The Almighty Creator- Allah- Mufti Minhajuddin Ahmed

All Praise Returns to Allah

This person has worked hard in the gym and has developed such beautiful muscles — so you're praising any of this creation of Allah — in reality, this praise goes back to the Creator, Allah. And this is the answer to the question that might arise under the translation of the verse of the Quran, Surah Al-Fatihah, ayah number one:

So in الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ, one tafseer is that the alif-lam of الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ is istighraqi, which means جَمِيعُ الْحَمْدِ — all the hamd. الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ means all praises, all praises, الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ — all praises belong to Allah.

So how can somebody ask this question: if every praise is for Allah, there are people who are praising the architect, there are people who are praising the doctor, there are people who are praising the engineers, the artists, and different people of the world in different occupations — their works are being praised — and these people are not Allah, they are ghairullah. The doctor is not Allah, the engineer is not Allah. So this hamd — all hamd — is not for Allah; it is also extending to ghairullah.

So the answer to that would be: all praises are due to Allah and are for Allah. Some of the praises are going directly to Allah and some are going indirectly to Allah. Because whatever is worthy of praise in this world, it is actually a creation of Allah himself — that intelligence the person has, that MashaAllah made it easy for that person to accomplish such a great task that you are praising. And the student is doing good in the exams and the teacher praises and says, "Good job, great job, you came first place." The student is being praised for his achievement — this is actually a praise of Allah. For Allah is the one who gave that intelligence.

The Example of Sulayman and Qarun

This is something that we have to understand. This is what Sulayman (alayhi al-salam) understood. When he asked the members of his court:

"Who is going to bring the throne of my enemy Bilqis before she comes here?" And when the one who had the knowledge of the Book said:

"I will bring it in the blink of an eye." Then:

When he saw the throne in front of him, he said: "This is the fadl of my Rabb, Allah." He attributed his greatness back to Allah.

On the other hand, when Qarun was asked by Musa (alayhi al-salam) to give from the wealth that Allah had given him — for the sake of Allah — Allah always says:

"And from that which We have provided you, spend" — to remind us that the wealth we are asked to spend is from Allah itself. So then what did Qarun say?

"I have acquired this through my own intelligence." But he was not able to understand that this intelligence through which he acquired this great fortune — who gave him the intelligence? Was it something that was his own right, istihqaq — he had to have the intelligence — or was that a gift from Allah? It was definitely a gift from Allah. He failed to make that major connection that this intelligence is a gift from Allah.

The Perfection (Kamal) of Allah

So all perfection — kamal — in every attribute, to its extreme, belongs to Allah. His ilm is complete. His knowledge is so complete. Allah says:

There is not a single leaf that falls from a tree but Allah has complete knowledge of it. Any seed which is hidden under the earth or in a stone, whether it's wet or dry, whether it will germinate and a plant will come out or it will be wasted away — everything is in the knowledge of Allah.

Whenever three people are in a private meeting — najwa means a private meeting; no one else is allowed to enter and they are plotting something together — when there are three people in a private meeting, the fourth one is Allah. When there are five people in a private meeting, then Allah is the sixth one. And when they take the tally in the quorum — who is present, who is not present — then they list the members of those present in the meeting. So whether they remember to count Allah or they forget to count Allah, Allah is always there. Whether there are less people in the meeting or more people in the meeting, He is with them wherever they may be. Not only is Allah present in the meeting — then He will inform them of what transpired in the meeting on the Day of Judgment.

So Allah is taking the minutes as well and recording it. Any statement that comes out from the tongue, there is an appointed recorder who is recording those statements. Allah's ilm is so complete:

He has knowledge of the secrets — and what is even more hidden than the secret. The sirr is the secret that a person entrusts with his confidant, with his friend — he confides with that person, he tells him the secret. That is sirr. And Allah says: "I know the secrets" — يَعْلَمُ السِّرَّ — and akhfa, that which is even more hidden than the secret. What is more hidden than the secret? That is such a secret that a person does not even trust with his dearest, nearest friend — his wife, his partner, her husband — she doesn't trust her parents or her children. This secret is just in her own heart. So Allah says that akhfa — even that which is more hidden than the secret — He knows that:

What the hearts are concealing — He has knowledge of that. He is Baseer, He is Samee' — He is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.

Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said that on the darkest of dark nights, inside the mountain, on a black stone, on a black night — the black ant that is crawling — Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) gave this example himself: Allah can see that black ant and can hear its footsteps as it is walking. So this is the perfection and the sihat of Allah — Alim and Khabeer and Samee' and Baseer.

So if we are attracted to perfection and kamal, then there is no being who is more perfect than Allah. Why should we not be attracted to Allah? We have no reason not to fall in love with Allah.

The Beauty (Jamal) of Allah

Kamal — and then number two is jamal. Jamal is beauty. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "Verily Allah is most beautiful and He loves beauty as well." He is the most beautiful, Allah. And there can be no being who is more beautiful than Allah, who is the source of all beauty in this world.

In fact, beauty as being a sifat — a direct attribute of His being — it is beyond our imagination. Those attributes of Allah which extend to His creation, we can ponder and reflect over the creation and see that. But those attributes which directly belong to His being, it is beyond our imagination.

There is none that is like unto Him. He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. None of the creation are similar unto Allah in any way.

We cannot even give an example. We can give an example of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) as a creation of Allah. And the Sahaba (radiyallahu anhum) tried to give examples — looking at the full moon, looking at the face of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) — repeatedly going back and forth and coming to the conclusion that the face of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is more beautiful than that of the moon.

As Sayyidah Aisha (radiyallahu anha) said: "The sky has its own sun and I have my own sun, and my sun is brighter than the sun of the sky" — comparing Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) to the sun of the sky, to the shams of the dunya. We can make comparisons as a creation and say that he is afdalul khalq, the most ajmalul khalq — the most beautiful of the creation. But with respect to Allah, how can we compare Him to the creation? This would be degrading to Allah — to say He is more beautiful than any of His creation. He is not on the same level at all, in any way, to be compared with His creation. He is the source of all beauty.

The Beauty of Jannah — A Glimpse of Allah's Creation

His lowest creation — the lowest creation that He has created in Jannah — is beyond our description. In fact, the hur and the ghilman of Jannah are so beautiful that they are beyond our description. So how can we describe Allah? Allah says:

In therein — in Jannah — I have created such blessings that the hearts will enjoy and the eyes will find solace in. You will reign therein forever.

And Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) has said in a hadith qudsi that Allah says:

"I have prepared for My righteous servants such blessings that no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard the detailed description of such beautiful blessings, and no human can ever fathom and imagine the details of those blessings."

The blessings of Jannah — the creation of Allah — are so beautiful and so great, beyond our imagination, as our minds are mahdood, are limited in how far they can imagine. If this is the beauty of the creation of Allah, then how beautiful is the Creator Himself?

The Greatest Blessing: Ridwan Allah and Seeing Allah

Allah has promised husnah — Jannah — in the Quran. He says:

And then there is something even beyond Jannah. So what is the tafseer of mazeed? What is the blessing of Jannah which is beyond Jannah itself? And this is described in the hadith of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam): that Allah will gather all the Ahlul Jannah in Jannah — and it's a long hadith — the summary of it is that Allah will ask them: "Are you pleased with the blessings that you have?" They will say: "We are all pleased, Ya Rabb." Then Allah will say: "Ask — and ask from me whatever you want." So all of the creation will begin to ask and ask from Allah to the extreme limit of their desires and imagination. They will ask from Allah whatever they can imagine. Then Allah will say: "I will grant you all of that which you have asked, and I will grant you something even beyond that." Then Allah will double it, multiply it — multiply what they have begged to their last. Then Allah will say: "I will give you something beyond that."

That is what Allah says in the Quran:

Allah speaks about the gardens of Jannat Adan, underneath which rivers flow — and after that Allah says: وَرِضْوَانٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ — "And a greater blessing than that, akbar, is the pleasure of Allah." That now He has declared His pleasure upon us — that He will remain pleased with us for eternity, and He will never be displeased with us.

And after that, Allah will reveal Himself — كَمَا يَلِيقُ بِجَلَالِهِ — and will offer the people of Jannah the opportunity to glance at Him, to glimpse Him, to see Him. This is known as the Ru'yat al-Bari Ta'ala — to see Allah. Allah says:

On that day the faces will be radiant and glowing with Noor, and they will be seeing their Rabb, Allah. So the eyes of Jannah — they have within them the ability to see Allah. But not 100%, even in Jannah. Completely encompassing Allah — that is not possible. As Allah says:

لَّا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَبْصَارُ — the absar, the eyes, cannot make idrak of Allah. What is idrak? Idrak means ru'yah min jami' al-jihat — to completely encompass Allah from all angles and all sides. So Allah negated that in the Quran.

This is where the Mu'tazila and some deviant sects became confused and they said it is not possible to see Allah, because Allah says in the Quran لَّا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَبْصَارُ — the eyes cannot see Allah. And what do we believe, Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah? No — we will see Allah. Allah said in Surah Al-Qiyamah:

That faces will see Allah.

The Story of Musa and the Mountain

And when Allah negated from Musa (alayhi al-salam) — Musa Kalimullah, beside Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) in Mi'raj, the only Prophet who spoke directly to Allah was Musa Kalimullah — and when Musa Kalimullah was speaking to Allah, he fell in love with Allah as he was speaking to Him. He wanted to go beyond that and see Allah. So that's why he said:

"Oh my Lord, I want to see you — can you show me yourself?" So Allah said:

"You will never be able to see me. Rather, look at the mountain you are standing on. If it can withstand a slight reflection — a reflection of a reflection of my being" — the tajalli is the aks of the aks of Allah — a reflection of a reflection. When a single reflection, a double reflection — reflection of a reflection of the greatness of Allah — "if it can withstand that, then he will be able to see me." Then when the tajalli of Allah descended on the mountain, the whole mountain evaporated, turned into dust. And Musa (alayhi al-salam) fell down on his head and became unconscious.

When he regained consciousness he said: "I make tawbah to you, O Allah — I asked you something which is beyond my ability."

So this ayah as well — the Mu'tazila say Allah said لَن تَرَانِي, "You will never be able to see me" — our response is: this is with respect to worldly eyes. Allah is saying with the worldly eyes you will never be able to see me. And the ayah لَّا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَبْصَارُ is with respect to completely encompassing Allah.

The eyes of Jannah are super eyes compared to the eyes of this dunya — but yet they are still makhluq, finite eyes. And Allah is azeem, is infinite. So how can the finite encompass the infinite? It's impossible — mathematically impossible, physically impossible. So therefore we will not be able to completely encompass Allah, but we will still be able to see a part — as it were — of Allah.

Just like this simple creation — the moon. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), when he was asked how are we going to see Allah, said: "Do you find difficulty? All of you are able to see the moon?" So this is a very detailed tashbih, an example Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) gave — how we see the moon, we will be able to see Allah. And multiple explanations are derived from this. But one of them is: when we see the moon, do we see the whole moon? We do not see the whole moon. Everyone knows that basic level of astronomy — when we see the full moon, how much of the moon are we seeing? Half of the moon. We don't see the other side. When we see the full moon, the full moon in reality is half of the moon — the other half is not visible to us, the other side, because the moon is a sphere, it's not a circle. So we don't see the other side. Likewise, we will see part of Allah — and that is still the greatest blessing ever of Jannah.

So that is the beauty of Allah. We should not think too much about the dhat of Allah. As Abdullah ibn Abbas (radiyallahu anhu) narrates from Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam):

(Al-Bayhaqi, Shu'ab al-Iman; reported by Ibn Abbas, radiyallahu anhu)

"Ponder and reflect over the greatness of Allah and His creation, and don't ponder beyond your ability regarding His own being, His Dhat — because it is beyond your imagination." He is beyond any measure, beyond any dimension, beyond any limitation of time, of space, of color, of weight, of any measurement, any quantification.

He is the First without any beginning. He is the Last without any end. And He is the Dhahir — He is the most apparent — and He is the Batin — He is the most hidden. He is Allah. He is the perfection — His kamal and jamal.

The Generosity (Nawal) of Allah

And number three was nawal. Nawal is gifting. Who is the greatest benefactor? Who is the greatest mun'im al-haqiqi — the one who is the source of all blessings that we are enjoying and we are drowning in from head to toe, from morning till evening, from birth till death? We are all drowning in the blessings of Allah.

Allah is the one who provided for us in the wombs of our mothers. Allah is the one who gave our mothers milk when we were born. Allah is the one who provided for us at every stage of our development till today, and will continue to bless upon us till we leave this world. After we leave this world, we are never for a single moment independent of the blessings of Allah.

The Reality of Iman: Loving Allah Above All

So therefore — which I began my topic with today:

Those who are the believers, they are deeply in love with Allah. And love is مَيَلَانُ النَّفْسِ إِمَّا لِلْكَمَالِ وَالْجَمَالِ وَالنَّوَالِ — it is the attraction of the heart, either because of perfection in the object of one's love, or al-jamal — the beauty of the object of one's love, or al-nawal — the object of one's love is generous and a great benefactor, so you feel indebted and you love the person who is generous to you. And in all three aspects, Allah is supreme. Therefore the love of Allah should be supreme in our hearts.

And this was the du'a of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam):

"O Allah, make Your love the most supreme love in my heart." So that any love that we have for any other creation of Allah is within the limits of the love of Allah. And where does the test come? It is when our worldly beloveds — our wives, our children, our parents, our offspring, our near and dear ones, cousins, relatives and friends — if they ask us to disobey Allah, then we will be ready to sacrifice their love, but we will never be able to sacrifice the order of Allah.

"We will never obey any creation of Allah in that which includes the disobedience of the Creator, Allah." Our allegiance is to Allah first, and Allah alone first, and all love is within the umbrella of the love of Allah. This is the reality of Iman.

I conclude with the hadith of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) that Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4681)

The one who loves — whenever he loves anyone of the creation, he loves them only for the sake of Allah. And when he hates anyone, he hates them only for the sake of Allah. And if he gives anything to anyone, he gives for the sake of Allah. And if he withholds anything, he withholds for the sake of Allah. Every action of his is for the sake of Allah — every omission and every commission of any act is for the sake of Allah. Then this person's Iman is complete. فَقَدِ اسْتَكْمَلَ الْإِيمَانَ. This is the reality of Iman.

"Say: my Salah, my Ibadah, my living, my dying — everything is for Allah." Everything is in the path of Allah. Your whole life, my life, your life — our wealth, our everything we have — we have to give it in the path of Allah, either directly or indirectly. It is for Allah.

May Allah give us this reality of Iman and allow us to die as true Muslims, dedicated to Allah. May Allah fill our hearts with His love.