Islambasics Library: He is Allah

Cover
Preface
The Logic Proof of the Existence of Allah
(1) ALLAH
(2) The Most GRACIOUS (AL-RAHMAN) (3) The Most MERCIFUL (AL-RAHEEM)
(4) The KING (AL-MALIK)
(5) The ALL-HOLY (AL-QUDDOUS)
(6) The PEACE-GIVER (AL-SALAM)
(7) The BESTOWER of Security (AL-MU�MIN)
( The LORD of SUPREME SWAY (AL-MUHAYMEN)
(9) The MIGHTY (AL-�AZIZ)
(10) The COMPELLER (AL-JABBAR)
(11) The Most PROUD (AL-MUTAKABBIR)
(12) The CREATOR (AL-KHALIQ) (13) The MAKER (AL-BARI�)
(15) The FORGIVER (AL-GHAFFAR)
(16) The SUBDUER (AL-QAHHAR)
(17) The Great GRANTOR (AL-WAHHAB)
(18) The Great PROVIDER (AL-RAZZAQ)
(19) The OPENER (AL-FATTAH)
(20) The OMNISCIENT (AL-�ALEEM )
(21) The WITHHOLDER (AL-QABIDH) (22) The ENLARGER (AL-BAASIT)
(23) The ABASER (AL-KHAFIDH) (24) The EXALTER (AL-RAFI� )
(25) The BESTOWER of Honour (AL-MU�IZZ)
(27) The ALL-HEARING (AL-SAMEE�(28) The ALL-SEEING (AL-BASSEER)
(29) The JUDGE (AL-HAKAM)
(30) The JUST
(31) The BENIGNANT
(32) The ALL-AWARE (AL-KHABEER)
(33) The Most FORBEARING (AL-HALEEM)
(34) The SUPREME (AL-�AZEEM)
(35) The ALL-FORGIVING (AL-GHAFOUR)
(36) The Most APPRECIATING (AL-SHAKOUR)
(37) The Most HIGH
(38) The Most GREAT (AL-KABEER)
(39) The PRESERVER (AL-HAFEEZ)
(40) The Powerful MAINTAINER (AL-MUQEET)
(41) The RECKONER (AL-HASEEB)
(42) The LORD of MAJESTY (AL-JALEEL)
(43) The GENEROUS (AL-KAREEM)
(44) The WATCHFUL (AL-RAQEEB)
(45) The RESPONSIVE (AL-MUJEEB)
(46) The Vastly BOUNTIFUL (AL-WASI�)
(47) The ALL-WISE (AL-HAKEEM)
(48) The Most LOVING (AL-WADOUD)
(49) The Most GLORIOUS (AL-MAJEED)
(50) The LORD of RESURRECTION (AL-BA�ITH)
(51) The WITNESS (AL-SHAHEED)
(52) The TRUTH (AL-HAQQ)
(53) The DISPOSER of Affairs (AL-WAKEEL)
(54) The ALMIGHTY (AL-QAWEY)
(55) The OMNIPOTENT (AL-MATEEN)
(56) The PROTECTOR (AL-WALIY)
(57) The PRAISEWORTHY (AL-HAMEED)
(58) The All-Knowing COUNTER (AL-MOHSY)
(59) The ORIGINATOR (AL-MUBDI�(60) The REPEATER (AL-MU�EED)
(61) The LIFE-GIVER (AL-MUHYI) (62) The DEATH-INFLICTOR (AL-MUMEET )
(63) The EVER-LIVING (AL-HAYY)
(64) The Self-SUBSISTING (AL-QAYUM)
(65) The Great FINDER (AL-WAJID)
(66) The LORD of GLORY (AL-MAJID)
(67) The ONE (AL-WAHID)
(68) The BESOUGHT of All (AL-SAMAD)
(69) The ABLE (AL-QADIR(70) The POWERFUL (AL-MUQTADIR)
(71) The ADVANCER (AL-MUQADDIM) (72) The DELAYER (AL-MU�AKHIR)
(73) The FIRST (AL-AWWAL) (74) The LAST (AL-AKHIR)
(75) The MANIFEST (AL-ZAHIR) (76) The IMMANENT (AL-BATIN)
(77) The GOVERNER (AL-WALY)
(78) The Most EXALTED (AL-MUTA�ALY)
(79) The BENEFICENT (AL-BARR)
(80) The ACCEPTOR of Repentance (AL-TAWWAB)
(81) The AVENGER (AL-MUNTAQIM)
(82) The EFFACER of Sins (AL-�AFUW)
(83) The Most COMPASSIONATE (AL-RA�OUF)
(84) The LORD of SOVEREIGNTY (MALIK-AL-MULK)
(85) The MASTER of MAJESTY and HONOUR (ZOUL-JALAL WAL-IKRAM)
(86) The EQUITABLE (AL-MUQSIT)
(87) The GATHERER (AL-JAMI�)
(88) The Self-SUFFICIENT (AL-GHANEY)
(89) The Great SUFFICER (AL-MUGHNY)
(90) The PREVENTER (AL-MANI�)
(91) The Harm-INFLICTOR (AL-DHAAR) (92) The Benefit-GIVER (AL-NAFI�)
(93) The LIGHT (AL-NOUR)
(94) The GUIDE (AL-HADY)
(95) The Great INNOVATOR (AL-BADEE�)
(96) The EVERLASTING (AL-BAQY)
(97) The INHERITOR (AL-WARITH)
(98) The DIRECTOR to the Right Way (AL-RASHEED)
(99) The Most PATIENT (AL-SABOUR)
The Number of the Divine Names of Allah
Allah�s Divine Acts
Allegorical Verses
The Attribute of the �Face�
Allah�s Company
Allah�s Descent to the Lower Heaven
The Speech of Allah
Other Attributes of Allah
Salvation in Understanding Allah�s Attributes
�Be! and it is!�
The Human Being�s Deeds
Amidst Favour and Justice
REFERENCES

Preface

The best knowledge that deserves to be known isknowing Allah. That is why I present to you, gentle and discerningreader, this humble attempt to try to know Allah, Glory be to Him.
The topic of this book is an interesting yet intricate matter; discussing it is complex and not easy. But if I do delve in this subject, then I must ask Allah for His Aid and beg for His Forgiveness for any faults or mistakes I may possibly make; only Allah, Glory be to Him, has the perfect Ability to describe the true essence of the Exalted Self.
Moreover, I was keen on presenting a thorough summary of all the viewpoints of our ancestors, the early believers, concerning the topic of this book which is (Monotheism and the Names of Allah), having the honour of humbly expressing my opinion and suggesting the most acceptable viewpoints, so that we may attain the utmost of the lights that this kind of knowledge may present, though these lights increase day by day, generation after generation through the efforts of the scholars of theMuslim nation, till Allah, Praise and Glory be to Him, inherits theearth and everyone thereon.
All what the early believers said, and what the recent and coming believers may say, is but an endeavour; may Allah, Glory be to Him, accept and reward all these efforts and forgive the errors,and we must always confess our inability and lack of knowledge; no onesave Allah has the most perfect and true knowledge of Allah.
The studies that were made concerning this topicstarted by his wives such as Om Salama, and the Prophet’s Companions,may Allah be pleased with them, who were the ones that were closest tothe Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him. Of those who studiedthis subject are also the four famous Imams and Na‘eem Ibn-Hammad who wasthe teacher of Al-Bukhari who is the most acknowledged collector of theHadith, Sofian Al-Thawry, Ibn-Al-Mubarak, Ibn-‘Uyayna, Wakee‘ who was theteacher of the Imam Malik, Muhammad Ibn-Al-Hasan, Al-Bukhari, Ibn-Taymeya,Ibn-El-Qayem, Al-Baghawey, Al-Razi, Al-Galalein, Al-Alousy, and many otherscholars who studied the Hadith and the interpretations of the Qur’an.
May Allah forgive all our sins and acceptour efforts and reward us with the best of rewards, He is the One Whohears all things and responds to those who supplicate Him.

The Logic Proof of the Existence of Allah

Existence

Things may exist at three levels: If they are sighted they have original true existence; if they are imagined by us (i.e. seen by the eyeof the mind) they have formative, acknowledged existence; and if they areexpressed in words (i.e. verbally) they have verbal referential existence.
Verbal referential existence expresses the formative acknowledged existence that embodies the original true existence.
If things were not sighted they would not have been imagined, and if they had not been imagined they would not have been acknowledged by the human being and hence not expressed in words.

The Word, the Knowledge, and the Known

These three things, though ostensibly different, are identicaland parallel; each one has its specific characteristics, and so are thename, the named, and the naming.
God’s name is Allah; the named, Glory be to Him, is theExalted Being; as for the naming, either it has been done by the peopleor by Him, and in either case the name has been known and acknowledgedsince eternity. When Allah inspired the people to utter His name,the verbal existence was thus established; His Name is eternal, as faras the formative acknowledged existence is concerned because it has beenknown to Him since eternity, but as far as the verbal existence is concernedit is incidental when it is uttered by the people.

Divisions of the Known

Verbal referential existence leads necessarily to the formative acknowledged existence. The word (Allah) connotes God’s existence in minds; any word denotes a Known that is divided as follows:
1) The Impossible in Itself: Is that whose non-existence is not due to any cause save the impossibility of itself, such as the impossibility of the existence of any two contradictory elements at the same time, i.e. we cannot assume the existence and the non-existence of one thing at the same time, this is not accepted by the mind. The Impossible does not exist in minds nor in reality.
2) The Possible by Itself: Is that whose existence and non-existence are due to cause. All the existing things perceptible by our senses are an example for the Possible by itself; they need a cause to exist andanother to cease to exist. The existence of the cause must precede theexistence of the Possible, and anything that is preceded by non-existenceis incidental, hence the Possible is incidental because it is precededby non-existence.
Possible things not only need a cause to exist but they also need a cause to continue to exist. This cause is the originator, the donor of existence, and the true doer; it grants existence to these possible things.
As long as the Possible needs a cause to exist, then they needa finder; this finder can neither be an Impossible nor another Possible, so it could only be the Necessary Being, whose existence is the truecause of all existence.
3) The Necessary Being: Is that who is self-existent and whose existence is not due to any other cause save its true presence and epithets; i.e. if this Being is imagined by the mind in an absolute manner, it cannot be anything other than what is imagined.



The Necessary Being must have the following epithets:

[1] It must be eternal. If we assume anything save this, then this will denote that it has a period of non-existence, and anything whoseexistence is preceded by a period of non-existence is an incident andneeds a cause to endow it with existence. If the Necessary Being was noteternal, it would have needed an originator, and this is impossible becausethe Necessary Being is that who is self-existent; it needs no cause toendow it with existence and is the originator of all existing things.
[2] Non-existence can never befall the Necessary Being, otherwise it would be deprived of itself and this is impossible.
[3] It must not be composed of parts, because if this were thecase it would have required the precedent presence of these parts, whichhave an independent existence. Hence it would have needed the existenceof something else, and the existence of the Necessary Being is not dueto any cause save itself. Moreover, if it had been composed of parts itsexistence would have depended on the existence of these parts.
[4] It must not be divisible, because if it had been divisiblethe resultant would have been a number of partitions, consequently anumber of existing things liable to non-existence or composition, andthis is impossible as aforementioned.
[5] It must be omniscient; its all-inclusive knowledge must precede the acknowledged so that the acknowledged coincides with the eternal knowledge of the Necessary Being.
[6] It must have absolute ability so as to be able to originate and create all the possible and potential things, the means of their existence, their survival, as well as the causes of their annihilation.
[7] It must have an overwhelming will and absolute freedom of choice, as all the possible things exist at a certain time and according to certain characteristics, and it could have been otherwise. Therefore they exist according to the eternal will of their originator and creator.
[8] It must be ever-living in order to grant life to all living things. Its life must be eternal; it is the life that is neither affected by sleep nor slumber, or else its knowledge, ability and will would have been reduced, and this is impossible because all possible beings are in constant need of the absolute existence and presence of the Necessary Being.
[9] It, solely, must have absolute existence, with no other Necessary Being or grantor of existence. If there had been any other Necessary Being it would have been either a helper or a rival. The existence of a helper would mean that the Necessary Being does not have absolute ability, while the existence of a rival would have spoiled the order of all possible things because of differences in wills and choices.
[10] It must have no limited essence, because every essence isrestricted to a limited space in which it must either be still or moving;both stillness and motion are incidental, and anything associated withan incident is incidental.
[11] It must have no body. Since it has no limited essence, itmust have no body as every body must have a spatial limit and must bemade of a number of matters, and all these qualities apply only to incidental things.
[12] It must not require a body to occupy. Anything that occupies a body is temporal and is not self-existent, but requires the existence of this body preceding its own existence. Every body is incidental and needs the precedent existence of its creator. How would the Necessary Being occupy a body if its existence had been eternal? This denotes that this Beingis self-existent, has neither a limited essence nor a body; is not temporal and does not need a body to occupy.
[13] It must not be restricted to directions. All directions are incidental and described in relation to the human body; they are either above, below, in front, at the back, to the left or to the right. Ifthe human being had been created in a different shape, e.g. as a sphere,there would have been no directions created. Therefore, it is impossibleto assume that any direction can be attributed to the Necessary Being,or that it can be restricted to directions. How could any direction beattributed to the Necessary Being if all directions are incidental?
[14] All the epithets of perfection attributed to any created being must be attributed to the Necessary Being in the most perfect manner because it is quite illogical to assume that the created being is more perfect than the creator.

Thereupon, the Necessary Being could only be one, having no partner; unique with no equal; self-existent having no opponent. It must be the first with no beginning, subsisting without cessation, eternal and everlasting with no end. Moreover, it is not a formed body and does not resemble bodies neither in form nor in nature.
This Necessary Being is ever-living, never seized by slumber or sleep; it can never be affected by death, non-existence or annihilation. It has absolute power, having the ability to create and invent; it is omniscient where its all-inclusive knowledge encompasses every single thing. Thisperfect knowledge is eternal and is neither altered nor corrected accordingto events. What occurs is only what the Necessary Being wills, and whatit does not will never occurs because its will overwhelms its creatures;it accomplishes everything where nothing can escape its all-inclusive knowledge, nor is anything beyond its power.
Thereupon, the mind must perceive the essential inter-relationbetween the creator of existence and every existing created being. Byknowing this co-relation every human being eventually comes to know hiscreator, his duties, and the wisdom behind his existence. This co-relationmust take place through a mediator because it is difficult for the ephemeralto perceive or communicate with the eternal.
The mediator must be selected and qualified by the Necessary Being, and must be of the same race as the people to whom he is sent to instruct. This proves the necessity of sending messengers so that God’s existence is revealed to human beings through legislation and conveyance, after His presence is perceived by logic and mental abilities.
After the truthfulness of the messenger is proved by the mind through evidences, manifestations, and miracles, then he should be believed and listened to, so that what he has to convey is properly understood; here the mind’s role comes to an end and the believer must totally entrust his soul to Allah and submit to His Guidance.
Prophet Muhammad, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, revealed to us some of Allah’s attributes in whichwe should believe, such as (the All-Hearing and the All-Seeing Powers,Speaking, and the Firm Establishment on the Throne), as was inspired tohim by Allah, “..there is nothing whatever like unto Him,and He is the One that hears and sees all things” (SHURA, 11), “..and to Moses God spoke direct”(NISAA’, 164), “..and is firmly establishedon the Throne” (A‘RAF, 54).

The Epithet of the All-Seeing Power: Through this epithet all what is seen is revealed to Allah.

The Epithet of the All-Hearing Power: Through this epithet all what is heard is revealed to Allah.

The first verse proves the epithets and attributes them to Allah and negates that these two divine epithets can resemble His creatures’.These two divine epithets do not need an organ but they are two divineepithets of perfection. This is proved in the Qur’an by the story of Abraham,“..why worship that which heareth not and seeth not and can profitthee nothing?” (MARYAM, 42). Nothing can everescape His All-Seeing and His All-Hearing Powers.

The Epithet of Speaking: Allah, Praise and Glorybe to Him, is still speaking His Divine Word through His Divine Will and Power. What is said by Allah is self-existent and cannot be separated from the Exalted Self. Allah’s Word follows His Will; it doesnot resemble His creatures’ words.

The Establishment on the Throne: Allah is firmlyestablished on the Throne in a manner far above settlement, locationor movement. The Throne doesn’t bear Him but the Throne along with theangels that bear it are subdued by His Omnipotent Grip. We can say whatmay seem paradoxical: The establishment is not unknown to us, the modalityis beyond our logic, yet we must have faith in it.

Prophet Muhammad, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, instructed us to other epithets that are mentioned in theQur’an, “Say: He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute;He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; and there is none like unto Him.”(IKHLAS, 1- 4).
The One and Only (AL-AHAD): Is that Who is too exalted to be compound, multiple, or what these two epithets may require, such as being corporal, space-limited or having a partner. The word Al-Ahad denounces from every aspect that anyone or anything could resemble Allah as a Being, in His Epithets, or in His Divine Acts; Al-Ahad also denotes that epithets of perfection could only be attributed to Him. That is why only Allah could be named Al-Ahad.

The Eternal, Absolute, Besought of all (AL-SAMAD): Allah, Praise and Glory be to Him, is Self-Existent and Besoughtof all. He depends on no person, but all beings and all things depend onHim.

He begetteth not: Allah does not need anyone to help or succeed Him.

Nor is He begotten: This is because He needs nothing, had not been preceded by non-existence, and had been derived from nothing.

And there is none like unto Him: All epithets of supremacy, perfection and might are attributed to Him.

Moreover, Allah describes Himself as the Ever-Living and the Self-Existent. The word (the Ever-Living) includes all epithets of perfection of the Supreme Being; the word (the Self- Existent) includes all epithets of perfection of His Divine Acts.
Let us delve in an attempt to reveal lights of the Divine meanings of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah, Praise and Glory be to Him.

The Logic Proof of the Existence of Allah

Existence

Things may exist at three levels: If they are sighted they have original true existence; if they are imagined by us (i.e. seen by the eyeof the mind) they have formative, acknowledged existence; and if they areexpressed in words (i.e. verbally) they have verbal referential existence.
Verbal referential existence expresses the formative acknowledged existence that embodies the original true existence.
If things were not sighted they would not have been imagined, and if they had not been imagined they would not have been acknowledged by the human being and hence not expressed in words.

The Word, the Knowledge, and the Known

These three things, though ostensibly different, are identicaland parallel; each one has its specific characteristics, and so are thename, the named, and the naming.
God’s name is Allah; the named, Glory be to Him, is theExalted Being; as for the naming, either it has been done by the peopleor by Him, and in either case the name has been known and acknowledgedsince eternity. When Allah inspired the people to utter His name,the verbal existence was thus established; His Name is eternal, as faras the formative acknowledged existence is concerned because it has beenknown to Him since eternity, but as far as the verbal existence is concernedit is incidental when it is uttered by the people.

Divisions of the Known

Verbal referential existence leads necessarily to the formative acknowledged existence. The word (Allah) connotes God’s existence in minds; any word denotes a Known that is divided as follows:
1) The Impossible in Itself: Is that whose non-existence is not due to any cause save the impossibility of itself, such as the impossibility of the existence of any two contradictory elements at the same time, i.e. we cannot assume the existence and the non-existence of one thing at the same time, this is not accepted by the mind. The Impossible does not exist in minds nor in reality.
2) The Possible by Itself: Is that whose existence and non-existence are due to cause. All the existing things perceptible by our senses are an example for the Possible by itself; they need a cause to exist andanother to cease to exist. The existence of the cause must precede theexistence of the Possible, and anything that is preceded by non-existenceis incidental, hence the Possible is incidental because it is precededby non-existence.
Possible things not only need a cause to exist but they also need a cause to continue to exist. This cause is the originator, the donor of existence, and the true doer; it grants existence to these possible things.
As long as the Possible needs a cause to exist, then they needa finder; this finder can neither be an Impossible nor another Possible, so it could only be the Necessary Being, whose existence is the truecause of all existence.
3) The Necessary Being: Is that who is self-existent and whose existence is not due to any other cause save its true presence and epithets; i.e. if this Being is imagined by the mind in an absolute manner, it cannot be anything other than what is imagined.



The Necessary Being must have the following epithets:

[1] It must be eternal. If we assume anything save this, then this will denote that it has a period of non-existence, and anything whoseexistence is preceded by a period of non-existence is an incident andneeds a cause to endow it with existence. If the Necessary Being was noteternal, it would have needed an originator, and this is impossible becausethe Necessary Being is that who is self-existent; it needs no cause toendow it with existence and is the originator of all existing things.
[2] Non-existence can never befall the Necessary Being, otherwise it would be deprived of itself and this is impossible.
[3] It must not be composed of parts, because if this were thecase it would have required the precedent presence of these parts, whichhave an independent existence. Hence it would have needed the existenceof something else, and the existence of the Necessary Being is not dueto any cause save itself. Moreover, if it had been composed of parts itsexistence would have depended on the existence of these parts.
[4] It must not be divisible, because if it had been divisiblethe resultant would have been a number of partitions, consequently anumber of existing things liable to non-existence or composition, andthis is impossible as aforementioned.
[5] It must be omniscient; its all-inclusive knowledge must precede the acknowledged so that the acknowledged coincides with the eternal knowledge of the Necessary Being.
[6] It must have absolute ability so as to be able to originate and create all the possible and potential things, the means of their existence, their survival, as well as the causes of their annihilation.
[7] It must have an overwhelming will and absolute freedom of choice, as all the possible things exist at a certain time and according to certain characteristics, and it could have been otherwise. Therefore they exist according to the eternal will of their originator and creator.
[8] It must be ever-living in order to grant life to all living things. Its life must be eternal; it is the life that is neither affected by sleep nor slumber, or else its knowledge, ability and will would have been reduced, and this is impossible because all possible beings are in constant need of the absolute existence and presence of the Necessary Being.
[9] It, solely, must have absolute existence, with no other Necessary Being or grantor of existence. If there had been any other Necessary Being it would have been either a helper or a rival. The existence of a helper would mean that the Necessary Being does not have absolute ability, while the existence of a rival would have spoiled the order of all possible things because of differences in wills and choices.
[10] It must have no limited essence, because every essence isrestricted to a limited space in which it must either be still or moving;both stillness and motion are incidental, and anything associated withan incident is incidental.
[11] It must have no body. Since it has no limited essence, itmust have no body as every body must have a spatial limit and must bemade of a number of matters, and all these qualities apply only to incidental things.
[12] It must not require a body to occupy. Anything that occupies a body is temporal and is not self-existent, but requires the existence of this body preceding its own existence. Every body is incidental and needs the precedent existence of its creator. How would the Necessary Being occupy a body if its existence had been eternal? This denotes that this Beingis self-existent, has neither a limited essence nor a body; is not temporal and does not need a body to occupy.
[13] It must not be restricted to directions. All directions are incidental and described in relation to the human body; they are either above, below, in front, at the back, to the left or to the right. Ifthe human being had been created in a different shape, e.g. as a sphere,there would have been no directions created. Therefore, it is impossibleto assume that any direction can be attributed to the Necessary Being,or that it can be restricted to directions. How could any direction beattributed to the Necessary Being if all directions are incidental?
[14] All the epithets of perfection attributed to any created being must be attributed to the Necessary Being in the most perfect manner because it is quite illogical to assume that the created being is more perfect than the creator.

Thereupon, the Necessary Being could only be one, having no partner; unique with no equal; self-existent having no opponent. It must be the first with no beginning, subsisting without cessation, eternal and everlasting with no end. Moreover, it is not a formed body and does not resemble bodies neither in form nor in nature.
This Necessary Being is ever-living, never seized by slumber or sleep; it can never be affected by death, non-existence or annihilation. It has absolute power, having the ability to create and invent; it is omniscient where its all-inclusive knowledge encompasses every single thing. Thisperfect knowledge is eternal and is neither altered nor corrected accordingto events. What occurs is only what the Necessary Being wills, and whatit does not will never occurs because its will overwhelms its creatures;it accomplishes everything where nothing can escape its all-inclusive knowledge, nor is anything beyond its power.
Thereupon, the mind must perceive the essential inter-relationbetween the creator of existence and every existing created being. Byknowing this co-relation every human being eventually comes to know hiscreator, his duties, and the wisdom behind his existence. This co-relationmust take place through a mediator because it is difficult for the ephemeralto perceive or communicate with the eternal.
The mediator must be selected and qualified by the Necessary Being, and must be of the same race as the people to whom he is sent to instruct. This proves the necessity of sending messengers so that God’s existence is revealed to human beings through legislation and conveyance, after His presence is perceived by logic and mental abilities.
After the truthfulness of the messenger is proved by the mind through evidences, manifestations, and miracles, then he should be believed and listened to, so that what he has to convey is properly understood; here the mind’s role comes to an end and the believer must totally entrust his soul to Allah and submit to His Guidance.
Prophet Muhammad, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, revealed to us some of Allah’s attributes in whichwe should believe, such as (the All-Hearing and the All-Seeing Powers,Speaking, and the Firm Establishment on the Throne), as was inspired tohim by Allah, “..there is nothing whatever like unto Him,and He is the One that hears and sees all things” (SHURA, 11), “..and to Moses God spoke direct”(NISAA’, 164), “..and is firmly establishedon the Throne” (A‘RAF, 54).

The Epithet of the All-Seeing Power: Through this epithet all what is seen is revealed to Allah.

The Epithet of the All-Hearing Power: Through this epithet all what is heard is revealed to Allah.

The first verse proves the epithets and attributes them to Allah and negates that these two divine epithets can resemble His creatures’.These two divine epithets do not need an organ but they are two divineepithets of perfection. This is proved in the Qur’an by the story of Abraham,“..why worship that which heareth not and seeth not and can profitthee nothing?” (MARYAM, 42). Nothing can everescape His All-Seeing and His All-Hearing Powers.

The Epithet of Speaking: Allah, Praise and Glorybe to Him, is still speaking His Divine Word through His Divine Will and Power. What is said by Allah is self-existent and cannot be separated from the Exalted Self. Allah’s Word follows His Will; it doesnot resemble His creatures’ words.

The Establishment on the Throne: Allah is firmlyestablished on the Throne in a manner far above settlement, locationor movement. The Throne doesn’t bear Him but the Throne along with theangels that bear it are subdued by His Omnipotent Grip. We can say whatmay seem paradoxical: The establishment is not unknown to us, the modalityis beyond our logic, yet we must have faith in it.

Prophet Muhammad, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, instructed us to other epithets that are mentioned in theQur’an, “Say: He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute;He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; and there is none like unto Him.”(IKHLAS, 1- 4).
The One and Only (AL-AHAD): Is that Who is too exalted to be compound, multiple, or what these two epithets may require, such as being corporal, space-limited or having a partner. The word Al-Ahad denounces from every aspect that anyone or anything could resemble Allah as a Being, in His Epithets, or in His Divine Acts; Al-Ahad also denotes that epithets of perfection could only be attributed to Him. That is why only Allah could be named Al-Ahad.

The Eternal, Absolute, Besought of all (AL-SAMAD): Allah, Praise and Glory be to Him, is Self-Existent and Besoughtof all. He depends on no person, but all beings and all things depend onHim.

He begetteth not: Allah does not need anyone to help or succeed Him.

Nor is He begotten: This is because He needs nothing, had not been preceded by non-existence, and had been derived from nothing.

And there is none like unto Him: All epithets of supremacy, perfection and might are attributed to Him.

Moreover, Allah describes Himself as the Ever-Living and the Self-Existent. The word (the Ever-Living) includes all epithets of perfection of the Supreme Being; the word (the Self- Existent) includes all epithets of perfection of His Divine Acts.
Let us delve in an attempt to reveal lights of the Divine meanings of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah, Praise and Glory be to Him.

(4) The KING
(AL-MALIK)

The KING is He Who dispenses by His Self, His Epithets and His Attributes with any existing being; and is needed by everyone. Any king of the created beings can not dispense with everything because he is stricken with poverty to Allah, he is in earnest need of his subjects’ support, protection from his foes and enemies, and remedy from diseases and plights. Of course, only some of his people will need his power.
There are kingdoms of human beings, Jinn, and animals, and any kingdom is inevitably ephemeral; the king will either die or have his kingdom invaded or demolished by someone else.
Allah is the absolute KING; He is needed by every singleone of His creatures and He dispenses with everything. His Kingdom iseverlasting and eternal, He is the Lord of Power and Authority as He isthe Creator of all kingdoms. He possesses this world and the hereafter;on Doomsday all claims tumble and Allah calls, “Whose will bethe dominion that day?” as no one answers, He says, “That ofGod, the One, the Irresistible!” (GHAFIR, 16). He grasps heavens and earth and shakes themvigorously saying, “I’m the KING, where are the kings of earth? whereare the tyrants? where are the haughty?” (Hadith).
Praise be to the Lord and Possessor of Existence, Glory be to the KING of all kings, the Possessor of every possessor or possessed; praise be to the KING, He is Allah.

(5) The ALL-HOLY
(AL-QUDDOUS)

The Arabic noun is derived from the word quds, which means pure. The ALL-HOLY is he who is too exalted for any needs or defects;to whom all perfection and sublimity are attributed. Allah is tooExalted for even all the perfect epithets known among human beings, andit is a miscalculation to use any epithets of mankind, whether of perfectionor defect, and attribute them to Allah, the ALL-HOLY.
Allah, Praise and Glory be to Him, is too Exalted for any description perceptible by senses or imaginable by minds or foreseen by consciences. Man’s utmost effort led him to divide the attributes and the epithets into those of perfection and those of defects. In reality, Allah is too Exalted for the most perfect attributes of man.
It was said that all what is imaginable and perceptible by yourmind is totally different from the reality of Allah. Glory be toAllah, Glory be to the ALL-HOLY.

(6) The PEACE-GIVER
(AL-SALAM)

AL-SALAM, is He Who is free from fault, Whose Attributesare void of defect, His Deeds free from evil, and is the source of everypeaceful thing in the entire universe. Allah’s Divine Acts are freefrom absolute evil that is meant in itself, as no evil on earth is exemptfrom a good aspect hidden within it. Allah, the PEACE-GIVER, savesthe believers from torture and greets them in the home that will last forever. Praise and Glory be to Him, He is the PEACE-GIVER, He is Allah.

(7) The BESTOWER of Security
(AL-MU’MIN)


The BESTOWER of SECURITY is He to Whom all thoughts and ideas of safety and security are exclusively attributed and are derived from His Supremacy. No safety can be best appreciated except in the time of fear and danger, and no fear can be felt but under the overwhelming possibility of non-existence and perdition. The true BESTOWER of SECURITY is He Who is able to provide all the means of safety and peace; He prevents the accessof fear to whoever He secures.
All creatures are feeble and weak, subject to all sorts of perdition and loss from within, as diseases, and from without, as what befalls them from enemies and blights. Allah endows every creature with all the means of security and safety through senses, medicines, barricades, organs and weapons, and He grants them the secrets of the mode of operating them. The one who is deprived of all these endowments is bestowed with meansof flight as wings in birds, and as disguise and changing colors to matchtheir environment in chameleons.
The torrential fear is the fear from eternal damnation in the hereafter and to be entrenched against it can only be attained by declaring (There is no god but Allah).
These are the words Allah guided us to. The Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, says, “Allah says, (There is no god but Allah) are My words and I am Allah; anyone who will say these words enters My Fort and will be entrenched against My Torture” (Hadith).
Allah’s name AL-MU’MIN can be perceived asasserting Allah’s evidential consolidation to His messengers whomHe had elected, by revealing their miracles and gifts that prove theirtruthfulness. Allah says, “Yea, God knoweth that thou art indeedHis Apostle.” (MUNAFIKUN, 1), “Thereis no god but He: that is the witness of God.” (AL-I-‘IMRAN,18).
Blessed be Allah, Whose Presence is the Source of Security to the whole world, blessed be the BESTOWER of Security, Praise and Glory be to Him, He is Allah.

( The LORD of SUPREME SWAY
(AL-MUHAYMEN)


AL-MUHAYMEN is He Who holds supremacy over His creatures’ acts, sustenance, moment of death and all their deeds. Allah, the LORD of SUPREME SWAY, is the One Who surveys all affairs by His All-Awareness, Preservation and His Sovereign Sway. He is the Guardian of this world, the real essence of it along with all the worlds with everything awesome and delicate therein. He is the Guard Who preserves and protects every single thing, entrenching them against any assault that demolishes, eradicates or transgresses.
On contemplating existence, you will find a balance that adjusts everything. To Allah all supremacy and Exaltation is attributed; Glory be to the LORD of SUPREME SWAY, He is Allah.

(9) The MIGHTY
(AL-‘AZIZ)


The word ‘aziz is denotative of great power and superiority. In the Arabic language, one of the meanings of ‘aziz is the thing that is rare and unparalleled. Other meanings are the unattainable, the peerless and the sought-after. So these different meanings should blendtogether to give the full and perfect meaning of the epithet ‘aziz.
Allah is the absolute MIGHTY, Who is too Exalted for theperception of mental faculties; He is the unattainable by recognitionand imagination; He dispenses by Himself with everything. All Might, Supremacy,and Exaltation are attributed to Him; Allah has no peer to equalor resemble Him.
To Allah, absolute existence is attributed; no partner has He, so no one is truly MIGHTY save Him; He is Allah.

(10) The COMPELLER
(AL-JABBAR)


The compeller is the one whose will prevails in a compelling and overwhelming way over everybody; and nobody can escape his grip. The Absolute COMPELLER is Allah, hands are helpless except when provided with His Power, Glory be to Him. It was said that jabbar is derived from the Arabic word jabara which means the setting of something broken and the repair of things. The COMPELLER, AL-JABBAR, is He Who repairs all the affairs of His creatures.
Glory be to Allah to Whom everybody yields and submits and by Whom everything is remedied and repaired, Praise and Glory be to Him, He is Allah.

(11) The Most PROUD
(AL-MUTAKABBIR)

A proud person looks upon everything as mean and servile; he sees all supremacy and pride in himself, so he looks down on everybody, asa king looks upon his subjects. Perfect and absolute pride can only beattributed to Allah.
The Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, says, “Allah says: Pride is My Wear, Supremacy is My Dress, I will break anyone who vies with Me for them and I do not care” (Hadith).
Glory be to the One who rightfully deserves to be called the Most PROUD, He is Allah.

(12) The CREATOR (AL-KHALIQ)
(13) The MAKER (AL-BARI’)
(14) The BESTOWER of Forms (AL-MUSSAWIR)

Anything that is created from non-existence to existence needs planning and evaluation, then creation, then shape- formation. Allah is the CREATOR as far as planning and evaluation are concerned, He is the MAKER Who brings to existence and He is the BESTOWER of Forms Who gives a definite form to the created being so that it exactly suits the aim of its creation.
Divine attributes are either related to the Divine Acts or to the Exalted Self of Allah; examples of the former kind of attributes are (the CREATOR, the MAKER and the BESTOWER of Forms). The accuracy and exactitude of Allah’s Creating Power can not be perceived exceptby contemplating the universe as an entity then as fragmented sections andminute details.
The entire universe can be compared to a body composed of organs co-existing to attain a certain function; these organs are the heavens, the stars and the earth with all that they contain. All these things are organized in such an exact way that any defect in organization or management will lead to the total collapse of the whole universe. Therefore, the first thing they need is planning and evaluation, then the making from non-existence, then the shape-formation, that is, arrangement of the parts, their forms andthe links that bind all things together.
As the universe with its great parts needs the system of creation, making, and shape-formation, then the most minute parts need them as well; for example the ant, the bee, and even the atom with the exact linkage between the nucleus and its particles.
The form of things, their general appearance, the construction of the different parts, the linkage between these parts, the need of thewhole to its fractions and the mutual relationship between one fractionand another are scenes that can be conspicuously observed in the celestialbodies and the terrestrial creatures: the animal, the plant, and the humanbeing not to mention earth and its constituents.
If we explore matters carefully, we will find that knowledge isbut an image of that which is known in one’s mentality; learning is theconveyance of the acknowledged from the instructor’s mind to the receiver’smentality and this is the Divine Act of the BESTOWER of Forms Who endowsthe human being with memory and imagination.
These attributes, as aforementioned, pertain to Divine Acts; some people said that Allah has been described as the CREATOR beforeHe created anything; others said that He cannot be described as the CREATOR before creation because He had been existing while nothing existed.
The most acceptable viewpoint is that the attribute derives existence from the existence of the Exalted Self and this had been taking placesince eternity, for Allah had been the CREATOR even before He created. The attribute had been deriving existence from His Existence, so when He created He created in accord with this attribute and He does create what He likes for He is the CREATOR, the MAKER and the BESTOWER of Forms eternally and permanently.
Someone may ask: how would He be described as the CREATOR before He created the universe? We would say that water quenches thirst and this is the potential action of water before you drink it, so when you drink water it really quenches your thirst; hence it bears the ability of quenching thirst when it is in a jar, then on drinking it your thirst is really quenched. Furthermore, the sword is sharp and cutting even when it is sheathed;so when you use it, its sharp and cutting quality is proved. Similarly,a grain of weed is, from one aspect, a tree, because if it is thrown ona piece of land a tree will emerge, then the quality of the grain of weedis proved.
Allah, Glory be to Him, had been the CREATOR even beforeHe created the universe, He is the CREATOR after creating, and He willbe for ever the CREATOR, the MAKER and the BESTOWER of Forms eternally and permanently. Praise and Glory be to Him, He is Allah.

(15) The FORGIVER
(AL-GHAFFAR)


The original meaning of the Arabic word ghafr is veilingand concealing; maghfira is the veiling and forgiveness of allof our sins with Allah’s Favours and Mercy along with His overwhelmingEndowment of repentance. Allah reveals the exquisite and concealsthe ignominious in this world then He overlooks them in the hereafter.
Ghafir, ghaffour, and ghaffar are also derived from the word ghafr. Allah is Al-Ghafir, Who forgives the sins; He is Al-Ghafour (the Liberal in Forgiving),Who forgives a multiplicity of sins; moreover He is AL-GHAFFAR (theFORGIVER) Who forgives again and again the recurring sin. Veiling has variousmanifestations:
First, Allah veils and conceals the internal ugliness ofthe human being’s body and He adorns this body with an exquisite outwardappearance.
Second, Allah veils man’s ignominious ideas and thoughtsand hides them in his heart so that no one can ever know them.
Third, He veils the sinners’ sins though He possesses the perfect and absolute power to reveal the impact or the effects of these sins on the body or the face.
Fourth, He veils and conceals the committed sins, and so will be the case on Doomsday, and He does not let anybody know them; furthermore, He faces the believer with his sins without the knowledge of anybody then He changes the evil deeds into righteous ones and blots the sins out of his Book of Reckoning and makes the believer’s organs along with His angels forget all the committed sins. Glory be to the FORGIVER, Praise and Glory be to Him, He is Allah.