The Beauty of the Divine: A Journey Through Allah's Names | Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed Ep.13

Opening Du'a and Introduction

Ameen Rabbil Alameen. Respected elders, brothers and sisters, dear guests of the house of Allah, dear young students, Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. We ask Almighty Allah Azza wa Jal in the few minutes that we have here that He inspire us with the most important and relevant details of the beautiful names of His.

And we ask Allah Azza wa Jal to allow us to call out to Him using these names. And we ask Allah Azza wa Jal to allow us all to spiritually benefit from the names of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allow us to find the secrets of that. And allow our lives to be much more enriched through the barakah of the names of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

May Allah Azza wa Jal allow our coming here today, this morning, and the sacrifice we have to come here. We ask Allah Azza wa Jal that He not allow us to leave this gathering but in a state that our sins have been forgiven, have been replaced with good deeds, and that we leave in a state far more closer to Allah Azza wa Jal than when we entered His house. We ask Allah Azza wa Jal that whatever issues and problems in our own lives we're going through, that we are inspired to find answers through the barakah of this discussion and the names of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Ameen.

Al-Lateef and Al-Khabeer: An Introduction

From amongst the two names — Al-Lateef and Al-Khabeer — that we'll briefly speak about insha'Allah: the word Al-Lateef, from the names of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, has been mentioned in seven different verses of the Quran.

Surah Al-Mulk: Allah Knows What He Created

Allah Azza wa Jal says in Surah Al-Mulk:

Doesn't Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala know who He created? وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ — He is very subtle, Al-Khabeer, He is all-knowing. A very powerful ayah — that who else could know the human being better than Allah? Allah is the one who created you.

You know a person — a father, mother, teacher — says, "I've raised you, I've given birth to you, I've seen you since you're in diapers. You think I don't know you?" Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, "I created you. How could you think that I don't know your needs? How do you think that I don't know what your desires are, and that I put you in a situation where you are not able to handle that?" Not possible.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows our strengths, Allah knows our weaknesses, Allah knows what we can handle, Allah knows what we cannot handle. When a person says, "I'm in a situation in which I cannot handle, this is too much for me, this is not acceptable," then in reality a person is complaining about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not know how much something can handle.

An engineer who has designed something — he has designed something to be able to withstand, he has been there from A to Z designing something that can withstand, say, a thousand pounds. And so now, when he gives it to you, and he says, "Here, I'm the engineer actually who designed it, but here, I happen to be at sales today, just walking into the store to see how my things are going. Take it, use it." And now you're sitting there questioning him: "Are you sure? I got something that's 950 pounds, or 800 pounds, can it handle?" Imagine the response of the engineer — "I actually have designed this thing, I've been working on it for three years. How dare you sit there questioning me? What is your background in this in the first place? You've just come here to the store to purchase something, and now you're going back and forth with me on this."

Allah Azza wa Jal is as though He's saying to the human being that every aspect of yours is absolutely 100% in My knowledge, and I'm the one who created you, and hence I know what you can and can't do, what you are involved in, what you have the potential for. وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ — And Allah Azza wa Jal is all-subtle.

Another example: when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala asks people to stay away from those things that lead to sin, it is important for a person not to ignore those things and say, "I'm strong, I'm very pious, I'm righteous, I can handle this." There's a reason Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has told us to stay away. For example:

Don't even come close to any and all forms of fornication. Indeed, this is something lewd, and it's a horrible path. So anything that leads to haram, we're supposed to stay away from that as well — even though it may not be haram forbidden itself. But if it opens up the doors for haram, we've been asked to stay away from it.

Again, this is part of Allah's knowledge of us — that He has asked us to stay away from certain things. And a person should simply submit to that, instead of thinking, "No, I'm actually very pure and very clean, and I would never fall into temptations." This is a mistake on a human being's part — to think he or she cannot be tempted. Anyone and all of us are weak, and if we are put into the right situation — or wrong situation, however you want to look at it — we will slip, we'll fall, and we will not be able to withstand the pressure.

So Allah Azza wa Jal uses both names here — Al-Lateef, Al-Khabeer — in this ayah of Surah Al-Mulk.

Surah Al-Ahzab: The Wives of the Prophet ﷺ

In another place, in Surah Al-Ahzab, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

When discussing the affairs of the wives of the Prophet ﷺ — how men, when they go to inquire and ask questions from the wives of the Prophet ﷺ, they should ask them from behind the curtain, from behind the veil. And when the wives of the Prophet ﷺ respond, they should respond not in any type of extra feminine way — obviously not seductive, they would never do that — but not even in a naturally sounding feminine manner. Rather, they should make their voices more firm when addressing the men.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has that discussion over there, because He says that there is a chance that those people who have a sickness in their heart may actually begin to have bad thoughts about you. And you are their mothers, you are the wives of the Prophet ﷺ — you can only be a sick person to have such thoughts. But nonetheless, we don't know who's sick and who's not. Anyone from anywhere can be sick. That's why you have to take precaution.

So in that discussion, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in ayah 34: "Oh wives of the Prophet, remember, read and remember that which has been recited in your houses from the verses of Allah." Because the wives of the Prophet ﷺ — their homes are the place where wahy descends. Imagine that. Their house is where wahy descends.

When we read Surah Al-Baqarah at home, or we do some dhikr at home, we feel so nice. Alhamdulillah. The environment at home is so nice — all that fighting, those things going on, stop. There's so much khair, we see the nur of the Qur'an. Imagine your house is one in which revelation is actually happening. The intensity of that home in which your husband, while at your home, is actually receiving direct revelation from Allah. Jibreel Ameen is coming to your house.

So Allah tells them: read that which has been recited in your homes, مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ from the verses of Allah, وَالْحِكْمَةِ and wisdom. إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ لَطِيفًا خَبِيرًا — Again, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is very subtle and all-knowing. These two words come together.

Surah Yusuf: The Subtlety of Allah's Plan

In Ayah 100 of Surah Yusuf, Allah says:

This is towards the end of the story of Yusuf عليه السلام. He says: "Indeed, my Lord, لَطِيفٌ لِّمَا يَشَاءُ — He is absolutely very subtle over that which He wishes to do. إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ — Indeed, He is very knowledgeable, Al-'Aleem, very wise, Al-Hakeem."

This is towards the end, and it is so powerful. The fact that Allah Azza wa Jal wanted to make Yusuf عليه السلام the king of Egypt, and wanted to change all the destiny of the people of Egypt and the destiny of the people of Banu Israel through Yusuf عليه السلام. But look at how the story starts.

The story starts with this young boy — not the eldest, the young one. Being young already, you're an underdog. You are under pressure from all the ones who are older than you. On top of that, it doesn't help that you have all stepbrothers. And then from there he goes into a well. Game over, you think. But then what could be worse than that? Then he gets sold into slavery. What could get worse than that? Then he goes into the governor's mansion — okay, that's a little bit better than normal slavery. And you're learning how the king works and how the governor works and how governorship works and so forth. But then you get accused. And accusations, honestly, are huge. They just destroy a person.

Sometimes you think — there are different types of accusations. One is someone stealing something. One is someone not fulfilling his responsibilities. One is an accusation with a female — and that also, the wife of the governor. How could it get worse than this? So now you can think for sure he's going to be killed. What happens instead? Something perhaps worse than killing — he's thrown into the dungeon and locked up indefinitely. Now definitely nothing in his life can get worse than this.

And subhanAllah, how could it ever change? But years after years come. People come and try to seek help. We all know the story — the interpretations, the people who come to ask interpretation of the dream. He gives an interpretation. He thinks, this person is going to get me out. He says, "Please, اذْكُرْنِي عِندَ رَبِّكَ — please mention my name to your master. Hopefully he'll get me out of this place." And what happens?

Shaytan made him forget to mention Yusuf in front of the king. So he stayed back in the dungeon, in the prison, for many more years. And then what happens? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made the situation such that now the king himself is in need. This is Lateef right here.

That Allah Azza wa Jal could have just allowed Yusuf عليه السلام to grow in his father's home and learn from his father, be an apprentice, get leadership training under his father. His father could take him out from a young age, hold his hand, walk him around, teach him. And eventually, when he reaches the age of 40 or more, whenever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then opens up the wahy for him, he grows under his father. That's like the normal. And then after that, "Son, I'm old now, I'm dying, you take over." Khalas. That's how you think normal things work.

Here Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made him go through a roller coaster and a half. Every portion of his life seemed more worse and more difficult than the previous one. And then the lift-off — just like a roller coaster, you just go up all of a sudden, or go down all of a sudden, and you don't even know what's going on. This is Lateef. That when Allah Azza wa Jal has a plan to do something, He does it in such a quick but subtle manner that no one can even figure out what's going on. And you figure out what's happened when? When you're face to face with who? The same person you threw in the well years ago — he's looking at you, and he's sitting on the throne. He says, "How can I help you?" They say, "Are you Yusuf? Are you Yusuf?" This is لَطِيفٌ لِّمَا يَشَاءُ. Allah Azza wa Jal did something in such a miraculous manner, it would have never crossed your mind once.

This is Lateef. This is how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala works. And think about in your own lives — just think, all of our lives, how so many things happen. And so many times you want something to happen, and you're like, "Wait, how come the doors are closing? It's not happening." Brother, you're not dealing with a normal human being. You're dealing with Allah, who is Lateef. How He's going to pull this off, you don't know. Until the last second, you're not going to know what's going to happen. And then when it happens, you're going to say, "Honestly, no one in the world would have thought that this could have happened." Exactly. Good or bad, ease or comfort, however it may be — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has a plan.

Our Ustad, Mawlana Shabbiruddin, damat barakatuh, when teaching us tafsir of Surah Yusuf, would say that this one ayah is a khulasah of the whole beautiful, powerful story of Yusuf:

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is all-powerful over His affairs. But the majority of people don't realize. Meaning, what Allah wants to do, He will make it happen. The entire world — humans, jinn, angels put together — cannot stop that. But how? Most people don't understand. Most of us do not trust Allah that He will actually pull it off.

A Contemporary Example: The Events in Syria

What's happening in Syria right now — it's miraculous. Something of massive levels of unprecedented torture and dhulm that has happened from 2011 till now, and of course from the past 30-40 years under the various regimes over there. How Allah Azza wa Jal is making this happen is something that just shocks us. I don't even know how this is going to play out. But the Mujahideen are just walking in, taking city upon city, literally like a walk in the park. If you look at the videos, just walking in the park, everyone's running away.

I went to Syria in 2005 — I was there in March, one of the coldest times, the most cold I've ever seen. Because there is no central heat like this, there's no insulation like this, there's no carpet and all these things. It was so, so cold. Allahu Akbar. I've never been in that type of cold before. So right now, this is December — it's freezing there. And you see these women and children packing up, putting their things and running. And the Muslim, Sunni Mujahideen are coming and begging them, saying, "Where are you going, mother? Where are you going? Why are you putting your kids through this?" And they're like, "No, we're going to get killed, we're just going to run." They're like, "No, we're not here to kill you. We're here to save you. Don't you see us? We'll give our lives defending you. Where are you going? Please stay, please stay." It was such a powerful expression and dialogue between these Mujahideen and the innocent women and children over there.

And at the same time, you also see the type of zulm. I saw a Hifz madrasah — a Hifz boarding school — that was bombed. And you could see masahif with blood on them, little children's shoes, slippers, blankets, beds. Every single child there killed. A Hifz boarding school. But subhanAllah, we ask Allah to grant them all victory, and to end the oppression everywhere in Syria and wherever else it may be. But this is an example of Lateef as well — how Allah Azza wa Jal is making this happen is something that just shocks us. The world is just watching one after the other. And we pray that Allah Azza wa Jal grants them complete victory and frees Bilad al-Sham — all of it.

So this is in the story of Yusuf عليه السلام: إِنَّ رَبِّي لَطِيفٌ لِّمَا يَشَاءُ — Indeed, my Lord is Lateef. He is absolutely subtle in the way He does things, for whatever He wants to do. إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ — He is all-knowing. He knows about the future, who needs to be positioned where to get this decision made. Al-Hakeem — all-wise.

Surah Ash-Shura: Allah's Rizq and Subtlety with His Servants

In Surah Ash-Shura, Ayah 19, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is Lateef — very kind with His servants. He provides sustenance to whomsoever He wishes. وَهُوَ الْقَوِيُّ الْعَزِيزُ — He cannot be overrun. He cannot be subdued. Here, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about His lutf with His servants and rizq. يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَاءُ — He provides rizq to whomsoever He wishes.

My brothers and sisters, the amount of rizq that Allah has given us — this is part of Lateef. Sometimes a person is running door to door, begging for a better job, better resources, more savings, and he doesn't seem like he can ever get it. But what we don't understand is — don't stop making du'a, by the way. Don't stop knocking doors and trying to get a resume out, or trying to get an upgrade. There's nothing wrong with that; we have to do that. But what we don't know is: if this need were to get fulfilled, if Allah were to give us a promotion, if Allah were to give us a lot more wealth — would we be sitting here in the masjid right now?

We don't know. Many times when you see people who are not able to come to the house of Allah, not able to do many works of deen — what is one of the biggest obstacles? It is either the abundance of wealth, such that they are wondering how to enjoy it and spend it, or the craving desire to gain abundance of wealth. It's one of the two. Either they're already floating in money and they're just trying to think how they can enjoy it more, so they have no time for deen. Or they are running after how they can gain more, and so they have no time for deen.

So sometimes a person gets it, and sometimes a person doesn't get it, but doesn't realize that this is Allah being kind to me — that He is not giving it to me. Because if I were to get it, I wouldn't be able to handle it. On the other hand, sometimes a person says, "No, I want a simple life, I'm a simple person, I don't want a lot of money." But then that simple little business just takes off. He says, "Ya Allah, I never had a desire to become materialist. I never had a desire to have all this money. What is going on?" Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is Lateef. Allah Azza wa Jal has a plan for you. This money is not for you to eat. He is giving you this wealth to help people. And you are Allah's distributor. You are Allah's wholesaler. You are the regional distributor. Allah is sending these blessings to you so that you may spread them.

It comes in a hadith that there are certain individuals that Allah chooses to spread the khair, or spread wealth amongst the people. And when those individuals decide to hold back and not spread it, Allah Azza wa Jal then takes that wealth away from them and gives it to someone else. So sometimes Allah chooses a person, or rather desires for a person, to get that reward of spreading.

Being a Conduit of Allah's Blessings

I went recently to see the work Economic Relief is doing — right here down the street: their transitional housing, the food pantry, their offices right in front of MSI. It was a very nice quick one and a half hours I spent with the staff, seeing what they are doing, and seeing the needs of the community and so forth.

Honestly, the thought that came to me at that time when I saw it, and the du'a I make for myself and I make for you now — is that, you know when you have a water meter at your home, a water meter, we all have water meters, electric meters, and so on. What happens? That water meter measures how much water is coming out of your taps. That water is not coming out of your house. That water doesn't come out of the foundation of your home. It doesn't come out of your tap. It's coming from somewhere else. All that meter does — it measures how much water is coming out. And then the company — water company, or gas company, or electric company — will send you the bill.

All of us are like that faucet. All of us are like that conduit. We do not have the means to provide electricity, nor water, nor gas — nothing. Only thing is, if Allah wills, blessings and kindness and goodness and help for others will flow through us. And there is a meter by that. And at the end of the day we can give our bill to Allah. And if we had ikhlas, Allah will give us in full. If it's a million units that went through us, insha'Allah we'll get the reward for a million units. If it's a hundred thousand units, we'll get the reward for a hundred thousand units. You don't have to do anything — actually, you can't do anything. You and I are just conduits. We simply have to ask Allah: Ya Allah, make me a key for goodness and a lock for evil. Make me a means of helping people. Make me a means of bringing a smile to people's faces. Make me a means of removing the distress of those who are distressed. Make me the means of alleviating the difficulties of the people.

That du'a we make, and we present ourselves in the right situation. Ready — Ya Allah, I'm ready. Whatever the need is today, we have a clothing drive with Helping Hand. You can come, bring your clothes from home — nice clean clothes, packed clothes, new clothes, whatever they may be. Ask our wives — all the extra clothing. You want to go spring shopping, Ramadan shopping is coming. So before that, empty the closet. Empty the closet before we go to new things. Be it your thobes, be it nice expensive dresses — those dresses that our sisters sometimes wear once and never wear again. Honestly, it's fit for a bride who cannot afford. How many thousands of women would never be able to afford one of the fifty dresses that women at home own. SubhanAllah.

So this is something you could say — "I'm going to give this simple, small, humble thing to them." Bring it today between 11 and 3. Pack it in a ziplock bag or a plastic bag, whatever. Present it. And you make niyyah: Ya Allah, tomorrow — in the next six months — some Palestinian or Jordanian or Syrian or Pakistani or Kashmiri girl is going to get married through this. Or a groom is going to get married. And this is my hadiyah. What have you and I done? The same clothes that Allah gave you, you're just passing them on — because Allah has given you the means to purchase more. No one's saying don't purchase. But give first. Give before you purchase more. This is what we talk about.

The fact that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us rizq — it's out of His lutf that He's given us what He's given us. Out of His kindness. And we have to simply use that in the most appropriate manner, and we will get reward for it. The meter is running.

وَهُوَ الْقَوِيُّ الْعَزِيزُ — And Allah jalla jalaluhu is most strong. Al-'Azeez — He who cannot be overtaken.

Al-Lateef and Al-Khabeer in the Hadith

The Prophet ﷺ, one day, mentioned — in the story of Aisha radiallahu anha — "You are going to inform me of who did this, who said this. Or else, the most kind, most subtle, and most knowledgeable — Al-Lateef Al-Khabeer — will inform me." So this is another place where Lateef and Al-Khabeer have been mentioned together.

We understand that Al-Lateef and Al-Khabeer are both sifat mushabbahah. These are words in which — you see, the ism fa'il, the noun for a doer, which means he sometimes does and sometimes doesn't. But when you have a word on the scale of fa'eel — Lateef, Khabeer — it means someone who has that attribute all the time. There is never a moment when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not being Lateef with us. There is never a moment in which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not fully aware of what we are doing, what we will do, and so forth.

The Meaning of Al-Lateef: Gentleness

Part of the meanings of Al-Lateef is: extremely soft, kind. And this is where we see Aisha radiallahu anha — she says that when the story of ifk happened, when she was falsely accused by the munafiqun, and the environment of Medina became extremely hostile towards her. She said, "I didn't know what was happening. I had no idea that the entire city — astaghfirullah — or a big chunk of the city, was accusing me of something horrendous for any lady. And beyond horrendous for the wife of the Prophet ﷺ." But then she mentions: "The only thing I noticed is that the lutf that I used to see from the Prophet ﷺ — that genuine kindness, the warmth, the softness that he usually had with me — I wasn't seeing that." And so that's where we understand the word Lateef as well — that it's that gentleness, that kindness that a person is supposed to have.

And we understand that it is not a badge of honor to say, "When I walk into the house, there's order in the court. Everyone runs. Everyone's scared. Everything stops." That is actually a badge of dishonor. Instead, a badge of honor is when a person enters their home — or enters wherever — there is this genuine excitement: "Mashallah, you're back home!" So this is the lutf that Rasulullah ﷺ had with his family. And that's why the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3895)

"The best from amongst you is the one who treats his family the best, and I am the one who treats my family the best." So this is a very important aspect — for men and women both — that being harsh is not a good attribute, but rather being Lateef is something that we should all aspire to have within ourselves.

The Meaning of Al-Khabeer: Deep Knowledge

Al-Khabeer, as we see, is mentioned side by side with Al-Lateef. Al-'Aleem also means knowledgeable, but Al-Khabeer means the one who has deep knowledge of whatever it is — deep, not just normal knowledge. Knowledge of every aspect of it, and then also treats it and addresses the issue at hand. And this is the attribute of Al-Khabeer of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Closing Du'a

We have very few minutes — we've just very quickly basically translated these names; we didn't even do full justice to translating them. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that He bring within us the sifat of Lateef — that He makes us amongst those people who are kind with one another. And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala:

Oh Allah, be kind to us in facilitating and making every difficulty easy for us. And do it in a subtle manner — do it in a subtle manner so that the enemy doesn't see it, the enemy doesn't recognize that you are now going up. Make it happen so quickly, so subtly, that we are protected from the jealousy of those who harbor jealousy, from the hatred of those who harbor hatred, and from the plotting and planning of the evil-doers. Ameen, Rabbil Alameen.

Du'a for the Deceased and Announcements

As Mawlana mentioned, the family has requested du'a for their deceased. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to forgive our host's aunt, who passed away Thursday night/Friday morning. We ask Allah to have mercy on our uncle who passed away recently, and brother Muhammad Abdul Malik — may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive him. And we make du'a for the host who is requesting that we make du'a for all of them and their children — to become closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, to become men and women of taqwa, to overcome any and all internal personal difficulties. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to increase the muhabbah and love between husbands and wives — those of our host and all of us as well. May Allah put barakah in our rizq and health as well.

We are blessed to have a Mahram Masturah Jama'at, brothers from Malaysia, who are here with their families and wives. Mashallah, they are staying here at Dar-ul-Salam. The men are staying here, and the women are staying at Brother Muhammad Yaqub Sahib's place in Madison — mashallah, he is there in the back. Alhamdulillah. They will have programs from 11 to 1 and 5 to 7 today, and then tomorrow right across the street. Alhamdulillah, they'll be staying at my father's house and our house right across the street. We request the brothers to bring the women of the family insha'Allah — on Sunday and Monday, 11 to 1 and 5 to 7, right across the street at 21W371 Valley View, the third house on the right-hand side. Insha'Allah you can bring the womenfolk over there.

Hopefully Allah Azza wa Jal accepts their coming all the way from Malaysia, and makes it a means of khair and barakah for all of us. Alhamdulillah. Please, brothers — as you know, the Hajj class starts at 7:40, so we need to be as efficient as possible. Don't forget your du'as in the efficiency. As you go downstairs for breakfast, pray your Ishraq salah immediately after your breakfast, so you can come back here and pray your Ishraq salah upstairs. Jazakumullah khairan.