Part 3

* The author was an expert in fiqh and usdi al-fiqh, initially he was Hanbali in madh’hab, as were all of his teachers, his first work on figh was written in poem form upon the Hanbali School which he also commented. He studied the works of ibn Taymiyyah and ibn al-Qayyim extensively and benefited enormously from them. As he progressed in his studies he no longer restricted himself to the Hanbali School but rather followed the course he believed to be proven by the strongest evidences. However, he would never censure or look down upon those who followed a particular school of thought. He was also an expert in tafsir, having read many works of tafsir and studied it under his teachers and he actually authored a tafsir himself. All who heard him speak when explaining the Book of Allah would wish that he never stop due to his inspiring manner of speech and the great benefits that he derived from its verses.

EXPLANATION TO THE BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT NAMES

Taysir al-Latif al-Mannan in tafsic; al-Qawa‘id al-Hisan li Tafsir alQur'an in principles of exegesis; Hashiyah ‘ala al-Figh and Irshad Uli-L-Albab in figh; al-Hagq al-Wadib al-Mubin, Tandib al-Kafiyah ash-Shafiyah, al-Qawl as-Sadid fi Maqasid at-Tawhid in belief.

* The author passed away in ‘Unayzah in the year 1376H, may Allah have mercy upon him.

Explanation to the Beautiful and Perfect Names of Allah

A large number of the Beautiful Names of Allah are repeated manifold in the Qur’dn as demanded by the occasion and it is necessary to explain their meanings in a succinct and comprehensive way. So we say:

Ar-Rabb (The Lord and Cherisher)

This name has been repeatedly mentioned in many verses.

Ar-Rabb is the one who nurtures and sustains all of His servants through regulating and governing their affairs and granting them all types of favours and blessings. More specifically, He is the one who nurtures and sustains his sincere friends by correcting and purifying their hearts, souls and manners. This is why their supplications are frequently made with this noble Name

EXPLANATION TO THE BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT NAMES

because they seek this specific nurturing.

Soe BA eee 8 sae Paes bial ais 5 eall

Oryvearoebd sales yous And your Rabb is the Ever-Forgiving, Owner of Mercy. Were He to call them to account for what they had earned, surely He would have hastened on their punishment. Instead they have their appointed time beyond which they will find no escape.

He is the one and only deity, the one who is worshipped and the one who deserves to be worshipped by the whole of His creation. This is due to the perfect and beautiful godly Attributes that He is described with.

EXPLANATION TO THE BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT NAMES

Quin GNGegcanth Spada od Litt,

Allah! There is none worthy of worship but He, the Living, the Self-Sustaining. He is not subject to drowsiness or. To Him belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth. Who is there that can intercede with Him except with His Permission? He Knows what is before them and what is behind them, but they cannot encompass anything of His Knowledge except that which He Wills. His Footstool encompasses the heavens and the earth and he feels no fatigue in preserving them. He is the Most High, the Most Great.

EXPLANATION TO THE BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT NAMES

al-Malik (The King) al-Malik (The Master and Owner) OUrinent

Alladhi lahu-l-Mulk (the One to Whom belongs the dominion)

He is described with the Attribute of being the Master and Owner. These are Attributes describing His grandeur, glory and majesty, omnipotence and His governance and regulation of the affairs. He is the one who directs all of the affairs to do with creation, command and recompense. To Him belongs the whole of creation, all of it is subservient to Him, owned by Him and in continuous need of Him.

4ieg cept ete A etegse oe eee AY Syeole ALIAS Ys GS a alge . eet beta Ant OE SHI EIAES AS sae Then High exalted be Allah, al-Malik, the Truth. Do not be in haste with the Qur’an before its rev-

elation is completed to you and say, ‘My Lord! Increase me in knowledge.’

EXPLANATION TO THE BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT NAMES

4 ge ere 4 Boyne 2 a ytd oc:

Say: O Allah! Malik of the kingdom, You give

sovereignty to whom You will and You take sov-

ereignty from whom You will. You exalt whom

You will and You humiliate whom You will. In

your Hand is [all] good, indeed You have power

Bg beessee Ae Lae a te OLE SIEM ogi AEA Al Alladhi lahu-I-Mulk of the heavens and the earth!

And Allah is Witness over everything.

av € a>i al-Ahad (The One) He is the one who is singled out in all aspects of perfection such that nothing else shares with Him in these. It is obligatory

upon the servants to single Him out alone in belief, saying and action by acknowledging His unrestricted perfection, His unique-

EXPLANATION TO THE BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT NAMES

ness and singling Him out alone for all types of worship.

SG BSE aes ae HAGA geal ‘O two companions of the prison! Are many different lords better or Allah, al-Wahid, the

Say: He is Allah, al-Ahad.

a7 G NUP) as-Samad (The Self-Sufficient) He is the one upon whom the whole of creation relies with regards all their needs, ptedicaments and necessities. This is due

to His unrestricted perfection with regards His Person, His Names, His Attributes and His Actions.

Say: He is Allah the One. Allah as-Samad.

EXPLANATION TO THE BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT NAMES

ars al-‘Alim (the All-Knowing) al-Khabir (the All-Aware)

He is the one whose knowledge encompasses all the outward and hidden matters, the open and secret, all those things that must necessarily occur, all those things that are impossible to occur and all those things that can possibly occur. He knows the affairs of the whole of creation, of the past, the present and the future. There is absolutely nothing that is hidden from Him.

EM ANG 5 aceite te aemmpiecorcnacomi ces

Verily Allah [alone] has the knowledge of the Hour, He sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs. No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow and no soul knows in what land it will die. Indeed Allah is ‘Alim, Khabir.

EXPLANATION TO THE BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT NAMES

O Mankind! We have created you from a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes that you may know each other. Verily, the most noble of you in the Sight of All,h is the most pious and God-Fearing of you. Indeed Allah is ‘Alim, Khabir.

He is the one to whom belongs the highest wisdom, the one who is All-Wise in His creating and ordering, the one who made well everything that He created,

And who is better than Allah in judgement for a people who have firm faith? (al-Ma’idab (5): 50]

Therefore He has created nothing out of mere frivolity and He has legislated nothing that is vain and of no use.

He is the one to whom belongs judgement in the beginning

and the end. He has three areas of ruling that nothing else has a share in: He rules over His servants with respect to His law, His

EXPLANATION TO THE BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT NAMES

decree and His recompense.

Wisdom is to put something in its correct place.

For those who believe not in the Hereafter is an

evil description and for Allah is the highest de-

scription. He is the Almighty, al-Hakim.

PUGS Laas iis whats, It is He who is the only deity in the heaven and

on the earth. He is al-Hakim, the All-Knowing. [ax-Zukhruf (43): 84]

ar-Rahman (The All-Metciful) at-Rahim (the Most Merciful) al-Barr (The Generous)

EXPLANATION TO THE BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT NAMES

é ¥<) al-Karim (the Kind)

al-Jawwad (The Bestower of Good)

$4 4G S953) ar-Ra’tf (the Kind) Lei al-Wahhab (The Bestower)

All of these Names are close in meaning and all of them point to describing the Lord with mercy, generosity and kindness. They point to the great expanse of His mercy and gifts that encompass all that is existence, being granted in accordance to the dictates of His wisdom. The believers have been specifically singled out for this and they are granted a goodly and the best portion of this as Allah said,

OG NEES se SEB My mercy encompasses all things and I shall decree it for those who have taqwa.

All blessings and the various aspects of beneficence are from

EXPLANATION TO THE BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT NAMES

the effects of His mercy, generosity and kindness just as all beneficence in this world and in the Hereafter is from the effects of His mercy.

DENI Ao Teo Ar-Rahman. He taught the Qur’an and created mankind.

Go, Sai ek a hey Verily, we used to call on Him [Alone] before. Verily He is al-Barr, ar-Rahim.

Lae neta ede Oa ANTENA O man! What has made you careless concerning your Lord, al-Karim. [al-Infitar (82): 6]

DB AE Barnes ok EO WESTES SEI CE SYEE—ws And had it not been for the grace of Allah and His Mercy on you, [Allah would have hastened the Punishment]. And that Allah is Ra’Gf, Rahim.

EXPLANATION TO THE BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT NAMES

[They say]: Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us Mercy from You. Truly you are al-Wahhab.

[Al Ymran (3): 8]

The one who hears all sounds and voices, in all of their different languages and all of their many and various needs.

i Ba tseeleatcgh ; Rea satya tig KGS

Say: if they believe as you [O Prophet and Companions] believe then they are rightly guided, but if they turn away then they are only entrenched in hostility. Allah will suffice you against them and He is as-Sami‘, the All-Knowing.

Allah judges with truth while those whom they invoke besides Him cannot judge anything. Indeed Allah is as-Sami‘, the All-Seeing.

EXPLANATION TO THE BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT NAMES

The one who sees all things even if they be insignificant and minute. He sees the black ant on a black stone in a black night. He sees what is below the seventh earth and what is above the seventh heaven. He is also Hearing and Seeing of those who deserve recompense, in accordance to the dictates of His wisdom.

Say: Shall I inform you of things far better than that. For the pious and God-fearing are Gardens with their Lord underneath which rivers flow, remaining in them eternally, and pure wives, and the pleasure of Allah. Allah is the Basir of His slaves.