Allah's names are of two kinds:
1) أسماء جمال
E.g. الرحمن، الرحيم، الودود، اللطيف,
These names bring love in the heart of the person towards Allah.
2) أسماء جلال
E.g. العزيز، الجبار، القوي، العظيم،
These names bring fear, magnification of Allah in the heart of the person.
Allah commanded us in the Qur'an to know, and believe with certainty that He is العزيز:
In (2:209):
"فاعلموا أن الله عزيز حكيم"
And (2:260)
"واعلم أن الله عزيز حكيم"
These are clear evidences that it's obligatory to learn that Allah is العزيز. You need this knowledge for your life more than food and drink. By learning this name, you are acting upon these commands.
In (27:9):
"ياموسى إنه أنا الله العزيز الحكيم"
If you study the story of Musa, you'll witness the impact of all the different types of Allah's عزة clearly. How Allah rescued Musa, drowned Pharoah, honoured Musa and Bani Israeel, etc. The impact of Allah's عزة is shown to Musa and us throughout his entire life.
Third Type: - عزة الامتناع - Might and Power of Prevention
1) Allah is rich by His essence, He is in no need of anyone.
None of His creation can touch Him with harm, nor can anyone benefit Him. Rather, it is He who causes harm and brings benefit. He is the One who gives and prevents.
HADITH: Allah said, يَا عِبَادِي إِنَّكُمْ لَنْ تَبْلُغُوا ضَرِّي فَتَضُرُّونِي وَلَنْ تَبْلُغُوا نَفْعِي فَتَنْفَعُونِي
O my servants, you will not be able to cause harm to me and you will not be able to cause benefit to me.
2) Allah is free from every defect. He is perfect.
3) He is free of being overcome or overpowered
Allah's grandeur is invincible. He can never be defeated, nor can anyone cause Him to fail. No one can escape Him.
4) Allah is free of everything that does not suit His majesty and grandeur.
He is free from everything that negates His perfection, and free of need to rivals, partners, and offspring.
E.g. When the Jews claim that Allah took rest on Saturday, they accuse Allah of having defective attributes, and He is perfect. They don't believe in Allah's عزة الامتناع, they don't know who العزيز is.
Evidences of عزة الامتناع:
-> (37:180-182):
"سبحان ربك رب العزة عما يصفون
و سلام على المرسلين
والحمد لله رب العالمين"
Allah is far above what the polytheists attribute to Him. All perfection belongs to Him.
The Messengers are the ones who attribute Allah with perfect attributes, and give him His due estimate.
-> (30:27):
"و هو الذي يبدؤا الخلق ثم يعيد و هو اهون عليه و له المثل الأعلى في السماوات و الارض و هو العزيز الحكيم"
المثل has three meanings, one of which is وصف (description). To Allah belongs the highest description. Nothing is comparable to Him.
-> (34:27):
"قل أروني الذين ألحقتم به شركاء كلا بل هو الله العزيز الحكيم"
Impact of عزة المتناع:
-> No harm or deficiency can touch Allah by the disbelief or disobedience of anyone.
In (39:7):
"إن تكفروا فإن الله غني عنكم"
If you believe, you believe for the benefit of your own self.
E.g. Something happens contrary to what a person desires and he becomes angry. He stops doing acts of obedience, thinking he can harm Allah with his attitude. Your prayer is for yourself, your Hijab is for your own benefit. Allah is العزيز.
-> (35:16-17):
"إن يشاء يذهبكم و يأت بخلق جديد
و ما ذالك على الله بعزيز"
This should cause fear in your heart. It is not impossible for Allah to remove and destroy us, and bring forth a new creation, rather it it easy for Him. Never make Allah angry. He is able to remove you and bring someone better than you.
E.g. If Allah opens for you the gate of supporting the religion, by teaching, and you showed ungratefulness, Allah can remove you and bring someone else who is better in your place.
*****
Q. If Allah overpowers us, and everything He wills will happen, and everything He does not will will not happen, then what's the point in doing good deeds?
A. This statement implies that we are compelled. In (18:29):
"و قل الحق من ربكم فمن شاء فليؤمن و من شاء فليكفر"
And in (91:7-10):
"و نفس و ما سواها
فألهمها فجورها و تقواها
قد افلح من زَكَّاهَا
و قد خاب من دساها"
The person purified himself by accepting the truth. This is how he became successful.
The person who disobeyed Allah, rejected the truth, and didn't do good deeds failed.
These verses prove that we are not compelled to do actions. Allah showed us the truth, and it is upon to either follow it or not. We have a choice with regards to our actions.
- Nothing occurs in the Universe without the will of Allah. Everything happens by His knowledge and permission.
- All the decrees have already been decreed 50,000 years before the creation of the heavens and earth.
There are four ranks to Qadar:- (Knowledge, Writing, Will, Creation)
- علم
Allah knows about everything in detail. He knew that when such-and-such will happen to you, you will act in the way you do.
- كتابة
Allah wrote everything down in the preserved tablet.
These are Qadar.
Whatever happens now is by Allah's مشيئة (Will). This is where you see عزة القهر. No one can prevent what Allah wrote from happening now. Allah is overpowering us with this Qadar.
What is our part in this? الخلق - Allah gives us the ability to take the action. What happens of Allah's will is unavoidable, and is a test for us.
E.g. Allah decreed that you can't have children. Here is where your action comes in. You could be the person who accepts Allah's Qadar, and is pleased with what Allah has written for you. You passed the test.
You could be the person who wonders why everyone has children except you. You aren't satisfied or pleased with Allah's Qadar. You become angry with Allah. You failed the test.
It is YOUR actions that determine your success or failure.
Actions aren't restricted to limbs, they are with the heart and tongue as well.
E.g. Allah straightens provision for some people in order to make them upright. They don't understand why they don't get what they want. He knows that if he gave them a lot they would transgress.
Many times we don't explain the Qadar, the actions of Allah to us, correctly. And Allah, out of His mercy, repeats the Qadar again so that we will succeed, but we keep failing. We wonder why the same situation is repeated. It's because you didn't pass that test yet.
E.g. Someone may be afflicted with an undutiful son. This is Qadar. What is the right attitude to have? The person is patient, waits for the relief, has hope that Allah will one day guide her son, maybe this is an expiation for her sin of being undutiful to her parents, etc. She focuses on herself. So if his parents are alive, he is dutiful to them, and if his parents are dead, he prays for them, etc. Maybe this action will cause her son to be guided.
Our problem is that we don't know how to explain the Qadar of Allah. We always blame Allah and ascribe purity to ourselves, not realizing that Allah is afflicting us in order to expiate our previous sins. But this success depends on YOUR action.
E.g. Someone spread rumours about you. What is the correct attitude for you to have? Know that this harm is an expiation of your sins, show patience, you pray for them, know that it's a test for you - will you hold back your tongue from replying or not? Don't think about the people, focus on yourself. Yet most of the time we focus on the people and argue with them.
Allah said in the Qur'an: إن الله يدافع عن الذين آمنوا
Believe that Allah will take care of them and defend you.
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