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Asalam~O~Alykum
GOD'S GRACIOUS NAMES!
Sorry if its 2 long, but plz bare with me b/c this is very important. Thanx
ASMAA`U ALLAH AL-HUSNAA
before u start reading today's topic, i just want to bring to ur attentions, the most favored prayer, please keep supplicating it, so lets say it together, OH! Allah, u are the One Who pardons, u love to Pardon, Pardon US OH ALLAH (AMEEN!)
I got many messages on the website about the lecture about Laylat el Qadr but I got one especially from a youth who was saying that we were talking a lot about the value of this night, when we should be talking about the high value of the creator of this night?. So today’s words have to be about Allah and the feeling of the value of God and the best way to do this I thought was to concentrate on God’s names. I found that people always get attached by one of God’s names specifically, but there is one of God’s servants who is closer to God than this, and this is the one who knows all of God’s names. So I thought, let’s know all of his names together. Today we will talk about some of them as we can’t do all, but we want you to feel God.
The prophet once got up and called loudly to the umma saying that people have not valued God the way He deserves to be valued and then started calling His names out. Abdullah bin Omar saw that the wooden planks the prophet was standing on started shaking from the force of what he was saying. Can you imagine this?subHanaAllah!
I want, as you listen to me tonight, to watch God with your heart and feel it, the King of all this world.
Let’s start looking and living with some of His names. First, Badee’, the splendid (marvelous) creator of the skies and the earth. I want us, as we’re watching this, for your tongues to be saying La Ilaha Illa Allah (there is no GOD but Allah!!). The light on the day of judgement will come as much as the brightness of La Ilaha illa Allah was in your heart. Say la illaha illa Allah with me now. laa Ilaaha ilaaa Allah waHhdahu laa Sharika Lah!
What does it mean? Al Mobdi’ (from Badee’) is one who creates something which has not been done before, and without being taught by anyone but creates something with the utmost care and beauty. So no human could be called this splendid creator because who can create something like nothing before? The human inventions have always been a copy of something else. For example the submarine is an attempt to copy of the fish. The plane is based on God’s creation of the bird. The camera is a basic attempt to copy the eye. The computer is a basic attempt to copy the brain. The car is a basic attempt to copy the horse. The human copies but God is the only splendid creator.
Look at what the angels are created from, the jinns, the animals walking on all fours, nothing was created like them before. Who created water, light, the variety of different elements? The Wonderful, Splendid Creator. Haqan La Illaha Illa Allah waHdahu la sharika lah.
Not only that, but He creates in the utmost beauty and splendour. [blessed be He in Whose hands is Dominion; and He over all things Hath power; He who created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed; and He is the Exalted in Might, Of-forgiving ; He who created the seven heavens one above another; no want of proportion wilt thou see in the Creation of (God) Most Gracious. So turn thy vision again; seest thou any flaw?] (Mulk) Can you see any mistakes in His creation? Look again, can you see anything? Laa ilaaha ilaa Allah! Laa ilaaha ilaa Allah (say it with me!)
Not only that, but also the splendour of the variety of his creations, look at fruit, how many different smells, colours and tastes?! Yet they are all fed by one type of water! Sometimes it will grow peaches, sometimes apples, another time bananas, or watermelons (All Glory to u oh Allah). Look at the leaves, and flowers. Bring me all the artists and get them to draw you the best picture of leaves and see if they can get anything as good as God’s creation. Not only that, look at your children, look at your wife, look around you. Look at the faces, the smiles, the smells are different, the way of thinking is different, the way they look at you is different! All these billions of people on this earth, every now and then you will say wow, sobhan Allah, these 2 look similar! All of this so you would notice, you who is not looking, at the variety of His splendid creations.la ilaaha ilaa Allah!
Also, His splendour in the matching of the characteristics of His creations. Imagine if the sky was black, or the flowers were navy blue, or if the sea was the colour of red blood, imagine. Look at the colours of the sky at the time of sunrise or sunset. Imagine if the sky was black and white, only those 2 colours, like the old television sets.
Not only these creations which we can see, but also the varieties in the creations which we cannot see, things that are in the bottom of the oceans – they are still hugely varied in their characteristics. Even if no one is there to see it, He is the splendid creator. Sometimes I go to the north coast in Egypt in the winter and I go to the beach where no-one is because it’s winter. I look at the sky at the time of sunset and see the beautiful colours and look at the clouds and I ask God “Why? Who is this for? There’s no-one here!” Can you feel this now?
Look at the most splendid of His creations, al-jannah! (heaven). He prepared heaven for the believers. There is said that in heaven there is a market filled with pictures of beautiful natural scenes. Once a man and his wife liked one of the pictures so they went inside it and stayed there for as long as they wanted before returning! Remember when we said about the clouds which will pass by in heaven asking the people below what they would like to be rained upon! The splendour of His creations.
Not only that, but the splendour of His rules which He set, for wouldn’t the splendid creator of the world, also impose splendid rules to maintain it? Just as He said [blessed is He in whose hands is Dominion], He also said [blessed is he who sent down the Criterion to His servant] (Furqan)
Let’s go to another name, after we lived with this name and we smiled, let’s look at this next name – Al Qahhar. [He is the Irresistible, (watching) from above over His worshippers] (An’am) Don’t think that this meaning applies to only those sinners and non-believers, but to everyone. Look at His control over everything but Him. He controls the earth and skies, the night and the day, the sun and the moon – [it is not permitted to the Sun to catch up with the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day; each (just) swims along in (it’s own) orbit (According to Law)] (yas-sin) Also, the lightening says sobhan Allah in thanks to God. You must value God!
He controls the rain, the number of rain drops is decided and ordered, and each drop of water to enter anyone’s mouth, through the whole process, it is all controlled by an order from God. He ordered earth and made us from it and He ordered the body which was only a shell, to move, with its tongues working and a brain functioning. Not only that but He ordered our souls. After all this, how can you drink alcohol, and how can you disobey God? He controlled the wind and told it to hide, the animals, the sun. He ordered fire and water, and ordered the fire to be put out by the water. What did He create water from? H2O, the hydrogen is flammable and the oxygen aids its flammability, but put them together and you get something which puts out fire! subHanaka Allah!
Oh you who say that nature controls itself, nature belongs to God! I wish, when we study and teach our children to think about God’s creations when they are learning these things at school in their science lessons. Then after He controlled the behaviour of water, he controlled it again on the day of judgement and ordered it to turn into fire, so that the people in hell run to find the water but find all the seas turned into fire. He ordered the knife to cut and slice, then He ordered it again not to cut when it was put to sayidna Ibrahim and although it was passed across his neck, it would not cut. He ordered fire to burn, then ordered it again not to burn sayidna Ibrahim [We said “Oh Fire! Be thou cool, and (a means of) safety for Abraham] (anbiya) He specified for it to be safe, not just cold as if it had turned cold while he was in it he would have frozen, so He specified that the temperature of it must be safe for him. Not only that but He specified that it should be safe for
sayidna Ibrahim specifically otherwise it may have cooled for everyone which would have ruined the order for the rest of mankind, but the fire was directed and ordered by Him to His wishes. La ilaha illa Allah! Laa Ilaaha ilaa Allah! The sea, he ordered it to be a symbol of beauty and peace when it is calm, and the symbol of fear when it is wild. He ordered the wind to be a symbol of calm when it was still, but a symbol of disaster and floods when it was strong.
He controlled His creations with death, even His dear prophet sayidna Mohamad pbuh. He controlled our vision, for we will not see Him until heaven and the day of judgement. He controlled the fate of sinners with diseases like Aids which you cannot see. He controlled the whole world.
I know a son who was once watching the movie King Kong with his dad, and the 6 year old, in the midst of all his brothers and sisters crying because they were scared of the great giant, asked his father “Dad, isn’t God stronger than him?” His dad said “Yes”, so the boy answered “So if he comes to me, then I will mention God.” He controlled the hearts of the children to remember Him. Why are we not like this? Because we have been affected and controlled by this world. He controlled His creations which He loves and moved them away from committing sins.
Then comes the name of The Close One. [For We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein] (Qaf) Do you want to understand this meaning? Who is the closest person to you in your life? Your wife, your children, your friends? No, it’s God. I’ll give you an example, go and take your child and give them a very strong hug, who’s closer to him? Go on, take your laptop and hug it, do it! Who’s closest to it? You or the electricity?! The soul to the body is like the electricity to the computer, God is closer! La illaha illa Allah.
Look at how every time you think of a name, you think la illaha illa Allah, and live with God. Live with The Jaleel, the Magnificent. Do you know when you have looked at the sunset and you have thought that you wish you didn’t move away from it? Then what about when you see God? Have you seen the ka’ba? Do you remember how you felt when you saw it? Can you imagine if you went inside it? If the sight of the most beautiful things can make you speechless, then can you imagine meeting God, (subHanaka Allah) the creator of beauty himself? Sayidna Yusuf (Prophet Josef) was given half of all the creation of beauty, and when the women in the Madina saw him, while cutting the apple, they lost their counsciousness and they automatically cut their hands (all of us know the story), and they said (qulana Hashaa lil-laahi maHadhaa basharaaa, inhadhaa ilaa makau kariim), they said his is not a human but an angel! If Yusuf was a revolutionary figure of beauty, imagine the CREATOR OF YUSUF!!!
imagine what God will be like? Can you now imagine that you will see Him on the day of judgement? Everyone will see Him as if you are seeing the moon when it’s full. How about if He says to you that He is happy with you, so are you happy with Him? When sayidna moussa asked God to see him [Oh my Lord! Show (Thyself) to me] and God said [by no means canst thou see Me (direct); but look upon the mount; if it abide in it’s place then thou shalt see Me.” When His Lord manifested His glory on the mount, He made it as dust] (A’raf) The mountain could not keep standing from seeing at God and Moussa fell down [And Moses fell down in a swoon]! La illaha illa Allah. Be shy of the Jaleel. He helps you with not committing the sin, for the Jaleel can see you. And know if u are shy of the jaliin in Dunayaa by avoiding sins, he will be shy of u in the day of Judgement, he will be shy of not accepting ur prayers when u raise ur hand and ask him for a favor via ur subblication! Al-Hamdulaka Rabi!
The last name, so that you may leave happy and not just wanting to worship, but wanting to worship with the utmost energy. Waly, the Guardian. Can you imagine when a child is asked to bring his guardian but he can’t because his father has died and his feeling that there is no one there for him? Do you know the feeling of orphans without a guardian, or the widow or divorcee without a guardian to protect them? The Guardian of your matters. Can you understand this meaning? There’s a big difference between you going to someone strong and asking him to protect you, and the difference of Him coming to you and wanting to protect you. We don’t have anyone but Him in our life. Whoever has God as his guardian in his life, then there is no fear over him in his life. Abdullah bin huthafa was crying when he was being killed and the non-believers were asking whether he was scared of them but he said that he was not crying because he was dying. He said that he was crying because he only had one
soul when he wished he had many souls as the numbers of hair on his body which would leave his body, one after the other in the name of God. La illaha illa Allah.
The practical work for tonight is to go and learn the names of God, why not do it tonight, and teach it to whoever goes with you to the mosque tonight in tahajud? For whoever memorizes these 99 days goes into heaven. If you can’t do this tonight, then let’s do it by the end of Ramadan. I am urging you to refer to the books by Asma’ El Lah El Hosna by Dr. Ratib Al Nabolsy and Al Hikam by Dr. Saeed Ramadan, you will learn a lot from these. And go to the website www.amrkhaled.net for more reference, and also watch the Khawatir Qurania programme which talks about similar meanings.
Also for those who don't have access to the 99 gracioius names of Allah, they are listed in the arabic section of the website
Finally but not Lastly, May Allah's fullest peaces and blessings be upon our Lovely Prophet, Muhammed al-Mustafa, his gifted wives, our mothers in dunya and akhira, his pure progeny from Ahlul al-bayt, al-Hassan wa al-hussan (saydaa shabaabu ahli al-jana), Fatima and Ali, his respectful companion and followers (followers or his loved ones who believe in his sunnah without seeing him) from ahlul al-sunati wa al-jamaa3a that is including all of us inshaAllah ilaa yaum al-diiin! ameen ameen
siyaam maqbuul, A`ishanur?
Oh, Allah You Are the One Who pardons, u love to Pardon, Pardon us then!
~~Ramadan is a month whose beginning is Mercy, whose middle is forgivensss and whose end is freedom from fire~~
The Prophet, fullest peace be upon him
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