّهُ وَٰسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ
Marry off the single among you and those of your male and female slaves (‘abadikum) who are fit [for marriage]. If they are poor, God will provide for them from His bounty: God’s bounty is infinite and He is all knowing. [24:32]
The Qur'an mentions that you (a muslim) can have slaves ('abad), so why is it shirk for Ahlulbayt (as) to have 'abad, but it's permissible for any other regular muslims to have it? So therefore, there is no issue in calling yourself an 'Abd of the Ahlul-bayt (as), so long the intention is obedience. To argue otherwise, would require evidence from the Qur'an or Sunnah, for emotional arguments are insufficient. Arguing for semantics also is not proof, for we are slaves ('abad) of Allah (swt) in both terms of worship & obedience, but for the Ahlul-bayt (as) it is only obedience.
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