“Allah” The Lord Of The Worlds (related hadiths)…
According to Ubayy b. Kaʿb (ra), idolaters said to the Prophet (saw), “O Muhammad! Tell us about your Lord.” So Allah the Exalted revealed the sura al-Ikhlas, “Say, ‘He is Allah the One, Allah the Eternal. He begot no one nor was He begotten. No one is comparable to Him.” (Ibn Hanbal, V, 133)
According to Ibn ʿUmar (ra), when the Messenger of Allah went to his bed, he would say, “Praise be to Allah Who has given me sufficiency, has guarded me, given me food and drink, been most gracious to me, and given to me most lavishly. Praise be to Allah in every circumstance. O Allah! Lord and Sovereign of everything, God of everything, I seek refuge in You from Hell.” (Abu Da’ud, al-Adab, 97, 98)
Narrated by Abu Musa (al-Ashʿari) (ra): We were with the Prophet (saw) on a journey, and whenever we ascended a high place, we used to say, “Allāhu Akbar,” (loudly). The Prophet (saw) said, “Don’t trouble yourselves too much! You are not calling a deaf or an absent person, but you are calling One Who Hears, Sees, and is very near.” (al-Bukhari, al-Tawhid, 9)
Abu Masʿud (al-Ansari) (ra) said, “One day I was beating a slave of mine and I heard someone behind me saying, ‘Beware O Abu Masʿud! Beware O Abu Masʿud!’ So I turned around and saw that it was the Messenger of Allah. He said, ‘Allah has more power over you than you do over him.’” (al-Tirmidhi, al-Birr, 30)
Abu Hurayra (ra) said: The Messenger of Allah ordered us to say thefollowing prayer when we went to bed, “Praise be to Allah, the Lord ofthe Heavens and the Lord of the Earth and Lord of the Magnificent Throne,our Lord, and the Lord of everything, the Splitter of the grain of corn and thedatestone (or fruit kernel), the Revealer of the Torah and Gospel and the HolyQur’an! I seek refuge in You from the evil of whatever possesses evil. You are theOne Who seizes it by the forelock (You have perfect control over it). O Allah!You are the First One, there is naught before You; and You are the Last Oneand there is naught after You; and You are the Evident One (the One for whomevidence of His existence is obvious) and there is nothing whose existence ismore apparent than Yours, and You are the Hidden One (the One whose natureis imperceptible and whose essence is hidden from man) and there is nothingmore hidden than your nature.” (, al-Tirmidhi, al-Da‘awat, 19; Muslim, al-Dhikr, 61)
“ALLAH” THE LORD OF THE WORLDS (RELATED HADITHS)
People have always wondered about the essence and nature of theAlmighty Creator Who created them from nothing and bestowed on themendless blessings. They have tried to obtain more information about Hisessence and nature even though His signs, works and attributes encompassthe whole world of existence. This is why they have raised many questionsabout Allah Almighty. Our Prophet (saw), who knew that such questions,which would lead to certain doubts, would stir people’s minds, warned hisCompanions (ra) in this matter, and asked them to say, when discussingsuch questions, “Allah is one. He is not in need of anything but everything is inneed of Him. He has not begotten nor has He been begotten, and no one is equalto Him.” Then he ordered them to say “a‘ūdhu billāhi min al-shaytān al-rajīm”and seek refuge in Allah (swt) from Satan who occupies their minds withsuch questions.1 Indeed once a man came to Abu Hurayra (ra) and asked,“Allah created us. Who created Allah?” Abu Hurayra (ra) was disturbed bythis question and responded saying “Allah is One and Eternal (Samad). Hebegot no one nor was He begotten. No one is comparable to Him.”2 This wasbecause Allah the Almighty resembles neither humans nor any other createdbeings. He has no partner and there is nothing comparable to Him. Heneither begot nor was He begotten by a mother and father. He does not needothers in order to exist or to be able to continue to exist. He is free from theactions of created beings such as eating, drinking, sleeping, getting tired,and procreating. In this context, our beloved Prophet (saw) asked believersto recite the Verse of the Throne (Ayat al-Kursī, the 255th verse of the Suraal-Baqara) in order for them to form a correct vision of Allah:3 “Allah: thereis no god but Him, the Ever Living, the Ever Watchful. Neither slumber nor sleepovertakes Him. All that is in the heavens and in the earth belongs to Him. Who isthere that can intercede with Him except by His leave? He knows what is beforethem and what is behind them, but they do not comprehend any of His knowledge except what He wills. His throne extends over the heavens and the earth; it does not weary Him to preserve them both. He is the Most High, the Tremendous.”4
For the Meccan polytheists, who were not able to understand that Allah(swt) was the only god, that is, there was no god but Him, ‘Umar’s (ra)conversion to Islam was very difficult to accept. They got together in orderto take some preventive measures in light of this development and went tothe Prophet (saw)’s uncle Abu Talib. They said to him, “Judge between usand your nephew.” Thereupon Abu Talib called the Prophet (saw) and toldhim, “These men are from your tribe. They want you to act moderately. Donot give them a hard time.” When our Prophet (saw) asked them what theywanted, they said, “Give up attacking us and our gods, and we will leaveyou and your god alone.” Thereupon, our Prophet (saw) said, “Would yousay something that when you say it, you would become the rulers of the Arabsand also take the non-Arabs under your dominion?” Abu Jahil, who heard this,said, “Bless your father! Of course we would say it, even ten times.” OurProphet (saw) then said, “Say the phrase ‘there is no god but Allah.’” The polytheistsrefrained from saying this and stood up to leave. They said, “Doesa single god make all these gods? How can one god encompass all creation(how can He suffice to control it all)?” After this, the following noble verseswere revealed:5 “The disbelievers think it strange that a prophet of their ownpeople has come to warn them: they say, ‘He is just a lying sorcerer. How can heclaim that all the gods are but one Allah? What an astonishing thing [to claim]!’”6Allah Almighty responded to their surprise when faced with the fact thatthere was a single Allah with the following verse: “If there had been in theheavens or earth any gods but Him, both heavens and earth would be in ruins:Allah, Lord of the Throne, is far above the things they say.”7
Yes, Allah is only one god, He is free from having a son, everything inthe heavens and on earth belongs to Him.8 He is the Creator of everythingin the heavens and on earth from nothing and has full knowledge of allthings.9 He is Allah and there is no god other than Him. He is the Possessorof Creation, the One who is removed from any defect, Who gives goodhealth, Who provides security, Who watches over and protects, Who issuperior, Who does what he wishes, and Who has no partner in his greatness.Allah (swt) is free of everything that the polytheists associate withhim.10 There is no equal to Him.11 He does not need anything in creation inany way.12 He nourishes his creatures but does not need to be nourished.13
He is the only One who will abide forever.14 He is the Most High, the Sublime.15 He is worthy of all praise and is the possessor of honor and glory.16He is the One who gives people life, will cause them to die, and then willresurrect them.17 He is Allah the One18 Who determines their destiniesand guides them.19 He is the One Who gives everything that he createdits perfect form.20 He is the One Whose word is the truest.21 He does notsleep, and it does not befit Him to sleep.22 Indeed Allah (swt) is good andbeautiful and he loves what is good and beautiful. He is clean (in respectto His attributes, names, and actions) and He loves cleanliness.23
Allah the Almighty, who is described in the above-mentioned versesand sayings of the Prophet (saw), was also introduced to us by the Prophet(saw) in the following manner: “There is no god but Allah Who is the MostForgiving, the Exalted, the Lord of the earth, heavens, and everything in between,Who cannot be defeated, and always prevails.”24 When the Prophet (saw) expressedhis gratitude to Allah, he said, “Praise be to Allah Who has given mesufficiency, has guarded me, given me food and drink, been most gracious to me,and given to me most lavishly. Praise be to Allah in every circumstance. O Allah!Lord and Sovereign of everything, god of everything, I seek refuge in You fromHell.”25
The Prophet (saw) also said “O Allah! Glory be to You who are devoid of all defects. You are perfect. You are the Lord of Jibril and the angels.”26
People have wondered not only about the essence and nature of Allah,who created them, but also whether He is close to them, where to findHim, and whether He would hear them when they call Him. Perhaps as aresult of such curiosity, one day a Bedouin came to the Prophet (saw) andasked him, “Is our Lord close to us? Should we address Him quietly? Or isHe far away from us? Should I address Him loudly?”27 Thereupon Allah theExalted responded with the following verse: “[Prophet], if My servants askyou about Me, I am near. I respond to those who call Me, so let them respond toMe, and believe in Me, so that they may be guided.”28 Allah the Almighty alsodeclared that He was very close to His servants in the following verses: “…He is with you wherever you are; He sees all that you do…”29 and “… We arecloser to him than his jugular vein.”30 On their way back from the conquestof Khaybar, Allah’s Messenger warned his friends, who said Allāhu Akbar(Allah is most great) with a loud voice whenever they went over the top ofa hill, “Don’t trouble yourselves too much! You are not calling a deaf or an absent person, but you are calling One Who Hears, Sees, and is very near.”31 Thus he reminded them that Allah (swt) was very close to people. Allah’s Messenger also informs us that Allah is as His servants think/imagine him to be and that He will definitely answer their prayers.”32
In the following verses, Allah the Most High, who is close to his servantsand encompasses them, emphasized that He was aware of whateverthey did and knew even what they said in secret: “Do they think We cannothear their secret talk and their private counsel?33 And, “Say [Prophet], ‘Allahknows everything that is in your hearts, whether you conceal or reveal it; Heknows everything in the heavens and earth.’”34 Only Allah (swt) knows theunseen, let alone what His servants think and do. As He says in the followingverse: “He has the keys to the unseen: no one knows them but Him. Heknows all that is in the land and sea. No leaf falls without His knowledge, nor isthere a single grain in the darkness of the earth, or anything, fresh or withered,that is not written in a clear Record.”35
One day, three men, two of whom were from the tribe of Thaqif andone of whom was from the tribe of Quraysh, who clearly did not reallyunderstand the Almighty Creator, who is so close to people that He knowseven what they think, were arguing near the Ka‘ba. One of them said, “Doyou think that Allah can hear what we are saying?” Another said, “He canhear if we are loud, but if not He cannot hear.” Another interjected, saying,“If He hears us when we speak openly, then He certainly can hear us whenwe speak in secret.” So Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, revealed the 22ndverse of the sura Fussilat, “yet you did not try to hide yourselves from your ears,eyes, and skin to prevent them from testifying against you. You thought that Allahdid not know about much of what you were doing.”36
Allah the Almighty, Creator of everything, is also the true owner ofeverything in the universe. “Everything in the heavens and the earth belongsto Allah.”37 He gives this domain to whomever He wishes and takes it backfrom whomever He wishes. He elevates whomever He wishes and degradeswhomever He wishes. All that is good comes from Him.38 Nothing can increaseor decrease His domain.39 In fact, the Prophet (saw), who wanted toexplain the limitlessness of Allah’s domain, emphasized His generosity40and said, “Don’t you see what He has spent since He created the Heavens and theEarth? Yet all that has not decreased what is in His Hand.”41
Allah (swt) is very generous in bestowing blessings upon His servants but is never pleased when His servants are close to committing sins or what is religiously forbidden: “None has more sense of protection over the believer than Allah, therefore He prohibits shameful sins whether committed openly or secretly.”42 Clear presentation, without doubt, of what is lawful and what is prohibited43 is also a manifestation of Allah’s protection of believers.
He is the One who always keeps the gate of repentance open to thosewho err. According to the sayings of our Prophet (saw), Allah (swt) is happierwith the contrite repentance of the sinful servant and his turning towardHim than the happiness of a person who lost his camel in a forsakendesert and then finds it with all of his belongings.44 This is because He isthe Most Pardoning and Often Forgiving.45 This is why Allah’s Messengerasked his followers to pray to Allah with the following words: “O Allah! Youare most Forgiving One, You love to forgive, so forgive me.”46
Furthermore, the remedy for all suffering and the healing of all illnessescomes from Him. He is the One who provides the remedy to thoseafflicted with suffering and the healing to those who are struggling in thegrip of illnesses.47 Allah (swt) is also the One who is ashamed not to answerthe prayers of a servant who comes with bowed head and open handsand to turn away empty handed the one who comes with open hands:“Your Lord is Kind and Most Generous, and is ashamed of letting His slaves returnempty handed, when they raise their hands to Him.”48 Moreover, He is theOne who is patient with all the disobedience, excesses, and inconsideratenessof His servants despite all the blessings that He has bestowed: “Noneis more patient than Allah with the painful charges and slander He hears (aboutHimself). They (the unbelievers and polytheists) ascribe children to Him, yet Hebestows upon them health and sustenance.”49
Allah (swt) is the One who controls the hearts and changes them. Indeedwhen Umm Salama (ra) (one of the wives of the Prophet) was asked,“O mother of the believers! What is the prayer that the Messenger of Allahsays most frequently when he is with you?” she quoted the following: “Omy Lord who changes hearts from state to state! Make my heart firm in Yourreligion” She then continued to explain, saying, “So I asked the Prophet(saw), ‘O Messenger of Allah! Why do you pray with this prayer?’ He answered,‘O Umm Salama! The heart of everyone is between the fingers of Allah,so whomsoever He wills He makes steadfast, and whomever He wills He causes todeviate.” Then he recited the eighth verse of the sūra Al ‘Imran, “Our Lord do not let our hearts deviate after You have guided us. Grant us Your mercy: You are the Ever Giving.”50
Allah (swt) is powerful and strong.51 There is no limit to His power.Everything is easy for Him. “When He wills something to be, His way is tosay, ‘Be’– and it is!”52 Abu Mas‘ud al-Ansari stated, “One day I was beatinga slave of mine and I heard someone behind me saying, ‘Beware O AbuMas‘ud! Beware O Abu Mas‘ud!’ So I turned around and saw that it was theMessenger of Allah. He said, ‘Allah has more power over you than you do overHim.’”53 A Jew came to the Prophet (saw), who had pointed out the powerof Allah, and said, “O Muhammad! Allah holds the heavens on a Finger,and the layers of the earth on a finger, and the mountains on a Finger, andthe trees on a Finger, and the rest of creation on a Finger. Then He will say,‘I am the King’ (the ruler of all creation).” Allah’s Messenger listened to thisand then smiled until his molars became visible. Then he recited the verse:“They have no grasp of Allah’s true measure”54 55 Allah whose power is endlessin this world is also the master and only ruler of the Day of Judgement.56“It is He who created the heavens and the earth for a true purpose. On the Daywhen He says, ‘Be,’ it will be: His word is the truth. All control on the Day theTrumpet is blown belongs to Him. He knows the seen and the unseen: He is theAll Wise, the All Aware.”57
The Prophet (saw) stated that Allah (swt), who is the Master of Judgement Day, will gather people on the Day of Resurrection at the place of the last judgement and say, “I am the King: where are the kings of the earth?”58 Our beloved Prophet (saw), who drew our attention to this scene, gave the good news that “There will be none among you but his Lord will speak to him, and there will be no interpreter between them nor a screen to screen Him.”59
Allah (swt) is just and rules with justice.60 He never oppresses His servants . He would never tyrannize.61 Thus He will punish those who do evil with the like of what they did.62 However, His servants are the ones who pity themselves.63 His balance of justice is always inclined in favor of His servants. This is why He says “Whoever comes before Allah with a good deed will receive a better reward; whoever comes with an evil deed will be punished only for what he has done.”64
Allah (swt) is most compassionate to His servants,65 and merciful, the most merciful of the merciful.66 His mercy prevails over His wrath.67 He does not punish His servants for their mistakes right away but gives them time to pull themselves together. If Allah were to punish people atonce for their errors, shortcomings, and acts of rebellion, there would notbe a single creature left on the surface of the earth.68 Because of His mercyand compassion to His servants, He covers and hides the evil deeds, sins,shameful acts, and mistakes committed by His servants.69 Allah’s mercy isso wide and encompassing that the Prophet (saw) described it as follows:“Allah created mercy in one hundred parts and He retained with Him ninety-nineparts, and He has sent down upon the earth one part, and it is because of this onepart that there is mutual love among the creation so much so that the animal liftsup its hoof from its young one, fearing that it might harm it.”70
For those who deserve it, the torment that he will inflict is very severe; and his punishment is hard.71 In order to attract attention to this matter, Almighty Allah says in the Holy Qur’an, “On the Day you see it, every nursing mother will think no more of her baby, every pregnant female will miscarry, you will think people are drunk when they are not, so severe will be Allah’s torment.”72
No person can see Him in this world. Indeed this fact is expressedby Allah the Exalted in the following words, “No vision can take Him in, butHe takes in all vision.”73 ‘A’isha (ra), the Mother of the Believers said, “Whoeverclaims that (the Prophet) Muhammad saw his Lord is committing thegreatest error”74 and pointed out that the Prophet (saw) was no differentfrom other people in the matter of seeing his Lord in this world. Moses,in fact, had wanted to see his Lord, but did not have the power to do so.This is described in the Holy Qur’an as follows: “When Moses came for theappointment, and his Lord spoke to him, he said, ‘My Lord, show Yourself to me:let me see You!’ He said, ‘You will never see Me, but look at that mountain: if itremains standing firm, you will see Me,’ and when his Lord revealed Himself tothe mountain, He made it crumble: Moses fell down unconscious. When he recovered,he said, ‘Glory be to You! To You I turn in repentance! I am the first tobelieve!’”75
No one can see Allah (swt) in this world, but believers will be able tosee Him in the Hereafter as the greatest of rewards. A group of the Companions(ra) who were interested in this matter went to Messenger of Allahand asked him, “O Messenger of Allah! Will we see our Lord on the Day ofResurrection?” The Messenger of Allah then asked them, “Do you feel anytrouble in seeing the moon on the night when it is full?” They answered, “No, OMessenger of Allah!” He further said, “Do you feel any trouble in seeing the sun, when there is no cloud over it?” They said, “No, O Messenger of Allah!” Thereupon Allah’s Messenger said, “Verily you would see Him like this (as you see the sun and the moon).”76
Our Lord is One. There is nothing equal to Him and He is incomparable.He neither begets nor was He begotten. He needs no being, but allbeings need Him. His existence has neither a beginning nor an end. Withrespect to His essence, attributes, and actions, He cannot be compared tothe creatures that He subsequently created. He is free of all deficient attributesand has all the perfect attributes. He is very merciful and very compassionatetowards His servants. He is very close to His servants, hears thecries for help from those who beseech Him, and fulfills the wishes of thosewho ask something from Him. He is very generous to His servants. Heforgives his servants for all their errors and accepts their repentance. Everythingthat happens in the universe does so through His will. When Hewills something to be, He just says, “Be” and it is. Without His permission,not even a dry leaf will fall from a tree. Everything in the heavens and onearth is from Him. He is powerful enough to do anything. He is the Onewho sees, watches, hears, pities, and loves.
In this context, our beloved Prophet (saw) presented clearly in the followingprayer the concept of Allah that he wanted to form in the minds ofthe believers, and he recommended that the believers recite it every nightbefore going to bed: “Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Heavens and the Lordof the Earth, our Lord, and the Lord of everything, the Splitter of the grain of cornand the date stone (or fruit kernel), the Revealer of the Torah and Gospel andQur’an! I seek refuge in You from the evil of whatever possesses evil. You are theOne Who seizes it by the forelock (You have perfect control over it). O Allah! Youare the First One, there is naught before You; and You are the Last One and thereis naught after You; and You are the Evident One (the One for whom evidence ofHis existence is obvious) and there is nothing whose existence is more apparentthan Yours, and You are the Hidden One (the One whose nature is imperceptibleand whose essence is hidden from man) and there is nothing more hidden thanyour nature.”77
Footnotes:
1 D4722, Abu Da’ud, al- Sunna, 18.
2 HM9015, Ibn Hanbal, II, 388.
3 T2879, al-Tirmidhi, Fadaʾil al-Qur’an, 2.
4 Al-Baqara, 2: 255.
5 KC15/62, al-Qurtubi, al-Tafsir, XV, 62.
6 Sad, 38: 4-5.
7 Al-Anbiya, 21: 22.
8 Al-Nisa’, 4: 171.
9 Al-An’am, 6: 101.
10 Al-Hashr, 59: 23.
11 Al-Ikhlas, 112: 4.
12 Al-Ankabut, 29: 6.
13 Al-An’am, 6: 14.
14 Al-Rahman, 55: 26-27.
15 Al-Baqara, 2: 255
16 Hud, 11: 73.
17 Al-Hajj, 22: 66.
18 Al-Ikhlas, 112: 1.
19 A’la, 87: 3.
20 Al-Sajda, 32: 7.
21 Al-Nisa’, 4: 87.
22 M445 Muslim, Iman, 293.
23 T2799 Al-Tirmidhi, Adab,41.
24 NS7688 Al-Nasa’i, al-Sunan al-Kubra, Ta’bir, 17.
25 D5058 Abu Da’ud, Adab,97, 98.
26 M1091 Muslim, Salat, 223.
27 IT1/506 Ibn Kathir, Tafsir,I, 506.
28 Al-Baqara, 2: 186
29 Hadid, 57: 4.
30 Qaf, 50: 16.
31 B7386 Al-Bukhari,Tawhid, 9.
32 T2388 Al-Tirmidhi, Zuhd,51.
33 Al-Zukhruf, 43: 80.
34 Al ‘Imran, 3: 29.
35 Al-An’am, 6: 59.
36 T3248 Al-Tirmidhi, Tafsir al-Qur’an, 41.
37 Al-Nisa, 4: 131.
38 Al ‘Imran, 3: 26.
39 T2495 Al-Tirmidhi, Sifat al-Qiyama, 48.
40 T2799 Al-Tirmidhi, Adab,41.
41 B7411 Al-Bukhari, Tawhid, 19.
42 B4637 Al-Bukhari, Tafsir,(A’raf) 1.
43 D3329 Abu Da’ud, Buyu’,3.
44 T2498 Al-Tirmidhi, Sifat al-Qiyama, 49.
45 Al-Hajj, 22: 60.
46 T3513 Al-Tirmidhi, Daawat, 84.
47 B5675 Al-Bukhari, Marda, 20.
48 IM3865 Ibn Maja, Dua, 13.
49 B7378 Al-Bukhari, Tawhid,3.
50 T3522 Al-Tirmidhi, al- Da‘awat, 89.
51 Al-Baqara, 2: 20.
52 Yasin, 36: 82.
53 T1948 Al-Tirmidhi, Birr, 30.
54 Al-An’am, 6: 91.
55 B7414 Al-Bukhari, Tawhid,19.
56 Al-Fatiha, 1: 4.
57 Al-An’am, 6: 73.
58 B7382 Al-Bukhari, Tawhid, 6.
59 B7443 Al-Bukhari, Tawhid, 24.
60 Al-Mu’min, 40: 20.
61 Al ‘Imran, 3: 108.
62 Al-Mu’min, 40: 40.
63 Al ‘Imran, 3: 117.
64 Al-Qasas, 28: 84.
65 Al-Baqara, 2: 207.
66 Yusuf, 12: 64.
67 T3543 Al-Tirmidhi, Daawat, 99.
68 Fatir, 35: 45.
69 N407 Al-Nasai, Ghusl, 7.
70 M6972 Muslim, Al-Tawba, 17.
71 Al-Maida, 5: 98.
72 Al-Hajj, 22: 2.
73 Al-An’am, 6: 103.
74 B3234 Al-Bukhari, Bad’ al-Khalq, 7.
75 Al-A’raf, 7: 143.
76 M451 Muslim, Iman, 299.
77 T3400 Al-Tirmidhi, Daawat, 19; M6889 Muslim, Dhikr, 61.
Source: Presidency Of Religious Affairs The Turkey, Islam Through Hadiths