AL-MUSTAPHA INSTITUTE OF BRISBANE

Compiled by Br. Abdul-Halīm Khalīl

(03-04-14)

Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahīm

He is God, other than Whom there is no god: Knower of the Unseen and the Manifest.

He is the All-Merciful, Bestower of Special Mercy.

He is God, other than Whom there is no god:

The King, the Holy One, the Perfect Peace, Granter of Security, Giver of Protection, the

Omnipotent, the Overwhelming, the Imperious: Glory be to God, against whatever is

(falsely) associated (with Him).

He is God: the Creator, the Originator (of all things from nothing), Giver of Forms.

His are the Most Beautiful Names.

All that is in the heavens and earth proclaims His Glory, and He is the All-Powerful, the

All-Wise. i

The Remembrance of Allâh,

The True Lord of Many Beautiful Names

Learning, Contemplating, and Earnestly Reciting His Every Delightful Name:

‘And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allâh, so call upon Him by them, and leave the company of those who deny (or utter impious speech deriding), His Names.

They shall be requited for what they used to do.’ 1

It is reported on the authority of Abu Huraira :

‘the Blessed Prophet ( ) said, Allâh has ninety-nine Names (viz., one hundred minus

one), and whoever believes in their meanings and acts accordingly, shall enter Paradise;

and Allâh is Witr (one) and loves “the Witr” (i.e., odd numbers).’2

In this way, one may appreciate that the virtue of Memorising such Beautiful Names,

understanding (and, therefore, believing in) their meanings, and ultimately acting in

accordance with those meanings is an immensely beautiful form of dhikr and ibadah. Indeed,

our most Beautiful Habib ( ) has said of the remembrance of Allâh – Dhikrullah – and

of those who frequently attune their consciousness to the Omnipotence, Omniscience, and

Omnipresence of our Lord – His Endearing Friends (the Awaliyyah), that:

‘The example of the person who remembers [their] Lord, and the person who does not

remember Him, is that of the living and the dead.’3

1 Refer to the Glorious Qur’ân, Surat Al-'A`rāf (‘The Chapter of the Elevations’) 7:180. 2 Reported in Sahīh Al-Bukhari (volume 8, book 75, hadīth number 419). Cf. Volume 3, book 50,

hadīth number 894, and volume 9, book 93, hadīth number 489. 3 Reported on the authority of Abu Mūsa Al-Ashari (radi Allâhu anhu), in the texts of Bukhari (6407)

and Muslim (779).

Yet, the mere accumulation of such Beautiful Names is not, of itself, the primary purpose

illuminated through these ahadīth. Nay! Allâh – Al-’Alīm,4 Al-Khabīr,5 Al-Wasī’,6 Al-Hakīm7

– through Surat Al-Jum`ah, Revealed:

‘The example of those who were entrusted with the Torah, and then did not take it on, is

like that of a donkey who carries volumes [of books]. Wretched is the example of the people

who deny the signs of Allâh. And Allâh does not guide the wrongdoing people.’

(viz., regardless of the knowledge such books contain, the donkey cannot make use of, nor

implement, that knowledge in its life, the heedless beast simply carries such burden as dead

weight]).8

Thus, is our knowledge (of whatever subject, the Quran, ahadīth, the Beautiful Names of

God) meaningful? Do we understand the basic nature of Dīn, in terms appropriate to the level

of our capacity, so that the reception of such knowledge is meaningful موضوع, not

meaningless محمل?

The more one remembers Allâh, Subhanahu Wa-ta’âla, the greater the intimacy one may

cultivate with Allâh, Al-Wadūd,9 the greater the Blessings, Forgiveness, and Nourishment that

4 ‘The Knower of All’. Refer to the he Glorious Qur’ân, Surat As-Sajdah (‘The Chapter of

Prostration’) 32:6-7. 5 ‘The All-Aware; the Well-Acquainted’. Refer to the he Glorious Qur’ân, Surat Al-Mulk (‘The

Chapter of Dominion’) 67:14. 6 ‘The All-Comprehending’. Refer to the he Glorious Qur’ân, Surat Al-'A`rāf (‘The Chapter of the

Elevations’) 7:89. 7 ‘The Perfectly Wise’. Refer to the he Glorious Qur’ân, Surat An-Naml (‘The Chapter of the Ant’)

27:6. 8 The Glorious Qur’ân, Surat Al-Jum’ah (‘The Chapter of the Friday Congregation’) 62:5. 9 ‘The Loving One’. Refer to the he Glorious Qur’ân, Surat Al-Burūj (‘The Chapter of the Great

Stars’) 85:14.

one may access from Allâh, Ar-Rahmân,10 Ar-Rahīm,11 Al-Ghaffar,12 Al-Ghafur,13 Al-Afū,14

At-Tawwab,15 Al-Wahhab,16 Al-Muqit,17 Al-Ghani.18 To conclude upon this most important

pursuit, the Beloved Prophet ( ) said (in a Qudsee hadith – viz., a narration Revealed

to Rasūl-Allâh [ ], yet which is not found within the Qur’ân):

‘I am with my servant, as long as they remember Me, and as long as their lips move (with the

Remembrance of Allâh).’19

So, ‘let [our] tongues remains moist with the remembrance of Allâh’,20 for the Beautiful

Names of Ar-Rashid21 provide the most perfect pathway to His Love.

Relevant Links:

Mount Hira — http://everybreatheverysecond.com/ (or http://www.mounthira.com/)

The Threshold Society — http://sufism.org/foundations/ninety-nine-names

10 ‘The Most Merciful’. Refer to the he Glorious Qur’ân, Surat Ar-Rahmân (‘The Chapter of the Most

Merciful’) 55:1-13. 11 ‘The Most Beneficent’. Refer to the he Glorious Qur’ân, Surat Al-Fātiĥah (‘The Chapter of the

Opening’) 1:1. 12 ‘The Perpetually Forgiving’. Refer to the he Glorious Qur’ân, Surat Al-Burūj (‘The Chapter of the

Great Stars’) 85:14-16. Cf. Jalauddin Rumi, Mathnawi, Book II: 1366-1367. 13 ‘The Forgiver and Hider of Faults’. Refer to the he Glorious Qur’ân, Surat Al-Baqarah (‘The

Chapter of the Cow’) 2:58. Also, see Hadrat Jalauddin Rumi, Mathnawi, Book II: 3-34-3035. 14 ‘The Forgiver’. Refer to the he Glorious Qur’ân, Surat An-Najm (‘That Chapter of the Stars’)

53:32. Also, see Hadrat Jalauddin Rumi, Mathnawi Book I: 3252-3. 15 ‘The Guide to Repentance’. Refer to the he Glorious Qur’ân, Surat At-Tawbah (‘The Chapter of

Repentance’) 9:104. Also, see Hadrat Jalauddin Rumi, Mathnawi, Book II: 1652-1656. 16 ‘The Giver of All’. Refer to the he Glorious Qur’ân, Surat Ash-Shu’ara (‘The Chapter of the

Poets’) 26:21. 17 ‘The Nourisher’. Refer to the he Glorious Qur’ân, Surat Fuşşilat (‘The Chapter Explained in

Detail’) 41:10. 18 ‘The Rich One’. Refer to the he Glorious Qur’ân, Surat Al-Hajj (‘The Chapter of the Pilgrimage’)

22:64. 19 Imam Al-Bukhari related this hadīth as a mu‘âllaq narration, in the Book of Tauhīd. This narration

is also reported in the authentic texts of Imam Ahmad (10,585 and 10,592) and Ibn Mâjah (3,792), on

the authority of Abu Hurairah (radi Allâhu anhu). NOTE: according to Ibn al-Salâh (in al-

Muqaddimah fî `Ulûm al-Hadîth), a hadīth narration shall be described as a mu‘âllaq narration – or a

‘hanging’ or ‘suspended’ narration – if the original narrator is (and any subsequent narrators are)

omitted (by the subject muhadīth: e.g. Imam al-Bukhari) from the beginning of the chain of

transmission of the subject narration (viz., the isnâd is left suspended, without the ascription to the

original narrator). This is also the opinion of Imam ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani (May Allâh Bestow His

Mercy upon him), in Nuzhat al-Nadhr (108-109). 20 This hadith is related in the authentic texts of Imam Ahmad (17,227 and 17,245), Tirmidhi (3,375),

and Ibn Mâjah (3,793). Furthermore, refer to Mishkât al-Masâbīh (2,279). 21 ‘The Righteous Teacher’. Refer to the he Glorious Qur’ân, Surat Al-A’la (‘The Chapter of the Most

High’) 87:7-8.

i Refer to the Glorious Qur’ân, Surat Al-Ĥashr (‘The Chapter of the Exile’), 59:22-24.