Wama khalaqtu aljinna wal-insa illa liyaAAbudoon (surah zariyat: 56)

Tafseer Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi

(51:56) I created the jinn and humans for nothing else but that they may serve Me; *53

Wa maa khalaqtul jinna wal insa illaa liya`budoon

*53) That is, "I have not created them for the service of others but for My own service. They should serve Me, for I am their Creator. When no one else has created them, no one else has the right that they should serve him; and how can it be admissible for them that they should serve others instead of Me, their Creator?" Here, the question arises that Allah Almighty is not the Creator only of the jinn and men but of the entire Universe and of every thing in it. Then, why has it been said only about the jinn and men that He has not created them for the service of others but of Himself ? whereas every single creature is there to serve Allah. The answer is: On the earth only the jinn and men have been granted the freedom that they may serve Allah within their sphere of choice if they so like; otherwise they can turn away from Allah's service as well as serve others beside Hun. The rest of the creatures in the world do not have this kind of freedom. They do not havc any choice whatever that they may not worship and serve AIIah, or may serve any other. Therefore, only about the jinn and men it has been said here that by turning away from the obedience and servitude of their Creator within the bounds of their option and choice and by serving others than the Creator, they are fighting their own nature. They should know that they have not been created for the service of any other but the Creator, and for them the right way is that they should not abuse the freedom granted them, but within the bounds of this freedom also they should serve God voluntarily just as every particle of their body is serving Him involuntarily in the sphere where they have not been granted any freedom,
The word `ibadat (service, worship) in this verse has not been used in the sense of only prayer, fasting and other kinds of such worship so that one may understand that the jinn and men have been created only for performing the Prayer, observing the Fast and for praising and glorifying AIIah. Although this sense also is included in it, this is not its complete sense. Its complete sense is that the jinn and men have not been created for the worship, obedience and carrying out of the orders of any other but Allah. They are not there to bow to any other, to carry out the orders of any other, to live in fear of any other, to follow the religion enjoined by any other, to look upon any other as the maker and destroyer of ones destiny, and to supplicate any other than Allah for help. (For further explanation, see E.N. 63 of Surah Saba, E.N. 2 of Az-Zumar, E.N. 30 of A1 Jathiyah).
Another thing that incidentally becomes quilt obvious from this verse is that the jinn arc a separate and independent creation from men. This brings out the error of the thinking of those people, who assert that sonic people from among mankind have been called the jinn in the Qur'an. This same thing is also confirmed and testified by the following verses of the Qur'an: AI-An'am :100, 128, AI-A`raf, 38, 179, Hud: 119, AI-Hijr: 27 to 33, Bani Isra`il: 88, AI-Kahf: S0, As-Sajdah: 13, Saba: 41, Suad: 75, 76, Ha Mim As-Sajdah: 25, AI-Ahqaf: 18, Ar-Rahman: 15, 39, 56. (For a complete discussion of this question, see E. N . 21 of AI-Anbiya', E.N.'s 23, 45 of An-Naml, E.N. 24 of Saba).