Means which aid a person in Seeking Knowledge + The Name "الله" + Rules regarding the Names of Allah - (8/10/17)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

18/1/1439

Acquiring knowledge is one of the noblest acts of worship with which one can draw nearer to Allah. Allah made knowledge a counterpart to Jihad in Surah at-Tawbah [9:122]:

"And it is not (proper) for the believers to go out to fight (Jihad) all together. Of every troop of them, a party only should go forth, that they (who are left behind) may get instructions in (Islamic) religion, and that they may warn their people when they return to them, so that they may beware (of evil)."

And the Prophet ﷺ said: 

من يرد الله به خيرًا يفقه في الدين

"If Allah wants to do good to a person, He makes him comprehend the Religion (I.e. Understand the Qur'an and Sunnah." [Al-Bukhari]

So if you see that Allah has opened the gates of understanding the Religion for you then receive the glad tidings that Allah wants good for you. This is a blessing from Allah for certain people whom He chooses; not for just anyone. 

Means which aid a person in Seeking Knowledge

Ibn 'Uthaimeen رحمه الله mentioned means which help the student of knowledge seek knowledge in 'كتاب العلم' (The Book of Knowledge): 

#1 - التقوى (Taqwa - Fear of Allah and keeping your duty towards Him) 

This is the most important means which will help you acquire the knowledge.

Allah advised the former and latter generations with Taqwa. He said in Surah an-Nisa [4:131]:

"And to Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And verily, We have recommended to the people of the Scripture before you, and to you (O Muslims) that you (all) fear Allah, and keep your duty to Him, But if you disbelieve, then unto Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth, and Allah is Ever Rich (Free of all wants), Worthy of all praise."

Taqwa was also the advice of the Prophet ﷺ for his nation. He ﷺ said:

اتقوا الله ربكم، وصلُّوا خمسَكم، وصوموا شهرَكم، وأدُّوا زكاة أموالكم، و أطيعوا أمراءَكم، تدخلوا جنة ربكم 

Have Taqwa of Allah your Lord, and pray your five (daily prayers), and fast your month (Ramadan), and observe the Zakat of your money, and obey your Leaders, you will enter the Paradise of your Lord. [At-Tirmithi]

Five commands, if you act upon, you will enter the Paradise of your Lord.

And he ﷺ used to advise every leader before an expedition to have Taqwa with regards to himself and the people around them.

The righteous predecessors used to advise each other with Taqwa in their Khutbahs, letters, and wills. Umar رضي الله عنه once wrote to his son Abdullah رضي الله عنه saying:

أما بعد فإني أوصيك بتقوى الله فإنه من إتقاه وقاه، و من أقرضه جزاه، و من شكره زاده

I advise you with Taqwa of Allah because whoever fears Allah will be protected; and whoever gives a loan to Allah, Allah will recompense him; and whoever thanks Allah, Allah will increase him.

Ali رضي الله عنه advised a man: 

أوصيك بتقوى الذي لا بد لك من لقائه و لا منتهى لك دونه و هو يملك الدنيا و الآخرة

I advise you to have Taqwa of the One whom you are undoubtedly going to meet one day, and whom there is no end for you other than Him, and who owns the Dunya and the Hereafter.

One of the righteous wrote to his brother saying,

أوصيك بتقوى الله الذي هو نجيك في سريرك و رقيبك في علانيتك فاجعل الله من بالك على كل حال في ليلك و نهارك و خُف الله بقدر قربه منك و قدرته عليك، واعلم أنك بعينه ليس تخرج من سلطانه إلى سلطان غيره  و لا من ملكه إلى ملك غيره فليعظم منه حذرك وليكثر منه وجلك و السلام

I advise you to have Taqwa of Allah who is your confidant in private and who is watchful over you in your public. So be aware of Him in all your states; in your day and in your night. Fear Allah as much as His nearness is to you and fear His power over you. Bear in mind that you cannot get out of His power to the power of someone else, nor from His dominion to the dominion of someone else. So be cautious of Him greatly and fear Him much.

What is the meaning of Taqwa? Literally it is derived from وقى.

وقاية is a shield. You put a shield between you and what you fear of the anger and punishment of Allah. You want to make a protection (وقاية) for yourself from the anger and punishment of Allah. 

How can you put this وقايا (Wiqaya)? By carrying out the command of Allah and refraining from what He has prohibited.

In the Qur'an, البر (Birr) is usually mentioned with التقوى (Taqwa). When they are mentioned together, as in Surah al-Maa'idah [5:2]:

وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَىٰ

"Help you one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety)"

البر (Al-Birr) refers to carrying out the command of Allah, and التقوى (At-Taqwa) refers to abstaining from the prohibitions. Whenever التقوى (Taqwa) is mentioned alone, it takes both meanings. 

Allah mentioned that He had prepared Paradise for Al-Muttaqeen (أعدت للمتقين). If you are really seeking Paradise, you have to practice Taqwa. The people of Taqwa are the people of Jannah; therefore one should have Taqwa by acting upon His commandments and abstaining from his prohibitions.

As a student of knowledge, how will Taqwa benefit you? 

In Surah al-Anfal [8:29]:

"O you who believe! If you obey and fear Allah, He will grant you Furqan a criterion [(to judge between right and wrong), or (Makhraj, i.e. making a way for you to get out from every difficulty)], and will expiate for you your sins, and forgive you, and Allah is the Owner of the Great Bounty."

If you have Taqwa of Allah, you will get three matters:

Benefit #1 - "يجعلكم فرقانا" - He will grant you Furqan a criterion [(to judge between right and wrong)

If you fear Allah and keep your duty to Him, He will give you the ability to distinguish between truth and falsehood, which He will not give to other than the Muttaqeen. 

This means that Allah will open knowledge for the Muttaqeen which He will not about for other than them, because the person distinguishes truth from falsehood by knowledge. Allah will thus increase the person in knowledge, understanding, and guidance.

You may see two persons memorizing the same verse, one can deduce three benefits while Allah may open more benefits for the other one. This is a gift from Allah. Allah had opened for the other one which he did not open for the first, based on his Taqwa. The more you fear Allah, the more He will help you understand. 

Allah will give the person who is Muttaqi فراسة - a distinctive intelligence; insight, by which he can judge people and know the liar from the truthful. Allah will give him this intelligence, without him having accompanied the person he knows about. Allah will not give it to other than AlMuttaqeen.

If you fear Allah and keep your duty towards Him, He will increase your knowledge, open the gate of understanding, guide you, and give you this فراسة (Firasah) which He will not give to others. 

Imam Ash-Shafi'i رحمه الله said in a poem:

I complained to Wakee' of my weak memorization      He guided me to abandon sins 

And said: Know that knowledge is light     And the light of Allah will not be given to a sinner 

Check your Taqwa if you are complaining of weak memorization, because Allah will not give this light to everyone. He will only give it to Al-Muttaqi.

Benefit #2 - "و يكفر عنكم سيئاتكم" - and will expiate for you your sins

How? By guiding them to perform righteous deeds with which He expiates the misdeeds.

In Surah Hud [11:114]:

"And perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat), at the two ends of the day and in some hours of the night [i.e. the five compulsory Salat (prayers)]. Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds (i.e. small sins). That is a reminder (an advice) for the mindful (those who accept advice)."

The Prophet ﷺ said: 

الصلوات الخمس والجمعة إلى الجمعة، ورمضان إلى رمضان، مكفرات ما بينهن إذا اجتنبت الكبائر

The five daily (prescribed) Salat, and Friday (prayer) to the next Friday (prayer), and the fasting of Ramadan to the next Ramadan, is expiation of the sins committed in between them, so long as major sins are avoided. [Muslim]

Benefit #3 - "و يغفر لكم" - and forgive you,

Allah will guide the person to repentance, and this is one of the favours of Allah. If Allah has forgiven the sins of a person, it means He will open the gate of knowledge for him. Knowledge is a light which will not be given to the sinner, so if he asks Allah to forgive him, Allah will give him this light. 

The one who gives Fatwas or is asked by the people is advised to first ask Allah for forgiveness when someone comes asking him. If Allah forgives him, Allah will show him the right from wrong and the truth. This is based on their interpretation of Surah an-Nisa [4:105-106]:

"Surely, We have sent down to you (O Muhammad SAW) the Book (this Quran) in truth that you might judge between men by that which Allah has shown you (i.e. has taught you through Divine Inspiration), so be not a pleader for the treacherous."

"And seek the Forgiveness of Allah, certainly, Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

The student of knowledge is advised with Taqwa of Allah in his secret and open affairs, in the day and night, in front of the people and behind the people. He should fear Allah with regards to what he sees, hears, speaks, writes. 

If you want Allah to open the gate of knowledge for you, then fear Allah. Do not show one face in front of the people and have another form behind them. This is not Taqwa of Allah. The Muttaqi has one form; he is the same person inside the house and outside. He speaks the same, has the same behaviour, thoughts, etc. 

If you want to be a true student of knowledge, you need to begin with Taqwa of Allah. Keep your duty towards Allah and the people. 

The Name "الله"

The first question the person will be asked in his grave is, "Who is your Lord?" And the believer will answer, "ربي الله" (My Lord is Allah). 

The Meaning of الله:

ذوا الألوهية 

Allah is the One who deserves to loved and magnified because of His perfect attributes.

و العبودية على خلقة أجمعين

He is the One who deserves all acts of worship to be directed to Him and no one else.

People love false deities like Jesus for example, because they see him as perfect. He is their savior, so accordingly, they worshipped him. This is the problem with everyone who has taken other than Allah as their god. 

If you want to negate the divinity from these false gods, compare their attributes to the attributes of Allah. For example, the attribute of life. Jesus died as they claim. So he cannot be a god. A god should have a perfect life. Allah is ever living, never dies. Therefore, who deserves to be loved and magnified? Doesn't Jesus need food, drink, sleep? God does not need all that, He is perfect. Therefore, Jesus does not deserve to be a god. 

Bhuddha died. And God, the one who deserves to be worshipped, should have a complete life. How can a dead person hear my call and suffice my needs? Allah is Perfect. He is the Ever-Living, All-Hearer, The Near.

Compare every single attribute to Allah, and the rest of the gods will fail. When you take every attribute in detail, they have to admit that Allah is the only one who deserves to be worshipped and no one else.

What is the meaning of لا اله الا الله, based on this discussion? 

لا = No

إله = God, who deserves to be loved, magnified, and worshipped 

إلا الله = Except Allah 

This لا removes every other false deity in our hearts. There is no one we love more than Allah. No one we magnify more than Allah. We have to check the لا اله الا الله in our hearts. We have to check our beloved ones - do we love them like Allah or more than Allah? لا إله إلا الله means there is no one you love with the utmost love except Allah. 

E.g. A woman has a Christian mother and Christmas is coming along. The mother tells her daughter she has to celebrate it. This is a test for her لا اله الا الله. If she yields to her mother, it means that the love of her mother is greater than the love of Allah in her heart. These are the tests of your beloved ones; your love is shown through the situations.

In Surah Al-Baqarah [2:165]:

"And of mankind are some who take (for worship) others besides Allah as rivals (to Allah). They love them as they love Allah. But those who believe, love Allah more (than anything else). If only, those who do wrong could see, when they will see the torment, that all power belongs to Allah and that Allah is Severe in punishment."

It is as if their hearts are divided into two: One part for Allah and the other part for their rivals. This is Shirk, especially if this love leads to humility and magnification of that person. 

The hearts should be always checked. We have to check our hearts regarding our beloved ones. Allah said in Surah Tawbah [9:24]:

"Say: If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your kindred, the wealth that you have gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline, and the dwellings in which you delight … are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger, and striving hard and fighting in His Cause, then wait until Allah brings about His Decision (torment). And Allah guides not the people who are Al-Fasiqun (the rebellious, disobedient to Allah)."

التأليه (Deification)is the right of Allah. Allah mentions eight matters which are beloved to the heart of the human being. If any or some or all of these are more beloved to you than Allah, His Messenger, and Jihad, then wait. Wait until Allah brings His decision - I.e. His torment. 

"والله لا يهدي القوم الفاسقين" - And Allah guides not the people who are Al-Fasiqun (the rebellious, disobedient to Allah)."

And Allah called them الفاسقين. Whoever prefers these over the love of Allah and His Messenger and Jihad, it means that He is one of the فاسقين (disobedient to Allah). Let not the love of these matters exceed the love of Allah in your heart. 

If you say this لا with understanding, it will bring out these beloved ones from your heart. No one deserves your love and magnification except Allah. Your mother, husband, children are beloved, but Allah has more rights on you. This is a very important لا النافية (Lam of negation) which clears your heart and makes it pure for Allah. This is the role of لا in لا اله الا الله. 

Rules Regarding the Names of Allah 

The Prophet ﷺ said:

إِنَّ لِلَّهِ تِسْعَةً وَتِسْعِينَ اسْمَا مِائَةً إِلاَّ وَاحِدًا مَنْ أَحْصَاهَا دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ ‏

"Allah has ninety-nine names, i.e. one-hundred minus one, and whoever أحصاها will go to Paradise." [Bukhari]

الإحصاء (Al-Ihsaa) does not refer to enumerating them, it refers to knowing the meaning of every name, what it implies of attributes, the impact of that attribute in your life, to worship Allah according to that name, and finally to memorize that name.

Some Scholars have named more than 99 names of Allah. If you apply the rules, then it adds up to exactly 99. 

Rule #1 - أسماء الله توقيفية (The Names of Allah are limited to the Qur'an and Sunnah)

This means that the source of the names should be restricted to the Qur'an and Sunnah. There are names such as "النظيف" or "الماجد" or "الواجد", yet you do not find these names in the Qur'an and Sunnah.

 

Rule #2 - علمية الإسم (Proper Noun)

The name should be a proper noun, not a verb. The following are distinct characteristics of nouns:

a) They take the definite article ال

E.g. الحكيم

b) They take ياء المنادى (The Yaa of Calling)

E.g. ياء حكيم

c) They take Tanween

E.g. ربٍ or حكيماً

d) They take حرف جر (Preposition)

E.g. و توكل على الحي 

على is a preposition which comes before a name

E.g. من ربٍ

Note: The name should be in the context of Allah. In Surah Yusuf [12:55]:

"[Yusuf (Joseph)] said: "Set me over the storehouses of the land; I will indeed guard them with full knowledge" (as a minister of finance in Egypt, in place of Al-'Aziz who was dead at that time)."

This refers to Yusuf عليه السلام and not Allah, although these are also names of Allah.

In Surah Zukhruf [43:4]: 

"And Verily, it (this Quran) is in the Mother of the Book (i.e. Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz), before Us, indeed Exalted, full of Wisdom."

This refers to the Qur'an. 

In the Qur'an, Allah says: "يعز من يشاء و يذل من يشاء". These are verbs; actions of Allah. Some people create names from the actions of Allah, and call Allah "المعز" and "المذل". These are practical attributes (صفات الأفعال) and not names. 

 

Rule #3 - الإطلاق (Unrestriction)

The name should be unrestricted.  

E.g. عالم الغيب (The Knower of the Unseen) 

This name is مقيد (restricted). Knowledge is restricted to the unseen. 

If it was just العالم it would be an unrestricted name.

E.g. مالك يوم الدين (Owner/King of the Day of Judgement)

The name مالك is restricted to يوم الدين. 

E.g. In Surah Al-An'am [6:95]:

"Verily! It is Allah Who causes the seed-grain and the fruit-stone (like date-stone, etc.) to split and sprout."

We cannot call Allah الفالق because it is restricted to الحب و النوى.

E.g. "و هو على كل شيء قدير"

Al-Qadeer is an unrestricted name of Allah. This is the greatest form of unrestriction - Allah is Able to do all things.

E.g. "و كان الله بكل شيء محيطا"

Al-Muheet is an unrestricted name of Allah. 

E.g. In Surah at-Tawbah [9:2]:

"So travel freely (O Mushrikun  for four months (as you will) throughout the land, but know that you cannot escape (from the Punishment of) Allah, and Allah will disgrace the disbelievers."

مخزي is a noun and it is mentioned in the Qur'an, but it came connected with الكافرين. Allah is the disgracer of the disbelievers. It is a name, but a restricted name (اسم مقيد) to the disbelievers.

E.g. The Prophet ﷺ used to supplicate to Allah saying:

يا مقلب القلوب ثبت قلبي على دينك

O Turner of the hearts make my heart steadfast in Your religion. [At-Tirmithi]

مقلب (Muqqalib) is restricted to قلوب (Quloob).

E.g. In Surah Ghafir [40:3]:

"The Forgiver of sin, the Acceptor of repentance, the Severe in punishment, the Bestower (of favours), La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), to Him is the final return."

These are all restricted.

E.g. متم نوره 

This is restricted. Allah is the completer of His light. 

E.g. In Surah Al-Hashr [59:23]:

"He is Allah than Whom there is La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He) the King, the Holy, the One Free from all defects, the Giver of security, the Watcher over His creatures, the All-Mighty, the Compeller, the Supreme. Glory be to Allah! (High is He) above all that they associate as partners with Him."

These names are all unrestricted.

If the name is mentioned in unrestricted form even for just one time, it is one of the 99 names of Allah. الرب (Ar-Rabb)for example is joined in many places in the Qur'an, but it is mentioned alone in Surah Ya-Sin, so it is a name of Allah.