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Is it permissible to describe a certain group as "slaves," such as saying "slaves of football" or "slaves of the West"?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is permissible to describe someone who is excessively attached to, glorifies, and loves something—like football or the West—in a manner that contravenes Islamic law, as being in "servitude" or "bondage" to it. This is done for the purpose of warning and deterring, but it should be understood as a general description, not directed at a specific individual. The Islamic scriptures (Shari'a) have used the term "servitude" in this sense, as in the Hadith: "Wretched is the slave of the dirham, wretched is the slave of the dinar." Thus, anyone who loves something, obeys it, and makes it the ultimate object of their desire and pursuit is its slave. However, applying this description as an insult or a curse to a specific individual is forbidden by Islamic law, and it is haram (prohibited) by the consensus of the Ummah (Muslim community). The one who does so is a fasiq (transgressor), as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Insulting a Muslim is wickedness, and fighting him is disbelief."

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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