(19/4/16) - Class 5 - اسم الله الواسع

بِسْم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In [2:222]:

We see the name of Allah الواسع in this. 

Just a reflection: During your period, your worship becomes less, your connection to people gets constricted and difficult. You say things because you aren't thinking properly, you're in a bad mood, etc. You make so many mistakes.  We need repentance. 

The first prayer you pray after it is so relieving and relaxing and vast. It's because we were away from prayer we felt constricted, and fell into all of this. In [29:45]:

And this is a blessing for the woman, because after your period, you go back and look at all the mistakes you made and ask Allah to forgive you. You keep doing this every month, and Allah loves التوابين. When Allah set boundaries and restrictions, it's واسع for us. It's good for us.

سعة الله الخاصة - The Special Vastness of Allah 

This is specially for the believers; for the متقين. Because they restrict themselves to only doing what Allah is pleased with. 

People look at those who have Taqwa and the amount of prayers they're doing, and restrictions they have on themselves, and think they're miserable and leading unhappy lives. But if you ask them if they're miserable and tired he says he feels like there's a Paradise in his heart. He's not constricted or sad at all. Allah deals with them with His name الواسع more than anyone else.

From outside, the commands look like restrictions. But for the person practicing them, it's a Paradise. Every command gives you vastness in your heart.

Allah will deal with the believers and the متقين with His vastness in this life and the next. 

How will Allah give them vastness in the Dunya? Allah will make it wider and vaster for them, more than it is for anyone else. Both the believer and disbelievers have problems. But the disbeliever doesn't believe in Allah, so both the problem and solution is constricted and tight. The believer has the same problem, but because he believes in Allah الواسع, He has so many exits and solutions.

He feels like Allah is الواسع more than anyone else feels it. The person who knows Allah is not like the person who doesn't know Allah. If the person doesn't follow the rules of Allah you'll find that everything is sad and constricted. But a person who submits to Allah feels happy.

عن زيد بن ثابت قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ مَنْ كَانَتْ الدُّنْيَا هَمَّهُ فَرَّقَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ أَمْرَهُ وَجَعَلَ فَقْرَهُ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ وَلَمْ يَأْتِهِ مِنْ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا مَا كُتِبَ لَهُ

وَمَنْ كَانَتْ الْآخِرَةُ نِيَّتَهُ جَمَعَ اللَّهُ لَهُ أَمْرَهُ وَجَعَلَ غِنَاهُ فِي قَلْبِهِ وَأَتَتْهُ الدُّنْيَا وَهِيَ رَاغِمَةٌ

Zaid ibn Thabit reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say, “Whoever makes the world his most important matter, Allah will confound his affairs and make poverty appear before his eyes and he will not get anything from the world except what has been decreed for him. 

Whoever makes the Hereafter his most important matter, Allah will settle his affairs and make him content in his heart and the world will come to him although he does not want it.”

1) Allah will give them apparent, outer vastness 

-> Allah will gives them physical vastness.

E.g. You go to a crowded place. Allah will make a place for you, even if there are thousands of people.

There are countries which are overpopulated, so you're only allowed to have one or two children. So if you have more you kill them, abort, sell. They're tightening their lives because they don't believe in Allah's name الواسع. And they want this idea of having less children to spread to the Muslims. 

E.g. Everyone's complaining of lack of time, even though everything is fast nowadays, unlike in the past. They needed to physically wash the clothes, we just press a button on the washing machine. We should have more time that them, yet they have more time than us. The solution is الواسع. 

We have 24 hours a day. Sometimes we have more work than the time we have. If you believe in this name, Allah will give you more time. You suddenly have an abundance of time, even though apparently it's only 24 hours. This is not magic, it's your belief in Allah.

Sometimes we wonder how a person has more time. It's only Allah. Allah is able to make this 5 minutes equal to one hour. But you need to believe that Allah is الواسع. 

And this will remove your stress. This is important especially for the woman, because if she's relaxed, the entire house will be relaxed. If she's stressed, the entire family will be stressed out.

And one of the meanings of و س ع is Richness (من سعته...)

-> Allah will give the believers lawful provisions, from His richness.

Maryam was restricted; devoted herself to Allah. We think مسكينة, she's alone, she doesn't have a chance to work, she's not married, etc. She just completely worshipped alone.

But Zakariya was amazed by what he found. In [3:37]:

If you believe in His name الواسع, He'll bring you things from across the world and you'll be sitting in your place at home. You get the provision without tiredness and effort, and it's Halal.

-> Allah gives them righteous children

You won't just get your own reward, but the reward of your children, your grandchildren, etc. 

In [25:74]:

Zakariyas main concern was the religion. He didn't just want a child to inherit his name and money, but to continue the way of Islam. And Allah gave him a ذرية طيبة.

And in [18:82]:

Because their father was righteous, Allah protected them. 

We aren't with our children 24/7. We can't be following them to do everything. But if you believe in Allah الواسع and focus on your duties; even if you have 20 children, Allah will make them righteous.

2) Allah will give them inner vastness.

In [20:25]:

In [94:1]:

-> Allah will give you vastness in your heart.

If you believe in Allah's name الواسع; even if you're the most stressed, irritated, angry person, Allah is able to make your heart vast. 

In whatever situation we need to take whatever Allah gives us. In [51:16]:

E.g. You need a big heart to deal with your husband. He'll suddenly say we're going to travel now. Instead of being irritated, you're just open, vast, and go with the flow. No one knows how you feel, because you're the one who has to look after the kids, pack the bags, etc. Its not a matter of being superwoman, it's a matter of believing in Allah الواسع. He'll make it vast on you, so that you accept whatever happens - whether it's a command, or a decree. 

Allah tells us that He expands the sky. Isn't the One who expands the sky, able to expand your heart? 

And this is only a privilege for the believers.

Don't think about how you can deal with so-and-so. Allah is able to expand yours and his heart, and prevent him from hurting you and retaliating. 

Also, there are things in the past which used to affect us, and don't anymore. Don't think this is because of you; Allah is الواسع.

-> Allah will make you open-minded 

Allah is the One who expands your mind and makes you understand. Sometimes we may read something again and again and it's still confusing. Or we go through situations and we feel so tight and difficult, because our minds are limited.

Although the متقين have restrictions and follow laws, they're so broad minded. They see things differently. 

We can't expect everyone to feel the way we do. Everyone is at a different level. So you need to be open minded when dealing with people. They're not Angels.