Al-Muhaymin means “an overpowering authority”. Think a parent who sets rules for the child’s best interest. Recall, of course, that Allah is absolutely dissimilar from His creation and yet He Sees and Hears everything. One facet of Allah’s overpowering authority is that He controls the various trusts a human being has been given.
One of the greatest [...]
January 22nd, 2010
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Al-Mu’min means The Faithful. Being faithful entails being trusted and there is no being worthy of our trust other than Allah. Allah has made many promises in the Qu’ran and although we might not see the manifestations of these promises immediately, we must believe that Allah will fulfill promises of mercy and ease despite the [...]
January 10th, 2010
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Al-Salam means “The Flawless” and comes from the same root as “peace” as entities are at peace when they are flawless.
Salam is also derived from the same word as “Islam.” While Islam is often translated as “to submit”, this is not the best translation. Shaykh Abdul-Hakim Murad writes that Islam does not mean submission, rather, it entails letting go. This is [...]
December 12th, 2009
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Al-Quddus means holy, transcendent above everything. As such, Allah (Exalted be He) is transcendent. He is beyond our sight and our hearing, beyond space and time, and beyond any imperfection whatsoever. This is in stark contrast to what we find in this world. Imam ibn ‘Ata ilah mentions in his Aphorisms that the imperfections of this [...]
November 30th, 2009
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Another one of Allah’s names is Al-Malik, the Possessor. Allah absolutely possesses everything and nothing possesses Him. Acting according to this name entails that we acknowledge that we are Allah’s possession.
As Allah has absolute possession over everything, we must rely on none other than Allah. After all, if a king sends a servant to perform an [...]
November 23rd, 2009
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