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Lesson Belief in the Names and Attributes of Allah
Belief in the Names and Attributes of Allah
The Qur’an emphasizes on servants getting to know their Lord and Creator, and repeats this in many verses. This is because it is necessary for a Muslim to know his Lord through His most beautiful names and the attributes of perfection and majesty that characterize Him, the Most Glorified. This is so the servant can worship Allah with insight and internalize with the stipulations of those names and attributes and their effects in his life and worship.
The Muslim believes in what Allah has affirmed for himself in His Book or the Sunnah of His Messenger, peace be upon him, in terms of names and attributes in a manner befitting Allah the Almighty.
And to Allah belong the best of names and the most perfect of attributes. He has no equal in His Names and Attributes, as the Almighty said: {There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing} (Ash-Shura: 11). Allah is above any similarity to one of his creation in all of His names and attributes.
Here we present some of the names of Allah
Ar-Rahman [the Entirely Merciful] Ar-Raheem [the Especially Merciful]
And these two names are the ones with which Allah began the Fatiha, the opening chapter of His Book, the first names with which Allah made himself known to his servants. These names are used to begin beginning of each surah of the Qur’an---except for Surat At-Tawbah---in our saying: In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Our Lord has enjoined merci upon Himself, and His mercy encompasses everything, to the extent that the mercy of creatures to one another, the mercy of a mother to her child, and the facilitation of food for creatures is only an effect of Allah's mercy on His creatures, as the Almighty said: {So observe the effects of the mercy of Allah - how He gives life to the earth after its lifelessness} (Al-Rum: 50).
Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: Some captives were brought before the Prophet ﷺ and a woman from amongst them was going around to breastfeed the children. If she came across a child amongst the captives, she would hold the child tight and nurse it. So the Prophet ﷺ said to us, "Do you think that this lady can throw her son in the fire?" We replied, "No, as long as she has the power to not throw it [in the fire]." The Prophet ﷺ then said, "Allah is more merciful to His slaves than this woman to her child." (Al-Bukhari 5999, Muslim 2754).
Therefore, the mercy of the Creator, Glorified and Exalted be He, is another thing altogether; it is far greater and more sublime. His mercy is above all estimation, conjecture, or imagination. If the servant were to know the measure of Allah's mercy, no one would ever despair of it.
Allah's mercy is of two types:
The Prophet ﷺ said: “None of you will enter Paradise through his deeds.” They said: “Not even you, O Messenger of God?” He said: “Not even I, unless Allah bestows His mercy on me” (Al-Bukhari 6467, Muslim 2818).
And the greater the servant's obedience, closeness, and humility towards his Lord, the more deserving he is of this mercy, for the Almighty said: {Indeed, the mercy of Allah is close to the doers of good} (Al-A’raf: 56).
As-Sami' [the All-Hearing] Al-Baseer [the All-Seeing]
Allah hears all voices across different languages and needs, whether expressed silently or aloud. When some ignorant people thought that Allah does not hear their secrets and private conversations, the words of Allah the Exalted were revealed to rebuke them: {Or do they think that We hear not their secrets and their private conversations? On the contrary, we do, and Our messengers [i.e., angels] are with them recording.} (Al-Zukhruf: 80).
Allah sees everything, even if it is small and infinitesimal. Nothing is hidden from Him, may He be glorified. It is because of this Abraham (peace be upon him) reproached his father for worshiping an idol that neither hears nor sees. He said, as mentioned in the Qur’an: {"O my father, why do you worship that which does not hear and does not see and will not benefit you at all?} (Maryam:42).
If the servant knows that Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing, not an atom’s weight is hidden from him in the heavens or on the earth, and that He knows what is secret and what is hidden, then the servant will protect his tongue from lying or uttering falsehood. He will protect his limbs and heart's inclinations from anything that angers Allah, and utilize all the blessings and capabilities towards what Allah loves and is pleased with. For indeed, Allah is aware of what he conceals and what he reveals, his outward and inward states. That is why the Prophet ﷺ said: “Ihsan is to worship God as if you see Him, and if you can't see him then know that He can see you." (Al-Bukhari 4777, Muslim 9)
Allah has complete life that has not been preceded by non-existence. It is not affected by demise or annihilation and is not subject to any deficiency or defect, glorified and exalted be our Lord from that. A life that necessitates the perfection of His attributes of knowledge, hearing, sight, ability, and will, as well as other attributes. And whoever's affair is as such deserves to be worshiped, bowed to, and relied upon. As the Almighty said: {And rely upon the Ever-Living who does not die} (Al-Furqan: 58)
The meaning of the name of Allah, Al-Qayyūm, indicates two things:
For this reason, the combination of these two great names has a special place in supplication, for one of the Prophet's supplications ﷺ was: “O Ever-Living One, O Self-Subsistent One, by Your mercy I beg you” (Tirmidhi 3524).
