FAQ in the category of The Names of Allah (God)

Allah is Jabbar. The name Jabbar has the following meanings regarding Allah.

1-Allah can compel things and people to do whatever He wishes.

2-He settles His slaves' jobs and completes them.

3-He repairs broken things and finds remedies to illnesses.

4-He is a grand and magnificent Sultan.

Now, let us try to understand these different meanings of the name al-Jabbar and see its manifestations in the universe:

1- Allah can compel things and people to do whatever He wishes

Allah is Jabbar. He can compel things and people to do whatever He wishes. There is no power that can reject His decree and change His preference. His command and decree is dominant over everything.   

Anyone who looks at the universe carefully will see that it is a very magnificent and active country with a wise administration and a very strong city. He will see everything and every creature fulfilling a duty obediently.  

One is a honey factory; another one is a milk fountain; yet another is a fine hand of mercy and another one is a lamp and stove for the guesthouse of the world. Every creature is busy with the duty ordered by Allah like them. They cannot rebel against that duty. Despite its size and magnificence, the sun cannot say, “I will not rise or I will not set today" and oppose the decree of Allah, who is Jabbar. The moon cannot ignore his duty of being a candle and calendar. Every being except man takes care of their duty and obeys the order of Allah, who is Jabbar. The name ‘Jabbar’ is seen in every creature that fulfills their duty, obeys Allah's order and that surrenders to Him.  

Have we ever meditated on Allah's name al-Jabbar when we saw a chicken lay an egg and a sheep give milk? Or have we ever praised Allah when we saw a man travel on a camel and mentioned Allah by His name al-Jabbar?

For, the name al-Jabbar becomes manifest in every creature that is made obey man and that does not oppose its duty. Everything, from the particles of the universe to the stars of the sky, obeys Allah and becomes a mirror for His name al-Jabbar. However, unlucky people are an exception.

See how our Prophet (pbuh) penetrates into the truth of Allah's name al-Jabbar and how he describes Him:  

O He before whose grandeur all things are abased;

O He to whose power all things yield;

O He before whose might all things are brought low;

O He to whose awesomeness all things defer;

O He to whose dominion all things submit;

O He at the dread of whom all things are humbled;

O He out of fear of whom the mountains are cleft;

O He at whose command the heavens are upheld;

O He through whose leave the earth is stable;

2- He settles His slaves' jobs and completes them

Allah is Jabbar. He settles His slaves' jobs and completes them. The name Jabbar always becomes manifest in us in this sense: When an unemployed person finds a job, a shopkeeper who has not sold anything starts to sell a lot of things, a slow students starts to improve, a family that cannot find wood or coal to heat the house finds wood or coal, an incomplete file is completed and similar tasks are settled, it means  Allah’s name of Jabbar has become manifest.

The name Jabbar becomes manifest in the material world like that; when it becomes manifest in the spiritual world, He corrects the situations of His slaves, makes them repent, improves their ethics and manners, makes them fulfill the worship that they have not been able to do and completes the deficiencies of His slaves regarding the spiritual realm. 

May Allah settle our material and spiritual jobs and complete our deficiencies for the sake of His name al-Jabbar!  

3- He repairs broken things and finds remedies to illnesses

Allah is Jabbar. He repairs broken things and finds remedies to illnesses. A broken heart is consoled through the name Jabbar. A broken bone heals through the manifestation of this name. This name shows material and spiritual ways to those who hesitate and stumble, helps those who are in need and hears those who are in trouble. Ill people heal thanks to this name and people who have problems find solutions. That is, remedy to ill people, solution to people who have problems and payment for those who are in debt are sent through this name. People who are cross with each other make up with the manifestation of this name.    

Our topic is to know Allah and to open a window for Him in everything. Have we ever thought that it is a manifestation of the name Jabbar when we glued something broken?

We have a debt but have no possibility of paying it. Have we ever meditated on Allah's name al-Jabbar when we paid our debt with some money that emerged out of nowehere unexpectedly while we were brooding over it?

4- He is a grand and magnificent Sultan

Allah is Jabbar. He is a grand and magnificent Sultan. He is such a sultan that His Sultanate has no beginning or end. No sultanate other than His will continue. 

He is such a sultan that everything, from the wing of a fly to the candles of the skies, from the cells of the body to the constellations of the sky, belongs to Him. The gigantic sun is a small lamp in His universe; stars are candles and the moon is a calendar maker.

Yes, the universe has only one sultan. He holds the key to everything and the reigns of everything. Everything is settled upon His command. 

They show man the following:

He who finds Him loses nothing. He who loses Him finds nothing. He who finds the Sultan of the Universe finds everything and becomes free of fears. He who cannot find Him cannot find anything but troubles.

Ash-Shafi: Allah, who cures ill people.

Allah gives man cure for his material and spiritual illnesses with His nameash-Shafi.

"And when I am ill, it is He Who cures me." (ash-Shuara, 26/80)

One of the moments that man understands his weakness and notices that he is in such a needy state is definitely when he is ill. The bodily and spiritual effects every disease has on man is different. However, all of them are evidences for a wise creation. That a virus that cannot be seen by the eye destroys a person and that a microbe that enters the body cannot even be diagnosed are among the clearest evidences of Allah's power. The experiments and researches made by scientists in order to eliminate a single virus displays Allah’s superiority in creating.

Since it is Allah who gives the illness, this illness can be cured only if Allah wishes. If Allah wishes, he removes the illness that He has given with His attribute Shafi. As a matter of fact, if Allah does not wish, it is impossible for the illness of that person to be cured even if all of the doctors of the world come together with the most advanced devices and the drugs that have been recently discovered. All of the drugs that are used are means of cure for the illness. If Allah wishes, He allows the person to heal by accepting the treatment as a means. However, even a seemingly simple illness can cause the death of a person if Allah does not wish.

In that case, what man needs to do is to see the endless power of our Lord along with his weakness and to ask for help from Him whenever he is in trouble. The high ethics, patience and tawakkul (reliance on Allah) of Hz. Ayyub (Job) in the face of the trouble caused by Satan is an exemplary lesson for all believers. Allah answered his prayer and saved him from that trouble. Hz. Ayyub received the great reward of showing patience and turning toward Allah only.

Al-Adl means the one who is very just and fair, who never oppresses, who judges justly and who has justice.  The name al-Adl is one of the names that are regarded as ism al-azam (the greatest name of Allah) by both Hz. Ali and Abu Hanifa. 

Allah has justice. He does not wrong or oppress anybody. In fact, oppression is transgressing others' property. All property belongs to Allah. Therefore, it is impossible to think that Allah Almighty oppresses - God forbid. He judges everything justly. There is no of oppression whatsoever in His calculation, estimation, punishment, wrath and activities. He is just in all of His acts and deeds.    

Now, let us meditate on the manifestations of the name al-Adl in the realm:

1. All of the heavenly blows on the oppressors are a manifestation of the name al-Adl. 

All of the heavenly blows on the oppressors are a manifestation of the name al-Adl. The destruction of the nation of Noah, Ad, Thamud, the Pharaohs, Nimrods and Qarun (Croesus) are due to the manifestation of this name. Wherever there is an oppressor and wherever an oppressor receives a heavenly blow, the manifestation of the name al-Adl is there. Now, let us have a look at the manifestation of this name as the Quran puts it: 

“(Remember also) Qarun, Pharaoh, and Haman: there came to them Moses with Clear Signs, but they behaved with insolence on the earth; yet they could not overreach (Us) . Each one of them We seized for his crime: of them, against some We sent a violent tornado (with showers of stones); some were caught by a (mighty) Blast; some We caused the earth to swallow up; and some We drowned (in the waters): it was not Allah Who injured (or oppressed) them: they injured (and oppressed) their own souls. (al-Ankabut 39-40)

All of the wraths mentioned in the verses above were sent down by the manifestation of the name al-Adl and the oppressors were destroyed by the manifestation of that name. 

O Lord! We take refuge in You from the manifestation of this name in this sense.

O Lord! We take refuge in Your consent from Your wrath, in Your forgiveness from Your torture, in Your mercy from Your justice. Your forgiveness is your generosity and Your torture is Your justice. Treat us with Your generosity not with Your justice. Amin!

2. The balance and equilibrium in the universe is a manifestation of the name Al-Adl.

The balance and equilibrium in the universe is a manifestation of the name Al-Adl. Now, let us meditate on this meaning of the name al-Adl in the realm. Every being, from microorganisms to plants and animals, want to invade the world. Their inclination to and desire of invasion is prevented by the barrier of a power and they cannot overstep certain limits.  

For instance, an organism has the capacity to have a weight equal to 5000 worlds in 44 hours if it has the favorable conditions. If this microorganism were to proliferate as it wished, it would be able to invade this world on its own. Nevertheless, this microorganism has not been given permission to do this so that the rights of other life forms can be protected. To prevent its invasion, the microorganism has been forced to struggle against various enemies. What prevents this microorganism from growing is the manifestation of the name al-Adl.

Some restrictions have been introduced for millions of fish that lay eggs in the sea. If a limitation had not been introduced, every species of fish would invade the seas with its own kind and the balance would be destroyed.

For example, in one year, a lobster can lay 7 million eggs. If all of them produced lobsters, the seas would be swarming with them within a few years.

A whiting fish lays 6 million eggs per year. If all whiting fish survived, the seas would be overflowing with whiting fish in less than a year. However, only one dozen of those whiting fish can survive as the rest become bait for other fish.

If fish and other sea creatures could proliferate as they wanted, three out of four seas would be swarming with sea creatures within one year, and it is probably not difficult to forecast that there would be an incursion of seawater on land. However, there is no allowance for this and the seas are maintained at a perfect balance. This balance is a manifestation of the name al-Adl.

It has been determined that a species of mouse has the potential of reaching 400 in numbers in one year and 65,000 within two years. If the reproduction and proliferation of mice were not prevented, the entire earth would be covered by mice of two spans high within two years. That this mouse cannot proliferate as it wishes is also a manifestation of the name al-Adl.

What about the oxygen balance in the atmosphere of the earth? The atmosphere contains 21% oxygen, 77% nitrogen, and 2% other gases. If the proportion of oxygen was a little over 21%, the world could easily burn if you were to light a match to turn on the oven. And if it was less than 21%, we would be breathless as if somebody wrapped a rope around our neck. This balance is also a manifestation of the name al-Adl.

It is possible to increase examples and to write a book about the balance in the universe. Besides, every scientific topic is related to it and every science is a loyal witness to the existence of this balance. All of the balances in this realm are a manifestation of the name al-Adl. That is, if this name removed its manifestation from this realm for a moment, this realm would be in chaos and everything would be intermingled. We praise and thank our Lord endlessly due to the manifestation of this name in this sense.  

3. To create everything with precise measurements, to give them faces and to place every organ in the perfect location is a manifestation of the name al-Adl.

To create everything with precise measurements, to give them faces and to place every organ in the perfect location is a manifestation of the name al-Adl. Now, let us meditate on the manifestation of the name al-Adl in this sense in the mirror of man:

There are about sixty elements in our bodies. All of these elements exist in our bodies based on some balance and proportion. Our bodies contain specific amounts of iron, magnesium, chromium, and other such elements. A cause for disease develops when there is too much or too little of these elements in our bodies. For example, copper has a blood-producing characteristic. When there is too little of it, nervous system diseases will occur.  Manganese operates the functions of the brain and a lack of it causes” behavior disorders. The duty of cadmium is to regulate blood pressure and to ensure it to operate smoothly; however, too much or too little of it can cause disturbances in blood pressure. The accumulation of elements in any part of the body produces hormonal deficiencies.

Now, let us have a look at the balance in the faces and the placement of organs:

Here is the face of man... So proportionate and balanced… How harmonious are the organs… For instance, if our nose were a bit longer, it would close our mouth. If our eyebrows grew longer, they would close our eyes. What if our teeth or tongue were longer? How would we close our mouth then? Every organ was created in a balanced way and each one is in perfect harmony with other organs…

And now, compare the proportion in the faces of other creatures, and the balance and the harmony among their organs to man…

The creation of the faces in a balanced way, the creation of the organ proportionately and the harmony among the organs are a manifestation of the name al-Adl. In this sense, the name al-Adl becomes manifest in innumerable beings at any moment. 

4. To give each being its due based on their ability is the manifestation of the name al-Adl.

To give each being its due based on their ability, that is, to meet all of the needs of its body and to equip it with the organs that are necessary for it to survive in the most suitable way is the manifestation of the name al-Adl. Now, let us meditate on the manifestation of the name al-Adl in the camel in this sense: 

A camel’s hump is like a reservoir. For days, the camel can manage with this sustenance, and it can live without water for three weeks.

Its feet are wide and the camel can run in the sand without sinking.

The lashes on its eyes are like a net, and even in the severest conditions, its eyes will not be filled with sand.

The camel’s nose was created in such a way that the camel can still breathe easily even in the most frightening storms.

Its top lip is cleft and it allows the camel to eat thorny desert plants.

Its long neck enables the camel to eat leaves three meters above the ground.

Its knees are covered by calluses having been formed from skin that is as thick and hard as a horn. When the camel lies down, the calluses protect the animal from the ground’s extreme heat and from injury.

Thanks to its thick fur, the camel is able to endure summer temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius and winter colds that are  - 50 degrees Celsius.  In addition to these characteristics, there are several others.

For instance, if the camel was to have the legs of a horse in addition to all of its present characteristics, it would not be able to travel even one kilometer in the desert.

Then, would any of the camel’s other characteristics have any importance?

Or, if the camel‘s eyes did not have nets, it would not be able to take even a single step in a storm.

And if its lips were not cleft, it would not be able feed.

The creation of the camel like that, that is, endowing it with the most suitable body and organs to maintain its life and to meet its needs, in other words,  maintaining its right to live is a manifestation of the name al-Adl.

Now, compare the elephants, fish, birds, insects, plants and other creatures to the camel. Look at the body given to them and the organs endowed to them in order to maintain their right to live and see that their needs are met perfectly; and then prostrate in astonishment upon this manifestation of the name al-Adl!

5. To respond to good deeds with good results and to respond to bad deeds with bad results is a manifestation of the name al-Adl.

To respond to good deeds with good results and to respond to bad deeds with bad results is a manifestation of the name al-Adl. That is, to send the believer to Paradise and send the unbeliever to Hell is a manifestation of the name al-Adl. As a matter of fact, a person cannot deserve Paradise; it is a grace of Allah but to differentiate between believers and unbelievers and to send believers to Paradise and unbelievers to hell is justice and a manifestation of the name al-Adl. This aspect of the name al-Adl will be manifest fully in the hereafter.

What we need to learn from this name is as follows: First of all, we should act honestly and justly in our jobs and become a bright mirror of the name al-Adl. We should never tell lies or deceive people. Then, we should meditate on the meanings of this name mentioned above in the pages of this realm and ascend to the level of marifatullah (knowledge of Allah) by reading the name al-Adl through various aspects. 

May Allah Almighty make us real mirrors of His name al-Adl! May He put us among the group of His slaves who attain Him by reading the manifestation of this name in the creatures! Amin!

Allah is Quddus. He is free and away from imperfection and deficiencies. He is free from weakness, poverty and all kinds of deficiencies. Another meaning of this name is the one that purifies His creatures of material and spiritual impurities.  

Yes, beauty comes from beauty and perfection comes from perfection; grant comes from generosity and wealth comes from richness.

With all of its beauties, this realm points to the beauty of Allah Almighty, with its perfection to His endless knowledge, with its invention and orderly movements to His matchless power, with its treasures to His endless wealth and with its grants to His unlimited generosity. That is, with its beauty and perfection, the universe is a mirror of His perfection and the name al-Quddus. 

Now, we will look at the meaning of “the one that purifies His creatures of material and spiritual impurities”, which is another manifestation of the name al-Quddus.

If you saw a street cleaned by a broom and if you did not see the hand sweeping it, would you believe if the whole world claimed that the broom swept the street on its own? Definitely not. You would laugh at this claim because

It is necessary to have life in order to sweep the street. A being that has no life cannot sweep it. However, the broom has no life.

The one that sweeps must have strength. However, the broom has no strength.

The one that sweeps must have will. He needs to prefer sweeping to not sweeping. However, the broom has no will.

Along with those attributes, the broom needs to know how to sweep.

It needs to have mercy; it needs to pity the inhabitants of that street.

It needs to have wisdom and understand what is useful. And it should have many other attributes.

However, the broom has none of those attributes. Therefore, even if we do not see the hand that holds the broom, we associate that wise activity with a doer that has those attributes. That we do not see the hand does not indicate its nonexistence. On the contrary, that wise activity indicates its existence.  

Since cleaning a small street cannot be attributed to a broom, how can cleaning the world, which is one of the streets of the universe, be attributed to causes, which are like the broom?

Yes, this universe and this world are large factories, guesthouses and inns that are filled and emptied every moment. However, those busy factories, inns, and guesthouses become very dirty with debris and refuse. A person cannot remain inside and will choke if they are not cleaned and maintained carefully. However, this universe’s factory and this world’s guesthouse are so immaculate, clean, and unpolluted that an unbeneficial particle and a coincidental piece of dirt cannot be found within them. If it is found, then, it gets cleaned quickly. It means, the caretaker of this factory takes care of it very well. This factory has such an owner who is able to clean this huge factory and palace as if he cleans and sweeps a tiny room.

If a person does not bathe for a month and does not clean and sweep his/her room for the same amount of time, then both the person and the room become very dirty and filthy. This shows that the purity and cleanliness in the castle of this universe result from a sapient and careful cleaning. If that constant cleaning and careful maintenance did not take place, then, within one year, the 100 thousand nations of every animal species would choke on the Earth, the debris of the stars in the sky would cause death and rocks the size of mountains would rain on our heads.

However, as we will see soon, this universe has been washed with the manifestation of Allah’s name, al-Quddus (the Pure One), and its cleanliness is a mirror of His name al-Quddus.

Behold the seas! Every day thousands of fish die yet you never see a corpse.

Behold the forests! Hundreds of thousands of animals live within them and every day thousands are born and thousands die yet there are no signs of filth.

And look at how creatures clean themselves. See a manifestation of the name al-Quddus. 

And now look at animals, which are the soldiers and officials of the name al-Quddus. Who taught them how to clean? Upon whose command do they act? 

Do we ever remembered Allah with His name al-Quddus when we see the earth washed by the rain drops sent down from clouds though our purpose and duty is to know Allah by His names and attributes? 

Rain is a manifestation of the name al-Quddus; similarly, wind is also a manifestation of the name al-Quddus. Thanks to them, the dirty smell in the air and the surface of the earth are cleaned.  

Eyelids are also a mirror of this name since they clean the eyes. We are always exposed to the manifestation of the name al-Quddus when we breathe in and out since breathing cleans our blood.

Look at the clean vegetables, fruits and flowers that are extracted from the dark soil and dry branches thanks to the manifestation of this name. Then glorify your Creator by saying O Quddus, O Quddus, O Quddus!

The name Latif has 2 meanings:

1- It means the one who is gracious and who shows grace. 

2- It also means the one who knows all secret and subtle things and jobs, and the one who surrounds everything with his knowledge.

Allah is latif in both senses.

He is gracious to His slaves. He gives them sustenance out of nowhere and unexpectedly. He grants them things for unknown reasons.

His knowledge penetrates into everything. Nothing can be hidden and concealed from Him. He is aware of all states and situations whether secret or open. He knows what we do openly and secretly. He sees all of our deeds and states…

Now, let us meditate on these two meanings of the name Latif in the realm:

1- Allah is gracious and shows grace.

“Gracious is Allah to His servants: He gives Sustenance to whom He pleases: and He has Power and can carry out His Will.” (ash-Shura, 42/19)

Allah is Latif. His grace is abundant and his grant is vast. Every creature is given sustenance out of unexpected places and their needs are met out of unknown places with the manifestation of this name; they receive favors from unexpected places.

In this sense, the name Latif surrounds this realm. For instance:

We did not exist; we came into being. Our Lord showed us grace by creating us…

We became living beings. We could have become non-living beings like stones or mountains. Our Lord showed us grace by giving us life…

We were given life. However, we could have become spiritless beings like trees and flowers. Our Lord showed us grace by giving us spirit…

We were given spirit. However, we could have become animals like an insect, a butterfly or a fly.  Our Lord showed us grace by creating us as humans…

We were created as humans but we could have become fire worshippers, Hindus, who worship cows, idolaters, who worship idols, Jews, or Christians, who call a human being God. Our Lord showed us grace by creating us as Muslims and including us among the ummah of Muhammad (pbuh)…

All of those grants and favors are manifestations of our Lord's name Latif.

All of the material organs like eyes, tongue, ears we have been equipped with and all of the spiritual organs like the mind, love and knowledge are all a manifestation of the name Latif.

With the manifestation of this name, the bird is equipped with wings and the fish is equipped with fins. Again with the manifestation of this name, this gigantic sun becomes a lamp and stove, this moon becomes a night lamp and calendar maker for us and those stars become candles for the world, which is our house.   

Again with the manifestation of this name, sins are forgiven, mistakes are covered, sins are eliminated and all of the sins are transformed into rewards all of a sudden. All of those grants and grace are the grace of our Lord, whose grants are endless and a manifestation of the name Latif.

With the manifestation of this name, the earth becomes a dinner table and the spring becomes a rose bunch of this table. With the manifestation of this name, dry trees become full of life; they stretch their hands to us and present us with the beautiful bounties of our Lord, who is Latif. 

It is this name that makes the ground boil like a cauldron and that cook all kinds of plants in this cauldron… It is this name that makes us eat honey out of a poisonous insect and makes us wear very soft material like silk out of a handless insect… 

It is this name that makes animals like sheep, camels and goats fountains of milk, that makes everything, from camels to ships, from horses to elephants and from the sun to clouds, obedient to us and that puts them under our order…

With the manifestation of this name, the sky becomes a building and the earth becomes a bed for us. Mountains become columns and clouds become water supplies. The night becomes a period of time for relaxation and the day becomes a promenade…

With the manifestation of this name, ill people find remedies and debtors pay their debts. Every needy person attains what they need and all of those who are in trouble find solutions with the manifestation of this name.

It is the manifestation of this name that makes man who is weak and poor be addressed by Allah, who is the Lord of Realms. It makes man His guest in the world and His friend in Paradise.

All of the beauties in this realm are a manifestation of the name Latif. That the creatures are so beautiful, that they are created in adornment, that they are painted colorfully and that they are arranged wisely originate from the fact that our Lord, who is Latif, prefers beauty and grants beauty.   

Volumes of books will not be enough to explain the meaning of the name Latif in the sense of "gracious and endowing a lot of things". For, every breath that we take is a manifestation of this name. By counting which bounties of our Lord can we finish explaining the manifestations of this name? Do the bounties of our Lord end as we count them? Thus, the name Latif becomes manifest so widely in this realm. Every being, from butterflies to angels, from flowers to birds, becomes alive, comes to this world and receives unlimited bounties with the manifestation of this name. Every grant and grace seen in them is a manifestation of this name. Paradise, which is so large, is a weak shadow of this name.     

O our Sultan who becomes manifest in us with His name Latif and who feeds us with His bounties! Show us the source and origin of these examples and shadows you have shown us! Draw us nigh to your seat of rule; do not let us perish in these deserts! Take us into your presence and have mercy on us! Feed us there on the delicious bounty you have caused us to taste here! Do not torment us with desperation and banishment! Do not leave your yearning, thankful and obedient subjects to their own devices; do not cause them to be annihilated! Amin!

2- Allah knows all secret and subtle things and jobs, and surrounds everything with his knowledge.

The second meaning of the name Latif is that Allah knows all secret and subtle things and jobs, and surrounds everything with his knowledge. In this sense, Allah is also Latif. His knowledge penetrates into everything. Nothing can be concealed from Him. He is aware of all secret things. He knows all of the things that we do openly and secretly.

It is not possible for objects on the face of the earth to be hidden from the sun without any barrier; similarly, it is not possible for things to be hidden in the face of the light of the All-Knowing One of Glory's knowledge. This is because they are within the compass of His witnessing; He penetrates into all things.

The creation of the creatures, their orderly and artistic bodies, the creation of their sustenance, their sustenance being given to them when they need and the system and the balance in this realm witness that Allah Almighty is Latif; in addition, the creation of the beings in adornment, the ease in their creation, the differences in their faces and similar aspects also witness that Allah Almighty is Latif.

Now, let us listen to the Quran and pay attention to some verses where the name Latif is mentioned in this sense:

“And whether ye hide your word or publish it, He certainly has (full) knowledge, of the secrets of (all) hearts. Should He not know― He that created? And He is the One that understands the finest mysteries (and) is well-acquainted (with them).” (al-Mulk, 13-14)

"O my son!" (said Luqman) "If there be (but) the weight of a mustard-seed and it were (hidden) in a rock, or (anywhere) in the heavens or on earth, Allah will bring it forth: for Allah understands the finer mysteries, (and) is well-acquainted (with them).” (Luqman, 31/16)

O my soul! You have such a Latif Lord that sees you and knows every secret state of you. Let alone your deeds, your memories and imaginations cannot be concealed from Him. He is aware of every secret of you. He is superior to you and observes you all the time. Then, how dare you do not feel ashamed and you commit so many crimes in His presence? Just think… When you commit each sin, your Lord is near you. He sees you and knows you. How dare you do not feel embarrassed and you keep committing that crime? 

O Lord! You are Latif. You know every state of us; and you see everything of us. None of our states, jobs, thoughts and feelings can be concealed from you. Forgive our mistakes that you see in us. Eliminate our mistakes that you see in us with the manifestation of your name al-Latif; Show us grace by eradicating our sins. We are your weak, poor and erring slaves, who desperately need the manifestation of your name Latif. Be manifest in us with your grace both in the world and in the hereafter.  Amin!

The name of the owner of this universe and the Sultan of the palace of this realm is ALLAH. And when He mentions about Himself in His book, He calls “Anallah” which means “I am Allah”.

There are some properties that differentiates this name from other names. Now let us try to analyze them:

-The first verse of the Qur’an which is revealed is Basmala (Bismillahirrahmanirrahim). And the name of Allah is the first name among the three names that exists in Basmala. So the name of Allah is the first name revealed in the Qur’an.

-The name of Allah is the main name in al-Asma al-Husna. (the most beautiful names of Allah.) Other names are attributed to this name. For example, “ash-Shafi” (the Curer) can be called a name of Allah but it cannot be said that Allah is a name of ash-Shafi”. Or “ar-Rahman" (the all merciful) can be called a name of Allah but it cannot be said that “Allah is a name of ar-Rahman.”

-The name of Allah is a proper name. It cannot be used for any other person even in a metaphorical way. This name is peculiar to Allah and only refers to Him. Even the Pharaoh who claimed divinity said “Ana Rabbukumul a’la” which means “I am your glorious lord” but could not say “Anallah” (I am Allah!”). He could not dare to use the name of Allah when he used the name “Rab” (Lord) of Allah.       

Again, Meccan polytheists placed 360 idols in and around the Kaaba and they named them differently but they never called any of them Allah. So, this name belongs to Allah only.

-Becoming a believer is possible with Kalima ash-shahadah.Kalima ash-shahadah, which is the bases of belief, is only accepted with the name of Allah. For example, when a non-Muslim says “Ashadu an la ilaha illa'r Rahman” or “Ashadu an la ilaha illa'l Malik” instead of “Ashadu an la ilaha illa'llah…” in order to become a Muslim, he is not considered to have become a Muslim. Because, the name of Allah is a special name that expresses the personality of the Glorious One who is unique and has no partners. It is not possible to think the meaning of partnership for private names. For this reason, there is real tawhid (oneness) in this name. As for the other names, there is no such real tawhid and the oneness of Allah is not acknowledged with them; so belief is not accepted.

-If the letters that constitutes the name of Allah are removed one by one; the meaning is still not broken down. However,this feature does not exist in other names. For example, when the Arabic letter “mim” is removed from the name of al-Malik, the remaining part “lik” has no meaning at all. Or when the letter of “sad” is removed from the name of as-Samad, there remains only “mad” and this has also no meaning, either.

However, in the name of Allah, there is a quality of bringing together. For example:

* When alif is removed from the beginning, it becomes “lillah” and this also means Allah.

* When the first lam is removed from “Lillah”, it becomes “Lahu” and this also refers to Him.

* When this “lam” is removed, it becomes “hu” and this refers to Allah again.

* And when the hidden “waw” is removed in “hu”, "he" remains, this also refers to Allah. For the root of “hu” is “he”. “Waw” is not the origin but an addition. In fact, because of this secret, every living creature commemorates Allah while breathing as “he, he, he”.

-In the meaning of Allah, there is a quality of bringing together. This does not exist in other names. Other names only refer to one meaning. For example, the name of “Hadi,” only means “the guider”, the name of “Nafi” only means “the propitious” and the name of “Khaliq” only means “the creator”. However, the name of Allah expresses the whole meanings of them as well as the other names.

When we say the sun, we remember a source of light that has seven colors, warmth and light and something that does not have these attributes cannot be the sun.

Similarly, when the name of “Allah” is mentioned, the holy personality that has all perfect attributes and names comes to mind. Something that does not have these names and attributes cannot be called Allah.

Since, He is Allah; He is attributed with all perfect attributes. That is why, someone who says “Allah” by thinking all these names is regarded to have commemorated the Almighty Creator with all of His names and attributes

Can Allah be called God?

In this section, we are going to see the evidence that Allah cannot be called God:

- According to the creed of Ahl as-Sunnah, the names of Allah cannot be changed. That is, it is permissible to say the names which are informed by Allah but it is not permissible to say what is not informed. For example, Allah is called al-`Alim (The All-Knowing) but He cannot be called faqih which has the same meaning. And again, Allah is called al-Jawad which means the generous but He cannot be called sahi which has also the same meaning. For, Allah does not introduce Himself with the names of faqih and sahi. For this reason, it is not permissible to say God instead of Allah. Imam Ghazali says that since we cannot give a name to a person as we would like to, how can we dare to do such a thing for Allah?

-God means deity. For example, it is said that the god of many Hindus is the ox and for Zoroastrians is the fire. In other languages, different words are used for god and deity. However, the name of Allah is used exactly in foreign translations. For, the equivalent of this name does not exist in any language.

-Though the name of Allah is mentioned 2806 times in the Qur’an, the word god it is not mentioned even once. While our Almighty Creator repeatedly says in the Qur’an, “My name is Allah, call me with the name of Allah; worship me by calling Allah and beg me by calling Allah but He does not say in any verse, "I am God or call me God." The word god is not mentioned in hadiths, either. Then, it is so clear that it is wrong not to call Allah with the name that He wanted but to call Him god, which is the name the polytheists use while associating partners with Him and for their false gods.

A ruler says his name as Ahmad to his servants and orders them to call his name as Ahmad; suppose that despite this order, they say that they want to call him Uthman instead of Ahmad since both of them are names alike and call him like that; as a result the ruler will get angry; similarly, it will cause Divine wrath when the word god is used for His name and in worship though the name god is not ordered by Him or may be disliked by Him.

Al- Azim (the Magnificent)

Al-Azim means the owner of magnificence and greatness. Allah is al-Azim. He owns magnificence and greatness both in His personality and in His names and attributes. All of the great things are small in His presence. What we know as great and big attains this property through the manifestation and reflection of the name al-Azim.

We will deal with this name from two aspects. We will analyze and contemplate the magnificence of Allah Almighty first in His personality and then in His names and attributes.

1- Allah is magnificent in terms of His personality.

Allah Almighty is Azim in essence and He has magnificence. Human beings are too weak to understand this magnificence and greatness. Man sometimes sees the greatness of something through his eyes; he sometimes perceives it through his mind; he sometimes understands it through his imagination; sometimes, even imagination cannot perceive it. 

For instance, when you see an elephant, you say, "It is big." Then, when you look at a mountain, you say, "This is bigger." Then, you look at a sea and say, "This is bigger than the mountain." The eyes see their bigness but when we say, "the world is big", the eye cannot perceive it. For, the world is bigger than what the eye can see. This bigness can be perceived only through the mind and scientific data. 

The mind accepts it with difficulty that the sun is 1.300.000 times bigger than the world; some people cannot perceive it. This greatness may be the limit of the mind's perception. For, it is very difficult to make the world 1.300.000 bigger and then to see this bigness through the mind.  

After this bigness, we encounter examples of bigness that our mind cannot perceive; maybe our imagination will perceive them. For instance, it is stated that there are 300 billion stars like the sun in the galaxy of the Milky Way. The radius of the galaxy of the Milky Way is 100.000 light years. The mind gives up in such situations and transfers the duty to imagination. Imagination tries to understand those greatnesses but it can manage it to a certain extent.  

Then, we encounter the greatnesses that even imagination cannot cope with. For instance, the star of Canis Majoris. This star is 7 decillion times bigger than the world. If we express it in figures, this star can contain
7.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000 worlds.

That is, 33 zeros next to the figure 7. Can you imagine the size of the star that can contain 7.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000 worlds?

Let alone the mind and imagination, even the tongue cannot pronounce it. The manifestation of Allah Almighty's name al-Azim is seen in those greatnesses. Our duty related to this name is to think that the huge beings are a manifestation of the name al-Azim and to glorify our Lord by saying “O Azim! O Azim!” when we look at them.

After seeing the greatnesses of these beings, let us deal with the greatness of Allah…

We showed above that man is unable to understand and realize the greatness of the creatures and beings created by Allah. How can man, who is unable to understand and realize the greatness of these creatures understand the greatness of the being that created them out of nothing, that is, Allah? He can never understand and realize it. Man cannot understand the greatness of stars and greatness; how can he understand the greatness of the personality of Allah?

Then, what man needs to know and say related to Allah's personality in terms of the name al-Azim is as follows: Allah is Azim. His personality is greater than everything and all great things. He is the one that creates big things. What we know as big and great is small compared to Him. However, I am unable to understand the nature of this greatness, to realize its secrets and to perceive it through my mind. I know that Allah is Azim and greater than everything; and I believe in it. I accept that I am unable to perceive His greatness but I refer the reality of the issue to Allah. Yes, Allah is Azim but my mind, perception and imagination cannot understand it. How can I understand the greatness of the Being, who creates the sun and galaxies out of nothing with only one command, while I cannot understand the greatness of the sun?  I only believe in it and approve it.

Thus, we end the aspect of the name al-Azim regarding the personality of Allah Almighty; now, we will think and meditate the aspect of this name related to Allah's names and attributes. 

2- Allah is great with His names and attributes.

There is no limit for the names and attributes of Allah Almighty. He creates a flower through His power easily; He creates the spring and Paradise as easily. Particles and stars are equal in the presence of the power of Allah. We cannot say this is easier than that related to His power. Creating a fly is as easy for Allah as resurrecting all human beings after death. In this sense, there is no limit for the attribute of the power of Allah. Allah is al-Azim in terms of the limitlessness of His attribute of power. 

Allah’s knowledge is also limitless like His power. For instance, Allah knows me with His power; similarly, he knows all human beings and creatures. There is nothing that Allah does not know. We cannot say knowing this is easier than knowing that related to His knowledge. We cannot talk about yesterday, today and tomorrow related to Allah. The past and the future, the pre-eternity and post-eternity are always under His control. In this sense, there is no limit for the attribute of the knowledge of Allah. Allah is al-Azim in terms of the limitlessness of His attribute of knowledge.

Allah’s sight is limitless like His knowledge. For instance, Allah sees me through His name al-Basir (the All-Seeing); similarly, He sees all human beings and creatures. Everything is in the scope of His sight. No creature can be concealed from His sight. He sees and knows the footprints of an ant under the ground in a dark night. In this sense, there is no limit for the attribute of the sight of Allah. Allah is al-Azim in terms of the limitlessness of His attribute of sight.

Allah’s hearing is limitless like His sight. For instance, Allah hears me through His name as-Sami' (the Hearer of All); similarly, He hears all human beings, the sounds of our hearts and all creatures. One sound does not prevent another sound. One task does not prevent another task. In this sense, there is no limit for the attribute of the hearing of Allah. Allah is al-Azim in terms of the limitlessness of His attribute of hearing.

You can compare all of His names and attributes to the examples above. All of the names and attributes of Allah are limitless. The name that expresses this limitlessness and greatness is al-Azim.

Oh owner of greatness and sultanate! Oh the being whose magnificence everything surrenders to! O the being whose magnificence is seen in everything! O the being who is greater than all great beings! O He who is Azim in His magnificence, majesty, power and all names and attributes! Forgive us, Your sinning slaves, for the sake of Your magnificence! Show mercy to Your slaves, who have nobody except You and whose only hope is Your forgiveness and mercy! Make this study about Your names and attributes atonement for our sins! Make us Your slaves and ummah for your beloved Prophet! Amin!

Al-Khabir means the one that knows the inside and secret aspects of everything. Allah Almighty is al-Khabir in this sense.

He knows so much that no state of us can be concealed from Him. He knows the inside of everything; He knows about the most secret things about us. He knows not only our states but also what comes to our hearts and minds, what our souls want and intend to do and the most secret states of us…

He is such khabir that even an ant on a rock at night cannot be concealed from Him. A microbe that is impossible to see through the eyes cannot be concealed from Him. A leaf does not fall without His knowledge. An atom cannot move by hiding from Him.

This name resembles the name al-Alim (the Knower of All). However, there is a difference between them. When His knowledge is attributed to secret and esoteric things, that knowledge is called khibr and the owner of that knowledge is called khabir. Thus, Allah Almighty is alim since He knows everything; He is khabir since He knows the inside of everything.

In Jawshan al-Kabir (the Great Shield), this name is referred to as follows in the following couplets in a very nice way:

O He who knows the secrets and what is concealed! O He who hears all prayers! O He who sees everything but who is not seen! O he whose knowledge reaches everything! O he whose sight penetrates into everything! O He, who knows all of the secret things in the conscience of those who keep silent! O He who sees the state of those who repent their rebellion and sins!  O He who changes the hearts as He wishes and who is closer to a person than his heart!...

Hz. Luqman teaches his son the manifestations of this name as follows:

"'O my son!' (said Luqman) 'If there be (but) the weight of a mustard-seed and it were (hidden) in a rock, or (anywhere) in the heavens or on earth, Allah will bring it forth: for Allah understands the finer mysteries, (and) is well-acquainted (with them)'…" (Luqman 16)

O my soul! O man! Do you not see that your Lord, who is true to His name al-Khabir, knows you, sees everything about you and is aware of all of your states? He knows what is in your heart, the desires of your heart and the intentions of your deeds. Come to your senses and know your Lord. Know your Lord and show Him that you know Him by worshipping Him. 

O my soul! Know that your Lord, who knows the most secret things about you, will tell you all about He knows you one day. He will list all of your mistakes. He will make your eyes, hands and other organs witness against you. What will you be like then? Come to your senses and repent before that day comes. Know in your heart that your Lord knows all about you with His name al-Khabir. Feel ashamed in the presence of your Lord and avoid committing sins in His presence. When you intend to commit a sin, think of the name al-Khabir and say to yourself, "How will I not feel ashamed in the presence of my Lord while I feel ashamed in the presence of even a child? He sees and knows me. He is definitely aware of my state. How can I disobey Him while He knows and sees me? How can I rebel against Him and commit a sin in His presence?' 

O Lord! Remind us all the time that we are under the observation of the name al-Khabir and protect us from rebelling against you, committing sins and from shamelessness. Amin!

Al-Khafid: means the one that brings down, that abases and humiliates. With this name, Allah Almighty abases oppressors, rebels and Pharaohs. He humiliates them both in the world and in the hereafter. This name abases oppressors but it sometimes abases some believers and innocent people to test their patience. That is, this name sometimes becomes manifest in a person due to his oppression and sometimes to test him in terms of patience.  

Now, let us see the manifestations of this name in this realm:

Oppressive presidents and administrators are deposed with the manifestation of this name. Pharaohs, Nimrods, Abu Jahls and their representatives in all centuries are abased with the manifestation of the name Khafid; they lose their sultanate and become humiliated and disgraced. That is, every oppressive sultan who loses his sultanate is overwhelmed with the manifestation of this name.   

This name became manifest in both people and states; Empires like the Roman, Byzantine and Persian, and many states were demolished and imbedded in history.

The name al-Khafid also becomes manifest in the following cases:  

The name Khafid is manifest when an administrator loses his seat and position, when a successful student fails, when a rich person loses his wealth and becomes poor, when a healthy person loses his health, when a strong person loses his strength and when all of the other abasements and humiliations take place.

It must also be known that abasement does not always take place due to committed sins and faults. Allah Almighty sometimes removes the bounties He has given to a person and abases him in order to test his patience; thus He makes His name Al-Khafid manifest in him.  

This name becomes manifest materially as it is described above; it can also becomes manifest spiritually as it is described below: The name Khafid becomes spiritually manifest when a Muslim exits Islam and becomes an unbeliever, when a person who performs daily prayers abandons performing prayers, when a person who knows the Quran by heart forgets it, when a person falls down from his spiritual level, from the best of mold to the lowest of the low… May our Lord us from these kinds of spiritual manifestations of this name!    

This name is manifest in the world; it will also be manifest in the hereafter; unbelievers will be put into Hell; they will be disgraced and humiliated there. This may be the greatest manifestation of the name al-Khafid!

Our Prophet (pbuh) attracts attention to the name al-Khafid as follows:

Hz. Anas (ra) narrated: Adba, the camel of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), was very fast in races and it was almost impossible to surpass it in speed. There came a bedouin riding a camel of his, and that camel outstripped it in the race. That result was hard on the Muslims. The Prophet (pbuh) said, "It is the law of Allah that nothing is raised high in this world except what He lowers or puts down.”

This hadith states that every rise will be followed by a fall and it teaches us the name al-Khafid.

What a person needs to do when this name becomes manifest in him is as follows:

1-If he has been abased due to the manifestation of the name al-Khafid, he needs to check himself and abandon the sins and faults that have caused it; then, he needs to take refuge in Allah Almighty and worship him properly.  

2-He needs to know that this world is a world of testing. Allah will purify him of his sins and elevate his spiritual rank if he shows patience. Therefore, a person needs to show patience with consent when this name becomes manifest.   

3-It is necessary to take lessons from the nations that were destroyed, sultans that were deposed, people who lost their ranks, positions and fame due to the manifestation of the name al-Khafid; it is necessary to avoid and keep away from the deeds that caused their destruction.

Khaliq means the one that creates out of nothing. The name Khaliq is one of the names that becomes manifest the most in the realm.

For, the name ‘Khaliq’ becomes manifest in every being that comes out from the darkness of non-existence to the realm of existence. 

When we look at this realm, we see that things and especially living things come into being suddenly and at a very short time. For instance, 4 humans are created in a second and about 350.000 humans are created in a day. Each of them is equipped with tens of organs like eyes, ear and tongue.

In the same second that a human is created, unlimited number of individuals from microbes, bacteria, ants, flies and insects to birds, fish and other living things are created. 

In fact, things that are created suddenly and out of simple material need to be simple and artless; however, we see that every creature is created with beautiful art, adornments and in a perfect way. This creation shows us the perfection of Allah’s name Khaliq.

Can a letter come into being without a writer?

Or let us ask this question: Suppose that we put a pen and paper in a room; Is it possible for a meaningful writing or even a letter to appear on the paper if 100 years pass? Definitely not. For, a writer who has a will and who will prefer the existence of the letter to its non-existence is necessary if we want a letter to be written. However, the pen and paper do not have that will. Besides, the writer to write that letter needs to be alive because a lifeless being cannot write a letter. However, the pen and paper have no life; they are lifeless. In addition, the writer needs to have other attributes like power and knowledge but the pen and paper lack those attributes. 

Then, if we want to deny the writer of a meaningful writing or even a letter on a piece of paper that we see, we need to accept one of the following two options: 

1- To deny the existence of the writing and to assume that it does not exist. When you deny the writing, you can deny the writer and say, "There is no writing; so, a writer is not necessary."  

2- You canattribute the ability to write to the pen and claim that the pen is the writer and that the pen wrote it on its own.

There is not another option in order to be able to deny the writer. A person who cannot prefer one of these two options has to accept the existence of the writer; to prefer one of these two options can only be possible when a person loses his mind.

Similarly, the universe is a perfect book. The world is a small part of it; the spring is one page of it; a flower, for instance, a daisy is a line of that page, every daisy is a word; and the seed of that flower is a point in that book. 

If you want to deny Allah, who is the writer and Khaliq (Creator) of this book, you have to accept one of the following options:

1- To deny the existence of the universe and to ignore the realm; for, when you deny the universe, you can deny the creator and say, “there is no work; so, a master is not necessary." However, when you do it, everything, from the leaves of the trees to the candles of the skies, will refute what you say by saying, "We are here; we exist."

2- As you attributedthe ability to write to the pen, you can claim that atom, which forms the matter, have attributes like will, life, knowledge and power and accept that it created things. It is impossible just like the first option.

If we take a pot full of ink and pour it on an empty sheet of paper, a meaningful page will never occur. Then, the meaning on the page makes it impossible for the ink to be a writer and doer because the meaning on the page shows that its writer and doer has will, power and knowledge. The ink does not have those attributes. Then, it cannot be the writer of that page. Even if the whole world comes together, they cannot convince us that the meaningful words and sentences that exist on that page occurred by chance.

Is the universe not a meaningful book that was written by the ink of atom? How can we believe that this meaningful book came into being out of will-less, powerless, lifeless and ignorant causes like ink? Can we call the people who believe in it sane people? 

Now, let us listen to the manifestation of the name Khaliq in man from the Quran, the word of its creator. 

“Man We did create from a quintessence (of clay); Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest firmly fixed; Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; then We made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then We developed out of it another creature: so blessed be Allah, the Best to create.” (al-Mu’minun 12-14)

Now, let us go on a short trip in the pages of this book of the universe, see some of the letters of this book and remember Allah, who is the writer of this book, with his name Khaliq.  

The manifestation of which name of Allah makes you feel free from fears and worries of earthquake, fire, flood and destruction of your goods?

Al-Mu’min

This name has 4 meanings.

1st meaning: He makes His creatures be free from fears and makes them live in security.

2nd meaning: He gives His slaves the light of belief and makes them believers.

3rd meaning: Allah is trustworthy; He makes promises; He never breaks them.

4th meaning: His slaves are trustworthy; they are honest and reliable. 

1- He makes His creatures be free from fears and makes them live in security

Think of the worst event you have experienced. It may be a fear of earthquake, accident or death. Go to that moment imaginarily and try to feel that fear again in your heart. Now, think of this: What would you do if you had to live with that fear throughout your life? How difficult and unbearable would life be for you? 

Then, have we ever thanked for this feeling of security placed in our hearts?

Have we ever thought the manifestation of which name of Allah this state originates from? In accordance with the principle, "everything is known by its opposite", Allah deprives some people of this bounty so that people will notice this bounty. He removes the feeling of trust and security from them through some illnesses like panic attack and depression; that is, He does not become manifest in them with His name Mu'min so that we will notice this bounty and thank Allah by prostrating. 

When Allah becomes manifest in His slave with His name Mu'min, He places a feeling of security in his heart against fears and worries. If the manifestation of this name were to be removed from us for a moment, the world would be like Hell for us. Then, the feeling of security is a great bounty and a manifestation of Allah's name al-Mu'min. This name becomes manifest in human beings and they live in security thanks to this name; similarly, it becomes manifest in animals and they live securely with the manifestation of this name, too. We thank our Lord, who becomes manifest in us with His name Mu'min, who frees our hearts from fears and worries and who does not deprive us from this bounty.

2- He gives His slaves the light of belief and makes them believers

Allah is mumin. When He becomes manifest in his slave with this name, he ignites the light of belief in his heart. Every slave that believes in Allah is a mirror of this name. With the manifestation of this name, man is saved from worshipping fire, idols, the sun and other ephemeral beings; he knows his owner, possessor and sultan. Belief makes man into man, indeed, it makes man into a king. Belief has thousands of levels. The share of a water drop and a sea from the sun light is not the same; similarly, the manifestation of the name mumin in Hz. Abubakr and in us is not the same. What we need to do is to turn our imitative belief to investigative belief by meditating on the truths of belief a lot and to increase our share from the manifestation of this name.  

3- Allah is trustworthy; He makes promises; He never breaks them

Allah is mumin. That is, he is trustworthy; He keeps His promise. He never breaks His promise because breaking His promise does not fit His dignity. In this sense, Allah's promise can never be doubted. Since Allah is mumin, He will keep His promise. He promised Hell to sinners, and Paradise and His consent to believers. Then, what we need to do is to worship Him properly by depending on His promise.   

4- His slaves are trustworthy; they are honest and reliable

That human beings are reliable and that they keep their promises is a manifestation of this name. This name is manifest in the greatest level in our Prophet (pbuh) in this sense; he was given the name Muhammad al-Amin by the unanimity of his friends and enemies. What we need to do is to be equipped with the qualities of this name of Allah Almighty and to become believers who are honest and trustworthy; we also need to act in accordance with the following hadith:

“Adhere to honesty; never leave it. For, honesty leads to goodness. Goodness leads to Paradise. As a person tells the truth and searches what is true, he is registered as a truthful person in the eye of Allah. Avoid telling lies because lies lead to evil. Evil leads to hell. As a person tells lies, he is registered as a liar in the eye of Allah.”

Al-Ghafur means the one who forgives a lot, covers up sins a lot and pardons mistakes. Allah Almighty is Ghafur. He forgives sins, covers up mistakes and pardons His slave. What distinguishes this name from the name al-Afuww (the Pardoner) is as follows: The name al-Afuww also forgives sins but the mistakes and sins are shown; the slave becomes embarrassed. The name al-Ghafur forgives sins but does not show sins and does not embarrass the slave. We can understand the difference better through the following example:    

Suppose that a shopkeeper gives the key to his safe to an employee. The employee gives in to temptation and steals some money from the safe he is entrusted. The shopkeeper catches him red-handed. The shopkeeper can do three different things to the employee.

The first one is as follows: He scolds the employee, takes him to the police and sends him to jail. This is the act of punishing. The shopkeeper punishes his employee.  

The second one can be as follows: The shopkeeper starts to talk to his employees. He starts to list his favors to him: “Did I not do you many favors? Did I not give you more money than your wages? Did I not look after you when you were in need? How did you do it despite all of the things that I did for you? Do you not have a heart? Do you not feel ashamed?” He utters many similar sentences like these ones and humiliates him. He taunts him and reminds him his favors. After that, he says, “I will not take you to the police. I will not punish you. This disgrace is enough for you. I forgive you.” This is the act of forgiving. With this act, the shopkeeper shows the reflection of Allah's name al-Afuww.  

The third act of the shopkeeper can be as follows: He sees and knows about the theft of his employee but he does not tell him about it. He does not question him; he acts as if he does not know about it. He does not humiliate him. This act is not called pardoning (afw) but mercy. With this act, the shopkeeper shows the reflection of Allah's name al-Ghafur.  

Allah Almighty treats His slaves in three different ways as it is described in the examples above. Sometimes, He punishes His slaves due to their sins and disobedience. This is the act of punishment by Allah. Sometimes, He does not punish His slaves both in this world and the hereafter due to his sins. However, He reminds His slaves of his sins on the Day of Judgment. He makes his eyes, ears and other organs speak and humiliates him. He humiliates him so much that the slave even wants to go to Hell to get rid of this humiliation as it is stated in the hadith.

The following is reported from Jabir Ibn Abdullah: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “On the Day of Judgment, man is humiliated and embarrassed so much in the presence of Allah that he wants to be sent to Hell in order to get rid of the humiliation and embarrassment.” (Suyuti, Durrul Mansur: 2/411)

Yes, Allah Almighty will embarrass and humiliate some of His slaves so much; then, He will send some of them to Hell and punish them; He will pardon some of them and send them to Paradise. This is called pardoning. That is, He does not punish him by sending him to Hell but humiliates and embarrasses him by reminding him of his sins. The third treatment of Allah Almighty is as follows: He does not remind His slave of his sins. He even makes His slave forget his sins so that he will not be embarrassed in His presence and he will not be sad. This is the manifestation of the name al-Ghafur. The slave is made forget his sins and the sins are overlooked. 

Therefore, when we read the last verses of the chapter of al-Baqara after the night prayer, we pray  وَاعْفُعَنَّاوَاغْفِرْلَنَا (Vaghfu anna, Vaghfir lana) “Blot out our sins and grant us forgiveness” and ask for forgiveness and mercy from Allah. For, only forgiveness is not enough; we also need mercy so that we will not be humiliated and embarrassed. This mercy, which we want, is the manifestation of the name al-Ghafur and bears a meaning beyond pardoning.

What we need to learn from this divine name is as follows: We should act as if we are blind when we see the mistakes of people. We should not humiliate and embarrass people due to their sins. We should pity them and try to improve them. A person who does so becomes a mirror of Allah's name al-Ghafur, which is a great virtue.   

Read the nice words of Hz. Isa (Jesus) regarding the issue: “Overlook the mistakes of people as if you are their Lord. You are a slave; see your own mistakes.”

May Allah Almighty make us a mirror of His name al-Ghafur! May He cover up our sins and may He not embarrass us! May he become manifest with His name al-Ghafur for us! Amin!

Rahman means the One who gives His creatures endless benefactions and sustenance, meeting their needs and wishing goodness and mercy for His creatures. We see with our eyes that there is someone who has made the earth a dinner table, filled that table with the most delicious foods and invited all creatures there. Now let us look at these dining tables:

Here is the dining table of animals! Look, the sustenance of every animal is being given suitably when they need.

1- Here is the fish! How beautifully He feeds them and their sustenance is put in their mouths.Who feeds them so easily?

2- Here are the depths of seas! Darkness, desertedness, hard water and sand and helpless creatures! But none of those creatures’ sustenance is forgotten; none of them is left hungry and their needs are met perfectly. Who is the One who feeds them with compassion and making the depths of the sea a perfect dining table for them? And who is the One who equips them with necessary tools that enable them to benefit from that table?

3- Here are the insects! Small, weak and helpless! However, they are fed so easily. They are in need. They have no power. Some have no hands, eyes or feet. However how perfectly are their needs and sustenance given to them from where they cannot reach. Who is the One who shows mercy to these helpless creatures and meets their needs?

4-Here are the weak babies who need compassion! Their sustenance is given to them unexpectedly from where they cannot reach in a proper time and according to their needs. They are helped. However, they have no power to meet even one percent of their needs.  So, there is someone behind the veil who knows their needs and feeds them with mercy and compassion. Who is He? Let the Qur’an give the answer:

“There is no moving creature on earth but its sustenance depends on Allah: He knoweth the time and place of its definite abode and its temporary deposit: all is in a clear Record.” (Hud 6)

And other needy ones who benefit from the table of the All Merciful One! Now let us look at the species of plants who are the guests of the All Merciful One! They are weaker and poorer compared to animals! However, despite their weakness, Allah, who is all-merciful, feeds them more easily. Their sustenance is sent to them. Sometimes the armies of clouds are sent as a help to those plants that scream because of heat and thirst. The sun is a lamp and stove over them and the soil under them is a reservoir which is full of minerals. They breathe the oxygen with their leaves that have the function of lungs.  

Who is the One who hears the scream of these plants and sends help to them with the hand of lifeless creatures?

And now, let us see the most glorious guest of this Divine dinner table! Man, who is cause of the setting of this table, vicegerent of the earth and special addressee of Allah, who is All Merciful! Let us see what Allah prepared for the man, for whose honor the tables are set and how the manifestation of the name of Rahman is shown on that tables!    

While Allah, who is the most merciful One, wants Himself to be loved with many of His embroidered fruits of His mercy and show His love and compassion with many different benefactions, if man does not let himself be loved by Allah through worshipping, will he be worthy of being called human when he does not respect Him by giving his thanks and praising in return for all?

As a matter of fact, our Lord states the reason of giving of all these benefactions in His book as follows:

“O ye who believe! Eat of the good things that We have provided for you and be grateful to Allah if it is Him ye worship.” (al-Baqara, 172)

As-Sami means the one that hears. Allah Almighty is Sami. He hears all sounds. The lowest sounds and the most secret whispers cannot be excluded from His hearing. Nothing can prevent Him from hearing. 

He is the one that hears the prayer of a seed uttered by the tongue of ability to become a flower and answers its prayer by making it a flower. 

He is the one that hears the prayer of a butterfly to have wings and answers its prayer by giving it wings.

He is the one that hears the prayer of a leaf that is about to dry uttered by the tongue of need and answers its prayer with an army of clouds.

He is the one that hears everything from the most secret sound felt by a heart to the footsteps of an ant in the dark.

Allah Almighty is equipped with all of the perfect attributes; He is away and free from all faults and deficiencies. Not to hear is a fault and deficiency. Allah Almighty is away and free from this fault; that is, He is Sami. The attribute of hearing is a divine attribute of Allah Almighty; it is not possible for us to understand the real nature of this attribute. We can understand the magnificence of this attribute a bit through the following example:

The voice of how many people can you hear simultaneously and understand? Two people? Three people? Or four people? The voice of how many people can man hear simultaneously and understand? Yes, it is not possible for man to listen to two people simultaneously and understand. 

Now, let us have a look at the magnificence of Allah's attribute of hearing. This universe has a composition of music full of various sounds and different songs from the movements of galaxies to the buzzes of flies, from the songs of winds to the exclamations of clouds, from the waves of seas to the songs of rain.

Allah Almighty hears all of those sounds simultaneously. He hears the sounds of all beings, from the fish at the bottom of the sea to the stars in the sky and from humans to angels. No sound can prevent another sound. Let alone sounds, He hears even what the hearts feel. It is definitely impossible for our minds to understand such hearing.

The Quran teaches us this name through the following verses:

When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them); I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me. (al-Baqara 186)

(They (Moses and Aaron) said: "Our Lord! we fear lest He hasten with insolence against us, or lest he transgress all bounds." He said: "Fear not: for I am with you: I hear and see (everything).” (Taha 45-46)

And if (at any time) an incitement to discord is made to thee by the Evil One, seek refuge in Allah. He is the One Who hears and knows all things. (Fussilat 36)

Our Prophet (pbuh) praises Allah as follows with His name Sami:

O He who hears sounds!

O He who answers prayers!

O He who hears complaints!

O He whose hearing is superior to all hearers!

O He who hears the most secret sounds and desires!

O He who hears the screams and laments of the hopeless people!

O He who is not distracted by one thing from hearing another!

What we need to learn from this name is as follows: Since Allah is Sami and hears everything, we need to pray to Him by begging and make Him hear our supplication. Since He is Sami and hears everything, and even what we feel in our hearts, we need to control our tongues and hearts; we must not let our Lord hear what He does not want to hear from us.

Malik means sultan and king. Allah Almighty is Malik. He is the sultan and king of this universe. He has the keys to everything and He holds the reigns of everything. Everything is settled by His command.

When we see a magnificent palace, it is impossible for that palace to be without a sultan and owner. Even if we do not see the sultan, the palace indicates the existence and magnificence of its sultan with its existence and magnificence.

Is it possible for the palace of the universe to be without a sultan, this world to be without a king and this property to be without an owner while even such a palace cannot be without a sultan?

The universe is such a palace that stars are the lamps of that palace. The world is only a tiny room in that palace. The sun is the lamp and stove of that room. The moon is the night lamp. Now, let us go for a short trip in the palace of the universe and see the magnificence of the sultanate of Allah, who is the pre-eternal and post-eternal Sultan and the manifestation of his name al-Malik partly.

The sun, the lamp of our world, is 1.300.000 times greater than our world.

In our own galaxy, the Milky Way, there are 200 billion to 300 billion stars. Can you imagine the area in which there are 300 billion stars, each of which is as big as the sun? Who can make all those stars travel without colliding with each other?

Scientists discovered 800.000.000 galaxies. According to their own confession, they have been able to discover maybe only one in a million of the universe. What is the size of the universe?   

The central heat of the sun is 20.000.000 degrees centigrade. (It is a known fact that water boils at 100 degrees centigrade.) If we were able to bring a substance as tiny as the head of a pin to the world from the sun, it could burn something 160 km far away. If the whole world were woods and coal, it would not meet the sun’s need of fuel even for one day. Who keeps the stove of the sun burning without a pause?

The distance of the sun to the world is 150.000.000 km. The diameter of our Milky Way is 100.000 light years. (The speed of light per second is 300.000 km.) If we were to get on a rocket going at a speed of 10.000 km a second, we would need 15.800.000.000 years to go from one end of our galaxy to the other end.

Scientists discovered 1.400 comets. The shortest one has a tail that is 300.000.000. km long.

We have learnt that the sun is 1.300.000 times greater than the world. Now please note! We are going to talk about a star which our imagination cannot grasp: The star of Canis Majoris! This star, whose radius is 2100 times as big as the radius of the sun, is known as the biggest star. This star is so big that more than seven quadrillion worlds are necessary to fill inside it.      

And, if we see a great army moving in an orderly fashion, but if we do not see its commander, can we ever think that this army is without a commander and an owner?

Definitely not!

For, some states like soldiers’ proper manners, having weapons, having their clothes changed, having their needs met prove that this army belongs to a commander and a governor and that it acts in accordance with his orders.

If even such a small army cannot be disciplined, fed and their needs cannot be met without a commander and cannot be referred to chance, is it ever possible that thousands of different armies of animals and plants be without a commander and owner?

It is such an army that its nations, weapons, clothes, instructions, shapes and sustenance are different.

Is it possible for such an army to be without a king and commander? This army has such a king that does not forget any of them and does not confuse anything.

This army is bigger than the army in our example and to the extent of its size and perfection, it introduces us its commander, Allah, with His names Malik and Sultan.

Our duty is to look at the palace of the universe and to mention Allah, the sultan of this palace, uttering the following verse:  “O Allah! Lord of Power (and Rule) Thou givest Power to whom Thou pleasest and Thou strippest off power from whom Thou pleasest thou enduest with honour whom thou pleasest, and Thou bringest low, whom Thou pleasest; in Thy hand is all Good. Verily, over all things Thou hast power.” Our duty is also to look at the armies on the earth and to remember Allah, the commander of these armies, with the following verse: “For, to Allah belong the Forces of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Full of Wisdom”, to glorify and meditate Him with the name al-Malik and to be a slave and worshipper of that Malik by obeying Him as everything obeys Him.

Ar-Rafi: means the one that exalts, that raises up. Allah Almighty is Rafi’. He abases and humiliates those whom He wishes and He raises and exalts those whom He wishes. He can make a king a slave; He can also make a slave a king.  

Allah Almighty elevates the ranks of the believers in Paradise with this name. He makes them approach Him both in the world and in the hereafter. He abases oppressors with His name Khafid and elevates believers and righteous people; and He puts them to high ranks with His name Rafi.

States enlarge with the manifestation of this name and become superior to other states. Once, the Ottoman Empire enlarged by becoming a mirror of this name and became superior to the other states. Then, it was made fall down with the manifestation of the name Khafid.

This name became manifest in the Era of Bliss and the following Era of Rightly Guided Caliphs; the Muslims of that century became superior to all of the religions and states and dominated them. This was also a manifestation of the name Rafi.

The name Rafi that became manifest in the states also became manifest in the administrators; some of those administrators governed those states for years as a manifestation of this name. That is, sultans and presidents hold those positions with the manifestation of this name. Naturally, after a while, this name was replaced by al-Khafid and the presidents were toppled. 

Now, let us see some other manifestations of this name in this realm:

The name Rafi becomes manifest when the sky is elevated, birds fly, trees grow, a plane takes off, ships float on water, an administrator obtains a rank and position, a slow student becomes successful, a poor person becomes rich, an ill person gets well, a weak person becomes strong and when all of the other elevations take place. 

This name becomes manifest materially as it is explained above; it also becomes manifest spiritually as follows: The name Rafi becomes manifest when angels ascend to the sky, an unbeliever becomes a Muslim, a person who has not performed prayers starts to perform prayers, spirits leave bodies and ascend to the sky, a person is elevated spiritually in terms of his ranks due to the righteous deeds he does, a person is elevated to the level of the best of molds from the level of the lowest of the low, and in many similar cases. Miraj (the Ascension), which is one of the greatest miracles of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), took place with the manifestation of this name. May our Lord make us attain the spiritual manifestations of this name!

As this name becomes manifest in this world, it will also become manifest in the hereafter; those who die as Muslims will go to Paradise and be elevated there. This is probably the greatest manifestation of the name Ar-Rafi!

What a person needs to do when this name becomes manifest is as follows:

1-If he has been elevated with the manifestation of the name ar-Rafi, he needs to know that this elevation is not due to his own talent but due to Allah’s mercy; so, he needs to praise and thank Allah and avoid the deeds that will cause him to fall down from that level. In short, he must not act like Qarun (Croesus), who said, “This has been given to me because of a certain knowledge which I have” and who attributed the bounties to himself.

2-He needs to know that this world is a world of testing. Testing is carried out sometimes through patience and sometimes through thanking. His elevation is testing through thanking. He needs to know it and thank all the time instead of being conceited and boasting. 

3-The nations that are elevated, the kings that are made powerful, the people who are given ranks, positions and fame through the manifestation of the name ar-Rafi should not be envied. One needs to think that those bounties were given to them for testing; he should not demand them lest he should lose the test. What he needs to envy is deeds related to the hereafter and deeds that will make him attain the consent of Allah Almighty.

With which name do you remember Allah when you look at a high mountain, pass nearby the ruins of a destructed nation, and see the obedience of the stars, moons, suns and other creatures?   

The name al-Aziz has 3 meanings.

1. Allah has dignity and is mighty.

2. Allah is never defeated; He is victorious.

3. He makes His creatures obey His commands.

Now, let us try to see the three manifestations of the name al-Aziz in the mirrors of the realm:

1-Allah has dignity and is mighty

Allah is aziz. That is, He has dignity, magnificence and might. He is lofty. The big creatures in this world are mirrors of Allah's name al-Aziz. If you listen to the high mountains, vast seas, storms in seas, immense deserts, moons, suns and stars, you will hear that they glorify Allah by saying, "O Aziz! O Aziz! O Aziz!"

The name Aziz is seen in the world, in man and even in states of the world like that. The human beings in whom Allah's name al-Aziz is manifest are His messengers and believers as it is stated in the following verse:

”But honor belongs to Allah and His Messenger, and to the Believers.” (al-Munafiqun,8)

That is, only Allah, His Messenger and believers are aziz. This name also became manifest in the Ottoman State, whose name is written in gold letters in history, and all of the states that accepted the Quran as their guide.  

What we need to do now is to become aziz both in the world and in the hereafter by reading Allah’s name al-Aziz on the pages of the realm, listening to the glorification of the creatures who utter Allah's name as "O Aziz! O Aziz!" and making the Quran our guide.

2- Allah is never defeated; He is victorious

Allah is aziz. He is victorious over His creatures. The world is full of the ruins of the tribes that rebelled against him and were defeated. Allah mentions those rebellious and stubborn nations as follows in His book:

"And when Our Messengers came to Lut, he was grieved on their account, and felt himself powerless (to protect) them: but they said "Fear thou not nor grieve: we are (here) to save thee and thy following, except thy wife: she is of those who lag behind.

For we are going to bring down on the people of this township a Punishment from heaven, because they have been wickedly rebellious."

And We have left thereof an evident Sign, for any people who (care to) understand.

To the Madyan (people) (We sent) their brother Shu'ayb. Then he said: "O my people! serve Allah, and fear the Last Day: nor commit evil on the earth with intent to do mischief."

But they rejected him: then the mighty Blast seized them, and they lay prostrate in their homes by the morning.

(Remember also) the `Ad and the Thamud (people): clearly will appear to you from (the traces) of their buildings (their fate): the Evil One made their deeds alluring to them, and kept them back from the Path, though they were gifted with Intelligence and Skill.

(Remember also) Qarun, Pharaoh, and Haman: there came to them Moses with Clear Signs, but they behaved with insolence on the earth; yet they could not overreach (Us) .

Each one of them We seized for his crime: of them, against some We sent a violent tornado (with showers of stones); some were caught by a (mighty) Blast; some We caused the earth to swallow up; and some We drowned (in the waters): it was not Allah Who injured (or oppressed) them: they injured (and oppressed) their own souls.” (Ankebut 33-40)

Allah's name al-Aziz is seen majestically in all of the destroyed nations.  

Have we ever remembered and mentioned Allah's name al-Aziz when we passed by the ruins of those nations and saw their destroyed graves?  

Have we ever uttered Allah's name al-Aziz on those ruins?

Have we ever thought that Allah would catch us like them if we rebel against Him?

3- He makes His creatures obey His commands

That Allah's creatures obey Him and never oppose Him is also a manifestation of Allah’s name al-Aziz.

The fact that, with the exception of man and certain wild animals, all things, from the sun, the moon and earth to the smallest of creatures, perform their functions with the utmost exactitude, do not overstep their bounds by an inch, and observe a universal obedience in a spirit of great awe shows that they act by the command of a Possessor of great glory and dignity.  Every creature that obeys Him buy fulfilling its duty is a mirror of Allah’s name al-Aziz.

While all creatures obey Him like that, how dare we oppose with our rebellion the commands of a Monarch so glorious that the stars, moons, and suns obey His commands like soldiers under orders?

Through our defiance, we oppose such an aziz being who has obedient soldiers so awesome that, if to suppose the impossible, devils could withstand them, they would drive them off with cannon-balls the size of mountains.

We revolt in the realm of a such a Sultan who has servants and troops so fearsome, it is not insignificant little impotent creatures like us; if we were each infidel enemies the size of mountains or the earth, they would be able to hurl stars, flaming projectiles, and molten metal the size of mountains or the earth at us, and rout us.

Al- Basir: means the one that sees everything. Yes, Allah is Basir. He sees everything. Nothing can be concealed from Him. Everything is in scope of His vision all the time. It is not possible for objects to be hidden from the sun without any barrier; the sun surrounds them with its light. Similarly, no object can be concealed from the sight of Allah Almighty. Allah Almighty sees all objects like He sees one thing; seeing one of them does not prevent Him from seeing the others.

It is not possible to understand Allah's attribute of Basar fully. A small manifestation of the name Basir is present in man. Thanks to the manifestation of this name in him, man sees the world and the things in it. However, man's attribute of seeing is limited. For instance, he sees the wall but cannot see what is behind the wall. He sees things at a certain distance, but he cannot see beyond. He sees what is in front of him but not what is behind him. When he sees something, he cannot see some other things. However, Allah Almighty sees all objects simultaneously. Seeing one object does not prevent Him from seeing the others. He sees everything, from particles to suns, from daisies to galaxies, from fish at the bottom of the seas to the candles in the sky simultaneously. It is definitely impossible for man to understand such a magnificent attribute of seeing with his insufficient mind. We accept and believe that Allah Almighty has the attribute of seeing. However, we cannot understand the nature and content of this attribute. 

This realm witnesses that Allah Almighty is Basir as follows: Every being witnesses that Allah is Basir with with their orderly and artistic body and addresses those who hear as follows: O man! Look at me and read me! Look how regularly I was created! What a wonderful art I have! Look, there is balance in all of my organs! All branches of science have been busy to discover this system and balance. My Creator definitely needs to see me in order to create me like that. He needs to see me so that He will create me so orderly and artistically. A being that cannot see cannot have this order and art. Every being witnesses that Allah Almighty is Basir with the tongue of disposition of their order and art.  

The creation of sustenance perfectly and its deliverance to those who need it just in time proves that Allah Almighty is Basir. For, to deliver the sustenance to those who need it just in time and to create the sustenance in accordance with the body of that creature can only be possible through seeing. A being that cannot see cannot do this wise deed. That is, the doer of this wise deed can only be a being that sees everything simultaneously.

The general order in this realm, from atoms to the movement of stars, proves that Allah Almighty is Basir. For, such an order can only be controlled by a being that sees the whole universe. A being that cannot see the whole universe simultaneously cannot establish and maintain this order. That is, the order in this realm witnesses with its tongue of disposition that Allah Almighty is Basir.

The orderly and artistic bodies of the creatures, the creation of their sustenance, its deliverance to those who need it just in time, and the order in this realm witness that Allah Almighty is Basir; similarly, the creation of the creatures with decoration, their wise relationships with one another, the ease in their creation, the difference in their shapes and many other aspects witness that Allah Almighty is Basir.

Now, let us listen to the Quran and pay attention to some verses where the name Basir is mentioned:

No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision: He is above all comprehension yet is acquainted with all things. (al-An’am: 103)

Verily Allah knows the unseen of the heavens and the earth: and Allah sees well all that ye do. (al-Hujurat: 18)

What we need to learn from this name is as follows: Since Allah is Basir and sees everything, He definitely sees us and watches all of our acts. No state of us can be concealed from Him. Since He sees us, we need to feel ashamed and have good manners. We must not show Him the deeds that he does not consent to; that is, we must not do those ugly deeds. We must avoid doing the deeds about which we feel ashamed even in the presence of a small child in the presence of Allah when He sees us.

O our Lord! You hear what we say and see our state; nothing can be concealed from you. We are your poor, needy, sinning, rebellious slaves who oppress their souls. Forgive us and pardon the ugly states that you see in us with your grace and generosity.

Ar-Razzaq: It means the one that provides sustenance for all of His creatures and meets their needs. Allah is Razzaq and to provide sustenance is peculiar to Allah. He is the guarantor of the sustenance of all humans and animals. Sustenance is divided into two:

1- External sustenance like provisions and sustenance for the body.

2- Sustenance for spiritual faculties and feelings like spirit, heart and mind.

1- External sustenance like provisions and sustenance for the body;

He is the one that creates all of the material and spiritual sustenance for all of the living beings on the ground, in the air and in the sea, especially for the weak ones and the young animals out of dry and simple soil, non-living dry pieces of wood that are like bones. The soil virtually becomes a cauldron and all kinds of sustenance are cooked in it. The dry branches of all trees become the hands of mercy; those hands treat the best fruits.     

The finest sustenance is the pure nutritious milk coming from between blood and excrement; blessed animals like sheep and goat become a milk fountain of mercy and give us the finest sustenance which is like elixir of life on behalf of ar-Razzaq and show the name Razzaq even to the blind eyes.  

Suppose that we saw a dinner table with a few olives and some pieces of dry bread on it; could y be convinced that those olives and pieces of bread appeared on the table by coincidence? Definitely not. Even if the whole world came together, they could not convince us that this table came into being on its own. 

Even a small table necessitates somebody that prepared it; is it possible for the table of the earth to emerge by chance?  

It is such a table that the immense spring is the rose bunch of this table. There are numerous visitors at this table all the time. They are treated as they deserve. There are all kinds of food on this table. Billions of guests sit at that table all the time; when they become full, they leave the table but the table is never empty. Even a small table cannot be without an owner. Is it possible for the table of the earth to be without an owner? 

Do not think that only humans and animals sit at that table. The species of trees and plants, which lack ability and will, also need sustenance. They trust in Allah and remain fixed but they are fed perfectly. They feed more young ones than animals. Their leaves, flowers and fruits are their young ones.

In spring, to clothe all trees with garments of Paradise resembling fine silk brocade like houris of Paradise, to decorate them with the ornaments of flowers and fruits, to give us various sweet and artistic fruits through their branches, which are their fine hands, to feed us with sweet honey through the hands of a poisonous insect, to extract milk for us among blood and excrement, to clothe us with soft silk garments through a handless insect, to keep a great treasure of mercy in a tiny seed, to make the seas a storehouse of fish and a jeweler's with pearls and coral, and to make everything, from chicken's egg to the rain coming from the sky, and all of the other bounties that we cannot count are all manifestations of Allah's name Razzaq.

That is, the seal of the name Razzaq is present on every morsel of food we eat. All of the living beings that leave their homes hungry in the morning and return home full glorify Allah Almighty with their tongue of disposition and virtually recite the following verse:

“How many are the creatures that carry not their own sustenance? It is Allah Who feeds (both) them and you: for He hears and knows (all things).” (al-Ankabut: 60)

Allah, who is Razzaq and Rahim (the All Compassionate), created the eye, ear, heart, imagination, spirit, mind and other faculties in the form of the keys to His treasure of mercy and equipped man with them to give him more sustenance.

For instance, the eye is a key that opens the precious treasures of the face of the universe like beauty. The tongue is a key that opens the key to the realm of sounds. Similarly, each faculty is a key to a realm and man makes use of that realm through its key. That is, every organ and faculty is a manifestation of the name Razzaq since they are means of attaining bounties.

We make payments to the people who bring us the bounties of Allah; what price does Allah, who is the real owner of those bounties and who creates them out of nothing for us, demand from us for those bounties? 

He wants three things from us: one is remembrance, one is thanks, and one is reflection. Saying, "Bismillah" (In the Name of Allah) at the start is remembrance, and, "Alhamdulillah" (All praise be to Allah) at the end is thanks. And perceiving and thinking of those bounties, which are valuable wonders of art, being miracles of power of the Razzaq and Karim (the Generous) and gifts of His mercy, is reflection.

2- Sustenance for spiritual faculties and feelings like spirit, heart and mind

Why does man like listening to nice things?

Why does he want to see beautiful places?

Why does he want to speak?

Why does he feel some pleasure that he cannot describe while listening to the Quran?

Why does he feel pleasure when he meditates on Allah’s name and attributes?

The answer to all of those questions is because the faculties find their sustenance at that moment? 

The stomach wants its sustenance; similarly, the organs and faculties of man like the heart, spirit, mind, eye, ear and mouth want their sustenance from Allah, who is Razzaq and Rahim, and receive it by thanking Him. Each one is granted the sustenance they deserve from the treasure of mercy separately. 

The sustenance of the ear is nice sounds; the sustenance of the eye is beautiful things; the sustenance of the heart is the Quran; the sustenance of the mind and spirit is mediation on Allah’s names and attributes, and so on…

The most important spiritual sustenance is righteous deeds. For, the righteous deeds of the world will be presented to their doers in the form of eternal sustenance in Paradise. After they are presented them, the people of Paradise will say, “The sustenance we eat now is the results of our righteous deeds in the world. That is, the righteous deeds become embodied and transform into sustenance in Paradise.”

The best righteous deed is salah (prayer). That is, a person who performs prayers is addressed by Allah’s name Razzaq when he prays. Similarly, those who read the Quran mentions Allah's names and attributes, gives sadaqah, circumambulate the Kaaba and perform other kinds of worship are mirrors of the name Razzaq.

Let us end this name with the following prayer:

“O Razzaq and Karim! O Rahman and Rahim! O our Sultan who feeds us with His bounties! Show us the source and origin of these examples and shadows you have shown us! Draw us nigh to your seat of rule; do not let us perish in these deserts! Have mercy on us! Feed us there on the delicious bounty you have caused us to taste here! Do not torment us with desperation and banishment! Amin!”

Ar-Rahim means the one who shows mercy, feels pity for and shows compassion to the creatures that He created. Allah (God) is ar-Rahim; He encompasses all realms with His compassion.

* He created this realm out of nothing with His mercy,

* He clothed each being with a dress peculiar to each being,

* He educated each being in different ways,

* He taught them their duties,

* He equipped them with the tools that are necessary for them to maintain their lives,

* He met their material and spiritual needs with compassion.

Let us see some drops from that sea of mercy together!

If you saw a great fire being extinguished by water coming out of a hose but if you did not see the hand that held the hose, would you think the hose itself extinguished the fire? Of course not! The doer of the deed of extinguishing must have attributes like life, knowledge and power. A being that is lifeless, that does not know what fire is and that cannot hold the hose cannot extinguish the fire. Above all, extinguishing originates from mercy; a being without mercy cannot be the doer of that deed. If everybody came together, they could not make us believe that the hose itself extinguished that fire.

Who sends water down in drops from the clouds that are like a hose in order to extinguish the fire of the earth and to soothe the temperature of life?

Doubtlessly, lifeless and unconscious clouds cannot be the doer of the deed that makes us feel this mercy and compassion. Then, who is holding the hose? Let the Quran answer the question:

“He is the One that sends down rain (even) after (men) have given up all hope and scatters His Mercy (far and wide). And He is the Protector Worthy Of all Praise.” (ash-Shura 28) 

Each drop that comes down in the form of rain is the manifestation of the name ar-Rahim. And other manifestations of mercy!

To make curative and sweet honey in the abdomen of a poisonous insect and to serve that honey with the hands of that insect cannot be the deed of that insect. That is, what makes honey is not the insect but the mercy of Allah.

In the season of spring, to clothe all of the trees in the best clothes like the houris of Paradise and to decorate them with flowers and fruits and to feed us through dry branches that are like hands with fruits of different flavors, colors, aromas and shapes is definitely a manifestation of mercy. Otherwise, those dry trees would not know us and would not show mercy on us.

To clothe us in a very soft dress like silk through a handless insect is the outcome of mercy. Otherwise, that handless insect would not eat the green mulberry leaves and produce white silk for us.

What about animals like cows, camels, sheep and goats? It is the deed of mercy to make them eat green grass and produce white nourishing milk out of blood and flesh and to make those animals like a milk factory.

And to make that huge sun a stove and lamp for the world, to make the moon a candle and a calendar and to decorate the sky with stars is definitely a manifestation of mercy.

Now, let us have a look at a partial manifestation of mercy in man:

What would we do if we did not have eyes? A completely dark realm!

What if we did not have ears? A silent realm!

What if we did not have a tongue and it did not have the sense of tasting? A realm with no speech and flavor!

What if we did not have a nose? A realm with no smell!

Of course, it would be very difficult to live in a realm like that. What would we do if we did not have material gifts like hands, feet and fingers and spiritual gifts like the mind, fear, compassion and love? It means a manifestation of mercy is visible in the grant of every organ.

Allah, who decorated man with such material and spiritual organs and feelings, equipped animals with the organs that are necessary for them in order to be able make use of this realm. He equipped birds with wings and taught them to fly; He equipped fish with fins and taught them to swim; He gave each being a body and organs that are necessary for them to maintain their lives, treating them with His mercy. The mercy of Allah has encompassed everything like that.

Now, we will watch a film. What do you think this frog is doing? Why is it trying to dig the earth? Why is it putting up with this difficulty? Let us find out the reason by watching. Yes, endeavoring in order to protect its tadpoles from death and to make them attain water. It is apparent that this frog shows mercy and compassion to its tadpoles; I wonder who gave the feeling of compassion to the frog to show to its tadpoles. Definitely Allah did. The compassion of the mother frog to its tadpoles is a manifestation Allah’s mercy. Is showing compassion and mercy to baby animals peculiar to this frog only? Now, let us have a look at the mercy of wildest animals to their babies and meditate on Allah's mercy by watching it.

One of the greatest manifestations of the name ar-Rahim in this realm is our Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). Our Lord stated the following for our Prophet (pbuh), who is the harbinger of the endless bliss, the announcer of the endless treasures of mercy and the promulgator of the sultanate of Allah:

"We sent thee not, but as a mercy for all creatures." al-Anbiya: 107

Yes, with the light of the truth he brought, he transformed the night of the humanity into day and the winter into spring; he changed the shape of the realm with the revolutions he introduced and made it have a luminous form. Thanks to that light, the universe ceased to be meaningless and be a toy in the hands of coincidence and was elevated to the level of a divine school.

Almighty Allah wants to make Himself known through His name, ar-Rahim with His works of mercy.

Here are the duties of man! :

* Seeing the name of ar-Rahim in the mirrors of mercy of which we have mentioned and have not been able to mention.

* Contemplating and praising Allah with this name.

* Being grateful and rendering thanks for His benefactions.

* Putting the manifestation of mercy into the heart and showing mercy to all creatures for the sake of Allah.

As man performs these duties, he will be worthy of being called the perfect man and will be honored with the mercy of Allah along with reaching the eternal happiness in the hereafter.

There was nothing except ALLAH, who is the Sultan of eternity and post eternity…

As every possessor of beauty and perfection wants to see and display his own beauty and perfection, ALLAH, who is the owner of the infinite beauty and perfection, also wanted to see and display His beauty and perfection and created this realm.

He embroidered every creature one by one and displayed all kinds of manifestation of His beauty and perfection in this realm and laid the duty and honor of watching on man.

Yes, the purpose and wisdom of the creation of man and the duty of his coming to this realm is this.

To know, recognize and see ALLAH Almighty in the beings that He created.

Every creature is a book and the duty of man is to read the names and attributes of that book.

Every work is a mirror and the duty of man is to see ALLAH Almighty in that mirror and recognize Him.

Now, let us start to recognize ALLAH with His names.

Fattah means the one that makes judgments, that helps by opening doors that grants victory and conquest, and that gives shapes to beings. Now, let us analyze the meanings of this name respectively:    

1- The one that makes judgments: Allah is Fattah. With this name, He separated the truth from the falsehood; He put a distance as wide as the distance between the earth and the sky; He made the truth superior and the falsehood invalid. In this sense, the Quran is the biggest mirror of the name al-Fattah because with the revelation of the Quran, the truth came and falsehood perished. Every decree of the Quran showed the truth and justice and saved people from the molestation of falsehood and oppression. The name Fattah became manifest in our Prophet (pbuh) at the highest level. The Prophet (pbuh) judged among people justly and with every judgment he made, he made the truth victorious and eliminated the falsehood. Therefore, one of the names of our Prophet (pbuh) is “Fatih” (Conqueror). This name also became manifest in the just sultans and kings that judged truly and separated the truth from the falsehood. Hz. Umar, Fatih Sultan Muhammad and Sultan Selim II are among those sultans.

Anyone who wants this name to be manifest in him should separate the truth from the falsehood in his own soul, know the truth as truth and follow it, and know the falsehood as falsehood and avoid it. Then, he should judge truly among people; he should follow justice even if the truth is against him. Anyone who acts like that will succeed in being a mirror of the name Fattah. May Allah Almighty make the name Fattah be manifest in us!

2- The one that opens doors: With the manifestation of the name Fattah, material and spiritual doors are opened, problems are solved and hard tasks are made easy.  An unemployed person finds a job, a debtor pays his debt, a student understands a difficult question and a complicated fact, he discovers new topics, the market rallies, people's eyes are opened to see the truth, doors of repentance are opened for sinners, oppressed people are helped, doors of hope are opened for hopeless people, the world is closed and the hereafter is opened thanks to the manifestation of this name.

What we need to do is to mention Allah Almighty with his name Fattah with the following prayer all the time: “O Allah, who opens doors! Open all of the doors of goodness for us!” and when a material or spiritual door of goodness is opened, to meditate on Allah with his name Fattah and to thank Him.   

3- The one that grants victory: Allah Almighty is Fattah. He eases conquests for His slaves. The conquest of Makkah by the Prophet, Iran by Hz. Umar, Jerusalem by Salahuddin Ayyubi, Istanbul by Fatih Sultan Muhammad and all of the other conquests took place by the manifestation of Allah's name Fattah. May Allah Almighty grant the ummah of Muhammad new Umars, Fatihs and Selims! May He ease new conquests, which aim to lead to the truth and eliminate oppression, for us! Along with material conquests, spiritual conquests take place with the manifestation of the name Fattah. The Prophet became the sultan of the hearts as a result of such a spiritual conquest. That is, to win the love in the heart and to be loved by a person takes place thanks to the manifestation of the name Fattah.

O Lord! Conquer our hearts with Your love and the love of Your beloved Prophet in such a way that there will be no place for others! Amin. 

4- The one that gives shapes to beings: One of the meanings of the name Fattah is to give shapes to beings. With the manifestation of the name Fattah, flowers are produced from a seed, trees are created from stones, flowers, leaves and fruits are obtained from trees, animals are created out of eggs, humans and animals are created out of water drops called sperms.   

The name Fattah becomes manifest in the world at maximum level in this sense. For, the formation of various orderly shapes from simple materials like seeds and sperms, their opening all together everywhere and at the same time, giving an appropriate shape to all creatures is the strongest evidence for oneness and the most wonderful miracle of the power of Allah. 

While the name Fattah becomes manifest before his eyes all the time in this sense, man does not notice it due to seeing it all the time and his heedlessness, virtually becoming the addressee of the following verse:“And how many Signs in the heavens and the earth do they pass by? Yet they turn (their faces) away from them!” (Yusuf 105)

Then, our duty toward the name Fattah is as follows: To look at the creatures which that are extracted from seeds, stones, sperms and eggs and which are given shapes, in order to take lessons, to meditate on the name Fattah that becomes manifest in them and to ask Allah Almighty to make our deeds which are like seeds open like ears of grain of Paradise.

Al-Ghaffar means the one that pardons and shows mercy a lot, the one that forgives the crimes the most and the one that covers and hides ugliness and mistakes. What differentiates this name from 'al-Afuww' is as follows: the name al-Afuww includes forgiving the sin and not punishing. The name al-Ghaffar does not punish the crime; in addition, it does not put the sinners to shame or humiliate them.  

If someone commits a crime against you and if you do not punish him but rub it in, the name al-Afuww will be manifest in you. If you do not punish him and do not rub it in, the name al-Ghaffar will be manifest in you.

Allah is al-Afuww when he does not punish but reminds His slave of his crime. When Allah eliminates the sin and does not embarrass His slave, He is al-Ghaffar. 

Therefore, when we pray we say, “O Allah! Forgive us and pardon us." We ask Him to forgive us and not punish us through His name al-Afuww; we ask Him to forgive us and not to humiliate us through His name al-Ghaffar.  

The Prophet (pbuh) states the following in a hadith: 

Angels record the sin of a person and then ascend to the sky. When they ascend, they see that the sin does not exist in his book of deeds and that good deeds that he did not do are recorded there. They address Allah as follows:

“O our Lord! We did not persecute him. We recorded what he did.” Thereupon, Allah says, "Yes, you are right. My slave committed those sins and did not do the good deeds written in his book of deeds. However, he repented and asked me to forgive him in tears. I forgave him and treated him generously. I am the most generous of the generous.”

Allah states that He is Ghaffar through the following verses in the Quran:  

 “Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for Allah will change the evil of such persons into good and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (al-Furqan 70)

“Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”(az-Zumar 53)

Badiuzzaman Said Nursi states that we should take refuge in the name al-Ghaffar as follows:  

“O man! You have a will known as the power of choice which is extremely weak, but whose hand in evil acts and destruction is extremely long, and in good deeds extremely short.

Give one of the hands of that will of yours to supplication, so that it may reach Paradise, a fruit of the chain of good deeds, and stretch to eternal happiness.

And give its other hand to the seeking of forgiveness so that it may be short for evil deeds and will not reach the Zaqqum-tree of Hell, which is one fruit of that accursed tree.

That is, just as supplication and reliance on Allah greatly strengthen the inclination to good, so too repentance and the seeking of forgiveness cut the inclination to evil and break its transgressions.”

What we need to learn from this name is as follows:

With His name al-Ghaffar, Allah hides our mistakes and does not remind us our mistakes. Similarly, we should have the characteristic of the name al-Ghaffar and cover the mistakes of others and should not rub it in.

Thus, we will be a mirror of the name Ghaffar and attain the glad tidings given by our Prophet (pbuh) in the following hadith:  

“If someone covers the sin of a believer in the world, Allah will cover his sin both in this world and in the hereafter.”

It means the one who knows. Allah is alim. His knowledge is pre-eternal and post-eternal; it embracess the whole universe and everything. Nothing can remain out of His knowledge. It is not possible for objects on the face of the earth to be hidden from the sun without any barrier; similarly, it is not possible for things to be hidden in the face of the light of the All-Knowing One of Glory's knowledge. This is because they are within the compass of His witnessing; He penetrates into all things.

Our Prophet (pbuh) describes Allah with His attribute ilm (knowledge) as follows: O knower of ghayb (the unseen, the unknown)!

O He whose knowledge embraces all things! O Knower of things secret and hidden! O He whose knowledge embraces everything in the past and future! O He who knows the weight of mountains, the dimensions of seas, the number of water drops, the number of the leaves of the trees, everything that the night covers and that the day illuminates! Now, we will mention some of the proofs of Allah’s knowledge:

1- To give all living beings the sustenance that they need appropriately, at a suitable time and from an unexpected place can take place only through knowledge that embraces everything. For, the one that sends sustenance needs to know the ones who need sustenance, when they need it and to meet their needs; after that, he can give their sustenance properly. For instance, the one who feeds young animals with milk and who helps the plants of the earth that need water knows those young animals and their needs, sees those plants, knows that they need rain and then sends them what they need. Then, every creature whose sustenance is given perfectly witnesses Allah Almighty's attribute of knowledge.

2- To give things orderly and wise shapes separately is possible only through all-embracing knowledge.Let us have a look at the camel, one of the numerous examples of the issue:

A camel’s hump is like a reservoir. For days, the camel can manage with this sustenance, and it can live without water for three weeks.

Its feet are wide and the camel can run in the sand without sinking.

The lashes on its eyes are like a net, and even in the severest conditions, its eyes will not be filled with sand.

The camel’s nose was created in such a way that the camel can still breathe easily even in the most frightening storms.

Its top lip is cleft and it allows the camel to eat thorny desert plants.

Its long neck enables the camel to eat leaves three meters above the ground.

Its knees are covered by calluses having been formed from skin that is as thick and hard as a horn. When the camel lies down, the calluses protect the animal from the ground’s extreme heat and from injury.

Thanks to its thick fur, the camel is able to endure summer temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius and winter colds that are  - 50 degrees Celsius.  In addition to these characteristics, there are several others.

While we can think of numerous shapes and possibilities for the body of the camel, to give it the best appearance and shape for the continuation of its life proves the knowledge of a being that knows everything.

For instance, if the camel was to have the legs of a horse in addition to all of its present characteristics, it would not be able to travel even one kilometer in the desert.Then, would any of the camel’s other characteristics have any importance? Or, if the camel‘s eyes did not have nets, it would not be able to take even a single step in a storm. And if its lips were not cleft, it would not be able feed.

As it is seen, the camel was given the wisest properties. To give it the best appearance, perfect body and the most appropriate attributes among numerous possibilities can be possible only through all-embracing knowledge. 

Now, compare elephants, fish, birds, insects and other creatures with camels and meditate on the endless knowledge of Allah a bit. 

3- The creation of the creatures and the ease in their creation indicate unlimited knowledge. For, the ease in a job is proportionate to the level and proficiency of knowledge. The more one knows, the easier he does things. Now, let us have a look at the creation of the creatures. They are created so easily, quickly, faultlessly and without being confused but in a miraculous way. That is, there is a being that has endless knowledge; so, they are created easily. For instance, 4 humans are created in a second and about 350.000 humans are created in a day. Each of them is equipped with tens of organs like eyes, ear and tongue. In the same second that a human is created, unlimited number of individuals from microbes, bacteria, ants, flies and insects to birds, fish and other living things are created. In fact, things that are created suddenly and out of simple material need to be simple and artless; however, we see that every creature is created with beautiful art, adornments and in a perfect way. This creation shows us the perfection of Allah’s name alim.

4- The proportion and balance in the universe point to Allah’s name alim. For, creating proportionately and in a balanced way can only be possible through knowledge. Now, let us leave the creatures aside and have a look at man, and see how delicate the balance is:

There are about sixty elements in our bodies. Our bodies contain specific amounts of iron, magnesium, chromium, and other such elements. A cause for disease develops when there is too much or too little of these elements in our bodies. For example, copper has a blood-producing characteristic. When there is too little of it, nervous system diseases will occur.  Manganese operates the functions of the brain and a lack of it causes” behavior disorders.

The duty of cadmium is to regulate blood pressure and to ensure it to operate smoothly; however, too much or too little of it can cause disturbances in blood pressure. The accumulation of elements in any part of the body produces hormonal deficiencies. This balance and delicate system is possible only through the manifestation of all-embracing knowledge. Only an insane person can deny this all-embracing knowledge after seeing this balance.

5- The fact of preservation in the universe shows endless knowledge.We look at this realm and see that everything, whether big or small, low or high, wet or dry, in the sky or on the earth, on land or at sea, is preserved in a perfect system.

Plants are preserved in seeds, trees in stones, animals in eggs and water droplets called sperms. The shapes and programs of all of the flowery and fruity beings of the spring are recorded and kept in small seeds and are created again in the next spring. The life story of man is preserved in his memory and all of his properties are kept in his DNAs. 

Such careful preservation can only be possible through endless knowledge; otherwise, it is impossible. That is, all seeds, stones, sperms, memories and DNAs point to the knowledge of Allah Almighty with the knowledge and programs preserved in them. We refer these proofs to the Risale-i Nur collection of Bediüzzaman Said Nursi and regard the five proofs we have mentioned sufficient. 

Since the owner of this universe has such knowledge, He definitely sees humans and their deeds; He knows what they deserve. He treats and will treat them based on His wisdom and mercy. O man! Pull yourself together and be careful! Know what kind of a Being knows and sees you! Be aware of it and come to your senses!

Al-Musawwir means the one that depicts and shapes. All creatures show Allah Almighty's name musawwir in the shapes given to them and depicted for them.

Every being, from a raindrop to a snowflake, from daisies to carnations, from fingerprints to pupils, from ants to stars in the sky and from particles to galaxies are mirrors of Allah's name al-Musawwir with their forms and shapes peculiar to them.

Now, let us deal with a human being and try to see the manifestation of the name Musawwir: even if we leave aside the head, which is an outcome of an extraordinary planning with all of its components, there are millions of probabilities for a face that can be placed on this prepared material. It is definitely impossible to choose the most suitable and the most beautiful one in a way to incapacitate all minds among those numerous probabilities. The material used on a person’s face is utterly simple and plain. There is only one piece of skin, one pair of eyes, and a little hair. Despite this, if you had never seen the beauty of a face, would you be able to imagine that a two-month old baby’s face, a beauty amidst simplicity and plainness, could be created?

After drawing a face for a person, it is as impossible to draw another face for a second person. There is nothing as difficult as drawing a separate face for each one by using the same elements. For, it is necessary to draw a face by leaving aside all of the faces drawn previously.

Besides, the face of a person is not a simple portrait. Each organ on the face has functions that necessitate both limitless art and limitless knowledge. Even if we were to put all these functions aside, would it not be just as impossible to create facial expressions such as a smile, worry, fear, laughter, and hundreds of others, as it is to create the face? It is difficult to fill a cup with the ocean; similarly, it is also difficult to depict the human soul in a face. A believer’s face is bright like his soul whereas a non-believer’s face is dark like his soul.

Sometimes it could take years for a sculptor to give a simple statue symmetry. On the other hand, every second, 4 people and every day 350.000 people are fully created with utmost easiness, Each individual has a different face.

When we see twins or triplets that resemble each other, we marvel at them. Then, we would like to ask: Which one is more difficult: to make two faces resemble each other or to make billions of people not resemble one another? Why do we marvel at the former but not marvel at the latter?

Who is the creator of these distinct faces?

Who is the artist who makes brilliant works of art from simple substances and whose craftsmanship perplexes the mind?

Who is the one who shows countless expressions on a face?

Who is the one who has given each individual a distinct face?

Who is the one who allows the organs of the face to work perfectly?

Who is the one who has taught the eye to see, the nose to smell, the tongue to taste, and the ears to hear?

There is one answer to all these “who’s?’ and that is, Allah, who is Musawwir (the Shaper)!

After studying human face a little, let us compare the depiction and shapes of all animals, plants, flowers and living and non-living beings to man. And let us see the name musawwir through the following windows: 

A deed cannot be without a doer; a piece of art cannot be without an artist; a book cannot be without a writer; similarly, shaping cannot be without a musawwir, that is, a being that depicts and shapes.

If a simple picture of a face on paper necessitates an artist, does unlimited number of real faces in this realm not necessitate the existence of Allah, who is Musawwir?

It is necessary to know all of the faces that had been drawn in order to be able to draw a different face; similarly, is it not necessary to know all of the faces that had been created in order to create a different face? Does it not indicate the oneness of Allah, who is Musawwir and that He created all faces? 

Every face indicates Allah's name Musawwir; do they not indicate Allah's attributes like knowledge, will and power since they are all different?

Now let us try to see Allah's name al-Musawwir in the pages of the book of the universe and to meditate on the meanings we have mentioned.

The book of the universe informs us about Allah with His name musawwir; the Quran informs us about Allah's name Musawwir as follows:

“He it is Who shapes you in the wombs as He pleases. There is no god but He, the Exalted in Might, the Wise”(Aal-i Imran 6)

This name has three meanings.

1- The one that leads people to salvation.

2- The one that is free from all kinds of faults and mistakes.

3- The one that greets His slaves in Paradise.

Let us try to analyze these three meanings one by one.

1- The one that leads people to salvation

Allah is Salam. When He becomes manifest with this name for His creatures, he leads them to salvation from dangers, misfortunes and all kinds of troubles. Now, let us see the meaning and manifestation of the name Salam in creatures. 

Look! A frog waiting for its victim and a salamander. The frog is attacking and swallowing the salamander. It looks as if the salamander has been defeated. But no! There is deadly poison in the skin of the salamander. The frog dies in a few minutes. Look at Allah's name of Salam. He saves the salamander with the poison He placed in its body. In this event, the salamander experiences the manifestation of the name as-Salam and attains salvation; on the other hand, the name al-Mumit (the one that kills) becomes manifest for the frog. The same thing is valid for the living beings when they are saved from the attacks of their enemies; they become mirrors for the name as-Salam.    

And a tortoise. The name Salam becomes manifest in it. It is saved from its enemies thanks to its hard shell. The same thing is valid for the living beings when they are saved from the attacks of their enemies thanks to the organs given to them; they become mirrors for the name as-Salam.

Yes, to equip the creatures with the organs that will save them from their enemies is a manifestation of the name as-Salam; similarly, to save them in this way is also a manifestation of the name as-Salam. And the other beings in which the name Salam becomes manifest through camouflage.     

And a fetus in the uterus. It is weak and defenseless. To save it from dangers like being drowned, starving and being poisoned is a manifestation of Allah's name as-Salam.

And the invisible enemies of man! Microbes! To establish a defense system against microbes in human body and to save humans from illnesses, and sometimes to make them ill due to some wisdom is also a manifestation of Allah's name as-Salam. Allah, who has established a defense system in human body, has also equipped the world, which is a big man, with defense systems and has made us known the name as-Salam with different manifestations.  

Here is one of them: The atmosphere that surrounds the whole world. It becomes a big mirror of Allah's name as-Salam by acting as a shelter against many dangers from meteors to harmful rays.

We are always mirrors of this name and we need the manifestation of this name. To be saved from an inevitable traffic accident unexpectedly, to survive a destructive accident without any injuries, to have a sound building after an earthquake or to be saved from under a building that collapsed, to survive a very dangerous medical operation and to survive many similar visible and invisible dangers are a manifestation of Allah's name as-Salam.

2- The one that is free from all kinds of faults

The second meaning of the name Salam: Allah is free from all kinds of faults and mistakes. This meaning of the name as-Salam is similar to the name al-Quddus. In this sense, every creature acts as a witness for Allah's name as-Salam. Let us see together how a flower acts as a witness for Allah's name as-Salam.

What qualities does a maker need to create a flower?

First of all, He must not be weak and He must have endless power. For, to extract the flower from a simple seed can only be possible through having endless power. A weak being cannot create a flower. Thus, with its existence, a flower acts as a witness that Allah is free from weakness and that He has endless power.

The maker must not be ignorant; He must have knowledge. For, the wisdom and art in the flower can only be explained through endless knowledge. Besides, this flower is related to the whole realm from the sun to the air and from the cloud to the soil. Only a knowledgeable being can arrange those relations. Thus, the flower indicates that Allah is free from ignorance and that He has endless knowledge with the tongue of the art and wisdom in it and with the arrangements of its relations.

The maker of the flower must not be blind; He must be able to see. The one that makes sees what he does; the one that cannot see cannot do.

With its existence and the perfect art, the flower acts as a witness that Allah is free from blindness and that He is basir (sees everything).

The flower was non-existent; it became existent. Its existence was preferred to its non-existence. That is, its maker has the attribute of will. The one that cannot prefer and that has no will cannot make the flower. Thus, the flower acts as a witness that Allah is free from lacking will and has absolute will since its existence was preferred to its non-existence.

Look at how the flower is shown mercy and how beautifully its needs are met. Thus, with this state, the flower acts as a witness that Allah is free from mercilessness and that he is Rahim (All-Merciful).

Millions of flowers like this one are created at the same time. Each of them is equipped with different adornments. It means, their owner has endless treasures. A poor one cannot have them. Thus, with its thousands of friends, this flower acts as a witness that Allah is free from poverty and that He is Ghaniyy (rich).  

With hundreds of tongues, many creatures like them acts as a witness that Allah is Salam and that He is free from all kinds of faults and mistakes.

3- The one that greets His slaves in Paradise

The name as-Salam becomes manifest in this world by saving us from dangers and troubles; it will also become manifest in the hereafter. The believers who experience the manifestation of this name will be saved from trouble and torture in the grave, which is the first station of the realm of the hereafter. The believers who experience the manifestation of this name will also be saved from the severity of reckoning on the Day of Gathering. Man will need the manifestation of this name so much on that day that even the prophets will ask salvation from Allah by saying, “Allahumma Sallim, Allahumma Sallim (O Allah! Give salvation!)”. The believers will experience the manifestation of this name when their righteous deeds will overweigh on the Scale (mizan); every believer who is saved from Hell and goes to Paradise will also experience the manifestation of this name.  

When believers enter Paradise, they will be mirrors of the manifestation of this name as the following verse puts it: “Peace (Salam)!― a Word (of salutation) from a Lord Most Merciful”.

May our Lord save us from the torture of the grave, trouble of the Gathering Place, the severity of the reckoning and the terror of Hell by making this name manifest in the hereafter as He did in this world! May He address us with the manifestation of this name and greeting in Paradise!   

Allah is Muhaymin. This name has 2 meanings regarding Allah:

1st meaning: Allah is the one that keeps and guards. A person who takes care of something is called the keeper and guard of that thing; that is, Muhaymin. A person who guards something is called a guard or guardian.

2nd meaning: Allah always watches His creatures and sees what they do.

Now, let us try to understand the two different meanings of this name:

1- Allah is the one that keeps and guards.

According the research of cytologists, it has been determined that the DNAs in a single cell of man have as much information as to fill 1 million pages.

We can understand the size of the information included in a DNA when we consider that ANA Britannica, the biggest encyclopedia of the world, has 40.000 pages.

25 times more information than that of the biggest encyclopedia of the world has been placed in the DNAs in a cell, which can be seen under microscope only after it is magnified hundreds of times. Is possible for such extraordinary work to take place by chance?

If the whole world came together, could they convince us that ANA Britannica emerged by chance? Definitely not. Then, how is it possible to claim that the encyclopedia of DNA, which is hundreds of times better than this giant encyclopedia, emerged by chance?

With the information kept and maintained in it, every DNA cell introduces us Allah with His name Muhaymin. With the manifestation of this name, Allah keeps the deeds of people in their memories, Books of Deeds and the Preserved Tablet.  

Again with the manifestation of this name, Allah keeps the programs of flowers and plants in their nuclei and seeds. He gives them back in the next spring. 

He keeps and maintains the life programs of animals in their eggs and sperms.

The name Muhaymin becomes manifest by maintaining the programs and deeds of living beings; it also becomes manifest by saving His creatures from dangers and protecting them. Let us see the manifestation of the name Muhaymin in the mirror of man:  

To preserve the brain, the most important organ of man, in the skull, which is very hard and sound.

To protect the eye with eyelids and eyebrows.

To guard the tongue, which is the organ of speech and taste, in the mouth.

To protect our body from external factors with the skin, which is placed on us like a garment.

To preserve our inner organs in the rib cage.

To preserve the sustenance that is necessary to survive in the form of adipose tissue in our body and to protect us from starving to death.

They are all the manifestations of this name. In addition, the feeling of fear, which makes us avoid possible dangers, is also a manifestation of the name Muhaymin. If this name were not manifest in us, we would touch electric wires, speed on the roads while driving or jump before a train moving very fast.

All of the material and spiritual organs placed in our body for the continuation and maintenance of our life are a manifestation of Allah’s name al-Muhaymin. If man, who was sent to this world to know Allah, makes use of these organs but does not know Allah, who has given him these organs, with His name Muhaymin, he will have opposed to the purpose of his creation.

2- Allah always watches His creatures and sees what they do

The other meaning of the name Muhaymin: Allah sees and watches everything. It is impossible for the things that are uncovered not to see the sun; similarly, it is impossible for the things to be concealed from Allah. For, everything is under His observation. If this lifeless sun, weak man, those beings like unconscious x rays that have light can see things and penetrate into them though they were created, Allah will definitely see everything.

“And He is with you wheresoever ye may be. And Allah sees well all that ye do” (al-Hadid:4)

“Seest thou not that Allah doth know (all) that is in the heavens and on earth? There is not a secret consultation between three, but He makes the fourth among― them nor between five but he is the sixth nor between fewer nor more, but He is with them, wheresoever they be.” (al-Mujadila: 7)

Since Allah, who is the owner of this universe, states that He is Muhaymin in His book, and since He sees and watches over everything, He definitely sees us and our deeds.

How can man, who is disturbed when somebody else finds out about his bad deeds, commit sins in the presence of Allah, who sees everything, and disobey Him?

Al-Muiz: means the one that gives dignity and honor to whomever He wishes. Allah Almighty is Muiz. Everyone who has dignity has attained dignity through His permission. Dignity is different from conceit. In dignity, a person discovers the reality of his own soul and attributes his superiority to Allah. In conceit, a person forgets about his weakness and poverty and attributes his superiority to his own soul. 

Allah Almighty knows His slaves who deserve dignity and honor best. He gives dignity to whomever He wishes, increases his fame and makes him solemn. Thanks to the manifestation of this name, this person is always under the command of his Lord and in the way of His Messenger; he never does anything that will make him disgraced.

Now, let us think of the manifestations of this name a bit:

First of all, this name becomes manifest only in believers and Muslims. For, Islam and belief are essential for dignity and honor. The criterion of dignity and honor is Islam. This fact is indicated in the Quran as follows:

“Those who take for friends Unbelievers rather than Believers: is it honour they seek among them? Nay,― all honour is with Allah.” (an-Nisa, 139)

“But honour belongs to Allah and His Messenger, and to the Believers; but the Hypocrites know not” (al-Munafiqun, 8)

With the expression of those verses, dignity and honor belong to Allah, the Prophet (pbuh) and believers. Believers are given dignity and honor due to their attributes of belief. That is, belief and Islam are a reason for dignity. 

This name becomes manifest in the commanders who have dignity and honor. The dignity and honor in them is a manifestation of Allah's name Muiz. That is, dignity and honor in Fatih Mehmed II, Suleyman I, Selim I, and all other dignified commanders are a manifestation of the name Muiz.

The name Muiz, which becomes manifest in commanders also becomes manifest in states and nations; some states in which the name Muiz became manifest defeated and dominated other states. The Ottoman state became a mirror of the manifestation of the name Muiz and became dominant in three continents for 600 years; the sun never set on the land of the Ottoman state.

The scholars who learn branches of science and act in accordance with their knowledge also have their share from the name Muiz. For, knowledge is also a reason for dignity and honor.

This name also becomes manifest in slaves who worship and obey Allah. For, there is no better dignity and honor than obeying Allah. The Prophet (pbuh) points to this fact as follows: “The honor of a believer is performing night prayer (tahajjud). His dignity is not to ask and beg anything from people.”

The name al-Muiz will be manifest on the Day of Judgment with all of its magnificence and believers will be put into Paradise with dignity. That is, entering Paradise takes place with a manifestation of the name Muiz.

May Allah Almighty make us dignified both in the world and in the hereafter for the sake of this name and keep us away from all deeds that will deprive us of this name! Amin.

It means the one that widens, opens, makes things easy and gives a lot.

Allah increases His grants to His slaves, widens His sustenance and transforms His state from poverty to richness and from trouble to ease with His name Basit. With the manifestation of this name, a poor person becomes rich, a debtor pays his debt, an unemployed person finds a job; all of the other financial troubles are eliminated; they are replaced by grace and grants. 

The hearts and spirits that are tightened by His name Qabid cheer up, rejoice and refresh with the manifestation of this name. With this state, the slave understands the grace and grant of Allah Almighty, and thanks Allah for the gifts of His mercy. That is, the manifestation of the name Qabid is an invitation to prayer and supplication; the manifestation of the name Basit is an invitation to thanks and praise.

The rain falls with the manifestation of this name; the ground becomes a cauldron of mercy with the manifestation of this name and cooks various kinds of plants in it. With the manifestation of this name, the earth becomes a dinner table, the spring becomes a rose bunch of that table; the trees become the hand of mercy and the flowers become a nice gift of that mercy. Again, with the manifestation of this name, deadness in business is transformed into good profit and abundance; life becomes easy for people; material and spiritual troubles are replaced by comfort and happiness.   

The spirit that is removed in sleep returns to the body with the manifestation of the name Basit. That is, whenever we wake up, we should meditate on and mention Allah's name Basit.

Again, with the manifestation of this name, we take pleasure from worship; difficult kinds of worship is made easy for man; spiritual delights, which are advance rewards of worship, are felt. 

To sum up:All of the material and spiritual, worldly and otherworldly wideness and ease are a manifestation of the name Basit. A person finds the one that gives bounty from the bounty; he knows Allah, who is the owner of the material and spiritual bounties granted to him, with His name Basit; he sees an aspect of the name Basit in every wideness; and, he praises and thanks him.    

May Allah give us material and spiritual wideness, save us from troubles and shortage and make His name Basit manifest in us. Amin!

Al-Qahhar means the one that overpowers and destroys his enemies, the one that has absolute victory and that can defeat his enemies any time.  

In this sense, the name Qahhar became manifest in many nations that rebelled against Allah like the nation of Ad, Thamud and Noah. Allah overpowered and destroyed those nations with His name Qahhar.

Again, the name Qahhar becomes manifest in earthquakes in which thousands of people die, floods, storms that uproot trees, hurricanes and material misfortunes; similarly, it becomes manifest in the misfortune of unbelief and disbelief, which is the real and biggest misfortune. 

For, those who are deprived of the bounty of belief experience trouble in their hearts and spirits by burning in a spiritual hell. It is also a manifestation of the name al-Qahhar since it is a spiritual destruction. Allah, who destroys them spiritually in this world, will also destroy them in Hell, which is the largest mirror of His name Qahhar, and show that He is the only owner of absolute victory. Yes, Hell will embrace all rebels as the mirror of His name Qahhar.

Since we came to this world in order to know Allah, who is the owner of this world, and to believe in Him and since there are windows that open to Him and ways that lead to Him in everything, we need to open windows to Him in everything and mention and glorify Him with the names in those windows. 

That is, when we see the ruins of a nation that was destroyed, we need to say, “O Allah, who destroys those who rebel against Him! You are Qahhar; You destroy those whom You wish. Your destruction occurs with Your justice. You hold the reigns of everything with Your hand of power. No rebel can escape your destruction and no oppressor can defy you. You grant a delay to people but you do not ignore and forget them…”

When we see the creatures of the spring that die in winter, we need to say, “O my Lord, who gives life to spring with His name al-Muhyi and who destroys them in winter with His name Qahhar! You can destroy, You are al-Qahhar. Every creature that dies in winter mention Your name al-Qahhar with their tongue of disposition; similarly, I join their circle of dhikr and mention You by saying, “O Qahhar! O Qahhar!…”

When we see thousands of people die and buildings collapse in an earthquake, we need to say, “O my Lord, who shakes the earth like a cradle with His power! The seal of Your name Qahhar is seen and its flag waves on the buildings that collapsed and the people that died. However, under the manifestation of the name Qahhar, Your mercy becomes manifest. You regard those believers who die in the earthquake as martyrs. You regard the troubles that they experience as atonement for their sins and you eradicate their sins just like trees shedding their leaves. You regard their destroyed goods as sadaqah. I know that the sins that we committed caused the manifestation of Your name Qahhar. O Sultan of the sultans! I take refuge in Your mercy from the manifestation of Your name Qahhar.

When we see storms, hurricanes and tornadoes whirl by uttering, “O Qahhar! O Qahhar!”, we need to say, “O my Lord, whose magnificence and grandeur make everything small, due to the glory of whose fear mountains break into pieces, to whose power and grandeur everything surrenders and whose fear makes everything humiliated! These storms and hurricanes are Your obedient soldiers and they are manifestations of Your name Qahhar. They make the world shiver by saying, “O Qahhar! O Qahhar! “ I mention Your name and glorify You by saying, “O Qahhar! O Qahhar!” though my voice is not as strong as theirs and though my sins make my voice hoarse…

The greatest lesson to be taken from the name Qahhar is as follows:

Man needs to look at the previous centuries and see the end of the rebellious and stubborn nations living there. He needs to understand that man is not at large and unattended. He can always be exposed to a blow of the name Jalal and Qahhar. The reason why he is not tortured because of his sins is the fact that Allah grants him a delay. Allah will never ignore and forget him.  

He needs to make use of this delay and avoid sins before he receives a blow from the name Qahhar.

It means the one that holds, restricts, constricts, makes it difficult and gives very little.

With His name Qabid, Allah sometimes reduces his grace and grant to His slave, shortens his sustenance, makes him needy, deprives him of his comfortable life and impoverishes him. When a person undergoes one of the cases above, it means he has become a mirror of the manifestation of the name Qabid. That is, Allah's name Qabid becomes manifest when a person goes bankrupt, cannot pay his debt, loses his property, is dismissed and undergoes financial trouble.

As the name Qabid becomes manifest in the material world, it also becomes manifest in the spiritual world: with this manifestation, the world becomes too tight for a person; he feels depressed; his heart feels bored; he feels as if he is in a cage. This state is a manifestation of the name Qabid. With this manifestation, the slave understands his weakness and poverty; he turns toward Allah and asks his mercy through prayer and supplication; he takes refuge in Allah. That is, the manifestation of the name Qabid is an invitation to prayer and supplication.

The name Qabid has become manifest when it does not rain. Allah sometimes does not send any rain to some places and send very little rain to some other places. He holds the rain. That is, the name Qabid has become manifest when there is no rain. You can see the manifestation of the name Qabid in many cases: For instance, when there is a traffic jam, when a person cannot understand something and it becomes more and more difficult, when crops are destroyed as a result of a misfortune, when the earth becomes dry and no crops grow, when business slackens, and when life becomes difficult for people, the name Qabid has become manifest.

As the name Qabid becomes manifest in the material world, it also becomes manifest when one's spirit is removed when he dies. Everybody becomes a mirror of the name Qabid when they die and when their spirits are removed. The name Qabid, which becomes manifest at death, also becomes manifest at sleep, which is the sister of death. The spirits of those who die during sleep are not returned but the spirits of those who do not die are returned to their bodies. Its only difference from death is that the spirit leaves the body permanently at death; but during sleep, the connection between the spirit and the body is not cut off completely. Holding the spirits during sleep is also a manifestation of the name Qabid.

This manifestation is stated in the Quran as follows: “It is Allah that takes the souls (of men) at death: and those that die not (He takes) during their sleep: those on whom He has passed the decree of death, He keeps back (from returning to life), but the rest He sends (to their bodies) for a term appointed. Verily in this are Signs for those who reflect.” (az-Zumar 42)

The name Qabid, which becomes manifest at death and when the spirit is removed during sleep, also becomes manifest when the grave constricts a person and during other troubles on the Day of Judgment.

To sum up, every material and spiritual trouble that one undergoes, every difficulty in the world and in the hereafter is a manifestation of the name Qabid. What a person needs to do here is to show patience when the name Qabid becomes manifest and to show his weakness and poverty by prayer and supplication, believing in the fact that there is relief after every difficulty.

When you commit a sin or when you see somebody commit a sin, Allah does not punish you or that person immediately; it is the manifestation of which name of Allah?

He has the power to punish the sinners and destroy all of them but He treats them leniently and postpones their punishment. Allah Almighty is al-Halim (the Forbearing) in this sense. He does not catch those who disobey Him at once. He gives them some time in case they repent. He has the power to punish all sinners at the same time but He does not punish and catch them at once. 

We want to attract attention to the following point: A person who has no power to punish cannot be called Halim (forbearing). There are so many weak people who would destroy people and towns if they had the power. They cannot be called halim when they do not punish because they have no power to punish. Halim means a person who does not punish though he can. Allah is al-Halim in this sense. Although He has the power and can turn the stars in the sky like a catapult stone with one order, He does not punish those who disobey Him and do not catch them at once. He gives them time to repent.

This name is indicated as follows in the Quran: “If Allah were to punish men according to what they deserve, He would not leave on the back of the (earth) a single living creature: but He gives them respite for a stated Term...” (Fatir 45)

The reality is as the verse points out. If Allah caught and punished everybody who sinned, there would not be anybody left in the world. However, He treats His slaves leniently and generously. He sends sustenance even to His enemies. On the one hand, He grants bounties to His beloved slaves; on the other hand, He sends bounties to the tables of Pharaohs. He does so though He sees the mistakes people make and the sins they commit and though He has the power to punish them all.

He is such Halim that He conceals mistakes, forgives sins and pardons those who repent. His forgiveness surpasses His torture and His mercy surpasses His wrath. He is the shelter for rebels, hope for those who fear and the savior of the sinners. He does not scold the criminals immediately. He covers ugly things. He does not tear the veil over sins. His forgiveness is big, His pardoning is vast, His mercy is large and his forbearing is nice.   

We should learn the following from this name of Allah:

First of all, we should know that the reason why we are not punished due to our sins at once is not because they are not known or that we are not seen. We are not punished for our sins immediately because of the manifestation of the name al-Halim on us. We should not think that Allah does not see us, does not get angry with us due to our disobedience that our sins are not recorded or that we will get away with our disobedience.  

Definitely not! God forbid… He knows us. He is closer to us than our jugular veins. However, He gives us some time; He does not catch us at once because He is Halim. It is of His glory to treat us with forbearance. However, when we lose our worthiness of this name, He will treat us with His names al-Aziz (the Mighty), al-Jalil (the Glorious) and al-Qahhar (the Subduer) instead of His name al-Halim.

O Lord! We take refuge in You from the manifestations of those names. We take refuge in Your consent from Your wrath, in Your forgiveness from Your torture and in You from You. Treat us with Your name al-Halim all the time. Forgive our sins; do not embarrass us; do not catch us due to our sins. Do not disgrace us due to our rebellion.  

We should also learn the following from this name: Allah Almighty is al-Halim; He treats us leniently. He does not catch us at once due to our sins; he does not embarrass us due to our disobedience. Therefore, we should be equipped with this good manner and treat people who make mistakes leniently. We should hide their mistakes, overlook their wrong deeds and give them some time; we should avoid conceitedness and arrogance. 

May Allah Almighty include us and you among those who act in accordance with His name al-Halim! May Allah treat us with this name both in this world and in the hereafter! Amin!

Allah is mutakabbir.

The meaning of this name: Allah deems only Himself worthy of magnificence and sublimity; He shows His grandeur in all events. 

Therefore, this name becomes manifest in earthquakes, mountains that touch clouds, stars that float in the sea of the sky, tornados and storms that uproot trees, thunders, lightning and everything that seems magnificent and grand.

In order to understand why Allah is mutakabbir and why magnificence belongs only to Allah, it is necessary to understand the magnificence of Allah’s personality, names and attributes. When they are understood, the secret of the following hadith will also be understood:

“Magnificence is my garment and grandeur is my cloak. I will send anyone who dares to be my partner in them to Hell.”

Now, let us see the grandeur of Allah’s personality, names and attributes in order to reach His name mutakabbir.

Greatness belongs to Allah.

All of the expressions and phrases of greatness are small compared to His greatness. The mind is too weak to understand the real nature of this greatness. The Prophet (pbuh), who knows Him best, describes Him as follows:

O He whose perfection lies beyond the range of all vision,
O He whose glory cannot be described by His creatures,
O He whose attributes exceed the bounds of all understanding,
O He whose grandeur is beyond the scope of all thought,
O He whose cloak is sublimity and grandeur …

Yes, the mind istoo weak to understand the real nature of this greatness. We can give an example: When we see a book, we know the existence of its writer and accept him. We know that the writer is knowledgeable because he wrote it with his knowledge. A person who has no knowledge cannot write a book. We know that the writer has a will because he preferred writing to not writing. We know that the writer has power because he who cannot hold a pen cannot write. We know that the writer is alive because a dead person cannot write a book. We know many names and attributes belonging to the writer.  

However, we cannot know who he is, how tall he is, how much he weighs, what color his skin is, etc; that is, we cannot know his attributes.

Similarly, this book of the universe points to the knowledge, will, power, life and the other names and attributes of Allah, who wrote this book. We cannot know the personality of the writer of the book in the example; similarly, we cannot know the personality of Allah because minds cannot understand His personality, thoughts cannot realize His grandeur and dreams cannot cover Him.

2- Allah is great in His names and attributes.

Allah’s names and attributes are endless. His power, knowledge, will, sight and hearing are endless; similarly, His mercy, grant, wisdom and all of His other names and attributes are endless, too. The Prophet (pbuh) expresses the grandeur of those names and attributes as follows:

O He whose knowledge overtakes all things;
O He whose power reaches all things
O He whose sight penetrates all things;
O Hearer and answerer of all sounds,
O He whose are the most exalted attributes and the most beautiful names,
O He who is much given to pardoning,
O He whose might is perpetual,
O He who is the wisest of the wise,
O He who is the fairest of the fair,
O He who is the most generous of the generous,
O He who is the most merciful of those who show mercy

3- Allah is great in his deeds.

How many days does it take a tailor to sew a garment for a tree or an animal? He must sew such a garment that the garment must also grow as the tree and the animal grow; it must be neither loose nor tight. Even if all of the tailors of the world came together, they would not be able to sew a garment for an ant. However, He clothes millions of plants and animals every moment and shows His name mutakabbir through the greatness in the deed of sewing.

How many days does it take a painter to paint a parrot? It must be such paint that the colors must match; they must not fade or disappear. Even if all of the painters of the world came together, they would not be able to paint a fish swimming in water with irremovable paint. We do not want to think of painting an octopus that can have 7-8 different colors based on the environment it is in. However, Allah paints every creature with most beautiful color and shows his name mutakabbir through the greatness in the deed of painting.

How many people can an administrator direct without any assistants? He must direct them in such a way that he must be aware of all of their situations, hear them and meet their needs. We see a lot of administrators who cannot direct a small community though they have thousands of assistants. Now, have a look at Allah's management; the universe is like a perfect city with its order. Every creature in it is directed with wisdom. Each of them is heard; their needs are met.  Allah shows his name Mutakabbir through the greatness in the deed of directing.  

A carpenter can make a few tables out of a tree. Look at the being who astonishes the minds through His art: He makes thousands of fruits with different colors, tastes, shapes and smells out of the tree. He shows his name Mutakabbir through the greatness in the deed of creating with art.

A sculptor works for months in order to make a sculpture out of stone. However, Allah creates 4 people in a second and 300 thousand people in a day out of a drop of water. They are not lifeless like stone; they are alive. If we consider that in the same second when a human is created, numerous microbes, bacteria, ants, flies, insects and other creatures, and about a million plant species  are created, the name Mutakabbir can be understood a little through the greatness in the deed of creating.

Let us compare those deeds with the deeds of feeding, shaping, giving life and killing, and try to understand Allah's name Mutakabbir a little.

In conclusion, Allah is Mutakabbir due to the magnificence and grandeur of His personality, names and attributes. Allah deems only Himself worthy of magnificence and sublimity.

Since only Allah is Mutakabbir and magnificence belongs to Him only, what a slave needs to do is to listen to the following verse and prostrate due to His magnificence and sublimity in awe and love: 

“Nor walk on the earth with insolence: for thou canst not rend the earth asunder, nor reach the mountains in height.” (al-Isra 37)

Al-Bari means the one that creates flawlessly.  This name has the following meanings that are different from the name al-Khaliq:

1- The one who creates in a proper, orderly and beautiful way as if cast from mold,

2- The one who creates the organs of the creatures in harmony with one another,

3- The one who creates all creatures in compliance with the general system and purposes in the universe.

Now, let us try to read these three meanings of the name Bari from the pages of the book of the universe:

1- The one who creates in a proper, orderly and beautiful way as if cast from mold

What do you do to make a drinking glass whose raw material is available?

The first thing to do is to prepare a mold for the glass. You cannot produce a glass if you do not have a mold. Then, if you want to produce 50 glasses with different shapes, you need 50 molds.

That is a master and molds are necessary to produce a simple thing. That thing cannot be produced without a master and mold.

Now, let us see what is necessary to create a fly or a flower:

1- To draw the plan of that flower and fly and to make a program,

2- To collect the atoms and materials that form the flower and the fly from all over this realm,

3- After sieving the collected atoms and materials, to determine with precise criteria and pick the ones that are necessary for the flower and the fly,

4- To cast those materials in mold and produce them in a proper, orderly and beautiful way.

When we spread rose seeds on the ground, the ground needs to be able to do the following in order to "create s rose": to plan and program the rose, to collect the materials necessary for the rose from the realm, to be able to determine the materials necessary with precision scales and to cast them in a mold. A rose emerges after these deeds are done. 

Let us leave the first 3 things aside and think about the mold: Since the ground produces different plants out of thousands of different seeds, it is necessary to accept that the ground has as many molds as the number of the plants in the world. 

Furthermore, the leaves, fruits, flowers and shapes of each plant are different; therefore, it is necessary to accept that the ground has as many molds as the number of leaves, fruits and flowers along with plants. To accept it is such a thought that it contains as many impossibilities and superstitions as the number of the plants, flowers and fruits in the world.

However, when these artistic plants and wise works are attributed to Allah’s name Bari, those atoms are sent into the spiritual molds of Allah's knowledge and predestination with the direction of His power. And they come out in a proper and orderly way.

Then, when we look at an apple, a butterfly, a flower, a human being, the organs of a human being, in short, every creature, we need to glorify Allah with His name 'Bari' upon seeing the proper and orderly creation as if cast from mold.

That is, everything that is created in a proper and orderly way has experienced the manifestation of Allah’s name Bari and each one is a letter from Allah’s name Bari.

2- The one who creates the organs of the creatures in harmony with one another

The creation of the organs in harmony with one another is a manifestation of the name Bari. In this sense, the name Bari becomes manifest in human beings, all animals and even trees and plants. For, the organs of all creatures were created in harmony with one another.

For instance, let us have a look at man: His tongue is in harmony with his mouth. If his tongue were longer, it would not fit into his mouth and life would be difficult for him. The harmony between the tongue and the mouth is a manifestation of the name Bari.

Just like the harmony between the tongue and the mouth, there is a harmony between the teeth and the mouth. The teeth are lined up in the mouth like pearls. If our teeth were longer and if they did not fit into the mouth, we would experience great difficulty. The creation of the teeth in harmony with the mouth is a manifestation of the name Bari.

The harmony between the eyebrows and the eyes is also a manifestation of this name. The eyebrows do not grow much and they do not prevent eyesight. Suppose that eyebrows grow like hair and cover the eyes; we can understand how desperately we need the manifestation of the name Bari.

The harmony between two eyes and two ears of man, the harmony between the length of the arm and the body, the harmony between fingers and toes, the equal length of legs, the harmony of the teeth with one another and the harmony of the internal organs with one another are all a manifestation of the name Bari. Thanks to the manifestation of this name, one leg is not longer than the other and all organs complement one another.

The name Bari, which becomes manifest in man at maximum level, also becomes manifest in animals. The fact that the eagle is not equipped with the wing of a fly, the fly is not equipped with the sting of a bee and that all creatures are equipped with the organs that are in compliance with their bodies are all a manifestation of the name Bari.

In this sense, the name Bari becomes manifest even in trees. The harmony between the trunk of the tree and the branches, the harmony between the branches and the fruits are all a manifestation of the name Bari. When you look at a tree, you may think that the leaves are placed randomly. However, it is not so. Every leaf that is placed on the branch is placed in such a way to prevent the sunlight of the other leaves the least. The placement of leaves in a tree also takes place with the manifestation of this name.

Since our duty is to know Allah and to read His name and attributes that become manifest in creatures and this duty is the greatest purpose of our creation, we need to praise Allah and glorify Him with His name Bari when we look at ourselves and other creatures and see that the organs are in harmony with one another.  

3- The one who creates all creatures in compliance with the general system and purposes in the universe.

Every creature was created in compliance with the system and purposes of the universe. 

For instance, let us think of man: all of his organs were created in accordance with the system and purposes of the universe. He has eyes that can see light, ears that can hear sounds, a nose that can smell, a tongue that can taste and speak, lungs that can breathe air and other organs that are in compliance with the system in the universe.   

Then, the same being created the eyes of man and light. The being that created sounds placed ears in man. The being that gave man the nose created the beings that he smells and the smell in those beings. The being that placed the tongue in man's mouth created the food items that he tastes and the speech he makes. To sum up, in this situation, man virtually speaks like this:  “Whoever created me also created all of the things related to me and the system in the universe. Whoever owns me owns the universe. And the name of that being is Al-Bari. ”

Everything in the universe was created in compliance with the purposes in the universe. For instance, there exists the purpose of the continuation of life in this realm. Every flower and tree was designed in a way to serve this purpose. They act like experts to maintain the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. A flower maintains that balance by producing oxygen throughout its life. The flower that breathes in carbon dioxide throughout its life breathes out oxygen when it dies. If carbon dioxide increases in the atmosphere, all plants accelerate their breathing.   

If it is claimed that the one that establishes this system is not Allah - God forbid - , who is Bari, we want to ask the following questions:

How do plants that have no consciousness work like chemical engineers?

What instruments do they use for measurements?

Why is the continuation of life so important for them?

Who placed the device that transforms carbon dioxide into oxygen in their bodies?

After seeing that the organs of man are in compliance with the system in the universe and the relationship of flowers and plants with the purposes in this realm, let us compare bees, butterflies, birds, fish and the other living and non-living beings with humans and flowers. Let us try to hear the following statement by looking at their creation and their organs that are in compliance with the system in the universe: 

“I was not planned alone when I was created. I was equipped with organs that are in compliance with the system in the universe. I was assigned duties that will serve those purposes. With my organs that are in compliance with this system and with my service to those purposes, I am a mirror of Allah’s name Bari. Look at this aspect of mine and say, 'O Bari! O Bari!' with your tongue as I say, 'O Bari! O Bari!' with my state and glorify your Lord.”

Shakur means the one who gives a lot in return for little work, who grants endlessly in return for little worship and who gives unlimited rewards in return for a little obedience. This name is a name that expresses the generosity of our Lord.  

In Arabic, Shakur is a noun derived from the verb شَكَرَ (shakara); it is an active noun (doer) indicating exaggeration. This kind of noun shows that the doer does that deed a lot. Another active noun derived from the verb شَكَرَ (shakara) is "Shakir". Shakir is also a name of Allah like Shakur. The difference between the two names is as follows: Shakir indicates that He gives ten or one hundred in return for one. Shakur indicates that He gives seven hundred, one hundred thousand or one million in return for one; endless rewards in return for very few deeds.

We also want to draw your attention to the following point: The names of both Shakir and Shakur are also used for men. When someone says, "Ahmad is Shakir", it is understood that Ahmad is a person who thanks (Allah). When someone says, "Ahmad is Shakur", it is understood that Ahmad is a person who thanks (Allah) a lot.

When these names are used for a person they mean “the one who thanks and thanks a lot"; when they are used for Allah Almighty, they mean “the one who gives a lot in return for little things, who grants endlessly in return for few deeds.”

Yes, Allah Almighty is Shakur. He grants eternal Paradise in return for few deeds. He grants high degrees in return for a little obedience. He forgives all of the sins of a person when he repents sincerely. Along with forgiving his sins, He transforms them into rewards (thawabs). He sometimes grants Paradise of Firdaws (the highest level of Paradise) to a person in return for a single date he gives to a poor person sincerely.

We can understand how Shakur Allah Almighty is through the following example:

We want you to find the answer to the following question: What is the worldly equivalent of the worship we perform for Allah in the eye of businessmen? Try to calculate the following: How much do we worship Allah in a day or throughout our lives? What is the burden this worship puts on us? If we tried to sell this work (time spent for worship) in the world, how much would a businessman pay us?  

For instance, think of a person who performs five daily prayers. Performing five daily prayers a day takes about an hour. It is very easy worship for the body. Calculate the time spent for prayer in the life of a person and its burden on the body. Get the result and go to the market of the world and ask a businessman, "How much would you give me in return for my work?"

The price you would get for your work would probably be a sarcastic smile. A businessman would not think that what you did deserves a price. He would say, “Is this what you call your work? You would only get a smile in return for your efforts. If we acted a bit more generously, we would treat you a cup of tea. Those who work 10 times as much as you do earn their living here. You would not be accepted to work here with what you do let alone getting a salary." 

Yes, this is the reality. If we put together all of our prayers and worship for Allah, they would not even give us a house with four walls in this world in return for our work.

However, Allah Almighty is Shakur. He gives great rewards for a little worship. He gives us Paradise and endless bliss in return for our deeds, which are worth almost nothing in the world. This is due to His generosity and grace. It is not what a person deserves.

You sometimes read a hadith: It says if you do this deed, you will be given such and such rewards. If you read this prayer, you will be given such and such rewards…

When you read a similar hadith, you get surprised and say, “Is this a fabricated hadith?” What makes you say so is the greatness of the reward in return for such a little deed. You mean to say, “Can such a big price be given for such little work? I will read this short prayer once or I will repeat this short dhikr 10 times and I will be given a great reward in Paradise. It is impossible."  

These statements originate from our ignorance about the name Shakur of Allah Almighty. If we knew the meaning of the name Shakur and the endless generosity of our Lord, we would not find the rewards in hadith strange and when we read the rewards mentioned in the hadiths, we would say, "O Lord! You are Shakur and the most generous. You give endless grants and rewards in return for little deeds." Thus, we would find a way to increase our love of Allah.

What man is to learn from the name Shakur is as follows: Man needs to know that the rewards given to him in return for his worship is a manifestation of the name Shakur of Allah; thus, he needs to be modest, getting rid of boasting and conceitedness.

In addition, man needs to make this name part of his character and treat people generously in return for their favors; he needs to give as much as possible in return for the small favors of people. 

May Allah Almighty treat us with His name Shakur and make us receive the manifestation of this name. Amin.

Al-Hakam: means the one that judges, the one that distinguishes between the truth and falsehood, the wrong and the true, the beautiful and the ugly.

Allah Almighty is Hakam in all of these senses. He makes judgments about everything and He applies His judgments fully. Nothing, no event can take place without His decree; there is no power that will invalidate, delay or prevent His decree.

Allah is Hakam. He judges justly. Hedistinguishes between the truth and falsehood, the wrong and the true, the beautiful and the ugly, the good and the bad. If it were not for the manifestation of this name of Allah Almighty, we would not be able to distinguish between these opposites; we would never know what is true and what is wrong, what is beautiful and what is ugly, what is good and what is bad.

Now, let us see some manifestations of the name Hakam:

The name Hakam became manifest in our Prophet (pbuh) in the widest sense; with the manifestation of this name, He differentiated between the truth and falsehood, the beautiful and the ugly, the good and the evil; he judged among people justly. All of the topics of the Sunnah and decrees occurred with the manifestation of the name al-Hakam.

The Quran is a large mirror of the name Hakam. The manifestation of the name al-Hakam is manifest in the true decrees that differentiate betweenthe truth and falsehood, the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly.

The name al-Hakam is also manifest in the Islamic Shari'ah and in all decrees of the Shari'ah. In fact, thanks to this manifestation, Islam judged among people with justice for 14 centuries and established justice by giving people their due.

The name al-Hakam is also manifest in all of the judges in the world who make judgments justly; they make correct decisions thanks to the manifestation of this name.

Real scholars like judges are a nice mirror of the name Hakam. Thanks to the manifestation of this name in them, they differentiate betweenthe wrong and the true, the truth and falsehood, the good and the evil, and show them to us. This name becomes manifest in such a large area that Allah's name Hakam is one of the six names that Hz. Ali regards to be ism al-azam (the greatest name of Allah) and one of the two names that Abu Hanifa  regards to be ism al-azam.

The name Hakam becomes manifest in every event in the universe. For, every event takes place when Allah makes a judgment. In this sense, the name Hakam becomes manifest in every event, from the falling of a leaf to the hatching of a chick, from the breath we take in to a newborn baby, from the waves in the sea to the planets in the sky; in other words, they take all place as a result of the manifestation of the name Hakam.

Allah’s domination is valid even over the body of the unbeliever who denies Allah and rebels against Him; and the name Hakam becomes manifest in Him. The one that makes his heart function, his blood circulate, that feeds all of his cells, that gives color to all of his hair, in short, the one that dominates all actions in his body and applies them is Allah.

As the name al-Hakam becomes manifest in this world, it will also become manifest in the hereafter. Allah Almighty, who will gather all people in the Gathering Place, will judge among man with justice with the manifestation of the name al-Hakam and He will take the right of hornless sheep from the horned one and give it to the hornless one; with the manifestation of this name, He will differentiate between believers and unbelievers and He will send believers to Paradise and unbelievers to Hell. The reckoning in the hereafter will be carried out by the manifestation of the name al-Hakam and nobody will be oppressed at all.  

What we need to learn from this name is as follows: A person who uses  broken scales will weigh wrong even if he is the fairest person in the world. It is necessary to repair the scales first. Similarly, we, who believe in Allah’s name al-Hakam, need to follow the rules applied by the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and abandon using the wrong scales of people; we should evaluate every issue in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah. We need to find solutions to our problems in the light of the Quran and Sunnah, which are the largest mirror of the name al-Hakam, and shiver due to the threat of the following verse:  

“But no, by thy Lord, they can have no (real) Faith, until they make thee judge in all disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against thy decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction.” (an-Nisa 65)

Al-Wahhab means the one who grants or donates. Grant is donation that is given without expecting any returns. Yes, Allah is Wahhab; He grants without expecting any returns and He does not ask any money in return for what He gives. Besides, if man wanted to pay for what Allah gives him, he could not do it.  

- We were non-existent; we came into being.

- We could have become non-living beings like stones, soil or mountains but we were given life.  

- We could have become beings like trees and flowers among living beings but we were given consciousness.

- We could have become animals among conscious beings but we were not created as animals; we were created as human beings.

- We could have become fire worshippers, Hindus, who worship cows, idolaters, who worship idols among humans but we knew Allah and believed in Him.  

- We could have become Jews or Christians, who attribute a son to Allah, among those who believed in Him and could have attracted His wrath. However, we did not become Christians or Jews; Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah), we became Muslims.

- We were honored to become the ummah of Hz. Muhammad (pbuh), who is the Sultan of the Prophets and the Beloved of the Magnificent.  

What did we give to Allah in return for those bounties?

Nothing…

Thus, Allah’s name Wahhab is manifest on the bounties that are granted generously and without expecting any returns. That is, our life, body, eyes, ears, tongues and other organs placed in our bodies, our feelings and faculties placed in these organs, in short, what we materially and spiritually have are all grants of Allah. They are a manifestation of the name Wahhab.   

That is, the leaves, flowers and fruits placed on trees, wings placed in birds and fins placed in fish, in short, all of the grants and gifts given to all creatures are a manifestation of Allah’s name Wahhab.

That is, every creature mentions Allah with His name Wahhab and glorifies Him in return for the organs, placed in them, feelings given to them, sustenance granted to them and all of the favors done for them with the tongue of disposition.

The duty of man is to hear the glorification of those creatures "O Wahhab! O Wahhab!" performed by their tongue of disposition, to see the manifestation of the name Wahhab on him and to join that circle of glorification by his disposition, tongue and all organs by uttering, "O Wahhab! O Wahhab!"

Man becomes real man when he does it. That is the reason why he was sent to this realm.

How can man, who does not forget a small favor and becomes grateful to that person who does that favor by mentioning him with praise for years, forget the endless bounties and favors of Allah? How can he show his gratitude only to the person that becomes a means for a bounty though he needs to be grateful to Allah?

It is foolish to kiss the feet of a poor person who brings us a precious gift of a king and not to know the owner of that gift; similarly, it is much more foolish to praise and love the means that bring us Allah's bounties and to forget Allah, who is the real owner of those bounties.

Yes, the chicken is a means; the egg is a grant of Allah. The sheep is a means; the milk is a grant of Allah. The bee is a means; the honey is a bounty of Allah. The cloud is a means; rain is mercy of Allah. Trees are means; the fruits are gifts from Allah. All of the bounties given to us through various means are all grants of Allah. They are a manifestation of His name Wahhab.

Then, the one who is worthy of thanking and praising is Allah, who is the real owner the bounties because the one that sends the bounties is important not the one that brings it.

A person can make this name as part of his ethics as follows: he should not expect any returns for the favors he does. The returns do not have to be goods, money or property. Expecting praise, desiring to earn an honor, expecting respect and desiring kindness are spiritual returns. If a person expects spiritual returns like those, he is not regarded to have the name Wahhab as part of his ethics. 

He should perform worship for Allah's sake only and he should not expect Paradise in return if he wants the name Wahhab to be manifest in him. Besides, worship means thanking Allah for the previous bounties. It does not mean thanking for the bounties to be given in the future. We have received the bounties and we have to worship.

A saint of Allah describes this state and shows that he has the name Wahhab as part of his ethics as follows:

The people of the world are in the world,
The people of the hereafter are in the hereafter,
Each one loves something,
What I need is Allah….

Aziz Mahmud Hudai

Al-Mudhil: means the one that degrades and humiliates whomever He wishes. As Allah dignifies and honors whomever He wishes, He also abases and humiliates whomever He wishes. Nobody can make a person that Allah abases and humiliates honorable; nobody can make a person that Allah dignifies and honors abased. Dignity is honor that Allah gives to His slaves; abasement is wretchedness and deprivation.   

Dusty pages of history are full of nations that become abased with the manifestation of this name. All of the rebellious nations, from the nation of Ad to Thamud and from the people of Madyan to the nation of Lot, who denied their prophets, were destroyed by the blow of the name Mudhil. Their ruins were left as exemplary signs for the people to come after them. Some of those nations were transformed into monkeys and pigs, which is humiliation with the most degrading torture. All of the blows and misfortunes given to the enemies of Allah like the Pharaoh being drowned in the sea, Nimrod being destroyed by a lame mosquito, Qarun (Croesus) being buried alive in the ground with all of his treasures are a manifestation of the name al-Mudhil.

The name Mudhil, which becomes manifest in the rebellious nations that do not accept Allah, also becomes manifest in every unbeliever and hypocrite. For, belief and Islam is a reason for dignity and polytheism; and unbelief is a reason for abasement. That is, no matter how rich and strong an unbeliever is, he is abased and disgraced in reality. No matter how poor and weak a Muslim is, he is dignified and honorable in reality. For, a person who is a friend of Allah does not become disgraced and a person who is an enemy of Allah does not become dignified.  

The name Mudhil becomes manifest in all of the creatures that obey man. That is, what makes man ride a camel is not his strength; it is because Allah puts the camel under man's command and makes it abased. The camel becomes abased before man due to the manifestation of the name Mudhil in it. Similarly, what makes man, who is defeated by a scorpion with no eyes and by a snake with no legs, obtain silk from a tiny worm and bee from a poisonous insect is not his strength but the effect of the Lord. That is, those creatures obey man because Allah abases them.

As the name al-Mudhil becomes manifest in the world, it will also become manifest in the hereafter with all of its magnificence and the unbelievers will be made humiliated by being thrown into Hell.

Allah can make Muslims humiliated before unbelievers due to their sins; unfortunately, the current situation of the Islamic world is an indication of this fact. Muslims became dignified whenever they adhered to the Quran and Islam; they became humiliated whenever they moved away from the Quran and Islam. The Prophet (pbuh) points to this fact as follows: “If a person breaks his promise to Allah, He inflicts his enemies upon him.” The domination of the enemies and the defeat of Muslims is a humiliation caused by breaking the promise made to Allah. One of the reasons why Muslims lose their dignity and become humiliated is their desire and ambition for the world. For, ambition is a reason for deprivation and humiliation for a believer. What we need to do if we do not want to be humiliated is to remove the love of world from our hearts and to feel satisfied with the bounties we have.

May Allah Almighty save us from the manifestation of His name Mudhil! May He help us avoid the sins that will cause the manifestation of this name! May He make us live with dignity, die with dignity and resurrect with dignity! Amin.

The hadith in question is as follows:

“The hijab of Allah is light. If He opened it, the manifestations of His face (the beauty and majesty of His personality) would burn all the creatures they encompassed.” (Muslim, Iman, 293)

Allah’s hijabs are not material veils; they are hijabs that spiritually cover the majesty and grandeur that we do not know.

When we look at any work in the book of the universe, we watch with amazement the knowledge and wisdom, power and perfection of Allah manifested in that work.

There are so many veils even between us and the flowers that we see every day. We just look at the first veil and admire their shape and color. However, for a botanist, each feature of that flower is a different veil.

All this leads us to the door of the following truth:

“God Almighty is behind seventy thousand veils.”

It is stated in “Miraj Booklet” in the Risale-i Nur Collection that “all the levels to beyond the intermediate world of the Divine Names, the manifestation of the Divine attributes and acts, and the levels of beings” are known as the seventy thousand veils. And attention is attracted to the following in another topic: “You have to pass through seventy thousand veils of darkness and light, that is, material and physical veils and the veils of the Divine Names and attributes if you want to enter His presence without veils. (See Sözler, On Altıncı Söz)

The veils of darkness called “material and physical” are the material realm we see; they are expressed as “the levels of beings” in the previous statement.

The phrase “divine names and attributes” is used for the veils of light. Those veils are manifestations of divine names and attributes at different levels, and are mentioned as “the levels to beyond the intermediate world of the Divine Names, the manifestation of the Divine attributes and acts” in the previous statement.

That is to say, there are more than seventy thousand hijabs before Allah’s sacred being. Some of those hijabs are material, ontological veils. While all beings in the universe witness the existence and oneness of Allah through the window of the manifestation of His Names and Attributes, they also become a veil of darkness for the concealment of His Sacred Essence. Similarly, Allah’s names and attributes indicate the existence and oneness of Allah with their marvelous manifestations but they are also a luminous veil for the concealment of His Sacred Essence.

Just like this book of the universe, the Quran is also enwrapped with meanings and is full of many secrets and wise reasons. It is not possible to move on to the next veil without watching one. There are innumerable curtains in front of human beings in order to be addressed in the true sense by the attribute of kalam (speech), which is the source of that divine decree.

If it is thought that the same Quran educated the companions, mujtahids, mujaddids, all saints and pure ones, and finally all believers, it is clear that there are seventy thousand veils between us and that divine word.

All plants turn their faces to the same Sun, but each takes advantage of it according to its own ability and receives blessings. Every tree in a garden is planted in the same soil, watered with the same water; but different fruits emerge from each of them.

Many attributes such as seeing, hearing, being powerful, being dominant and possessing are common between man and Allah. According to the verse “there is nothing whatever like unto Him (Allah)”, no human quality is exactly like a divine quality. That is how people’s curtains, hijabs and veils should be conceived.

Some people who call themselves “Salafi” say that Allah is on the throne (arsh). They even ask you, “Where is Allah?” When you answer, “Allah is free from space; He is not in any place”, they say, “Allah states in the Quran that He is on the throne. You have denied a verse of the Quran and become an unbeliever.” 

That is what they say. According to them, he who believes that Allah is free from space is an unbeliever and denies a verse of the Quran. 

We will destroy the backbone of that wrong thought of them in this book with the permission of Allah.

We will show how those who call themselves “salafi” accept something impossible. Every Salafi brother who is sane will see that his belief is wrong as he reads the lessons in this book and will notice what a sin he commits by attributing Allah to the throne. If he is fortunate, he will repent inshallah.

Those who say, “Allah is on the throne”! Where was Allah when the Throne did not exist?

Firstly, let us talk a bit about Allah’s being free of space:

It is very difficult for man, who is dependent on space to understand the meaning of being free of space. We can make it easy for the mind to understand it a bit as follows:  

If we ask you, “Is Allah pre-eternal?”, you will definitely say, “Yes, Allah is pre-eternal.” That is, He did not come into being afterwards; He was not created by others; He is self-existent.   

If we ask you, “Is matter pre-eternal?”, you will say, “No, matter is not pre-eternal. Matter was created by Allah and came into being afterwards.” 

We have agreed on the following two issues so far:

1. Allah is pre-eternal.
2. Matter is not pre-eternal; it came into being afterwards.

We will ask you the most important question now: Since Allah is pre-eternal and matter is not pre-eternal, where was Allah in pre-eternity?

What will your answer be? You will either say, Allah is free of space; He is not in any place with His being but He is everywhere with His names and attributes. You will say so and accept that Allah is free of space. Or, you will attribute a place to Allah. However, when you do it, you will have to accept that that space is also pre-eternal because a being that is pre-eternal cannot be in a place that came into being afterwards. Either the pre-eternal being has to be free of space or that place and matter have to be pre-eternal. There is no other alternative.

Now we ask the so-called Salafis who accept that Allah is on the Throne:

- Is the Throne pre-eternal or was it created afterwards?

  Or, we can ask it as follows:

- Did Allah create the Throne or did it exist in pre-eternity? 

Your answer will probably be as follows: “Allah created it.” You accept the following with that answer: Allah is pre-eternal and the throne was created afterwards.

Now we ask you the second question:

- Where was Allah before He created the Throne? 

That is, imagine as follows: We are in the eternity; the Throne has not been created yet; matter has not been created and the universe has not been created either. There is nothing except Allah. Where was Allah in pre-eternity, when matter and the Throne did not exist?

Answer that question.

You cannot say, “Allah was on the Throne” because the Throne had not been created yet. You cannot say, “Allah was somewhere” because matter had not been created yet. You have to state the following: Allah was not anywhere. Allah is free of space. You will say so or, you will attribute pre-eternity to the throne and matter. You have no other alternative.

You cannot attribute pre-eternity to the Throne and matter because pre-eternity is peculiar to Allah only. Besides, you accepted at the beginning that the throne was created by Allah. That acceptance led to a belief of Allah who is free from space. Now you say that Allah is on the throne. Why did you attribute space to Allah, who is free from space, after He created the universe? There can be no change in the attributes of Allah. Due to your wrong creed, you become obliged to accept that Allah underwent change. How can you accept it? 

With that wrong creed, you confine Allah, who is pre-eternal, to the Throne, which came into being afterwards. Can a being that is pre-eternal be confined to an object? What a creed is that? Do you not think of those issues at all?

The sins committed by those who say, “Allah is on the Throne.”

Now we will list the sins committed by those who say, “Allah is on the Throne.” Our addressee is the one who utters that statement. We address him as follows:  

The First Sin You Commit:

You say, “Allah is sitting on the Throne.” It is necessary to stand first before sitting. In that case, Allah was standing before He sat on the Throne according to you. In that case, you believe in a deity that stands, sits, goes, comes, lies, gets up, etc. In fact, we declare Allah to be free of all those human attributes. However, you commit a big sing by accepting Allah is like a human being.

The Second Sin You Commit:

Sitting is an attribute of a material being. Sitting is not in question for a being that is not material. For instance, since spirit is not a material being, we do not mention a spirit’s sitting and standing. If you accept that that Allah is sitting in the Throne, you will have to accept that Allah has a body and that He is a material being. In fact, according to our belief, Allah is free from matter. However, you commit a big sing by accepting that Allah is a material being.

The Third Sin You Commit:

If Allah is sitting on the Throne, He is either in the Throne or some of Him is in the Throne and some of Him has overflown out of the Throne. If He is in the Throne, it means the Throne has encompassed Allah. In that case, it means a being that Allah created has encompassed and surrounded Allah. 

If some part of Allah has overflown out of the Throne, where is the part that has overflown and to what place it has moved? We know through hadiths that the Throne has surrounded the whole universe and there is no material being beyond it. If Allah has not fit into the Throne, where is His remaining part? 

According to our belief, none of those questions can be asked because Allah is free from space. When you accept that Allah is sitting on the throne, you have to accept that either the Throne encompasses Allah or some part of Allah overflows out of the Throne; thus, you commit a big sin.

The Fourth Sin You Commit:

Sitting occurs due to a need or a pleasure. One of the reasons for sitting is the need for a rest due to getting tired. Allah is free from getting tired and needing to rest. 

Another reason for sitting is to take pleasure from sitting. Allah is free from taking pleasure in that sense. 

According to our belief, such a need and taking pleasure cannot be attributed to Allah since Allah is free from space. When you accept that Allah is sitting on the throne, you have to accept that Allah needs to rest or He takes pleasure from sitting; thus, you commit a big sin.

The Fifth Sin You Commit:

The being that sits on the Throne either can move and go to another place or cannot do so. If he can move from one place to another place, he becomes the place of moving and stopping. In that case, he becomes a being that was created afterwards because those attributes belong to a being that is created afterwards. If the second alternative is true, that is, if he cannot move and go, he becomes like a tied and imprisoned being.  

According to our belief, neither of those states is in question for Allah since Allah is free from space. When you accept that Allah is sitting on the throne, you have to accept one of those two alternatives; thus, you commit a big sin.

The Sixth Sin You Commit:

Since you attribute space to Allah, Allah is either in all places or in only one place. If he is in all places, you will have to accept that Allah is also in dirty places. No sane person can say so. If Allah is not in all places but only on the Throne, it means He confined Himself to a place. It is impossible for Allah.

According to our belief, neither of those states is in question for Allah since Allah is free from space. When you attribute space to Allah, you have to accept one of those two alternatives; thus, you commit a big sin.

Your statement “Allah is on the Throne” leads to such sins. Have you ever thought of such results when you say Allah is on the throne?

The statement “Allah is sitting on the Throne” sounds an innocent statement to you but it is not so. When you accept a statement, you will have to accept its results too.

Those who say, “Allah is on the Throne”! Where will Allah be when the angels bear the Throne?

We will ask those who say, “Allah is sitting on the Throne” a question: The following is stated in verse 17 of the chapter of al-Haqqa:

وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ ثَمَانِيَةٌ And the angels will be on its sides, and eight will, that Day, bear the Throne of thy Lord above them.

As the verse above clearly states, eight angels will bear the Throne on the Day of Judgment. Now we ask the person who says, “Allah is sitting on the Throne” the following question: 

- Where will Allah be when the angels bear the Throne?

If you say, “Allah is on the Throne”, it means angels will carry Allah. It is not possible because Allah is the being that protects and takes care of His creatures. The creature cannot protect, take care of or carry its Creator. Thus, that alternative is wrong.

If you say, “Allah will not be on the Throne”, we will ask the following question: Where will Allah be then?  

If you say, “Allah will not be anywhere”, you will accept that Allah is free from space. In that case, it will be wrong for you to claim that Allah is sitting on the Throne. 

If you say, “Allah is not free from space”, you have to say where Allah will go when He gets out of the Throne. 

You can see how your wrong belief make things difficult for you. According to our belief, none of those questions can be asked since Allah is free from space. 

In conclusion, we say that you have to accept one of the following three options:

1. Allah will be on the Throne when the angels carry it.

2. Allah will not be on the Throne but in another place when the angels carry the Throne. If you accept that option, you have to tell us the place where Allah will go.

3. Allah is free from space. If you accept that option, you have to repent of that belief that Allah is sitting on the Throne because a being that is free from space will not be in any place and will not sit anywhere. We, as members of Ahl as-Sunnah, accept the third option alhamdulillah.

What is the wisdom behind the metaphors and similes in the Quran?

To answer that question, we will first deal with the issue of metaphor and simile in the Quran. 

If a word is used in its own sense, it becomes a “usage in real/literal sense”. If it is used in a different sense from its original meaning and if there is something preventing it from being used in its own meaning, it becomes a “metaphor”. For instance, when we use the word “nightingale” for a bird, it becomes a “literal usage”; When we use it about someone with a beautiful voice, it becomes a “metaphor”.

As for simile, it is the art of comparing two things that have a material or spiritual relationship between them.

There are metaphors and similes in the Quran. Some people who accept Ibn Taymiyya and his views think that the apparent meanings of the verses are true because they deny metaphor and simile. Therefore, they accept the verse “Ar-Rahman (the All-Compassionate) established Himself on the Throne” in its literal meaning and accept the idea that Allah is sitting on the throne.

We will explain here why metaphors and similes exist in the Quran. We will give examples of metaphors and similes in the Quran in the next topic.

Let us start the issue with the following question:

- To whom was the Quran sent down? With whom does Allah speak through the Quran? 

The Quran was sent down to man and Allah’s addressee is man (human beings). Since the Quran was sent down to man, its style should be in a way that man can understand. In other words, its address should be suitable for the way people speak so that the reader of the Quran could easily understand its meaning.

It is known that he who speaks to a child speaks in a childish way. He talks slowly and makes short sentences so that the child can understand. When a doctor tells you about your illness, he will explain it in a way you can understand. If he does not consider your state and speaks based on his own knowledge by using medical terms, you will not understand anything. If you go to a lawyer, the lawyer will not tell you the issue by using legal parlance, but in a way that you can understand. It applies to all professionals.

Man’s aim when he speaks is to make his addressee understand him. If one speaks without taking into account the understanding of his addressee and if he cannot understand him, that speech has no sense and is an unwise speech. Therefore, literary people and orators use metaphors and similes in order to imagine subtle truths and to describe and express dispersed meanings.

Thus, Allah speaks in the Quran in a way that people can understand because of His wisdom and mercy. He uses the metaphors and similes to which we are accustomed. When we speak to one another, we use metaphors and similes; likewise, Allah conveys some high realities to us through metaphors and similes.

The Quran is a general teacher and guide sent down to all people. Its students are human beings. Most of the people are not scholars but common people. In matters of guidance, the minority follows the majority. That is, it does not make his general guidance according to the level of the few people for the sake of those few people. When the common people are addressed, the educated classes can benefit from it and receive their share. If the common people are not regarded as essential and if it speaks according to the scholars, the common people will be deprived of the truth since they cannot understand those high-level speeches.

Thus, Allah takes the common people into account in His address and speaks with the styles and similes to which they are accustomed so that most people will not be deprived of the guidance of the Quran. 

Common people cannot apprehend sheer truths since they cannot free their minds from the statements and words to which they are accustomed. However, those high truths must be told to them with the expressions to which they are accustomed. That form of expression is called “divine condescension”. Divine condescension means Allah’s speaking according to the understanding of human beings. It is a divine caressing so that people’s minds will not be alienated from the truth.

Similes and metaphors in the Quran are a means of accessing to the truth. The real meaning of those similes is not meant. 

In other words, the metaphors of the Quran called mutashabihat (allegories) are binoculars or prescription glasses to enable people to access to the truths and see the deepest subtleties.

Since Ibn Taymiyya did not know what we mentioned above, he thought the similes and metaphors of the Quran were literal; thus, he himself deviated and caused thousands of people to deviate. He thought as follows: “Allah is free from speaking by using metaphors and similes.” He could not know that what is essential in conversation is the state of the addressee, not the state of the speaker. A speech is made according to the level of the addressee and his understanding is taken into consideration. If it is not made like that, it will be a nonsensical and useless conversation since the speech cannot be understood. Allah is free from doing useless things.  Therefore, the divine wisdom necessitates the presence of metaphors and similes in His speech. 

We tried to explain the issue by making use of the work of Badiuzzaman Said Nursi. Doubtlessly, we could not preserve the strength in the style of Nursi. We recommend you to read the issue from the Risale-i Nur Collection.

Examples of metaphors and similes in the Quran.

Now we will give examples of metaphors and similes from the Quran and show what Ibn Taymiyya and his followers, who do not accept metaphors, will have to accept. 

The first examples are the verses related to Allah’s forgetting. The following is stated in verse 51 of the chapter of al-A’raf:

 فَالْيَوْمَ نَنْسَاهُمْ كَمَا نَسُوا لِقَاءَ يَوْمِهِمْ هَـذَ That day shall We forget them as they forgot the meeting of this day of theirs.

 The following is stated in verse 67 of the chapter of at-Tawba:

  نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَنَسِيَهُمْ They have forgotten Allah. So He hath forgotten them. 

The following is stated in verse 15 of the chapter of as-Sajda:

  إِنَّا نَسِينَاكُمْ And We too will forget you. 

Allah’s forgetting is mentioned in the verses above. We, who accept the existence of metaphors in the Quran, understand the forgetting mentioned in those verses as Allah’s forgetting in terms of His mercy; that is, not treating them with His mercy and not doing favors to them. We declare Allah to be free from forgetting.

What about you, the followers of Ibn Taymiyya? How do you understand those verses? You say, “There is no metaphor in the Quran.” In that case, you have to understand the forgetting in the verse literally. In that case, you have to accept that Allah forgets. 

- Does Allah that you believe in forget?  
- Do you believe in a deity that forgets?
- Can you see what you have to accept by denying the metaphors in the Quran?

The second example is the verse related to Allah’s hand. The following is stated in verse 75 of the chapter of Sad:  

قَالَ يَا إِبْلِيسُ Allah said: O Iblis! مَا مَنَعَكَ أَنْ تَسْجُدَ What prevents thee from prostrating thyself لِمَا خَلَقْتُ بِيَدَيَّ to one whom I have created with my hands (Adam)?

In the verse above, it is stated that Allah created Hz. Adam with His two hands. We, those who accept metaphors in the Quran, interpret the two hands in the verse as the power of Allah and say what is meant by “hand” is “power”. With that explanation, we declare that Allah is free from having hands.

What about you, the followers of Ibn Taymiyya? How do you understand that verse? You say, “There is no metaphor in the Quran.” In that case, you have to understand the two hands in the verse literally. Then, you have to accept that Allah has two hands. Allah states that He created Adam from soil. So, according to you, - God forbid – did Allah crouch and create Adam out of soil?

- Do you believe in a deity that has two hands and makes a man out of soil with his hands?
- Can you see what you have to accept by denying the metaphors in the Quran?

The third example is the verse related to Allah’s face. The following is stated in verse 115 of the chapter of al-Baqara:

  وَلِلَّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ To Allah belong the east and the West. فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا Whithersoever ye turn فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ there is the face of Allah.

It is stated in the verse above that Allah has a face. We, those who accept metaphors in the Quran, interpret the face in the verse as Allah’s consent and say that what is meant in the verses is “divine consent”. With that explanation, we declare that Allah is free from having a face. 

What about you, the followers of Ibn Taymiyya? How do you understand that verse? You say, “There is no metaphor in the Quran.” In that case, you have to accept the word face in the verse literally. In that case, you have to accept that Allah has a face. If that face is there wherever we turn, it means that face surrounds and encompasses the world. However, in that case, we will encounter Allah’s face wherever we turn.

- Do you believe in a deity that has a face like a human being and that surrounds the whole world?
- Can you see what you have to accept by denying the metaphors in the Quran?

Brothers! It is very important to prove the existence of metaphors and similes in the Quran because those who claim that Allah is on the Throne deny the metaphors in the Quran and accept the apparent meaning of the verse as true. First of all, we need to refute their statement, “There is no metaphor in the Quran.” After refuting it, we need to explain the meaning of the simile about Allah’s sitting on the Throne.

It is meaningless to explain the simile of Allah sitting on the Throne without refuting the statement, “There is no metaphor in the Quran.” For, in that case, they will say to us, “There is no metaphor in the Quran” and will not accept our explanation. Therefore, we need to give more examples of metaphors from the Quran; once it becomes clear, we can explain the meaning of Allah’s sitting on the Throne. 

The fourth example is the verse related to Allah’s being in the heavens and on earth. The following is stated in verse 3 of the chapter of al-Anam:

  وَهُوَ اللَّهُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَفِي اْلأَرْضِ And He is Allah in the heavens and on the earth.

It is stated in the verse above that Allah is both in the heavens and on the earth. We, those who accept metaphors in the Quran, explain it as Allah’s being everywhere with His names and attributes. That is, “Allah has encompassed everything with His knowledge, power and other names.” With that explanation, we declare that Allah is free from being in a place.

What about you, the followers of Ibn Taymiyya? How do you understand that verse? You say, “There is no metaphor in the Quran.” Therefore, you accept the verse “Ar-Rahman (the All-Compassionate) established Himself on the Throne” as true and say that Allah is on the Throne. It is stated in the verse above that Allah is in the heavens and on the earth. In that case, you have to accept that verse as true. Then, the following state occurs: 

By accepting that Allah is sitting on the Throne, you have to accept that Allah is a material being and body because sitting in a place is an attribute of a body that is a material being. You have encountered another verse now stating that Allah is in the heavens and on the earth. In that case, according to you, Allah should be divided into three and each part of him should be in a different place because a material being cannot be in three places at the same time. The only way to be in three places at the same time is to be divided into three. In that case, you will have to accept that Allah is divided into three, one part of Him being on the Throne, another part in the heavens and the other part on the earth.

- Do you believe in a deity that is broken into pieces and divided into parts?
- Can you see what you have to accept by denying the metaphors in the Quran?

The fifth example is the verse related to Allah’s grasping every creature of its forelock. The following is stated in verse 56 of the chapter of Hud: 

  مَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ إِلاَّ هُوَ آخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهَا There is not a moving creature, but He hath grasp of its fore-lock. 

It is stated in the verse above that Allah grasps the forelocks of all creatures. Forelock is the hair that hangs down over the forehead. We, those who accept metaphors in the Qur’an, explain Allah’s grasping the forelocks of beings as Allah’s domination over them, managing them and controlling them. With that explanation, we declare that Allah is free from having as many hands as the living beings, from holding the forelocks of the living beings and having a material contact with them.

What about you, the followers of Ibn Taymiyya? How do you understand that verse? You say, “There is no metaphor in the Quran.” It is stated in the verse above that Allah grasps the forelocks of all creatures. In that case, you have to accept that verse as true. Then, the following state occurs: 

Allah has as many hands as the living things – God forbid – and He holds the forelock of a living being with each hand. There is such a material contact between Allah and the beings.

- Do you believe in a deity that has billions of hands and holds the forelocks with those hands?
- Can you see what you have to accept by denying the metaphors in the Quran?

The sixth example is the verse related to Allah’s two hands being widely outstretched. The following is stated in verse 64 of the chapter of al-Maida:

   وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ يَدُ اللَّهِ مَغْلُولَةٌ The Jews say: “(Allah)’s hand is tied up.” غُلَّتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَلُعِنُوا بِمَا قَالُوا Be their hands tied up and be they accursed for the (blasphemy) they utter.  بَلْ يَدَاهُ مَبْسُوطَتَانِ Nay, both His hands are widely outstretched.  يُنْفِقُ كَيْفَ يَشَاءُ  He giveth and spendeth (of His bounty) as He pleaseth.

It is stated in the verse above that Allah’s two hands are widely outstretched. We, those who accept metaphors in the Qur’an, explain Allah’s two hands being widely outstretched as Allah’s being generous. With that explanation, we declare that Allah is free from having hands like human beings and His hands being widely outstretched. We say, “Those attributes belong to human beings. Allah is free from having the attributes of human beings.” 

What about you, the followers of Ibn Taymiyya? How do you understand that verse? You say, “There is no metaphor in the Quran.” It is stated in the verse above that Allah’s two hands are widely outstretched. In that case, you have to accept that verse as true.

- Do you believe in a deity whose two hands are widely outstretched?

It is stated at the beginning of the verse that the Jews say, “Allah’s hand is tied up.” Did the Jews, according to you, mean “Allah has material hands and those hands are tied up” when they said so? Or, did they mean Allah is stingy – God forbid. If you deny metaphors, you will have to accept the first option. However, the hand’s being tied up or outstretched is a metaphorical expression. We say, “his hands are tied; he is tight-fisted” for a stingy person. It is true for a stingy person even if he does not have hands. We say, “openhanded” for a generous person. It is true for a generous person even if he does not have hands. 

Besides, the end of the verse makes it is clear that this meaning is meant. يُنْفِقُ كَيْفَ يَشَاءُ  ‘He giveth and spendeth (of His bounty) as He pleaseth’ is stated at the end of the verse. It proves that the hand’s being outstretched is a metaphorical expression for generosity.    

The seventh example is the verse related to Allah’s taking structures from their foundations and demolishing buildings. The following is stated in verse 26 of the chapter of an-Nahl:

  قَدْ مَكَرَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ Those before them did also plot (against Allah’s Way):  فَأَتَى اللَّهُ بُنْيَانَهُمْ مِنَ الْقَوَاعِدِ but Allah took their structures from their foundations فَخَرَّ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّقْفُ مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ and the roof fell down on them from above.

It is stated in the verse above that Allah took structures from their foundations and demolished buildings. We, those who accept metaphors in the Quran, explain it as Allah’s penalty coming. That is, we say, “Allah’s penalty came and demolished their buildings.” With that explanation, we declare that Allah is free from coming to a building and demolishing it with His hands.

What about you, the followers of Ibn Taymiyya? How do you understand that verse? You say, “There is no metaphor in the Quran.” Therefore, you accept the verse “Ar-Rahman (the All-Compassionate) established Himself on the Throne” as true and say that Allah is on the Throne.

It is stated in the verse above that Allah takes structures from their foundations and demolish buildings. In that case, you have to accept that verse as true. Then, you will have to believe in the following: 

When Allah wants to demolish the buildings of a rebellious nation, He gets out of the throne and goes to that city. He demolishes the buildings with His hands. Can you see what you have to accept by denying the metaphors in the Quran?

The eighth example is the verse related to those being blind in the world also being blind in the hereafter. The following is stated in verse 72 of the chapter of al-Isra: 

  وَمَنْ كَانَ فِي هذِهِ أَعْمَى But those who were blind in this world, فَهُوَ فِي اْلآخِرَةِ أَعْمَى  will be blind in the hereafter

It is stated in the verse above that those who are blind in the word will be blind in the hereafter too. We, those who accept metaphors in the Quran, explain the blindness in the verse as the blindness of the heart and state the following: Those whose hearts are blind toward the truths in this world, that is, those who are unbelievers, will be resurrected as blind in the hereafter. The believers who are blind in the word will not be blind in the hereafter. The decree of the verse is metaphorical; material blindness is not meant.

What about you, the followers of Ibn Taymiyya? How do you understand that verse? You say, “There is no metaphor in the Quran.” It is stated in the verse above that those who are blind in the word will be blind in the hereafter too. In that case, you have to accept the following: Those who are blind in the word will be blind in the hereafter even if they enter Paradise and they will not be able to see any boons of Paradise. In that case, the blind Companion Umm Maktum, the great hearo about whom verses were sent down will be blind in Paradise, according to you, and will not be able to see any boons of Paradise. Do you believe in it? Can you see what you have to accept due to saying, “There is no metaphor in the Quran”?

The ninth example is the verse related to men and women being garments of each other. The following is stated in verse 187 of the chapter of al-Baqara:

   هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَكُمْ They (women) are your garments وَأَنْتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَهُنَّ and ye are their garments.

It is stated in the verse above that men and women are garments of each other. We, those who accept metaphors in the Quran, state that the phrase “being garments” in the verse is metaphorical. The following are meant by it:

1. A human being cannot be without garments; similarly, women and men cannot be without each other.

2. Just as garments wrap people so too do women and men wrap each other.

3. Garments cover the flaws of people; similarly, women and men cover the flaws of each other.

Women and men being garments of each other expresses the meanings above and similar ones. That is what we say; we regard it as a metaphor.

What about you, the followers of Ibn Taymiyya? How do you understand that verse? You say, “There is no metaphor in the Quran.” If there is no metaphor in the Quran, how can women and men be garments of each other? A garment is something that is worn. I have never seen a man wearing a woman or a woman wearing a man. I have never seen a man or a woman being hung like a garment either. If the word garment in the verse was used literally, we would see things like that.

How can you say “There is no metaphor in the Quran” despite so many verses? We do not understand it.  

We will make a different analysis with the tenth example.

Those who do not accept the metaphors in the Quran have to accept verses that attribute organs to Allah as literal. In that case, they accept that Allah is made up of organs and parts. When they do so, they will have two options:

Either they will not add anything to the organs mentioned in the Quran or they will add other organs to those organs. The second option is impossible because it is not possible to attribute the organs that Allah does not mention to Him. Therefore, they will have to accept only the organs mentioned in the Quran. In that case, let us see how those who do not accept metaphors will have to describe Allah:

1. The following is stated in verse 28 of the chapter of al-Qasas: “Everything (that exists) will perish except His own Face.” If everything except Allah will perish, Allah consists of a face only.

2. The following is stated in verse 115 of the chapter of al-Baqara: “Whithersoever ye turn, there is the face of Allah.” If that face is there wherever we turn, it means that face surrounds and encompasses the world. It means Allah consists of a face only and that face has surrounded the world.

3. The following is stated in verse 14 of the chapter of al-Qamar: “She floats under our eyes (and care).” According to that verse, there are several eyes in the face that surrounds the world.

4. The following is stated in verse 71 of the chapter Yasin: “Our hands have fashioned.” According to that verse, there are several hands in that face.

5. The following is stated in verse 42 of the chapter of al-Qamar: “The Day that the shin shall be laid bare.” According to that verse, there is only one leg in that face and the shin of that leg will be laid bare on that day.

In that depiction, a face with several eyes, several hands and a single leg appears. It is known that that form is the ugliest shape. Those who do not accept the metaphors in the Quran have to accept Allah like that.

We, those who accept the metaphors in the Quran, accept all those words as metaphors and similes, and we declare Allah to be free from such ugliness. And we say, ‘All the beauty of Paradise is a weak shadow of Allah’s beauty and a manifestation of that beauty.

O followers Ibn Taymiyya who deny metaphors! That description of Allah is enough for you as sin. If you say, “We do not describe Allah like that”, you have to accept metaphors. When you accept it, you have to accept that Allah’s sitting on the throne is also a metaphor.

There are two ways for you: One: You will say “There is no metaphor in the Quran” and accept that description of Allah, which we have depicted because that description is based on the apparent meanings of the verses. Two: If you cannot accept that description, you will have to accept the metaphors in the Quran. When you accept it, you will have to give up that wrong idea by accepting that the verse related to Allah’s being on the throne is a metaphor. You have no other way.

With that example, we have completed 10 examples of metaphors and similes.

As we mentioned before, it is very important to prove the existence of metaphors and similes in the Quran. For, those who claim that Allah is on the Throne deny the metaphors in the Quran and accept the apparent meanings of the verses as real. First of all, we need to refute their statement, “There is no metaphor in the Quran.” Only after refuting it can we explain the meaning of the simile about Allah’s sitting on the Throne. Therefore, we regarded it appropriate to give 10 examples regarding the metaphors in the Quran.

We can give more than 50 examples if we know that you will not get bored. We think it is enough to give 10 examples to prove the issue.

What is the meaning of Allah’s establishing Himself on the Throne?

In this part, we will explain the meaning of the verse “Allah established Himself on the Throne.” 

In the previous parts, we explained the wisdom behind the metaphors and similes in the Quran and gave 10 examples related to it., We proved the existence of metaphors in the Quran with those examples. The statement “Allah sat on the Throne” is also a metaphorical statement and it consists of a simile. Real sitting is not in question. Allah is free from sitting, standing, and other human attributes.

We use such similes of a lot while speaking. For example, if we say, “So and so sat on the board” about a large company; we do not mean a real sitting; We mean that so and so became an administrator and will manage the business. That statement is true even if that person does not really sit in a chair because we not mean real sitting by it, but handling things.

We use “sitting on the board” for the company but we use the phrase “sitting on the throne” for a country. If someone becomes the king of a country, we say, “So and so sat on the throne.” When we say so, we mean neither the real throne nor real sitting. What we mean is that so and so became the ruler, that he rules the state and that he is responsible for everything.

Thus, Allah declares His sovereignty in this world, His authority, His being the sole owner of the affairs and the sultan of the whole world, with the phrase “sitting on the throne”. The Throne represents the throne of this realm; the sovereignty of Allah, who is the sultan of pre-eternity and post-eternity, is expressed by sitting on it. There is no real sitting here; the Throne is not a real throne either. It is a simile, a metaphor. The phrase sitting on the throne is used in the sense of sovereignty; being powerful, managing and controlling everything.  

The phrase “sat on the throne” is stronger and more eloquent than phrases like “became the king, possessed and dominated”. Therefore, our Lord preferred that strong and eloquent expression; He expressed his sovereignty and reign with a simile.

Although the issue is so simple, a group of people who call themselves Salafis think that the metaphorical statement is literal and accept the wrong idea that Allah sits on the Throne. May Allah guide them!

What is the meaning of the hadith of nuzul?

The Prophet (pbuh) states the following in hadith of nuzul: 

“When it is the last third of the night, our Lord descends to the sky of the world and says, ‘Is there anyone who invokes Me so that I may respond to his invocation? Is there anyone who asks Me for something so that I may give it to him? Is there anyone who asks My forgiveness so that I may forgive him?”

Those who claim that Allah is on the Throne show that hadith and state the following: It is mentioned in the hadith that Allah descends to the sky of the world. It is necessary to be on top in order to descend to the sky of the world. That top is the place called the Throne. So, according to them, Allah sits on the Throne. When two-thirds of the night passes, He descends to the sky of the world.

Those people, who call themselves Salafis, do not have the ability to reason at all. They think the metaphor in the hadith is literal. The meaning of the hadith is that the thawabs of the deeds of worship performed at that time are many times more than those performed at other times and that prayers (duas) said at that time are answered quickly. That is, what descends to the sky of the world is not Allah Himself but His mercy, grace, and grants. Allah expresses the abundance of His grants at those hours with a metaphorical statement. However, those Salafis understand neither metaphors nor similes.

Now, we will ask Salafis, who think metaphors are real, 6 questions. When they hear those questions, they will be ashamed of their creed.

1. Why does Allah descend to the sky of the world? Can He not hear the voices of those who pray to Him in the world and see them – God forbid – since He comes down to the sky to hear their voices and see who is praying? O Salafis! What is the wisdom behind His descending to the sky of the world?

2. Suppose that Allah descended. We do not hear that call of Allah. Why should Allah say a word that we do not hear every night? Do you always call out to someone who does not hear you? O Salafis! What is the use of Allah’s calling out like that every night?

3. It is stated in hadiths that if we took the whole universe and threw it to the place called the kursiyy (chair), the ratio of the universe to the kursiyy would be like a ring thrown into the desert. So, if the universe were a ring, the kursiyy would be a desert. The kursiyy is so big. If we took the kursiyy and threw it on the Throne, the kursiyy would be like a ring in a desert on the Throne. 

Now imagine this: If Allah is on the Throne, in order to descend to the sky of the world, He will descend first to the kursiyy and then to the sky of the world. Salafis say that Allah encompasses the Throne. How will Allah fit into the chair then? The kursiyy is like a ring in the desert compared to the Throne. Suppose that He fit into the kursiyy; how will He fit into the sky of the world? Allah needs to get smaller as He descends from the Throne in order to fit into the sky of the world.

- O Salafis! Do you believe in deity that gets smaller and changes?

4. The nights of the countries are at different times. While it is night in a place, it is noon in another place, afternoon in another place and evening in yet another place. That time of the night mentioned in the hadith coincides with another side of the earth at any moment. In that case, Allah needs to shuttle between the Throne and the world all the time. When it is the last third of the night in a country, Allah needs to descend to the sky close to that country; when there is a gap, He needs to go up to the Throne again; then, He needs to descend to the sky of another country immediately.

- O Salafis! Do you believe in such a deity that shuttles between the throne and the world?

5. Is Allah the ruler and controller of the sky of the world when He is on the Throne? If they say, “Yes, He is the ruler and controller “, we will say, since He is the ruler and controller, why does He come down to the sky of the world? He can also rule from the Throne. If they say, “Yes, He is not the ruler and controller “, we will say,

- Who rules the sky of the world when Allah is on the Throne?
- And who will rule the Throne when descends to the sky of the world?
- O Salafis! Can you see what questions you are asked due to your wrong belief?

6. If the statement that Allah descends to the sky of the world is accepted as true literally, we have to accept the existence of movement about Allah. In other words, Allah moves from the Throne and descends to the sky of the world. However, moving means passing to a different state from the previous state, that is, transforming from one state into another. Moving from one state to another means that a later state enters into the owner of the movement. For, the being that moves is in a different state before it moves. That state changes with the movement and the new state enters into him. It is inferred from that state that Allah came into being afterwards since something that occurs afterwards enters into Him.

- O Salafis! Do you believe in a deity that is not pre-eternal and came into being afterwards?
- If you say, “No, our Lord is pre-eternal”, we will say, “How do attributes that come into beings afterwards enter into a pre-eternal being?”

The analysis of the hadith “Where is Allah?”

We will analyze the hadith اَيْنَ اللَّهُ “Where is Allah?”, which Salafis use as evidence. The hadith اَيْنَ اللَّهُ is as follows:  

Once, the Prophet (pbuh) asked a female slave the question “Where is Allah?” to understand whether she was a Muslim or not. She answered that question as follows: “Allah is in the sky.” Then, the Prophet (pbuh) asked her, “Who am I?” She said, “You are the Messenger of Allah.” Thereupon, the Prophet (pbuh) decided that she was a Muslim.

Salafis show that hadith as evidence and say, The Prophet (pbuh) accepted the female slave’s statement “Allah is in the sky” and decided that she was a Muslim. So, Allah is in the sky. A person is asked that question in order to understand whether he is a Muslim or not. If he says that Allah is in the sky, it is decided that he is a Muslim.

That is what Salafis say. In this part, we will refute what they say. First of all, the hadith mentioned above is weak because there is idtirab (confusion) in the hadith. The meaning of idtirab in hadith terminology is as follows:

Even if a hadith’s chain of narrators is sound, if it is reported by different narrators and if there is a discrepancy in the text of the hadith, it is called idtirab. Idtirab reduces the degree of the soundness of the hadith to weakness. Let us see through how many different ways that hadith is narrated:

The first narration was reported by Ata b. Yasar in the form we mentioned above. In that hadith, the Prophet (pbuh) asked, “Where is Allah?” The female slave answered that question by saying, “Allah is in the sky.”

The second narration was also reported by Ata b. Yasar. In that narration, the Prophet (pbuh) did not ask, “Where is Allah?” He raised his hand and pointed as if asking, “Who is in the sky?” (adh-Dhahabi, al-Uluww lil Aliyyil Azim, 1/254)

The third narration was also reported by Ata b. Yasar. It is as follows: The Prophet (pbuh) said to the female slave, “Do you bear witness that there is no god but Allah?” She said “Yes”.  He asked, “Do you bear witness that Muhammad is the slave and Messenger of Allah?” She said “Yes” again. (Abdurrazzaq, al-Musannaf, 9/195)

The hadith was also reported Ubaydullah b. Utba in the same form (Abu Dawud, Ayman, 16; Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, 3/452)

In the fourth narration, the female slave answered the questions of the Prophet (pbuh) only with gestures. (Abu Dawud, Ayman, 16; Ahmed Ibn Hanbal, 2/291) That is, the Prophet (pbuh) asked the female slave, “Where is Allah?” She pointed upwards with her hand.

In the fifth narration, the Prophet (pbuh) did not ask the female slave, “Where is Allah?” He asked, “Who is your lord?” She pointed upwards with her hand. (Ibn Khuzayma, Kitabut Tawhid, 123)

In the sixth narration, the female slave did not make a gesture with her hand; she pointed upwards with her head.

As you can see, the narrations of the hadith are different. In a narration, the Prophet (pbuh) asked, “Where is Allah?” In another narration, he asked, “Who is your Lord?” In another narration, he did not ask. He just raised his hand and pointed upwards. In another narration, he asked, “Do you bear witness that there is no god but Allah?” In a narration, the female slave said, “Allah is in the sky.” However, in another narration, she did not say so; she only pointed upwards with her hand. In another narration, she pointed upwards with her head.

Because of those differences in the narrations, idtirab occurred. Idtirab also reduced the degree of soundness of the hadith to weakness.

So, what should Salafis do now? They should do this: They should show a sound hadith in the same sense and base that weak hadith on it. Let them show us a sound hadith in the same sense. They cannot show. If they cannot find sound hadiths, let them show at least weak hadiths. Let the weak come together and become strong. Can they show a weak hadith in the same sense? No, they cannot do it either because there is no other hadith in the same sense.

Now you probably wonder and say: Did the Prophet (pbuh) never investigate or question whether a person was a Muslim or not, apart from that incident? Is that the only incident? No, there are tens of incidents that the Prophet (pbuh) questioned. However, the Prophet (pbuh) did not ask, “Where is Allah?” in any of those incidents. The only questions he asked were: “Who is your Lord?” and “Who am I?”

Let us report 6 out of tens of those examples:

The first incident was reported from ash-Sharid b. Suwayd. Ash-Sharid b. Suwayd came to the Prophet (pbuh) and said to him that his mother wanted him, before her death, to liberate a believing female slave and that he owned a black female slave. He asked the Prophet whether he would be regarded to have fulfilled his mother’ will by freeing her. The Prophet (pbuh) told him to bring the female slave to him. When she came, the Prophet (pbuh) asked, “Who is your Lord?”. The female slave said “Allah”. Then, he asked “Who am I?” She said, “You are the Messenger of Allah.” Thereupon, the Prophet (pbuh) said to ash-Sharid b. Suwayd: “You can free her because she is a believer.” (Ahmed Ibn Hanbal, 4/222, 388-9; Ibn Hibban, 1, 419)

The second incident is a similar one and was reported by Ibn Abi Shayba.

A man came to the Prophet (pbuh) and said that his mother vowed to free a believing slave and that he had a female slave. The Prophet (pbuh) told him to bring the female slave to him. When she came, the Prophet (pbuh) asked, “Do you bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah?”. The female slave said “Yes”. Thereupon, the Prophet (pbuh) said to the Companion, “Free her.” (Ibn Abi Shayba, 7/215)

The third incident was reported by al-Hakim. This time, a woman came to the Prophet (pbuh) and she had a black female slave with her. The Prophet (pbuh) asked the following questions to find out whether she was a believer or not:

“Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who am I? Do you perform prayers? Do you accept that what I brought from Allah is true?” When the female slave answered all those questions by saying, “Yes”, the Prophet (pbuh) said to the woman, “Free her.” (al-Hakim, 3/258)

The fourth incident is as follows: In order to find out whether a man who said he saw the crescent of Ramadan was a believer or not, the Prophet (pbuh) asked him: “Do you witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and messenger?” When the man said “Yes”, the Prophet (pbuh) ordered the Companions to start fasting. (Abu Dawud, Siyam, 14; Nasai, Siyam, 8; Tirmidhi, Sawm, 7; Ibn Majah, Siyam, 6)

The fifth incident is as follows: When the boy of a Jewish family was in the deathbed, the Prophet (pbuh) went to him and asked him, “Will you witness that there is no god but Allah?” The boy said “Yes”. Thereupon, the Prophet (pbuh) asked: “Will you bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?” The boy replied “Yes” again. When the child died after a while, the Prophet (pbuh) and the Companions washed and buried him. (Tabarani, al-Mu’jamul Kabir, 8/67; Haythami, Majmauz Zawaid, 2/323)

The sixth incident is the story of Ibn Sayyad, which is mentioned in many sources, including Bukhari and Muslim. The Prophet (pbuh) asked Ibn Sayyad: “Do you bear witness that I am the Messenger of Allah?”

There are many more incidents like the ones above. Those examples show that the Prophet (pbuh) did not ask the question “Where is Allah?” in order to understand whether a person was a believer or not but asked the questions, “Who is your Lord?” and “Who am I?” and that he wanted his addressee to utter kalima ash-shahadah. It is not possible to mention a weak hadith as evidence when there are so many sound hadiths. 

Hafiz Abdullah b. Muhammad al-Harari states the following in his book titled “Sharhus Siratul Mustaqim”: The hadith about the female slave is not sound due to two reasons.

1. This hadith is a mudtarib (confused) hadith because there are narrations of it that are different from one another.

2. That hadith is contrary to the rules of methodology because, according to the rules of our religion, a person who utters kalima ash-shahadah becomes a believer and a Muslim. As a matter of fact, in the hadith narrated by 15 Companions, the Prophet (pbuh) says, “I have been ordered to fight until people witness that there is no god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah.”

If the hadith “Where is Allah?” is accepted according to its apparent meaning, it is contrary to mutawatir hadiths. In that case, it is either interpreted or rejected because hadith scholars reject hadiths that are contrary to mutawatir hadiths and that cannot be interpreted.

The following question can come to mind at that point:  

- Imam Bukhari narrated the hadith of the female slave mentioned above. How can we not accept a hadith narrated by Imam Bukhari as sound?

We answer it as follows: Imam Bukhari did not include that hadith in his Sahih. He included it in his book named “Khalqu Af’alil-Ibad”. He did not say, “All the hadiths in this book are valid.” Besides, Imam Bukhari accepts that some hadiths in his Sahih as weak. He wrote those hadiths without a chain of narrators to indicate that they were weak. We explained that issue in our works about hadith defense. Those who wish can refer to it.

We have proved the following points so far in this part:

1. The hadith about the female slave is weak because there is idtirab in the hadith.

2. The Prophet (pbuh) did not ask anyone except that female slave the question “Where is Allah?” That is the only hadith with that question.

3. The questions the Prophet (pbuh) asked were “Who is your Lord?” and “Who am I?” In addition, he wanted his addressees to utter kalima ash-shahadah.

4. The hadith about the female slave is contrary to the rules of methodology because, according to the rules of our religion, a person who utters kalima ash-shahadah becomes a believer and a Muslim. 

After all those explanations, if Salafis still insist and say, “No, we act based on the hadith about the female slave”, we will give them a different explanation: 

We say to them: Even if you accept the hadith about the female slave as sound, it does not prove that Allah is in the sky. For, the Prophet (pbuh) asked اَيْنَ اللَّهُ. The word اَيْنَ in Arabic is not used only for space (place). It is used for both space and glory, that is, fame. So, the question can be in the form of “Where is Allah’s glory?” instead of “Where is Allah?” When the female slave said, “in the sky”, she meant, “His position is very high.” As a matter of fact, when Arabs say, “The place of so and so is in the sky”, they neither mean the sky nor to occupy a place there. They mean the loftiness of that person’s glory with that statement.

Many scholars like Imam Razi (Asasut Taqdis), Hafiz Subki (as-Sayfus Saqil), Imam Qurtubi (at-Tadhkar), Imam Nawawi (Sharhu Sahihi Muslim) Imam Suyuti (Sharhu Sunani Tirmidhi) Imam Abu Hayyan Andulusi (Tafsir al-Bahrul Muhit), Hafiz Asqalani (Risalah al- Qazwini) interpreted the word اَيْنَ in the hadith as glory, that is, fame. 

O Salafis! You have no place to go. If you ignore the idtirab in the hadith, if you do not heed the hadith scholars’ statement, “That hadith is weak” and even if you accept that hadith as sound, you cannot prove that Allah is in the sky because we can interpret the word اَيْنَ in the hadith as glory since it is a style used by Arabs.

Who is in the sky?

We will answer an evidence of Salafis in this part.

 Salafis say, God Almighty states the following: 

أَأَمِنْتُمْ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ أَنْ يَخْسِفَ بِكُمُ الأَرْضَ Do ye feel secure that He Who is in the heavens will not cause you to be swallowed up by the earth when it shakes (as in an earthquake)? (al-Mulk, 67/16)

 أَمْ أَمِنْتُمْ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاء أَنْ يُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاصِبًا Or do ye feel secure that He Who is in the heavens will not send against you a violent tornado (with showers of stones)? (al-Mulk, 67/17) 

Allah is meant by the phrase “who is in the sky (heavens)” in the verses above which proves that Allah is in the sky.

That is what Salafis say. First of all, we say to them: The word “Allah” is not mentioned in the verse. The phrase “he who is in the heavens” is used. How do you know what is meant by the word “he who is in the heavens”? The phrase “he who is in the heavens” can be explained in four different ways:

Firstly: What is meant by the phrase he who is in the heavens is Hz. Jibril (Gabriel) because he destroyed many nations based on divine command. Accordingly, the meaning of the verse is as follows:

“Do ye feel secure that Jibril, who is in the heavens, will not cause you to be swallowed up by the earth when it shakes (as in an earthquake)?”

Salafis will answer that explanation as follows: He who is in the heavens cannot be Jibril because it is Allah who will cause people to be swallowed up by the earth.

We will say to them: By Allah! You do not understand the Quran at all. Now we will prove it:

Who sent down the Quran? You will probably say, “Allah sent it down.” Let us have a look at 97 of the chapter of al-Baqara: 

 مَنْ كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِجِبْرِيلَ Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel... فَإِنَّهُ نَزَّلَهُ عَلَى قَلْبِكَ -for he brings down the (revelation) to thy heart. (al-Baqara, 2/97) 

What does the verse say? ... “Gabriel sent down the Quran.” said. In fact, it is Allah who sent down the Quran. So, why is it attributed to Gabriel in the verse? Because Gabriel is a means (an agent). A verb can be attributed to the agent.

Our Second Example: We ask Salafis again: Who is the one that kills man? You will probably say, “Allah kills man. Death and life are in His hands.” Let us have a look at verse 11 of the chapter of as-Sajda:

 قُلْ يَتَوَفَّيكُمْ مَلَكُ الْمَوْتِ Say: “The Angel of Death, put in charge of you, will (duly) take your souls. (as-Sajda, 32/11)

What does the verse say? “The angel of death will kill you.” However, it is Allah who kills us. So why is the killing attributed to the angel of death? Because the angel of death is a means (an agent). A verb can be attributed to the agent.

Let us give another example: We ask Salafis again: Who will resurrect people after Doomsday? Who will take people out of the ground? You will probably say, “Allah will do it.” Let us have a look at verse 2 of the chapter of az-Zilzal:

  وَأَخْرَجَتِ الْأَرْضُ أَثْقَالَهَا And when the earth throws up her burdens (from within) (az-Zilzal, 99/2)

The “burdens” mentioned in the verse are dead people. Throwing up the burdens means throwing up the dead from their graves.

What does the verse say? “The earth will throw the dead out of their graves.” In fact, Allah will take us out of the graves. So, why is the deed of removing the dead from the graves attributed to the earth? Because the earth is the place of that verb. A verb can be attributed to the agent as well as to the place.

We can give tens of examples from the Quran like the three examples above. We regard three examples enough so as not to prolong the issue. Just like in the examples above, it is Allah’s deed to cause people to be swallowed up by the earth and to send the wind with showers of stones on them. However, Hz. Jibril is a means in those deeds. Since he is a means, it is permissible to attribute that deed to him and is a style of the Quran. One cannot object to it.

According to the second possibility, what is meant by he who is in the heavens is the angels because angels destroyed many nations with divine permission like Hz. Jibril. The story of the People of Elephant is well known by all of you. Accordingly, the meaning of the verse is as follows:

“Do ye feel secure that the angels in the heavens will not cause you to be swallowed up by the earth when it shakes (as in an earthquake) and will not send against you a violent tornado (with showers of stones)?” 

We have just proved that it is permissible to attribute the deed to the means and that it is a style of the Quran. The explanation we have made above is also valid for this possibility.

According to the third possibility, what is meant by he who is in the heavens is the punishment itself because punishment usually comes from the sky. Almost all the nations whose destruction is described in the Quran were destroyed by a penalty from the sky. Accordingly, the meaning of the verse is as follows:

 “Do ye feel secure that the penalty – that is, the penalty to come from the heavens – will not cause you to be swallowed up by the earth when it shakes (as in an earthquake)?”

According to the fourth possibility, what is meant by he who is in the heavens is the reign of Allah. Although the reign of Allah appears to be on the earth, the earth is not capable of showing the grandeur of that reign properly. Therefore, the heavens are shown as the place of the divine reign. Accordingly, the meaning of the verse is as follows:

“Do ye feel secure that Allah, whose majesty and reign are in the heavens, will not cause you to be swallowed up by the earth when it shakes and will not send against you a violent tornado (with showers of stones)?”

In conclusion, we state the following: It is possible to understand the expression “he who is in the heavens” in 4 different ways. It is a slander on both the verse and the Quran as well as Allah to try to attribute an impossible meaning to the verse by leaving those possible meanings aside.

Why are hands raised toward the sky while praying?

In this part, we will answer a statement of Salafis.

Salafis say: We raise our hands toward the sky while praying. It proves that Allah is in the sky.

We say the following to the person who says so: What kind of evidence is it to say, ‘We raise our hands toward the sky, it means Allah is in the sky’? Do you not ever think that If Allah were in the sky, we would turn our faces, not our hands, to the sky.

Acting upon that logic of yours, someone can say, ‘We put our heads down in prostration; so, Allah is below.

Another one can state the following: We return to the Kaaba in prayer; so, Allah is in the Kaaba.

If you say, “Allah is in the sky” because we raise our hands toward the sky while praying, people can say so and you will have no words to say to them.

Now, let us explain why we raise our hands toward the sky while praying:

1. We turn our hands toward the sky because the qiblah of prayer (dua) is the sky. Just as the qiblah of salah is the Kaaba, the qibla of dua is the sky.

2. Mercy and sustenance descend from the sky. The following is stated in a verse:

  وَفِي السَّمَاءِ رِزْقُكُمْ “And in heaven is your Sustenance.” Since our sustenance is in the skies, we turn our hands toward the sky when we want something.  

3. The sky is the place of Allah’s lordship and divinity. Although lordship and divinity become manifest in the world, the world cannot be a place for the majesty of that lordship and divinity like the sky. Thus, raising the hands up while praying means asking with the tongue of disposition to receive the manifestation of that lordship.

4. Man naturally tends to turn to the direction from which he will get what he wants. There is this tendency in his nature. For example, when a king promises sustenance to his people, people still turn toward his treasure even if they know absolutely that the king is not there. Since the sky is the place of Allah’s treasures, people open their hands toward that treasure and reach their hands there.

We open our hands to the sky while praying for such reasons. It has nothing to do with Allah’s being in the sky. However, Salafis are incapable of understanding even that.

The Defect in Salafis faith in Allah!

We will answer a statement of Salafis in this part:

Ahl as-Sunnah scholars describe Allah as follows: Allah is not a body. He is not a material being. He is free from having organs and limbs. He is free from space. He is free from time, and so on.

Salafis state the following in response to that description of Ahl as-Sunnah scholars: It is a description of non-existence. Something that is not an object, not material and that is not in a place is non-existent. There is no difference between the Lord that has those attributes and that is accepted to exist and the Lord that does not exist.

That is what they say. According to them, Ahl as-Sunnah scholars describe a Lord that does not exist. In response to them, we state the following: If we described an ordinary being, what Salafis say could be true. With our description of something that is not an object, not material and that is not in a place, we would describe non-existence. However, we do not describe a creature created by Allah; we describe Allah.

If not being in a place is non-existence, we ask Salafis: Allah existed before there was no place. Allah existed when none of the creatures existed and when the concept of “where” was non-existent, So, one cannot talk about Allah’s being in a place.

Like space, time and direction are also created beings. Allah was not above and below before He created directions; similarly, He will definitely not be above and below after creating directions.

Allah was not inside nor outside the realm before He created the realm; similarly, He will definitely not be inside or outside after creating the realm.

Allah was not adjacent to or separate from the realm before He created the realm. Similarly, He will definitely not be adjacent to or separate from the realm after creating the realm.

Allah was not dependent upon time before He created time. Similarly, He will not be dependent upon time after creating time.

Although Allah was free from those concepts in pre-eternity, that is, from being in a place, being below and above, outside and inside, adjacent and separate, being dependent upon time, and from other concepts, how can it mean accepting non-existence to accept a Lord that is free from all those concepts?

Since Allah existed before space was created, it means Allah existed without a place. Why should Allah, who did not need space in pre-eternity, need space now and sit on the Throne?

O Salafis! Not Ahl al-Sunnah scholars but actually you liken Allah to something that is non-existent because attributing a place to Allah makes Him a being that perishes since it makes Him need a place. For, there was no place in pre-eternity. The one who needed a place in pre-eternity when there was no space would definitely perish.

If Allah needed space, He would perish if something He needed was not available. You believe in a deity doomed to non-existence. According to you, if Allah destroyed this realm and the places, He would also perish because the one that needs space will disappear when space disappears. Can you see how you make Allah doomed to non-existence?

If you say: Allah cannot be understood in such a description of Allah. In response, we will say: If you mean a Lord that you cannot imagine or envisage by not being understood, you are right because Allah does not fit into imagination. The following is stated in a verse: 

لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ   There is nothing whatever like unto Him. 

How can your imagination encompass Allah, who does not resemble anything? 

Is it necessary to encompass Him in order to accept Him? What about belief in ghayb (unseen/unknown) then?

We describe Allah with attributes worthy of Him. We also accept that we cannot reach the essence and reality of those attributes. How can the mind, which is a created being, understand its creator properly? How can man, who is finite know infinity? How can man, who is conditioned, will understand being unconditioned? How will man, who is a small being, understand Allah’s greatness and majesty, His infinity and limitlessness, His being free from everything and his attributes and deeds truly? He cannot understand; he only believes; he exalts Allah, sanctifies and glorifies Him.

The issue has probably been understood.

Does Miraj (Ascension) mean Allah is in the sky?

We will answer the following question in this part:

- The Prophet (pbuh) ascended to the heavens in Miraj and saw Allah. Does it not prove that Allah is in the sky?

We answer it as follows: The person asking the question assumes Miraj as follows: Allah is in the sky and the Prophet (pbuh) went to the sky to see Allah. That thought is wrong. Yes, the Prophet (pbuh) saw Allah but Miraj is not just a journey that was made only to see Allah.

The reason for Miraj is as follows:

Allah made the Prophet (pbuh) go on this journey to show His power, grandeur, majesty, greatness, might, glory, mercy and beauty; He made him watch the works of His power so that he would return to us and describe that power, grandeur, majesty, greatness, might, glory, mercy and beauty in order to lead us to worship and obedience to Him.  

Miraj has many wise reasons like the ones above. Badiuzzaman Said Nursi explain them in his work “Ascension Booklet”, also known as the Thirty-first Word. It is not possible to tell all the wise reasons expressed there in one lecture. Maybe 20-30 lectures are needed to explain them a bit. We refer those who wonder the meaning and wisdom of Miraj to that work.

When the Prophet (pbuh) was raised to the sky for such wisdom, God Almighty became manifest to him there. The manifestation of Allah in the sky to our Prophet (pbuh) is different from His being in the sky. It will be better understood when we explain the issue through a verse:

As it is stated in the Quran, Hz. Musa (Moses) wanted to see Allah. In response to his request God Almighty said,

“Look upon the mount; if it abides in its place, then shalt thou see Me.” (al-A’raf, 7/143)  

He made His being seen dependent on the mountain’s staying in its place. Then, Allah became manifest on the mountain and the mountain was smashed to smithereens. The Quran expresses it as follows:

  فَلَمَّا تَجَلَّى رَبُّهُ لِلْجَبَلِ جَعَلَهُ دَكًّا When his Lord manifested His glory on the Mount, He made it as dust. 

The manifestation of Allah on the mountain, which is stated in the verse, is a kind of seeing. The mountain attained a kind of life and the ability to see; it attained the honor of seeing Allah, but it was smashed to smithereens due its great effect.

The manifestation of Allah on the mountain is different from His being on the mountain. Yes, Allah became manifest on the mountain but he was never on the mountain. Allah is free of space.

Similarly, Allah became manifest to the Prophet (pbuh) in the sky and allowed him to see Him. However, Allah is not in the sky.

Therefore, the fact that the Prophet (pbuh) saw Allah in Miraj does not show that Allah is in the sky. It only shows that Allah became manifest to the Prophet (pbuh) in the sky. In Paradise, Allah will become manifest to the people of Paradise. Will Allah be in Paradise then? No, God forbid

Since we have proved in previous lessons with tens of evidences that Allah is free from space, we will not mention that issue here. The aim of this part is the following sentence:

Being in the sky is different from being manifest to a slave in the sky.

Allah is not in the sky. He only became manifest to a devoted slave in the sky and allowed him to see Him. Similarly, he became manifest on the mountain and will be manifest in Paradise.

The issue has probably been understood.

Did Imam Abu Hanifa say “Allah is in the sky”?

In this part, we will refute a slander of Salafis on Imam Abu Hanifa. 

Salafis say: Abu Hanifa believes that Allah is in the sky. Their evidence is as follows: Abu Hanifa said:

“Anyone who says, ‘I do not know if my Lord is in the sky or on the earth’ becomes an unbeliever. Likewise, the same thing is valid for a person who says, ‘Allah is on the Throne, I do not know whether the Throne is in the sky or on the earth.’” (al-Fiqhul-Absat)

Salafis say: That statement of Abu Hanifa proves that he believes that Allah is in the sky. Before analyzing that statement, let us quote some other statements of Abu Hanifa:

In his book titled “al-Fiqhul-Absat”, Abu Hanifa, He wants the question “Where is Allah?” to be answered as follows:

Before creation, space did not exist but Allah existed. When there was none of the creatures, when the concept “where” did not exist, Allah existed. He is the creator of everything.

With that statement, Abu Hanifa clearly states that Allah is free from space.

He also states the following in his book named “al-Wasiyya”:

“Allah established Himself on the Throne without a need and settlement for himself. He protects the Throne as well as other creatures. If He needed to sit and settle on the Throne or somewhere, He would not be able to create the world out nothing and manage it, just like creatures. If Allah needed to sit in a place, where was He before creating the Throne? Almighty Allah is free from it.”

With that statement, Abu Hanifa states Allah is not on the Throne; he also states that if He needed to sit and settle on somewhere, He would not be able to create the realm. And he adds: Allah is free from being in a place.

He also states the following in his book titled “al-Wasiyya”:

“It is true that the people of Paradise will meet Allah free of quality, comparison and direction.”

Abu Hanifa clearly denies direction with that statement. How can Abu Hanifa, who regards Allah as free from quality, comparison and direction in the Hereafter, attribute direction to Allah in this world? Is it possible? How can it be said that Abu Hanifa, who utters the statement above, “believes that Allah is in the sky”? Is there a bigger slander than it?

O Salafis! What will happen to you when Abu Hanifa complains about you in the hereafter? Do you not fear Allah when you slander him despite his clear statements?

Now, let us explain the statement Abu Hanifa that we mentioned at the beginning. Abu Hanifa states the following:

“Anyone who says, ‘I do not know if my Lord is in the sky or on the earth’ becomes an unbeliever. Likewise, the same thing is valid for a person who says, ‘Allah is on the Throne, I do not know whether the Throne is in the sky or on the earth.’” (al-Fiqhul-Absat)

In order to understand the statement of a mujtahid, it is necessary to refer to the explanation of the great scholars of his madhhab. They understand the statement of the mujtahid best and they know best what he means by it. Now we will quote some statements. See what Abu Hanifa means by that statement:

Yusuf Nabhani states the following: “Anyone who says, ‘I do not know if my Lord is in the sky or on the earth’ becomes an unbeliever.” For, that statement gives the impression that there is a place for Allah and that person is in doubt about it. (Shawahidul-Haqq, p.218)

Al-Bayadi states the following in his book “Isharatul-Maram”: The reason why the person who utters that statement becomes an unbeliever is that the one who says it determines a direction and limit for Allah with it. For, anything that has a direction and limit is a created being. Therefore, that statement means to attribute a fault to Allah. It leads the person who utters that statement to absolute disbelief. (al-Kawthari, Maqalat, p. 368)

Abul Lays Samarqandi states the following: That person wants to say with that statement that Allah will be in a place and therefore he becomes an unbeliever because when Allah existed, there was no space. When Allah existed, there was no space, no creature nor anything else. He is the creator of everything. (Zahid el-Kevseri’nin neşrinden İmam-ı Azam’ın 5 eseri, Şamil yayınları, p. 94)

Mulla Aliyyul Qari makes the following explanation: Imam Izz b. Abdusselam, includes the following statement of Abu Hanifa in his book titled “Hillur Rumuz”: “Anyone who says, ‘I do not know if my Lord is in the sky or on the earth’ becomes an unbeliever.” For, that statement gives the impression that there is a place for Allah. A person who thinks that there is a place of Allah is the person who likens Allah to a creature. (Fıkhu’l-Ekber şerhi, Miraç ve Allah’a mekân isnadı)

The hadith scholar Abul Mahasin al-Qawuqji states the following in his book titled “al-Itimad fil Itiqad”: Allah is free from directions and being an object. It is not permissible to say the following about him: “He has right, left, back or front side.” “He is on, under, on the right, on the left of the Throne.” It is not permissible to say, “He is inside or outside the realm” either. It is not permissible to say, “No one except Him knows His place.” Anyone who says, ‘I do not know if Allah is in the sky or on the earth’ becomes an unbeliever because, he attributes one of those two places to Allah as space.

Hakim as-Samarqandi states the following in his work in which he explains Abu Hanifa’s creed: A believer should not ascribe space, coming, going and any attributes of creatures to Allah. A slave should know that Allah is not in a place, does not need space, and that the Throne stands thanks to His power; he should not ascribe attributes such as going and coming to Allah. (ar-Raddu ala Ashabil Hawa al-Musamma Kitabus Sawadil Azam ala Madhabil Imamil Azam)

We can cite tens of other scholars’ explanations about the statement of Abu Hanifa mentioned above. The common point of all those explanations is as follows:

Abu Hanifa does not attribute space to Allah. He ascribes unbelief to a person who attributes space to Allah.

On the one hand, Abu Hanifa does not explain the meaning of mutashabih verses, like Salaf scholars, and refers them to the knowledge of Allah; on the other hand, he declares Allah to be free of the attributes that are not suitable for Him. However, Salafis close their eyes to all those explanations and attribute a meaning that Abu Hanifa’s statement does not include.

Another slander of Salafis is as follows:

They say: A woman came to Abu Hanifa and said, “Are you trying to teach people about various issues though you have abandoned your religion? Where is your deity that is worshipped?” Abu Hanifa kept silent and after 7 days, he said, “Allah is definitely not on the earth, but in the sky.”  

They will not believe if we report that Ahl as-Sunnah scholars said, “That narration is a lie” about that incident. Therefore, let us quote the statement of Albani, whom they trust very much and praise a lot. Albani states the following about that narration:  

How can it be sound? He who narrates it is Nuh al-Jami, who was accused of fabricating. They even say the following about him: “He collected everything but truths.”

As you can see, their own hadith scholars deny that narration. There is no need to say anything else.

The moral of the story:

Do not immediately believe the words that Salafis attribute to scholars. Most of their attributions are false. Most of what they show as hadiths are not hadiths. Since they are afraid of the objection of Ahl as-Sunnah, they attribute their wrong faith to Ahl as-Sunnah scholars, slander them, and even fabricate hadiths. You have seen the slander they made on Abu Hanifa; you can compare the others.

Did Imam Malik say, “Allah is in the sky”?

In this part, we will refute a slander of Salafis on Imam Malik.

Salafis say: Allah rose and sat on the Throne. However, that sitting occurred in a way that suited His majesty and perfection. We do not think about how He sat; we do not interpret or compare it. That is the meaning Imam Malik’s statement “The meaning of istiwa is known and fixed.”

That is what Salafis say. We say to them: As you misunderstand many things, you have also misunderstood Imam Malik’s statement “The meaning of istiwa is known and fixed.” “The meaning of istiwa is known” means the following: “The meaning of it in the language is known; its lexical meaning is clear.” Istiwa’s being is fixed means istiwa on the Throne is mentioned in the Quran.

That is the meaning of the statement “The meaning of istiwa is known and fixed.” How can you interpret that statement as Imam Malik’s believing that Allah is in the sky? Why do you not report the whole statement of Imam Malik? Let us complete what you skip:

A man asked Imam Malik, “How did Allah establish Himself on the Throne?” Imam Malik said to the man, “The establishment of Allah is known and fixed. It is impossible to know its quality (nature); it is fard to believe in it. It is bid’ah to ask about how it happened?” Look what Imam Malik says: It is impossible to know how istiwa happened. So, sitting and settling are unthinkable about Allah. It is impossible for Allah. Asking about the establishment on the Throne is bid’ah.

Imam Malik did not explain the meaning of istiwa. He referred it to the knowledge of Allah, like Salaf scholars. He also regarded talking on those issues as bid’ah. The members of the Maliki sect did not fall into the mess of bid’ah thanks to that meticulousness. They were protected from the sins of likening Allah ​​ to people and accepting Allah as an object (a body).

1. Imam Malik regards talking about it as bid’ah.

2. He says that the apparent meaning of the verse is impossible for Allah. 

3. He does not explain the meaning of the verse like Salaf scholars and says, “We believed in whatever Allah means by it.

Although that is the truth, Salafis say that Imam Malik believes that Allah is in the sky. Is there a bigger slander on Imam Malik than that one?

Apart from slandering Imam Malik, Salafis slandered Ahmad Ibn Hanbal too. Ibnul-Jawzi refuted those slanders one by one in his book titled “Daf’u Shubhatit Tashbih”. Taqiyyuddin al-Hisni also wrote a special book to refute those slanders. (Daf’u shubahi man shabbaha wa tamarrada wa nasaba dhalika ilas-Sayyid al-Imam Ahmad)

Do not immediately believe the words that Salafis attribute to scholars. Most of their attributions are false. Most of what they show as hadiths are not hadiths. Since they are afraid of the objection of Ahl as-Sunnah, they attribute their wrong faith to Ahl as-Sunnah scholars, slander them, and even fabricate hadiths. We refuted their slander on Imam Abu Hanifa in the previous part. In the next part, we will refute their slanders on Imam Abu Yusuf.

The only thing they do is to slander scholars. May Allah protect the Ummah of Muhammad (pbuh) from their evil!

Did Imam Abu Yusuf say, “Allah is in the sky”?

In this part, we will refute a slander of Salafis on Imam Abu Yusuf.

Salafis say: Imam Abu Yusuf wanted Bishr-al-Marisi to repent because he denied Allah’s sitting on the Throne.

Let us report the true incident so that it will be understood how those Salafis slander:

Bihr b. Walid-al Kindi came to Imam Abu Yusuf and said, “You forbid me from dealing with kalam. However, Bishr-al-Marisi and Ali al-Ahwal deal with kalam.” Abu Yusuf asked, “What do they say?” Bishr b. Walid-al Kindi said, “They say, ‘Allah is everywhere.’” Thereupon, Imam Abu Yusuf said, “Bring them to me.” When those who went to fetch them arrived where they were, Bishr-al-Marisi had left. So, they just brought Ali al-Ahwal and another old man. Abu Yusuf, looked at the old man and said, “If I did not see some good manners in you, I would hurt you.” Abu Yusuf only imprisoned him due to his good manner. Ali al-Ahwal was caned and was displayed around the town. (Hafiz Dahabi, al-Uluww lil Aliyyil-Azim, Ummul Qura, p. 181)

That was what happened. Bishr-al-Marisi and Ali al-Ahwal said, “Allah is everywhere.” Imam Abu Yusuf objected to their statement. In other words, Imam Abu Yusuf punished Ali al-Ahwal not because he denied Allah’s sitting on the Throne, but because he ascribed space to Allah. If he had said, “Allah is on the Throne”, Abu Yusuf would have punished him again.

What a stupidity to say that Imam Abu Yusuf punishes Ali al-Ahwal because of saying, “Allah is everywhere.” Upon that incident, Salafis say, ‘Ali al-Ahwal would not have been punished if he had said that Allah was sitting on the Throne.’ What kind of reading intention it is! Imam Abu Yusuf punished that person because he attributed a place to Allah. Would he have not punished the man if he had said “Allah is on the Throne”? Does it matter if one says “Allah is on the Throne” or “Allah is everywhere” since he attributes space to Allah in either case? The fault in question here is to attribute space to Allah. It does not matter how it is attributed.

Bishr-al-Marisi says, “I glorify Allah, who is high and low.” It is understood from that statement that he believed that Allah was both on the throne and everywhere else. Abu Yusuf, on the other hand, does not believe that Allah is everywhere with His personality as he says; nor does he believe that Allah is on the Throne as Salafis say. His belief is the belief of Ahl as-Sunnah, which is as follows:

Allah is free from space. He is free from matter. He is free from being an object. He is free from sitting, standing up, coming, going and all human attributes like them.

In the previous parts, we mentioned the slanders of Salafis on Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik and Ahmad Ibn Hanbal. We showed their slander on Imam Abu Yusuf in this part. 

The only thing they do is to slander scholars. They attribute the statements that the scholars have never said to them by deducing them from irrelevant incidents. We address Salafis as follows:

Stop reading intentions like that. Bring us a clear statement from Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Ibn Hanbal, Imam Abu Yusuf, and other Ahl al-Sunnah scholars. Those scholars wrote tens of books. Show us only one sentence among the thousands of pages of those scholars that clearly says, “Allah is in the sky.”

Why can you not do that? Why can you not show us a single sentence? Is it possible that those scholars believe that Allah is in the sky and they do not write a single sentence about it? Since it is not possible, show us a single sentence. If you cannot show it - you can never show - you are the worst liars and slanderers in the world.

Do Salafis follow the path of Salaf scholars?

In this part, we will answer the following question: “Do Salafis follow the path of Salaf scholars?” We will give the answer to the question.

As you know, the scholars who lived in the first three centuries of the Migration are called Salaf scholars. Salaf lexically means predecessor, living or coming before. The scholars living after the third century are called khalaf scholars. Khalaf lexically means successor, coming after.

Salaf and Khalaf scholars followed a different way in understanding the mutashabih verses. Salaf scholars did not explain the mutashabih verses; they declared Allah to be free from its apparent meaning; they attributed its real meaning to the knowledge of Allah. For example, they stated the following about the verse “Allah established Himself on the Throne.”

“Allah is free from sitting. When Allah existed in pre-eternity, there was neither the Throne nor space. It is unthinkable for Allah, who is free from space, to need a place later. We declare Allah to be free from sitting and refer the meaning of that verse to the knowledge of Allah. We believe in whatever He means with it.”

That is what Salaf scholars said about the verse “Allah established Himself on the Throne.” They stated the same thing about the other mutashabih verses. The reason why they did not explain mutashabih verses was the fear of making mistakes and interpreting the verses in a wrong way.

Khalaf scholars that came later had to explain those verses because wrong madhhabs like Mutazila, Mushabbiha and Mujassima emerged. They started to show those verses as evidence and to embody Allah, to attribute organs and limbs to Allah and to liken Him to human beings. Thus, khalaf scholars explained the mutashabih verses according to the Arabic language and methods in order to protect the Ummah of Muhammad (pbuh) from their wrong ideas.

After that brief information, we will mention the difference between the way of current Salafis (Salafism) and Salaf scholars, which is the topic of this part.

The way of Salafism and Salaf scholars is so distant from each other that one of them is on the earth and another is in the sky. One is in the east and the other is in the west. Salaf scholars did not explain the mutashabih verses but they declared Allah to be free from their apparent meaning. No Salaf scholar said, ‘Allah is sitting on the Throne.’ Let alone saying it, all of them declared Allah to be free from sitting. They said attributing sitting to Allah would be unbelief.  As for today’s Salafis, they call those who do not believe that Allah sits on the Throne unbelievers. Have you seen the difference between the way of Salaf scholars and Salafis?

Those who do not know those issues think that Salafism means following the path of Salaf scholars ...

- What path of Salaf scholars did Salafis follow?
- Regarding what issue did they follow Salaf scholars?
- Regarding tawassul?
- Regarding tabarruk?
- Regarding understanding the mutashabih verses? 

They did not follow them regarding any issues. There is no similarity between them other than similarity of their names. That is all.  

Praise be to our Lord that He employs us in this valuable service even though we are not adequate. May our Lord accept these works and regard them as atonement for our sins! Amin.

Murid: It means "the one who wills, who wishes to do something". The name Murid comes from Allah's attribute of will.

Will: It shows that there are different beings in different forms in all parts of the universe and that there is a will that makes preferences in the background of that difference. The deed of will shows that there is a creator that wills this deed and that Allah, who has this will, has the attribute of will. The attribute of will shows that its owner has the name and title Murid. This name and attribute show that Allah who is Murid / who wills is behind the order of a will.

The meaning of the verse in question is as follows:

“It is He Who hath made you (His) agents, inheritors of the earth: He hath raised you in ranks, some above others: that He may try you in the gifts He hath given you: for thy Lord is quick in punishment: yet He is indeed Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.” (al-Anam, 6/165)

The phrase “sari’ul-iqab” translated as “quick in punishment” used for Lord can be interpreted differently:

a) The word “quick” used in order to warn deniers indicates that Doomsday is soon. For, “Everything that will come is soon.” (see Razi, the interpretation of the verse in question)

b) What is meant by “quick punishment” is the penalty given to those who deserve urgent punishment in this world; for example, the nations destroyed in history. (Mawardi, the relevant place)

c) To punish is dependent on Allah’s will. When Allah wants to punish, it happens; nobody can prevent it. The phrase “your Lord is quick in punishment” in the verse indicates the divine wish and will, on which penalty is dependent. That is, when Allah wants to punish somebody, He does not need any tools. His will is enough. For, when He says “be” to something, it “happens” at once. (see al-Mawardi, al-Biqai, the relevant place)

d) What is meant by punishment being quick is the punishment on the day of Judgement being quick. That is, when Allah punishes the people He will punish, He will not hesitate and He does not need anything; He punishes immediately. (see Ibn Ashur, the relevant place)

Thus, there is no contradiction between Allah’s names.

a) Some Islamic scholars say that Allah has infinite attributes. The phrase “even according to some people, His attributes are infinite” on our site refers to those scholars without giving their names.

Let us establish this fact first:

- The title of one of the subheadings that Imam Fakhruddin ar-Razi used in a long chapter he wrote about asma al-husna is as follows: “The declaration that Allah’s names are infinite.” (see Razi, Mafatihul-Ghayb, 1/141)

- After a brief but deep scientific analysis, Fakhruddin ar-Razi states the following especially on the issue of sifat-thubutiyya and sifat-salbiyya:

“Allah’s knowledge is infinite, and His power is endless / Allah is capable of doing infinite things. In that case, there is no obstacle for Allah to have a name for each of them (these infinite beings with which His knowledge and power are related)… As a matter of fact, some scholars say that Allah has a thousand names (along with the famous 99 names) while others say that He has four thousand names.” (see Ibn Hajar, Fathul-Bari, 11/220)

As far as we understand from the explanations above, it is useful to pay attention to two points here:

First: A separate divine name is possible for every being - material and spiritual - with which Allah’s infinite knowledge is related.

Second: There is no rational or religious obstacle to the existence of a different divine name for every being - material and spiritual - with which Allah’s infinite power is related.

For example; although they are all about creation, the name Khaliq means creating with insha, the name Fatir means creating with ibda, the name Bari means creating with itqan (design in a solid way).

Likewise, it is not rationally and religiously impossible for elements, atoms, molecules, organs, bodies, species and the nuances they have and for each of those in different fields of imagination and contemplation to have a divine name that becomes manifest separately.

There is no drawback to interpreting this concept of “infinity” used for names as a number far above and beyond the human imagination and expressing a great number metaphorically.

- In the hadith whose full text we will quote below, the phrase “by every Name that you have named Yourself with, revealed in Your Book, taught any one of Your creation or kept unto Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen that is with You...” gives the impression that His names are too many to be expressed by certain numbers.

“O Allah! I am your slave, the son of your male slave and the son of your female slave. My forehead is in Your Hand. Your Judgment upon me is assured and Your Decree concerning me is just. I ask You by every Name that you have named Yourself with, revealed in Your Book, taught any one of Your creation or kept unto Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen that is with You, to make the Quran the spring of my heart, and the light of my chest, the banisher of my sadness and the reliever of my distress.”

“Allah removed the sorrow and distress of every servant who said this prayer, and gave them relief.” (See Ahmad b. Hanbal, 7/341; Hakim / Mustadrak, 1/690; Majmauz- Zawaid, 10,136)

- Acting upon this hadith, Sheykh Ibn Usaymin said, “The names of Allah cannot be limited to a certain number because something hidden in the treasury of Allah’s knowledge of the unseen is something unknown. What is unknown cannot be expressed with a certain number.” (See Majmuu Fatawa, Ibn Usaymin, 1/122)

b) “The Attributes of Allah looking at each other like concentric circles”:

It is a simile. Otherwise, no shape is drawn for the names and attributes of Allah.

The attributes’ being intertwined “like concentric circles” means that where one of them is manifested, the manifestations of the other -related- attributes are also in question.

For example, when Allah creates something with His attribute of power, His knowledge, wisdom, sight (basar) attributes are also present there. In other words, His knowledge and wisdom exist in His power.

That is the point that is difficult to grasp.

Let us listen to this issue from the master of the issue, Badiuzzaman Said Nursi:

“It is exactly the same for the Sustainer of All the Worlds, Who is the Ruler of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity; in the degrees of His dominicality He has attributes and designations which are all different but which look to each other; and in the spheres of His Godhead He has names and marks which are all different but which are one within the other; and in His magnificent activities He has representations and appellations which are all different but which resemble each other; and in the disposals of His power He has titles which are all different but which hint of one another; and in the manifestations of His attributes He has sacred appearances which are all different but which show one another; and in the displays of His acts He has wise disposals which are of numerous sorts but which complete one another; and in His multicoloured art and varieties of creatures, He has splendid aspects of dominicality which are all different but which look to one another. And together with this, in every world, in every realm of beings, the title of one of the Most Beautiful Names is manifested. In each sphere one Name is dominant and the other Names are subordinate to it, rather, they are there on account of it....”

“The veils have windows which look to one another, and the Names appear one within the other, and the acts look to one another, and the similitudes enter one within the other, and the titles hint of one another, and the manifestations resemble each other, and the disposals assist and complete one another, and the various dispositions of dominicality help and assist one another. It surely therefore necessitates not denying the other titles, acts, and degrees of dominicality when Almighty God is known through one of His Names, titles, or degrees of dominicality. Indeed, it is harmful if a transition is not made from the manifestation of any one Name to the others.

For example:
- The works of the Names of All-Powerful and Creator are seen, and not the Name of All-Knowing, a person may fall into heedlessness and the misguidance of nature.

- He should always keep in view and recite, هُوَ هُوَ اللّٰهُ.
- He should listen, and hear from everything, قُلْ هُوَ اللّٰهُ اَحَدٌ.
- His tongue should utter and proclaim, لاَ اِلهَ اِلاّ هُو بَرَابَرْ مِيزَنَدْ عَالَمْ.

“Thus, through the decree of God اَلّٰهُ لاَ اِلهَ اِلاّ هُوَ لَهُ اْلاَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى, the Quran points to these truths we have mentioned. (see Sözler, pp. 332-333)