- Names of Allah
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- Names of Allah- 2008
A Great Original Hadith in the Names of Allah:
Honorable brother, this is a new lecture in the series of the Names of Allah, and we are still in the introduction.
In the two Sahihs, from Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him), the prophet (PBUH) said:
“Allah has ninety nine Names, a hundred minus one, he who knows them enters paradise”
The meaning of ‘knows them’:
That is a ‘hadith sahih’ agreed on by the two sheikhs, and it is from the highest level of righteousness. In order to understand the meaning of ‘knows them’, we read the noble aya:
“Verily! He knows each one of them, and has counted them a full counting”
The Difference between knowing and counting:
It seems that knowing is something and counting is another. You, as a teacher, can count the number of your students quickly, but in order to know them, their abilities, their levels, their excellence, their family status, their status at home, and their compliance with the way of Allah the All Mighty, you need a comprehensive study. Knowledge is a comprehensive study. The prophet PBUH makes knowing Allah’s Names a sufficient reason for entering paradise:
“Allah has ninety nine Names, a hundred minus one, he who knows them enters paradise”
The Good Righteous Deeds That Last:
This meaning can be clarified with this aya:
“Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world. But the good righteous deeds, that last, are better with your Lord for rewards and better in respect of hope”
When He said:“that last”
He meant that money and children do not last, every creature dies, and nothing is left except the Omnipotent and the Most Powerful.No matter how long the night is, dawn must rise inevitably, and no matter how long you live, it is inevitable that you will enter the grave
“Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world”
The aya is very accurate in stating that money without children is a big problem, and that children without money is even a bigger one.“Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world”
But when Allah the Almighty said:“..But the good righteous deeds, that last..”
The pleasures of life are temporal, so what are the good deeds that last?Some scholars said: "Glory to Allah, Praise be to Allah, there is no God but Allah, Allah is the ‘Greatest'", be accurate here, if you glorify Him_ that is you consider Him too exalted for every flaw_, dignify Him, praise Him, be a monotheist (believe that there is no god but Him), and consider Him the Greatest, then you will know Him. If you know Him, you will know everything, and if you know Him, everything will be small in your eyes. What is the meaning of ‘Allah is the Greatest’? It means that He is Greater than everything, even greater than anything you have ever known.
“Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world. But the good righteous deeds, that last,..”
O man, you are time:
Dear brother, you are time. In the most accurate definitions of man, he is a few days, whenever a day passes by, part of him passes by. That is the definition of the noble Imam ‘Al_Hasan Al_Basry’.
When a new day comes it calls: Son of Adam, I am a new creation, and I am a witness to your deed, so provide yourself from me for I will never come back until the day of judgment. So man is a few days which is in fact time, a few days, whenever a day passes by, part of him fades away. That is why the noble aya says:
“By Al_Asr (the time)(1) Verily, man is in loss”
The answer to the oath is that man is a loser inevitably, why? Because the passing by of time only consumes him, but he can avoid this loss if he gets to know Allah and His way, drives himself to be obedient to Him, and approaches Allah with the good deeds.“..Except those who believe (in Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds and recommend one another to the truth [i.e., order one another to perform all kinds of good deeds (Al_Ma’ruf) which Allah has ordained and abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds (Al_Munkar) which Allah has forbidden] and recommend one another to patience (for the sufferings, harms and injuries, which one may encounter in Allah’s Cause during preaching His religion of Islamic Monotheism or Jihad) ”
Imam Shafi’i said: “ these are the pillars of survival in the world”. It is a must that you should know Allah and get yourself to obey Him, guide people to Him, for this is an individual duty on each Muslim, the evidence is the hadith:“Report from me even if it is one aya (aya)”
But the mission is an individual duty within the framework of what you know, and with whom you know.That is why, either man consumes his/her life fully, or invest it. If you get to know Allah, His way and make yourself obey Him and approach Him, you will be investing your time in a noble job that benefits you when time is over.
The Importance of Knowing the Divine Names of Allah the Almighty:
That is why the position of the Divine Names of Allah from the ideology is great.
“Allah has ninety nine names, a hundred minus one, he who knows them enters paradise.”
Imam Ibn Al_Qayyim : “ Knowing Allah's Names and counting them is an origin for all sciences, whoever knows all His names as they should be, knows all sciences”. Shahr Bin Hawshab narrated that the prophet PBUH said:“The favor of Allah’s words over man’s words is equal to His favor over His creation”
How is that? If a person who has the highest degree in nuclear physics dies, the degree ends with him. Some people might say: Doctor so and so is the head of our family, when he dies he is finished, but if he knows Allah, he may benefit from this knowledge after death and forever and ever. Therefore, not every interesting science is useful, the useful science may not be interesting, and not every useful science is interesting. But if you get to know Allah, it is a useful , interesting, and pleasurable science in this life and in the afterlife.“Allah has ninety nine names, a hundred minus one, he who knows them enters paradise”
Knowing Allah must be accompanied by stable mercy in the heart of believers:
How do we know the Names of Allah? It was said that knowing them (the Divine Names of Allah) is to know their number and pronunciation. It was also said that knowing them is to understand their meanings and indications. Others said: Knowing them is to use them in supplication as it should be; in supplication, praise, matters, beseech, and wishes; that is the meaning of knowledge according to Ibn Al_Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him.
Now, honorable brother, you should get to know Allah, and derive perfection from Him; if you connect to the Most Merciful, mercy must settle down in your heart, read Allah the Almighty’s saying:
“And by the Mercy of Allah, you dealt with them gently”
O Muhammad, because of the mercy in your heart through connecting with Us, you were gentle with them, that was why they gathered around you“And had you been severe and harsh_ hearted…”
That means if you were distant, your heart would be full of harshness, if the heart was full of harshness, it would be reflected as roughness, and eventually people would disperse from around you. That is a mathematical equation; connection= mercy= kindness= gathering, butdisconnection, harshness= roughness= dispersing, a mathematical equation in full.That is why, if faith has an indicator, and mercy has aother indicator , they would be compatible. The more your faith is, the more your mercy gets. The one who does not have mercy over sh3er will never receive mercy." O My slaves, if you wish for My mercy, be merciful to My creation." The most distant heart from Allah is the harsh one.
Now I tell you, if you know the Name “Ar_Rahim”(the Most Merciful) and connect to 'Ar-Rahim’, your heart will be full of mercy, and that is the true crop of prayer.
“And perform As_Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat). Verily, As-Salat (the prayer) prevents from Al_Fahsha’ (i.e. great sins of every kind) and Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism, and every kind of evil wicked deed) and the remembering (praising) of (you by) Allah is greater indeed [than your remembering] of Allah in prayers”
The most accurate thing that scholars said about this aya is: Allah’s remembering of you is greater than your remembering of Him. If you remember Him, you will fulfill the duty of worship, but if He remembers you, he will fill your heart with mercy, peace, richness, satisfaction, and assurance. So Allah’s remembering is greater than yours, that is why it was mentioned in the author:“The mosques are my houses on earth, their visitors are their inhabitants, blessed be he who purifies at his house and visits me, and it is the host’s right to honor the visitor”
You Are Happy With Wisdom:
If you visit a friend in his house, he will serve you something, but if you visit a house of Allah’s, you will be granted wisdom.
“..And he, to whom Hikmah is granted, is indeed granted abundant good…”
With wisdom you will be happy with your wife even if she is not very good, and without wisdom, you will be doomed with your wife even if she is perfect, with wisdom you will be happy with money and without wisdom you will waste money.Honorable brother, for the sake of the gift of Allah ‘Hikmah’ (wisdom), if you connect to The Most Wise, you will be wise, from the meaning of:
“Allah has ninety nine names, a hundred minus one, he who knows them enters paradise”
Adopt the divine perfection, derive from Allah the Almighty: wisdom, mercy and justice. When you get to know Allah the Almighty, follow His order, and connect with Him, you will derive the divine perfection from Him, that is why:“Indeed he succeeds who purifies his own self (i.e. obeys and performs all that Allah ordered) (9) And indeed he fails who corrupts his own self (i.e. disobeys what Allah has ordered)(10)”
The real success and winning is in knowing Him, O Lord! What has he lost he who has found you? And what has he found he who has lost you? If Allah is with you, then who is against you? And if Allah is against you, then who is with you?It was mentioned in the author: “O son of Adam, seek Me you will find me, if you found Me, then you would find everything, and if I left you, you would miss everything, and I am dearer to you than everything.”
Honorable brother,
“And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them…”
Get to know Him, be straight on His order, then connect with Him and you will derive perfection from Him that gets you closer to Allah the Almighty; the Most Merciful accepts mercy, the Most Wise accepts wisdom. Aisha (may Allah be Pleased with her) narrated that the prophet (PBUH) said:“Whenever kindness is in something it adorns it, and whenever it is taken from something, it disgraces it”
The Status of Manners in Islam:
Honorable brother, at the end Allah the Almighty praised His prophet with the good manners and the standard character.
“And Verily, you (O Muhammad ) are on an exalted (standard of ) character.”
“Indeed he succeeds who purifies his own self (i.e. obeys and performs all that Allah ordered)”
One of the meanings of “purifies his own self” is that man derives perfection from Allah the Almighty so he acquires goodness, tenderness, discipline, mercy, kindness and modesty. What things attract attention in man? It is not his knowledge, nor his abilities, nor his money, but it is his ethics and manners. That is why Ibn Al_Qayyim (May Allah have mercy on him) said: “Faith is manners, whoever has higher manners than you, has more faith than you.”And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them:
The critical point here is,
“And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them”
1. Invocation is Worship
Can you believe that invocation is the brain of worship. That was said by the prophet PBUH. In another narration, invocation is worship. Even though when Allah the Almighty said:
“Say (O Muhammad to the disbelievers): “ My Lord pays attention to you only because of your invocation to Him..”
When you invoke to a certain side, you are certain of its existence. Anyone who invokes to a side that does not exist is a fool. When you invoke to Allah the Almighty you are certain that He exists, that He hears you. Whenever you speak, Allah the Almighty hears you, whenever you move, He sees you, if you conceal something, He will know what is in your heart, that is why scholars said: “ Allah knows what happened, what is going on, what will happen, and what has never happened how would it have been if it had happened”.When you invoke to Allah the Almighty, you are certain that He exists, that He hears you, that He is Capable of everything, and He is the Most Powerful/the Omnipotent; Everything is under His Control: rulers, powerful people, your superiors and inferiors, those around you, your health, your livelihood, your parents, and your children, that is why the best thing that people have learnt is monotheism. Allah the Almighty said:
“So invoke not with Allah another ilah (god) lest you should be among those who receive punishment”
One of the greatest psychological torments is to invoke another god with Allah, that is why:“And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them”
His names are beautiful, and his perfection is absolute.Honorable brother, if a judge judges a thousand times, five of which are not fair as a result of a mistake in the conception or in the information, he is considered a fair and just judge by the people of earth. That is the way of humans, but the way of the creator of humans that you cannot find one mistake in Allah’s doings. That is the meaning of: Glory to Allah, Allah the Almighty is absolute, too exalted from any deficiency. That is why you derive perfection in your connection with Allah. And what attracts sh3er in your personality is the perfection that you gain from connecting with Allah the Almighty.
We refer to the aya:
“And by the Mercy of Allah, you dealt with them gently, and had you been severe and harsh- hearted, they would have broken away from about you so pass over (their faults), and ask (Allah’s Forgiveness for them, and consult them in the affairs”
Accurate indication for studying:
There is an accurate indication; O, you prophet, you are the master of all creation, the well-beloved of right, the master of all the prophets and messengers, the master of Adam’s sons, the dear to Allah Lord of the Worlds, who reached the ‘sidrat il Muntaha’ ( lotus jujube) who received the revelation and the Qur’an and the miracles, despite all these:
“And had you been severe and harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from about you so pass over (their faults), and ask (Allah’s Fogiveness for them, and consult them in the affairs”
How is the case with a human who is not a prophet nor a messenger, who does not receive revelation, who has no miracles, who has no eloquence nor fluency and has harshness? Why is the harshness?
Whoever orders for ma’ruf (kindness) should make this order kindly, Allah the Almighty said:
“..Then verily he, between whom and you there was enmity, (will become) as though he was a close friend”
Between the ethics of the mission and the ethics of Jihad (the right fighting):
Unless you treat those with whom you have enmity as though they werefriend, you would not be in the right level, but many mistakes are intertwined, the loss of jihad’s ethics with the ethics of the mission to Allah, of which Allah the Almighty said:
“..Then verily he, between whom and you there was enmity, (will become) as though he was a close friend”
But as for the ethics of jihad:“O Prophet (Muhammad PBUH)! Strive hard against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be harsh against them”
Those are the ethics of jihad (the right fighting), and the greatest mistake that people of the mission commit is using these ethics in their mission to Allah.“..And had you been severe and harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from about you so pass over (their faults)..”
Therefore when you invoke to Allah, you are certain that He exists, that He hears you, that He is capable of everything, and most importantly that He wants to respond to you, and that He loves you:“..Except him on whom your Lord has bestowed His Mercy (the follower of truth) –Islamic Monotheism and for that did He create them.”
Our Lord created us in order to have mercy on us:
In a Qudsi hadith:
“ Had those who had renounced known my awaiting for them and my yearning to their abandonment to the wrongdoing, their limbs would be cut from My love, and they would die longing to me, that is my will with those who renounced, how is it with those who are obeient”
If the slave said when bowing: “O Lord! Allah would say to him: here I am, if the slave said in prostration: O Lord, Allah would answer: Here I am. If the slave said when he is in disobedient: O Lord, Allah would say: Here I am, then here I am, then Here I am.Check out this aya:
“ Go, both of you, to Fir’awn (Pharoah), verily, he has transgressed (all bounds in disbelief and disobedience and behaved as an arrogant and as a tyrant)(43) and speak to him mildly..(44)”
Man whispers to his Lord and says: O Lord, if that was Your mercy to the one who said: I am your highest lord:“ Go, both of you, to Fir’awn (Pharoah), verily, he has transgressed (all bounds in disbelief and disobedience and behaved as an arrogant and as a tyrant)(43) and speak to him mildly..(44)”
So how is Your mercyto the one who says: Glory be to my Lord, the Most High?“I know not that you have an (ilah) a god other than me”
How is Your mercy to the one who says: there is no God but Allah? That is why:“Say (O Muhammad to the disbelievers): ‘”My Lord pays attention to you only because of your invocation to Him. But now you have indeed denied (Him).”
When you invoke to Allah you are certain that He exists, that He hears you, that He is capable of everything, and that He likes to have mercy on you.“Except him on whom your Lord has bestowed His Mercy (the follower of truth- Islamic Monotheism) and for that did He create them.”
That is why:“Say (O Muhammad to the disbelievers): ‘”My Lord pays attention to you only because of your invocation to Him. But now you have indeed denied (Him).”
“Allah has ninety nine names, a hundred minus one, he who knows them enters paradise”
“And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them…”
Epilogue
Get to know Him and His way, make yourself obey Him, get close to Him with the good deeds, connect with Him, if you connect with Him you will derive the splendid perfection from the Highest self, from the divine self, therefore perfection is not pretence, perfection is nature that includes kindness, modesty, mercy, fairness, and absolute wisdom. That is why when you connect with Him, you remember Him, and your remembering of Him is less than His remembering of you. If He remembers you, he will grant you closeness, happiness, satisfaction, assurance, and security; and these are the great blessings of Allah.
That is why in this lesson we paved the way to the beautiful names of Allah, and we will continue this topic in another lesson if Allah wills.
