Names of Allah Importance of Knowledge and knowing Allah 30 th Jan 2017 2 Jamad Al Awwal, 1438 A.H.
The Names of Allah Introduction Today we will discuss about the following two topics. 1. Importance of knowledge 2. Importance of knowing Allah Importance of Knowledge Surah Asr An action of the heart is Ihtesaab. This is derived from the word Hisaab which means to keep account. This means before we do any righteous deed we hope to have an account with Allah such that the deed that we will perfomedwill be rewarded by Allah. The beleivers are keen to have an account with Allah. They ask Allah to accept their good deeds and to reward them on the Day of Judgment. The capital of the believers is their time and efforts and they are doing trade with Allah by asking Him for Jannah in return for their good deeds. PAGE 1
Surah Al Tauba, Ayah 111 Allah tells us that He has purchased the lives and money of the believers in exchange for paradise. Seeking Knowledge 1. Imam Ahmed was asked what is the best righteous deed? He replied that it is seeking knowledge with the right intention. 2. Some scholars said seeking knowledge is better than Jihad in the way of Allah. Prophet SAW said the example of the person struggling in the battlefield is better than the person who is fasting in the day and praying at night. This is exactly the state of the seeker of knowledge as he is struggling to understand the religion. The person who is seeking the knowledge may benefit others in the society. Intentions of Seeking Knowledge 1. You are seeking knowledge to remove the ignorance from yourself 2. You are seeking knowledge to remove the ignorance from others: whether it s family, neighbors, community, etc 3. You are seeking knowledge in order to defend the Shariah from being forgotten. If no one learns the religion then it will be lost. No one will know their religion anymore. 4. You are seeking knowledge because it is a worship and a means of nearness to Allah PAGE 2
Remember angels come to pure places and places beloved by Allah, so it s an honor for us when angels are surrounding us. The Prophet SAW said when people gather to remember Allah, then the angels surround them and mercy of Allah descends on them. If a person is distracted or he s going through some problems then when Allah s mercy descends, his problem will be removed, his heart will be broadened, even if he s sick, he ll be cured. It s important to not leave, it s a test and Allah will make you understand when before you weren t understanding by His mercy. After learning the importance of seeking knowledge, the most important thing to learn is Belief in Allah i.e. tawheed Allah Nowadays many people belittle the religious knowledge because they say it will not bring me any job, it will not bring me any money, as if time=money, so if any individual does not bring earnings then he is useless. We should understand Allah created us To know Him, to love Him, to worship Him. If we didn t spend my time in knowing Allah then what s the benefit of our life, our money and the time we spend not knowing Allah. We need to be careful to not be driven away by these misconceptions. We need to learn about Tauheed Allah. (جل جلاله) which means one. I have to worship Allah (واحد) Tawheed comes from the word alone, single Him out alone. This is belief in Allah (جل جلاله) and I have to spend my life learning this. Surah Ghafir, Ayah 84-85 When the disbelievers see Allah s punishment on the Day of Judgment, they say we believe in Allah alone (tawheed) and we reject and disbelieve in all we were associating with Allah. Allah replies that their belief will not benefit them at that moment. This is the way of Allah. Tawheed means believing in Allah alone and no one else. Why is this matter being emphasized? There are people who also say we are believers but to believe is to believe in Allah (alone without any associates sons, offspring, wali, etc. This is the PAGE 3
definition of a believer. Allah emphasizes the believer is the one who singles Allah out in worship, who believes in Allah alone and no one else. He is considered a believer. This is what we need to understand, learn and spend our lives knowing Allah Allah created the whole creation for this purpose to establish tawheed on the earth and ourselves and this is the reason why He sent messengers and books. Surah Anbiya, Ayah 25-29 Allah is talking to the Prophet Mohammed and telling him all the prophets before him Ibrahim (as), Nuh (as), Musa (as), Jesus (as) came with the same message tawheed Allah. They say Allah) has a son, Allah says Subhana glory be to Him, rather they are honorable slaves. They don t speak until He s spoken and they act on His command. And these messengers and honorable slaves cannot intercede for you unless Allah is pleased with you. How can you worship them and seek their help because they themselves are afraid of Allah Whoever says I am a god then their recompense is hellfire. None of the messengers said they are gods, so why are you taking them as gods? PAGE 4
Belief in Allah comprises learning about His names, attributes and actions. If Allah has made it easy for you to learn about Him then you need to know Allah has favored you with a special rizq Importance of Knowledge about Allah Knowing the names of Allah is the core of belief in Allah. Eman means we have to believe in the unseen and the greatest unseen is Allah. We have to believe in Allah and all He has ordered us in His Book, and all the articles of belief firmly with no doubts. In the Duniya no one can see Allah but the believers will get to see Him in paradise. We know about Allah from the Quran and Sunnah. Belief consists of three elements: To believe with certainty in the unseen which is mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah To know about Allah from the Quran and Sunnah Prove your belief with actions. No actions indicate lack of belief. For example, you know the name of Allah Ar Razaq He is the only true Provider. When you increase in belief in this name then you will see the impact of this name in every part of your life. You will see if someone loves you then this is rizq from Allah, if someone turns away from you then this is not rizq for me. If you see good neighbors then this is rizq from Allah, if there are bad neighbors then you know it s a test from Allah. We want to reach the level of faith where there is no doubt and we will not reach this unless we learn more about Allah Belief in Allah is the basis for the remaining articles of faith. What is the relation between Allah and the Last Day? I believe in Allah and I believe I will meet Him on that Day. He will roll the heavens and the earth in His Right Hand and He will say I am the King where are the kings of the world?. What is the relation between belief in Allah and the belief in the angels? I believe in Allah and I believe Allah created the angels. What is the relation between belief in Allah and the belief in the books and messengers? I believe in Allah and I believe He sent down the books on the messengers. What is the relation between belief in Allah and the decree? I believe Allah decreed everything and when He wills it happens. PAGE 5
So you start with the name of Allah I believe in Allah before the rest of the articles of faith. Surah Muhammad, Ayah 2 Those who believe in the Oneness of Allah and do righteous good deeds, and believe in what is sent down upon the Prophet, which is the truth, Their reward is that Allah will expiate their sins and grant them peace of mind, subhan Allah. If you really want peace of mind and emotional well-being then believe in Allah and nothing else because this is will bring you happiness, joy and peace in the heart. Peace of mind will not be attained unless you believe in Allah and you will not believe in Him unless you learn about Him. There are peoplw who have billions and they commit suicide, because they don t have peace of mind. is spiritual and psychological well-being and there is only one way to attain it (صلاح البال) i.e. what Allah tells us. Well-being of the heart is البال) (صلاح and whoever attains this then he has attained all good. If your heart is in peace then it will affect your behavior, thoughts and speech. You will be happy even if you don t have money, because your mind is at rest. The hearts will not be at rest unless they remember Allah. When you know Allah Al Hakeem The Most Wise then you will accept the decree with a good heart because you know Allah is wise. The believer who knows Allah Al Qareeb The Most Near then he s at rest because he knows Allah is near to him. Allah is The King. He knows what s good for you and what s bad for you. Just put your concerns at His gate, but who does this? Only the believer. He will put all his problems at the gate of Allah. We need to show humility to Allah and our problem will be over. But we re not going to Him and depending on ourselves and the means which is why the problem is being prolonged.. PAGE 6
The people going through depression, grieves and sicknesses because of lack of belief and weak belief in Allah. They don t believe Allah is their support but look to others for support and that s why they re depressed. Be happy because your situation is so much better than others and when you think good about Allah then He will deal with you as you think of Him. The Prophet taught us a supplication to say in the morning and evening and this dua is focusing on well-being. O Allah, I seek Your forgiveness and Your protection in this world and the next. O Allah, I seek Your forgiveness and Your protection in my religion, in my worldly affairs, in my family and in my wealth. O Allah, conceal my secrets and preserve me from anguish. O Allah, guard me from what is in front of me and behind me, from my left, and from my right, and from above me. I seek refuge in Your Greatness from being struck down from beneath me. Sahih Ibn Majah 2/332 and Abu Daw This is a powerful dua which we need to say every morning and evening with understanding then we would have peace of mind, but we do not have peace of mind because we are not understanding what we re saying. We can attain spiritual well-being by strengthening our belief in Allah, By knowing Him PAGE 7