- Names of Allah
- /
- Names of Allah- 1996
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings to our Master Muhammad, the Faithful and the Honest. O Allah, we know nothing but what You teach us, You are the All- Knower, the Wise. O Allah our Lord, teach us what is useful for us, let us make use of what You have taught us and advance us in knowledge. O Allah, show us the righteous things as righteous and help us do them, and show us the bad things as bad and help us keep away from them. O Allah our Lord, make us amongst those who listen to the Word and follow the best meaning of It, and admit us, by Your Grace, to the ranks of Your righteous servants.
Dear believing brothers, today we are explaining the sixth of Allah's Beautiful Divine Names, which is Al-Aziz. This name is often repeated at the end of many Ayaat in the Noble Quran:
(…And He is Al-Aziz (the All-Mighty), the All-Wise)
I made it clear previously that it is not enough to believe that Allah exists. You should believe in His existence, His Oneness (in His Divine Self, Attributes and Acts), and His Perfection. In fact, your belief in Allah's Perfection enables you to know His Beautiful Names and Exalted Attributes.
Well, pondering over one of Allah's Beautiful Names or listening to its interpretation is an essential part of believing in Allah. When you claim that you know someone, it does not mean that you know his name, but rather it means that you know his traits, characteristics, knowledge, intelligence and achievements. The same goes with knowing Allah; you are supposed to know His Beautiful Names (reflecting on over their meanings and noticing their manifestation in your body and the whole universe, for example). Pay attention to the following Hadith:
(Narrated Abu Hurairah that the Prophet PBUH said: "Allah has ninety-nine Names, one-hundred less one; and he who memorized them all by heart will enter Paradise.")
The meaning of "knows" in the above Hadith is that you should know every thing of Allah's Beautiful Divine Names and Exalted Attributes, that you should know their exact meanings, that you should know how to react towards each one of them, and that you should know the denotations and connotations of them.
As I have said earlier, our lesson today is about Allah's Beautiful Divine NameAl-Aziz. This Divine Name- Al-Aziz- is mentioned in many Ayaat, such as in Iesa's (Jesus PBUH) words:
("If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, verily You, only You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise .")
If the end of the above Ayah were, "You are the All-Forgiving, the Mot Merciful", it would more suitable to the Ayah. Yet, the Ayah ends with other Beautiful Names, "and if You forgive them, verily You, only You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise", because if someone, no matter how high his social position might be, forgives someone else for his mistake, he might be blamed or asked, "Why did you forgive that person?", "Why did you not punish him?", or "Why were you so lenient with him?", whereas Allah, All-Mighty, is never blamed or asked why He forgives others as long as He is Al-Aziz:
(…And if You forgive them, verily You, only You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise .")
This is the first Ayah about Al-Aziz, and the second one is:
(And His (Alone) is the Majesty in the heavens and the earth, and He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.)
The third Ayah is the following:
(They (hyprocrites) say: "If we return to Al-Madinah, indeed the more honourable ('Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul, the chief of hyprocrites at Al-Madinah) will expel therefrom the meaner (i.e. Allah's Messenger PBUH)." But honour, power and glory belong to Allah, His Messenger (Muhammad PBUH), and to the believers, but the hypocrites know not.)
Here is the fourth Ayah:
(Glorified be your Lord, the Lord of Honour and Power! (He is free) from what they attribute unto Him!)
In the fifth Ayah, Shaitan (Satan) said as Allah the Almighty narrates:
([Iblis (Satan)] said: "By Your Might, then I will surely mislead them all,)
In fact, Allah's Divine Name Al-Aziz is mentioned in a great number of Ayaat, but I have chosen these Ayaat. Now, the question is: What does this Name mean from the linguistic point of view?
The first Meaning: Al-Aziz is He the like of Whom is none and equal to Whom is none. He is Unique and nothing is like Him. This Name is attributed only to Allah, the One and Only, the like of Whom does not exists and equal to Whom can never be. This is the first meaning.
The second Meaning: Al-Aziz is the One Who overpowers and is never overpowered. If a person is overpowered, he is by no means Aziz (i.e. mighty or honorable), but rather, he is weak and humiliated, and the one who overpowers him is likely to over-humiliate him. Hence, Al-Aziz is one of Allah's Beautiful Names, which means "the One Who overpowers and is never overpowered". To this effect, Allah, All-Mighty, says:
(And Allah has full power and control over His Affairs, but most of men know not.)
The meaning of Al-Aziz is indicated in the following Qudsi (Divine) Hadith:
(You (O My slave) will (something) and I will (something). If you surrender to Me concerning what I will, I fulfill what you will; but if you do not surrender to Me concerning what I will, I tire you out with what you will, and then there will never be except what I will.)
I repeat the Ayah I have just referred to:
(And Allah has full power and control over His Affairs, but most of men know not.)
If all people knew that Allah has full power over all things, they would obey Him, they would rely on Him, they would trust in Him, they would turn to Him with love and devotion, and they would turn away from other than Him.
Third Meaning: Al-Aziz is the Mighty and Forceful, as derived from the Arabic word "Azza", which means "reinforces and makes stronger". Its indication can be found in the following Noble Ayah:
(When We sent to them two Messengers, they belied them both, so We reinforced them with a third, and they said: "Verily! We have been sent to you as Messengers.")
Let me sum up the three meanings. The first meaning of Al-Aziz is that He is the One the like of Whom is nothing, rival to Whom is none, and equal to Whom is nothing. This Name is one of Allah's Names of Tanzeeh (i.e. Names that denote His being free from any anthropomorphic elements). The second meaning is that He is the One Who overpowers and is never overpowered, and this meaning belongs to the Names of As-Sifat (i.e. Names that are Attributes of Allah the Almighty). The third meaning is that He is the All-Mighty, the All-Powerful, and it also belongs to the Names of As-Sifat.
There is a very delicate fourth meaning, which believers need to understand badly. The fourth meaning: Al-Aziz is the One Who grants power and honor to His slaves. This Name belongs to Names of "Al-Afal" (i.e. Names that denote Allah's Acts). This meaning is referred to in the following Ayah:
(Say (O Muhammad PBUH): "O Allah! Possessor of the kingdom, You give the kingdom to whom You will, and You take the kingdom from whom You will, and You endue with honour whom You will, and You humiliate whom You will. In Your Hand is the good. Verily, You are Able to do all things.)
When the last of the Arab kings of ancient Spain left Spain, he cried sadly, so his mother A'ishah addressed him sarcastically, "Cry like women for a lost kingdom that you could not preserve like men!" So what is man's value if Allah forsakes him?! Allah the Almighty says:
(See you not that to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the mountains, and the trees, and Ad-Dawab (moving living creatures, beasts, etc.), and many of mankind? But there are many (men) on whom the punishment is justified. And whomsoever Allah disgraces, none can honour him. Verily! Allah does what He wills.)
A great part of your life has to do with your honor and dignity. Therefore, if you are with Allah Al-Aziz, He will certainly grant you honor and dignity:
Make to your Lord all your honor,
It will be deeply rooted and firmly established.
But if you seek honor from those who die,
Your honor will also die.
So far, we have discussed the linguistic meanings of Allah's Beautiful Divine Name Al-Aziz, and there is still one more beautiful and delicate meaning. Al-Aziz is the One Who is too Rare, Who is so badly needed, and Who is too difficult to reach. A metal, for example, might be too rare, but, at the same time, it is not so badly needed. Such a thing is not called in Arabic "Aziz". We call something "Aziz" if it has three qualities: It is too rare, it is so badly needed, and it is too difficult to reach. The air, for example, might be so badly needed, but it is not rare. Water is so badly needed, but it is not rare in most places. Accordingly, Al-Aziz is something that is too rare, so badly needed and too difficult to reach. Such qualities, however, have to do with perfection and non-perfection. In other words, the more available a certain thing is, the less Aziz it is; the less badly needed it is, the less Aziz it is; and the easier to reach it is, the less Aziz it is. If something becomes so rare that it becomes only one, i.e. unique, it becomes the most Aziz, which is a paramount quality of perfection and is given only to Allah, Alone, Who is the One and Only Creator, Who is so badly needed by all things and Who is too difficult to reach.
A certain person might be needed by some, or even most, people, so the more needed he is, the more Aziz he is. However, no human being is needed by all people everywhere. A certain man might live in the kingdom of a certain king, nevertheless, he does not need the king, because he lives in a tent in a remote place with his sheep that give him food and other things that he needs. Therefore, the more badly needed a certain thing is, the more Aziz it become. Moreover, perfection of this quality is attained when everything needs such a thing for everything. I might need a doctor when I am ill, for example, but I do not need him for my sleep; I need a bed for my sleep. I might need a teacher if my son is not good at mathematics, but a teacher is not needed by all people or by all things, living and non-living: people, animals, plants, objects, substances, atoms, galaxies, …etc. In other words, no one, except Allah, Alone, is needed by all things for all things, and that is why He Al-Aziz.
Pay attention to this fact "everything needs Allah for everything". Hence, Allah Alone is Al-Aziz, because the existence and survival of all things depend on Him. For example, the atom which is made up of a nucleus around which electrons move in orbits, would never have existed unless Allah the Almighty had granted it its own existence and enabled it to survive: "Be!", and it is; "Perish!", and it perishes. Allah the Almighty says:
(Allah! La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists.)
The Ayah refers to the fact that the existence and survival of all things are in Allah's Hand, for He is the Source of life and survival for all things. Therefore, we should not say that Allah is so badly needed, but rather we should say that everything needs Him so badly for everything.
Your need of Allah can be manifested in many example one of which is the mechanism of sight. The retina has more than 130.000.000 light receptors located in ten layers. Optic nerves are more than 900.000 ones. What is that substance whose composition changes whenever infringed by light, and in so doing it generates an electric current that is carried to the brain where it is perceived?! Thus, you are in bad need of Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, for your sight, hearing, speaking, thinking, moving, and living, for your brain, arteries, veins, and every single part of your body. Without Allah's Grace, everything becomes nothing. You survive by Allah: your bones and muscles, nerves and organs, all work by His Divine Grace. Without Allah's Grace, man and everything else, cannot possibly exist or survive. Indeed, everything needs Him for everything.
Based on the above discussed points, the first quality of Allah's Perfection as being Aziz is that He is One and Only so that everything needs Him desperately for everything, that He is too difficult to reach, none could ever encompass Him in knowledge, not even Prophets PBUT, for no one knows Allah except Allah, Himself. You can only reach Him as a created slave of His; therefore, you should comply to His Commands and perform righteous deeds if you desire to reach Him and be intimate to Him since this is the only way to get closer to Him.
A young man got engaged to the daughter of a religious scholar. Her name was "Wisal" (i.e. communion). The scholar addressed the young man, "My daughter's dowry is to attend the lectures that I deliver in my assembly." The young man attended the scholar's lectures and was so involved in them that he forgot his fiancée, the scholar's daughter. So, one day she sent him a message written in it, "You have forgotten me!" He replied, "O Wisal! You were the cause of the communion (i.e. my association with Allah), so do not be the cause of disunion (dissociation with Him)!"
You cannot reach Him except as a worshipping servant who acts upon His Order, who performs good deeds, who constantly remembers Him and is conscious of Him, and who is at the disposal of His servants. Thus, it is possible to reach Him as a devoted servant, but it is impossible to encompass Him in knowledge or perception, and even the Noble Prophets and Messengers PBUT, most righteous and pure as they are, fail to do so. This is because none can know Allah the Almighty except Allah Himself.
If you ask yourself what Al-Aziz means, well Al-Aziz is: The Unique, the One and Only, Whom everything needs for everything, Who is impossible to be encompassed either by one's cognitive power or his sensual perception. It is possible to reach Him only by being a devoted servant to Him. Some scholars say that Al-Aziz is He the Almighty in the oceans of Whose Majesty the minds get drowned, Whose Graces and Blessings cannot be properly enumerated or conceived, Whose Perfection and Beauty cannot be described by human tongues. Allah's Messenger PBUH summed up the whole thing as follows:
(A'ishah reported: One night in bed, I missed the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, so I looked for him and my hand touched his feet while he was in prostration. They were raised and the Prophet was saying, "O Allah, I seek refuge in your pleasure from your anger and in your forgiveness from your punishment, and I seek refuge in you from you. I cannot fully praise you, for you are as you have praised yourself.")
I swear by Allah, dear brothers, it is an indisputable fact that he who knows Allah belittles all other people. If you know Allah, it is impossible that you humble yourself to any other human being or creature. If you know Allah, you see no might or honor except with Him, you see no power except His, you see no wisdom except His. Allah the Almighty says in Hadith Qudsi:
(O son of Adam! Seek Me, for if you find Me, you find everything, but if you miss Me, you miss everything; and I am more beloved to you than everything.)
If your eyes had seen of Our Beauty that which they saw,
You would not have turned away from Us to other ones.
If your ears had heard the Beauty of Our Speech,
You would have taken off the cloak of pride and come to Us.
If you tasted the little sweetness of (Our) Love,
You would have excused those who died of Our Love.
If only a breeze from near Us blew to you,
You would have died of eagerness to Our Vicinity
***
Verily, Allah is Al-Aziz, and those who naively fancy that by a couple of Rak'at of prayer and some money they can enter Paradise are mere idiots, for the price of Paradise is more precious. In this context, it has been rightly said, "He who seeks to marry a beautiful lady should be generous enough to pay her dowry." Pay attention to the following Hadith, please:
(Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying, "He who is afraid of the pillage of the enemy, sets out in the early part of the night; and he who sets out early, reaches his destination. Be on your guard that the commodity of Allah is precious. Verily the commodity of Allah is Jannah".)
Allah the Almighty says:
(By no means shall you attain Al-Birr (piety, righteousness, etc., it means here Allah's Reward, i.e. Paradise), unless you spend (in Allah's Cause) of that which you love; and whatever of good you spend, Allah knows it well.)
Your precious time and power should be spent in Allah's Cause, and your wealth that you have worked hard to collect should be spent in Allah's Cause too:
(…The commodity of Allah is precious. Verily the commodity of Allah is Jannah".)
Allah is Aziz! Very simply and naturally, Allah is Aziz.
Now, in the light of the aforementioned definition, who is Aziz (i.e. mighty and honorable) among Allah's worshipping servants? The Noble Prophets and Messengers are, because all mankind are in need of them and of their righteous deeds. Allah's Messenger PBUH is Aziz (i.e. mighty and honorable), simply because Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, has endued him with His Divine Secret and His Divine Knowledge; and He granted him Prophethood. Allah's Messenger is the way to Allah and the gate that leads to Him.
In fact, the Prophets and Messengers PBUT are mighty and honorable, because Allah the Almighty, has made them the gates to His Divine Mercy, Grace, Bounty, and Light. That is why when you attain the good pleasure of Allah's Messenger, you attain Allah's Good Pleasure; and that is why Allah the Almighty associated His Prophet's name with His own Name. So, I would like to repeat that the Noble Prophet is Aziz, because all people are in bad need of him for both their secular and religious affairs.
The King is considered Aziz (mighty and honorable): If he has all matters under his control, and if all people: young and old, venerable and disreputable, go to him for their affairs. In other words, the more needed you are, the more Aziz (the mightier and more honorable) you are. Accordingly, if a true believer is badly needed, he is Aziz . Nevertheless, he is modest, while the disbeliever is arrogant and tyrannical when he is badly needed.
Dear noble brothers, the venerable Imam and scholar Al-Hassan Al-Basri was one day asked, "How did you attain such a great position?" Before I give you his reply, I would like to say these words, from the depth of my heart, to my dear brothers: If you know Allah and obey Him, it is impossible for you to humble yourself before anyone, because Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, says:
(They (hyprocrites) say: "If we return to Al-Madinah, indeed the more honourable ('Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul, the chief of hyprocrites at Al-Madinah) will expel therefrom the meaner (i.e. Allah's Messenger PBUH)." But honour, power and glory belong to Allah, His Messenger (Muhammad PBUH), and to the believers, but the hypocrites know not.)
How come that you are with Allah Al-Aziz, yet you humble yourself to other than Him. This is impossible! Do you not make this Du'a at Fajr Salah (dawn prayer) everyday: "Glory be to you, none whom You have committed to Your care shall be humiliated and none whom You have taken as an enemy shall taste glory. You are Blessed, our Lord, and Exalted."?
Every true believer who knows Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, acts upon Allah's Order, and sets his affairs aright with Him, receives special Divine Care and Treatment from Him, feeling that he is so endeared by and beloved to Him. Regarding this point, Allah the Almighty says:
(So wait patiently (O Muhammad PBUH) for the Decision of your Lord, for verily, you are under Our Eyes , and glorify the Praises of your Lord when you get up from sleep.)
Very often you beseech Allah the Almighty, and He answers you, you pray to Him and He repels evil from you, you make Du'a to Him (invoke Him), and He casts love for you into the hearts of other people, you make Du'a to Him, and He softens the hearts of your enemies for you, you make Du'a to Him, and He responds to you, you beg Him and He gives you, and you swear by Him and He verifies your oath.
We go back to the above question that was put forward to Al-Hassan Al-Basri, the venerable Imam and scholar, "How did you get such a great respectful position among people?!" His answer was, "I got by two things: I never ask them to fulfill what I need, while they need my knowledge." Bear in mind that you are by no means Aziz (mighty and honorable) if you are greedy. When you are greedy you are submissive to others; when you aspire to have the things that people have, you become despised and disrespected. On the other hand, if you aspire to what Allah has, He loves you. A poet said:
Never ask any human being for your need,
But ask the One, Whose Gates are never closed.
Allah gets upset if you refrain from asking Him,
But man is upset if he is asked.
If you ask a human being for something, he gets angry with you, but if you refrain from asking Allah the Almighty, He gets angry with you. That is why Allah's Messenger PBUH said:
(It was narrated from Hudhaifah, that the Messenger of Allah(PBUH) said: "It is not for the believer to humiliate himself." They said: "How does he humiliate himself?" He said: "By taking on a trial which he cannot bear.")
Allah's Messenger PBUH also said:
(Seek things with self-respect, for all matters run according to Divine Foreordainment.)
Once, he PBUH addressed a man who was humbling himself before others:
("Raise up your head, O brother!" Then he PBUH added, "He (the man) has deadened our religion for us!")
One day, Imam Abu Hanifah entered upon Abi Ja'far Al-Mansour for a certain matter. Abu Ja'far was very pleased to receive such a venerable scholar in his palace, and he said, "O Abu Hanifah! Why do you not always come to visit us! It is a great honor for us to receive you! You are most welcome!" Abu Hanifah said, "O Commander of the Faithful! Why should I visit you?! I do not have anything with you for which I fear you! Does anyone visit you unless they have something with you for which they fear you?!" This means that the less aspirant you are after what other people have, the more honored Allah makes you; and the more you prostrate yourself in submission to Allah, the more honored He makes you.
Harun Ar-Rasheed once called upon a scholar for religious counsel. The Khalifah's men went to Imam Malik, the venerable Imam and scholar, saying, "O Malik, the Khalifah wants you to come to him." Malik replied, "I do not need him! If he needs me, let him come to me!" Then he added, "Knowledge is sought (come to)! It does not go to anyone!" When Harun Ar-Rasheed was informed about what Imam Malik had said, he said, "He (Imam Malik) speaks the truth! I shall go to him!" When the Khalifah went to see Imam Malik, the latter said, "Let him sit behind and wait until it is his turn to see me!"
Before I go one with this story let me tell you one thing: By the way, Allah's Messenger PBUH, used to sit behind, just like anyone else, and he never had a throne or a special place to sit in. One day, when a Bedouin came to see Allah's Messenger PBUH, who was sitting with his venerable Companions, he could not recognize who Allah's Messenger was. Therefore, he asked, "Who is Muhammad?!" What modesty! He PBUH never distinguished himself in sitting from his Companions!
Let us get back to Imam Malik. When it was the Khalifah's turn to see the Imam, he came to him and sat on a chair. Then, the Imam addressed him, "He who humbles himself to Allah, Allah honors him, but he who displays arrogance, Allah the Almighty humiliates him." Upon hearing these words, the Khalifah, Harun Ar-Rasheed, stood up, saying, "Take away this chair!" Then, he sat down on the floor.
If a scholar desires to be Aziz (honored and mighty), he should never aspire to have what people have, he should renounce their world, and he should have a job by which he earns a decent living.
Someone asked, "How can I get to Allah?!" It was wisely said to him, "If you know Allah, you will certainly know how to get to Him!" This is because if you know Allah, you know by your Fitrah (innate disposition) how to please Him, how to get to Him, how to stick to His Divine Commands, how to sacrifice yourself for Him, and how to favor Him over anyone or anything else. I repeat: He asked, "How can I get to Allah?!" He was answered: "If you know Him, you will certainly know how to get to Him!" He said, "I do not understand what you mean. How can I worship someone I do not know?" He was answered, "How come that you disobey Him (Allah) after you have known Him?! You disobey Him!" A poet said:
You disobey the Lord wile you claim to love Him!
Such is indeed a strange claim!
If your love had been true, you would have obeyed Him.
Verily, he who loves someone does obey him.
A man was once asked, "When did you get to know Allah?" He replied, "(I swear) by Allah! I have never disobeyed Him ever since I knew Him!" Once again, I would like to say to you these words: I swear by Allah, the One and Only Deity, even if you acquire knowledge of all of the jinn and mankind whereby you attain respect and honor among people, but you disobey Allah, then you never know Him, you never know Him, you never know Him! It was reported in the relic:
(He who does not have enough piety that prevents him from disobeying Allah in his privacy, Allah does not care about anything good he does.)
Our Master Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Do not think of how insignificant the sin you have committed might be, but rather think of the One against Whom you have committed that sin." Hence, once you disobey Allah, this means you do not know Him.
Suppose that someone has the highest university degree in religious studies, he has written more than a hundred religious books, and he occupies an important religious position. Yet, upon welcoming a woman who needs his advice, he keeps gazing at her beauty, this means he never knows Allah the Almighty. On the other hand, if the naïve illiterate porter of that man lowers his gaze when that woman comes, adhering by that to the following Divine Order in the Ayah, he is a scholar in Allah's Sight:
(Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.). That is purer for them. Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what they do.)
The first man in the example I have just given is illiterate in Allah's Sight, while the second man is a well-educated scholar, because this fact is indicated in the following Hadith. The Prophet PBUH said:
(It suffices man in knowledge that he fears Allah; and it suffices man in ignorance that he boasts of his work.)
Keep these words in your mind: Once you disobey Allah, this means that you do not know Him!
It was asked: What are the qualities that a true believer should have towards this Name? Allah, the Almighty is Aziz, but what should a believer's attitude towards this Divine Name be?
The answer is: Once a true believer knows Allah Al-Aziz, he should never believe that any creature has the right to be over-esteemed or over-dignified. It is true that as a human being a true believer should be so polite and well-behaved towards other fellow humans, but he should by no means believe that any one of such fellow humans, or anyone else, except Allah the Almighty Alone, has the right to be over-esteemed or over-dignified. In other words, a true believer should belittle everyone and everything compared to Allah the Almighty. He should never over-venerate anyone but Allah, Creator of all things and the Lord of all Worlds. Therefore, he is supposed to humble himself to Him Alone. Allah's Messenger PBUH said:
(He who humbles himself to a wealthy person loses two thirds of his religion.)
But why? Bbecause belief in Allah the Almighty is deeply rooted in the heart, confessed by the tongue, and verified by deeds. Therefore, if you over-esteem a wealthy person for his wealth, you are apt to over-dignify him, humble yourself to him and even praise him for merits that he does not really have, and thus, you lose two thirds of your belief, i.e. the verbal confession – when you praise him - and your deeds - when you humble yourself to him. As a result, over-esteeming or over-dignifying someone besides Allah the Almighty reflects weakness of belief in Him:
The true believer is mentioned in the following Hadith:
(Sahl Ibn Sa'd reported: The Angel Gabriel came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and he said, "O Muhammad, live as you wish, for you will die. Work as you wish, for you will be repaid accordingly. Love whomever you wish, for you will be separated. Know that the nobility of the believer is in prayer at night and his honor is in his independence of the people.")
The true believer has more dignity and self-esteem than the people of a whole town. He believes deeply that he is a submissive servant to Allah, and so Allah will never let him down, and will never forsake him.
There is a golden rule: If man knows how Great and All-Mighty the Creator is, he belittles all creatures, but if he fails to know how Great and All-Mighty the Creator is, he over-esteems creatures. Allah tests people with this rule. For example, someone considers an official a great man since he can do that and prevents that from happening, and so he does not know Allah. In other words, as long as you praise and glorify such a person, you do not know who Allah is; it does not cross your mind the fact that Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, is Able to cause blood to clot in one of the arteries of his brain, making him completely paralyzed. Also, if Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, causes blood to clot in one of the arteries of his heart, he will soon die. In fact, the more elevated man's belief in Allah the Almighty, the more sincerely and devotedly he turns to Him. Listen to this Ayah, please:
(So We leave those who expect not their meeting with Us, in their trespasses, wandering blindly in distraction.)
If you believe that Allah, only Allah, is the One Who grants you honor and dignity, and if you believe that even if all mankind gather together to raise you up in rank without His Divine Leave, they will never be able to do so. Furthermore, when you believe that if Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, raises you up in rank, none could ever degrade or humiliate you. Since you deeply believe that Only Allah grants you honor and dignity, you will seek them from none but from Him through your submission and devotion to Him.
It has been rightly said, "Even if all mankind gathered together to grant someone honor, might or glory more than the honor and glory that he attains by showing enough obedience and devotion to Allah, they would never be able to do so." So, you can never attain honor, dignity, or glory except by showing adequate obedience to Allah the Almighty. If you desire to be granted honor, glory and dignity, you have to magnify and dignify Allah's Order. Similarly, if all mankind gathered together to grant someone disgrace or humiliation more than those that he incurs by sins and wrong-doings, they would never be able to do so.
That is to say, there is only one thing that brings you honor or dishonor, explicitly, obedience or disobedience. The more you obey Allah the Almighty, the more honored you are, and the more negligent or disobedient you are towards Allah's Commands, the more insignificant you are to Him, and thus the more disgraceful and lowly you are. In this context, it should be noticed that Muslims today are negligent towards their Lord's Commands and are, therefore, insignificant to Him.
It might be wrongly thought that those millions of Muslims today are true believers or true Muslims, but one should bear in mind that the true Muslim has certain essential qualities. Those who are negligent regarding Salat (prayer), those who are dishonest and untrustworthy, those who transgress against the rights of other people by way of injustice or tyranny, and those who commit sins and misdeeds are by no means true Muslims. In fact, two things sum up the status quo of Muslims nowadays: They are heedless of and careless towards Allah's Commands, and thus, they are insignificant to Him.
Individually, if you act upon Allah's Order, and if you put your trust in Him, Allah the Almighty grants you special Divine Care and Treatment. However, if the whole Islamic Ummah disobeys Allah, He will definitely punish them, for He the Almighty says in as reported in the relic:
(If he who knows Me disobeys Me, I set on him those who do not know Me.)
A prominent man went to perform Hajj (pilgrimage) accompanied by tens of servants who kept pushing other pilgrims away from him while he was circumambulating Ka'bah. Anyway, he completed his Hajj rituals and returned to his country. The narrator of the story said, "Many years later, I came across a miserable poor man with shabby clothes, begging people for money on one of the bridges of the city of Baghdad. The man looked much like the one I saw in Hajj with his servants. When I came forward to look closer at him, he humbly asked, "Why are you looking at me." I said in amazement, "You look like someone whom I met while he was circumambulating Ka'bah in Hajj", and gave him the man's name. Very sadly, he said, "It is me!" In great astonishment, I asked, "What made you in this miserable condition?!" Very regretfully, he replied, "I displayed arrogance in the place where people should be humble and deservedly incurred, therefore, such horrible punishment."
The story teaches us that circumambulating Ka'bah should by no means be done arrogantly or boastfully. Nay! It should be performed with utmost humbleness and submission to Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, since you are a servant of Allah even if you are a king among your people. Let me repeat what that man said, "I displayed arrogance in the place where people should be humble, and so Allah degraded me to a rank most people are above it."
In fact, the more arrogant and self-conceited man is, the more insignificant and degraded he is in Allah's Sight. Keep away from two evil qualities: arrogance and injustice. That is because Allah the Almighty, easily forgives tens of sins and misdeeds, except two unforgivable sins whereby sinners incur perdition: arrogance and injustice. Also, keep away from two evil things: Shirk (polytheism), which reflects arrogance, and doing evil to other people, which is the token of injustice and tyranny.
We still have a problem concerning Allah's Name Al-Aziz, or at least something that I consider problematic. Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, says:
(Whosoever desires honour, power and glory then to Allah belong all honour, power and glory [and one can get honour, power and glory only by obeying and worshipping Allah (Alone)]. To Him ascend (all) the goodly words, and the righteous deeds exalt it (the goodly words i.e. the goodly words are not accepted by Allah unless and until they are followed by good deeds), but those who plot evils, theirs will be severe torment. And the plotting of such will perish.)
This means all power and glory belong to Allah Alone, but in another Ayah, Allah the Almighty says:
(But honour, power and glory belong to Allah, His Messenger (Muhammad PBUH), and to the believers, but the hypocrites know not.)
There seems to be a kind of contradiction between both Ayaat, while actually there is no contradiction at all. The part of the Ayah "...power and glory then to Allah belong all honour, power and glory [and one can get honour, power and glory only by obeying and worshipping Allah (Alone)]" means if you seek honor and glory from other sources than Allah the Almighty, you shall never be honorable or glorified. Nay! You shall be dishonored and degraded unless you obey Allah the Almighty, seek His Good Pleasure and Generous Recompense, strive for His Cause, act upon His Order, commit yourself to His Religion, and turn to Him with true love and sincere devotion.
The story of the Noble Prophet Yusus (Joseph) PBUH is known to everybody. He stayed in the palace of the Prime Minister of Egypt as a slave, who had to obey his mater's orders. Then, he was put in prison for some time. Many years later, he became the Prime Minister of Egypt. One day, while he was in his procession, one of the salves, who had previously been with him and known him very well cried out, "Glory be to Him (Allah), Who has made slaves kings by their obedience to Him, and Who has made kings slaves by their disobedience to Him!"
Perhaps he meant by the second part of his utterance the wife of the former Prime Minister, who tried to seduce Yusuf PBUH, and then unjustly accused him of trying to do so, for she became as humiliated and lowly as a slave when the truth was later unveiled.
Every now and then, we hear and read of people who built up for themselves the highest ranks of might, honor and glory on a sinful basis of disobedience to Allah the Almighty, and so He caused them to be the lowest of the low, whereas the Noble Prophet Yusuf PBUH refused to disobey Allah no matter what, so he became the Prime Minister later on:
(He said: "I seek refuge in Allah (or Allah forbid)! Truly, he (your husband) is my master! He made my stay agreeable! (So I will never betray him). Verily, the Zalimun (wrong and evil-doers) will never be successful.")
I swear by Allah! I have been told an old incredible story, which I will never believe unless its narrator is still alive. A young man had a small bookshop in one of the quarters of Damascus. He was seduced to commit a sin with a morally deviated young woman, so he closed his shop and followed her.
While he was following her to her place, he remembered that he had previously performed Hajj, so he thought to himself, "No! I shall not spoil my Hajj because of that evil woman!" He stopped and went back home. He feared Allah and remained obedient to Him. The next day, a notable neighbor came to him asking, "Are you married?" "No, I am not." The young man replied. The neighbor said, "I have a suitable wife for you. Send your family to see her for you." The young man thought that there was something wrong with the neighbor's daughter so that he offered her to him to marry.
Later on, however, the young man sent his family to see her for him. She was a very beautiful young girl. A few months later, the young man and the neighbor's daughter got married. The neighbor, who became the young man's father-in-law made him his partner in business. Therefore, the young husband closed his small bookshop and joined his father-in-law in his business. After some time, the wife's father passed away, but the man is still alive and has become one of the big businessmen in town. This reminds us of Yusuf's words when he was seduced:
(He said: "I seek refuge in Allah (or Allah forbid)! Truly, he (your husband) is my master! He made my stay agreeable! (So I will never betray him). Verily, the Zalimun (wrong and evil-doers) will never be successful.")
When you fear Allah in a way that keeps you away from wrongdoings, you will gain good things double folds. If man quits something for the Sake of Allah the Almighty, Allah recompenses him something better in both his religion and life. Indeed! Whatever you forsake for the Cause of Allah, surely, Allah recompenses you something better in both your worldly life and religion. Do you not like to be honorable?! Do you not wish to be glorious?! Do you not like to be respected?! Then, obey Allah, the Almighty as much as you can! The more you obey Allah, the more honorable He makes you, while the more you disobey Him, the more degraded and dishonorable He makes you. Furthermore, the more heedless of and negligent towards His Divine Commands you are, the more insignificant and little you are to Him. On the other hand, the more committed and devoted you are towards Him and His Religion, the more honorable and glorious He makes you.
Those who went to Madinah to visit the Prophet's Masjid there know exactly what I mean; no human being has been granted more honor and glory by Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, than Allah's Messenger PBUH. Even kings and presidents seem so humble when they enter the Prophet's Masjid and stand before his sacred tomb. It is he PBUH who addressed modestly a slave that came to him shivering of reverence and magnification:
(Take it easy! I am but the son of a (simple ordinary) woman who is from (the tribe of) Quraish and who used to eat Al-Qadeed [dried meat (simple modest kind of food)] in Mekkah.)
A lot of people come to Allah's Messenger PBUH from all parts of the world. Once they draw nearer to his tomb, they cannot help weeping although he PBUH died more than 1400 years ago. What is the secret of such love and reverence? Is there on earth a person upon whom Allah the Almighty bestowed honor, reverence and dignity more than Allah's Messenger PBUH? Well, the Prophet's venerable Companions were honored by Allah too since they followed the example of the Prophet PBUH. For instance, Abu Bakr As-Sideeq, may Allah be pleased with him, had a poor neighbor, and he used to milk her sheep. When he became Khalifah, his poor neighbor was very sad, because they thought that his becoming the ruler of all Muslims would prevent him from helping them and milking their sheep for them. However, the following day of appointing him as Khalifah, there was a knock on the door of the poor neighbor. The mother bade her daughter to open the door, "Who is it?" The mother asked. The daughter soon replied, "It is the man who milks our sheep for us." What modesty! In fact, no one of the Prophet's venerable Companions was granted more honor and dignity than Abu Bakr As-Sideeq, may Allah be pleased with him.
In short, it is a Divine Law of positive proportion: The more you obey and glorify Allah the Almighty, the more honorable and dignified He makes you, but the more you disobey Him and say, "Do not be so strict! Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful! Our religion is a religion of facilitation and ease! Do not be so conformist! Do whatever you like and fear nothing!", the more disgraceful and lowly He makes you. In other words, the more negligent and careless you are towards Allah's Divine Commands, the more degraded, humble and unrespectable you are made.
The great Imams, such as Abu Hanifah and Ash-Shafi'i, and before them the Prophet's venerable Companions are unforgettable, their names are on all tongues and their good fame is everywhere. They glorified Allah the Almighty, so He made people remember and mention them abundantly. Similarly, the Noble Prophet and Messenger Musa (Moses PBUH) was granted utmost honor and glory, while Fir'aun was made to drown and perish in utmost humiliation. Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, says:
(And We took the Children of Israel across the sea, and Fir'aun (Pharaoh) with his hosts followed them in oppression and enmity, till when drowning overtook him, he said: "I believe that La ilaha illa (Huwa): (none has the right to be worshipped but) He," in Whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am one of the Muslims (those who submit to Allah's Will)." *Now (you believe) while you refused to believe before and you were one of the Mufsidun (evil-doers, corrupts, etc.).)
He the Almighty speaks the truth, and He says in the following Ayah:
(See you not that to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the mountains, and the trees, and Ad-Dawab (moving living creatures, beasts, etc.), and many of mankind? But there are many (men) on whom the punishment is justified. And whomsoever Allah disgraces, none can honour him. Verily! Allah does what He wills.)
Ibrahim's (Abraham) people plotted evil against him, but Allah All-Mighty says:
(We (Allah) said: "O fire! Be you coolness and safety for Ibrahim (Abraham)!")
Such is the real honor; and such is real glory: Allah's Honor and Glory to Ibrahim, Musa and Yusuf PBUT!
Allah has granted no other human being more honor and glory than the Prophet PBUH and this applies to Abu Bakr and Umar. Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I was 'Umair (a young pre-mature person named Umar), then I became Umar (i.e. a full-grown mature person named Umar), and as time passed, I became the Commander of the Faithful!" He, may Allah be pleased with him, was committed to Allah's Book, so Allah the Almighty granted him honor and glory. The same thing applies to the noble Companions 'Uthman and Ali, may Allah be pleased with them.
On the opposite side are such bad people as Abu Jahl. How was his end? What was his reputation like? What was his esteem like? Another example of evil people was Abu Lahab. Such tyrannical disbelievers, what happened to them? As for Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl, when he showed repentance to Allah the Almighty, Allah accepted his repentance, and he became one of the noble Companions of the Prophet PBUH despite his former hostility and evil stance against the Prophet PBUH.
In short, each human being loves and strives for existence, safety of such existence, perfection of such existence, and continuity of such existence. One great part of your existence is to be honored, dignified and glorified, and to be free from any kind of humbleness or humiliation; and nothing could ever bring you more humbleness and humiliation than sins and misdeeds.
In fact, the righteous virtuous abstinent modest person is honorable and dignified; but when a person transgresses against other people's chastity or looks maliciously at their women, he becomes dishonored. This is because true faith is abstention from evil ambitions and unlawful things.
True faith is abstinence, modesty and abstention from other people's possessions and from doing evil to their reputation, and this explains why lowering one's gaze from looking at forbidden women is necessary for a true believer, who is immune from following his desires and caprices. The more he lowers his gaze from looking at women who are forbidden to him to look at, the more honor and dignity Allah grants him, and the happier and more contented with his wife and family he is. Bear in mind that happiness and contentment are in Allah's Hand, and He grants them to the husband and the wife if they are believers, and they remain obedient to Him. In other words, Allah the Almighty makes them live a happy contented married life if they obey Him in their relationship with each other.
Actually, honor and dignity are a common demand, since every human being desires to be honorable and dignified. Yet, honor and dignity are attained only by obedience to Allah the Almighty and His Messenger PBUH. In this context, I would like to advise the young: Abstain from unlawful things, and you will be granted lawful things. Never think of committing sins or misdeeds, and you will be successful and happy with your household. Allah will grant you a way out of all troubles, and He will provide you with a decent living and give you a respectable and honorable social position.
When some people die, only one or two people go in their funeral because of their being insignificant and sinful wrong-doers. On the other hand, when a venerable scholar dies, a million people go in his funeral. This is because Allah the Almighty grants him a special honor, dignity and respect. But why does Allah grant him such honor, dignity and respect? Because he magnifies and sticks to Allah's Commands. Hence, if you magnify and show enough respect and commitment to Allah's Commands, He the Almighty will grant you honor, dignity and respect.
Such are undisputable facts, dear brothers, and whosoever seeks honor and dignity from other than Allah, he attains only dishonor and lowliness. In other words, if man takes Allah the Almighty for a Friend and Guardian, he will certainly prosper in the worldly life and the Hereafter. Regarding this point, Allah the Almighty says:
(And incline not toward those who do wrong, lest the Fire should touch you, and you have no protectors other than Allah, nor you would then be helped.)
If you incline to a deviant person, if you think that he is powerful, if you think that he has full command over this world, if you think that obeying will get you many benefits, and so you forget about Allah the Almighty, you will receive nothing but humiliation and degradation from that very person. A poet said:
Let yourself be respected and honored
By remaining close to Allah the Almighty
And never seek honor from getting close to people
Since by their death your respect dies
***
Sometimes, a person seeks honor from some important relative, but he suddenly finds out that such important relative has let him down. He goes to him for help, but he neglects him, saying, "Sorry! I cannot violate laws at all! I cannot help you!" Such is the punishment of those who incline to other than Allah the Almighty. Concerning this point I repeat the Hadith of the Prophet PBUH:
(Seek to achieve your needs by self-respect, for things are run by (Allah's) Divine Decree.)
To the same effect, Allah the Almighty says:
(Whatever of mercy (i.e. of good), Allah may grant to mankind, none can withhold it, and whatever He may withhold, none can grant it thereafter. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.)
In fact, events and incidents that can be narrated concerning the issue of honor and dishonor are countless. Every one, through one's relatives and friends as well as the people around him, knows thousands of stories.
The young man, who commits himself to Allah's Commands, is granted honor and dignity in the worldly life and the Hereafter.
(But for him who [the true believer of Islamic Monotheism who performs all the duties ordained by Allah and His Messenger Muhammad PBUH , and keeps away (abstain) from all kinds of sin and evil deeds prohibited in Islam and] fears the standing before his Lord, there will be two Gardens (i.e. in Paradise).)
Most scholars who interpreted the Noble Quran said, "The two Gardens (of Paradise) mentioned in the above Ayah are: A Garden in the worldly life and another one in the Hereafter."
Pay attention to Allah's following Words, please:
(So wait patiently (O Muhammad PBUH) for the Decision of your Lord, for verily, you are under Our Eyes, and glorify the Praises of your Lord when you get up from sleep.)
[At-Tur, 48]
I would like to wrap up this lecture about Allah's Beautiful Divine Name "Al-Aziz" with the following Prophetic Hadith:
(Whosoever seeks to achieve something by (committing) a sinful deed is too far from that which he desires and too near to that which he fears.)
If you desire to achieve anything by committing a sin or misdeed, you have to know for sure that such a thing is unattainable for you. In contrast, if you desire to achieve anything by showing obedience and commitment to Allah's Commands and Religion, you have to know for sure that it is very close and easily attainable for you:
(Whosoever seeks to achieve something by (committing) a sinful deed is too far from that which he desires and too near to that which he fears.)
In business and trade, if you remain honest and trustworthy, you gain a lot of profits, and you are considered honest and trustworthy in the Sight of Allah, All-Mighty. If you are a lawyer, be honest, and you will have a lot of income, and not only Allah but also other fellow humans will consider you honest and trustworthy.
Those who disobey Allah for the sake of the perishable pleasures and enjoyments of the worldly life are mere idiots who do not know Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, and thus they will lose the never-ending pleasures and enjoyments of the Hereafter. In this context, Allah the Almighty says:
(He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger (PBUH) he has indeed achieved a great achievement (i.e. he will be saved from the Hell-fire and made to enter Paradise).)
Allah has promised true believers to protect them, He has promised to defend them, He has promised to provide them with good sustenance, and He has promised to grant them honor and dignity. Here is the proof:
(But honor, power and glory belong to Allah, His Messenger and believers, but the hypocrites know not.)
This Ayah shows beyond a shadow of doubt that honor, power, glory and dignity are all in Allah's Hands. So, if you seek them, you have to be with Allah:
Be with Allah, and you will see Allah with you.
And leave all other (than Him) and beware of being greedy.
If He gives you, who can ever prevent Him?!
And who can ever give (you anything) if He withholds from you.
***
![Al-Fattah [The opener(Of The gates of profit and sustenance)]](https://nabulsicdn.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/thumbnail/3437.jpg)
