Greatness of Allah the Almighty

Greatness of Allah the Almighty

Translated by: Alamgeer Usmani.

Praise belongs to Allah, we praise Him, and we ask Him for help and forgiveness. We seek protection in Allah from the malice of our souls, and the evil of our actions. Whom Allah guides, no one can lead him astray, and whom He makes astray, no one can lead him back to the right path. I bear witness that there is no other deity but Allah alone who has no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and messenger.

“O you who believed! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except as Muslims.” (Aali ‘Imran ­ 3:102).

“O mankind, fear your Lord who created you from a single soul, and from it, He created its match, and spread many men and women from the two. Fear Allah in Whose name you ask each other (for your rights), and fear (the violation of the rights of) the womb-relations. Surely, Allah is watchful of you. (Al-Nisa:01).

“O you who believe, fear Allah and speak in straightforward words. If you do so, Allah will correct your deeds for your benefit, and forgive your sins for you. Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger achieves a great success”. (Al-Ahzab:70-71).

To proceed,

Servants of Allah,

Hadith of Ibn Masoud - may Allah be pleased with him – is recorded in Bukhari and Muslim, he said: A priest from the Jews came (to the Prophet) and said, "On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will place all the heavens on one finger, and the Earth on one finger, and the waters and the land on one finger, and all the creation on one finger, and then He will shake them and say. 'I am the King! I am the King!'" I saw the Prophet (ﷺ) smiling till his premolar teeth became visible expressing his amazement and his belief in what he had said. Then the Prophet (ﷺ) recited:

﴿ وَمَا قَدَرُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ وَالْأَرْضُ جَمِيعًا قَبْضَتُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَالسَّمَوَاتُ مَطْوِيَّاتٌ بِيَمِينِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ ﴾ [الزمر: 67].

“They did not hold Allah in His true esteem. The whole earth will be in a single grip of His hand on the Day of Doom, and the heavens (will be) rolled up on his right hand. Pure is He, far too higher than what they associate with Him”.

O Muslims,

It is incumbent upon us, in this age in which material things have prevailed, distractions abounded, and minds dazzled with techniques, to remind ourselves of the wonderful workmanship of the Creator - the Exalted and Sublime - and his greatness.

Glorying to Allah - the Exalted and Glorious - is loftier heartfelt worship, and it provides a Muslim with many wonderful advantages. Glorifying Allah creates trust in Allah, and it results in calmness of the soul, no matter how the condition is bad, and glorifying Allah brings about the feeling of Allah’s company, and glorifying Allah increases steadfastness and honor. Glorifying Allah leads to sincerity in deed, glorifying Allah creates the courage of speaking the truth and sticking to it, glorifying Allah motivates upon obedience and abandoning forbidden things, glorifying Allah fills the heart with contentment, beautiful patience. And it has other great benefits.

O worshipers,

Ibn Abbas said in the words of Allah:

﴿ مَا لَكُمْ لَا تَرْجُونَ لِلَّهِ وَقَارًا ﴾ [نوح: 13]

“What is [the matter] with you that you do not attribute to Allah [due] grandeur”.

Means: “you do not appreciate the Majesty of Allah”.

Saeed bin Jubayr said, it means: “Why do you not glorify Allah as He deserves ?”

Our Lord, the Almighty, is great in Himself, as he said about Himself:

﴿ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ * تَكَادُ السَّمَوَاتُ يَتَفَطَّرْنَ مِنْ فَوْقِهِنَّ ﴾ [الشورى: 4 - 5]

“To him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth, and He is the High, the Supreme.The heavens almost burst apart from their above side”.

The commentators said: “Heavens and earth tear into parts from the greatness of Allah, the Exalted, the Majestic.

And in the Sahih of Abi Dawood, Jabir bin Abdullah reported the Prophet (May peace be upon him) as saying: “I have been permitted to tell about one of Allah’s angels who bears the throne that the distance between the lobe of his ear and his shoulder is a journey of seven hundred years”.

It is narrated by Ibn Abi Hatim, he said: “As the birds flop,” and its chain of transmission is authentic.

This is the quality of an angel of the bearers of the throne.

﴿ وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ ثَمَانِيَةٌ ﴾ [الحاقة: 17]

“And on that Day, the Throne of your Lord will be carried above them by eight”.

This is some of what Allah has told us about himself and his Messenger PBUH told us about Him.

﴿ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ ﴾ [البقرة: 255]

“While they encompass nothing of His knowledge, except what He wills”.

Ibn Katheer - may Allah have mercy on him - said: “means: no one can be aware of anything of Allah’s knowledge except what Allah Almighty has made known to him, and he has made it known to him, and it is likely that it means: they are not aware of anything of the knowledge of His deity and His attributes except what Allah has made known to them, such as His saying:

﴿ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِهِ عِلْمًا ﴾ [طه: 110]

“And they do not encompass Him in (their) knowledge”.

What happened to Moses, when he asked his Lord for that great request?

﴿ وَلَمَّا جَاءَ مُوسَى لِمِيقَاتِنَا وَكَلَّمَهُ رَبُّهُ قَالَ رَبِّ أَرِنِي أَنْظُرْ إِلَيْكَ قَالَ لَنْ تَرَانِي وَلَكِنِ انْظُرْ إِلَى الْجَبَلِ فَإِنِ اسْتَقَرَّ مَكَانَهُ فَسَوْفَ تَرَانِي فَلَمَّا تَجَلَّى رَبُّهُ لِلْجَبَلِ جَعَلَهُ دَكًّا وَخَرَّ مُوسَى صَعِقًا فَلَمَّا أَفَاقَ قَالَ سُبْحَانَكَ تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَأَنَا أَوَّلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ﴾ [الأعراف: 143].

“When Musa came at Our appointed time and his Lord spoke to him, he said, “My Lord, show (Yourself) to me that I may look at You.” He said: “You shall never see Me. But look at the mount. If it stays at its place, you will see Me.” So, when his Lord appeared to the Mount, He made it smashed, and Musa fell down unconscious. When he recovered, he said: “Pure are You. I repent to You, and I am the first to believe (that no one can see You in this world)”.

And in the Sahih of ibn Majah, with a chain of transmission which is traceable back to the Prophet: "His Veil is Light, and if He were to remove it, the glory of his Face would burn everything of His creation, as far as His gaze reaches.'"

Glory be to Him:

﴿ إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُ إِذَا أَرَادَ شَيْئًا أَنْ يَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ ﴾ [يس: 82].

﴿ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ ﴾ [الشورى: 11].

“His practice, when He intends to do something, is no more than He says, “Be”, and it comes to be”.

“Nothing is like Him. And He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing”.

May Allah bless you and me in the Great Qur’an, and benefit us with the verses and wise remembrance that are mentioned in it.

I say this saying, and I ask Allah’s forgiveness for me and you, so ask His forgiveness; He is forgiving.

Second Sermon

﴿ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَهُوَ الْحَكِيمُ الْخَبِيرُ ﴾ [سبأ: 1].

“Praise be to Allah, to whom belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth; and for Him is the praise in the Hereafter, and He is the Wise, the All-Aware”.

And may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon the one who is bearer of glade tiding, the warner, and the luminous lamp.

And after that, servants of Allah,

It is incumbent upon us to search for what nourishes the glorification of Allah in our hearts, and the greatest of that is the following:

First: Knowing the Most Beautiful Names of Allah and His Sublime Attributes with their meanings, so look into the attribute of knowledge, for example, and meditate on what is mentioned in them; He - the Most High - said:

﴿ وَأَحَاطَ بِمَا لَدَيْهِمْ وَأَحْصَى كُلَّ شَيْءٍ عَدَدًا ﴾ [الجن: 28]

“And He has encompassed all that is with them, and has comprehensive knowledge of everything by numbers”.

So, contemplate what is around you, like plants, trees, sand and stone, and feel the vastness of His knowledge - Glory be to Him - and meditate on what Allah says:

﴿ وَعِنْدَهُ مَفَاتِحُ الْغَيْبِ لَا يَعْلَمُهَا إِلَّا هُوَ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِنْ وَرَقَةٍ إِلَّا يَعْلَمُهَا وَلَا حَبَّةٍ فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الْأَرْضِ وَلَا رَطْبٍ وَلَا يَابِسٍ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ مُبِينٍ ﴾ [الأنعام: 59].

﴿ وَمَا تَحْمِلُ مِنْ أُنْثَى وَلَا تَضَعُ إِلَّا بِعِلْمِهِ وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِنْ مُعَمَّرٍ وَلَا يُنْقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ ﴾ [فاطر: 11].

“With Him are the keys of the Unseen. No one knows them but He. He knows what is in the land and the sea. No leaf ever falls but that He knows about it, and there is no grain in the dark layers of the earth, or anything fresh or dry that is not recorded in a manifest book”.

“No female conceives (a baby) nor gives birth (to it) without His knowledge; and no aged person is made to advance in age, nor is a part curtailed from his age, but all this is (recorded) in a book. Surely all this is easy for Allah”.

Second: What nourishes the glorification of Allah in the heart is: contemplation, meditation, and reflection upon Allah’s creatures, and upon this wondrous universe, and upon its the awesome perfection.

تَأَمَّلْ فِي نَبَاتِ الْأَرْضِ وَانْظُرْ إِلَى آثَارِ مَا صَنَعَ الْمَلِيكُ عُيونٌ مِنْ لُجَيْنٍ سَابِغَاتٌ عَلَى وَرقٍ هُوَ الذَّهَبُ السَّبِيكُ عَلَى كُثُبِ الزَّبَرْجَدِ شَاهِدَاتٌ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ لَيْسَ لَهُ شَرِيكُ

(Contemplate the plants of the earth and see the effects of what the King has created.

The water springs of pure silver on the papers of molded gold and on the pieces of peridot are witnessing that Allah has no partner).

And our Lord says about people of understanding:

﴿ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَذَا بَاطِلًا سُبْحَانَكَ ﴾ [آل عمران: 191]

“And ponder on the creation of the heavens and the earth (and say) Our Lord, You have not created all this in vain. We proclaim Your purity”.

And Allah the Almighty says:

﴿ وَهُوَ الَّذِي مَدَّ الْأَرْضَ وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا رَوَاسِيَ وَأَنْهَارًا وَمِنْ كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ جَعَلَ فِيهَا زَوْجَيْنِ اثْنَيْنِ يُغْشِي اللَّيْلَ النَّهَارَ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ * وَفِي الْأَرْضِ قِطَعٌ مُتَجَاوِرَاتٌ وَجَنَّاتٌ مِنْ أَعْنَابٍ وَزَرْعٌ وَنَخِيلٌ صِنْوَانٌ وَغَيْرُ صِنْوَانٍ يُسْقَى بِمَاءٍ وَاحِدٍ وَنُفَضِّلُ بَعْضَهَا عَلَى بَعْضٍ فِي الْأُكُلِ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ ﴾ [الرعد: 3 - 4]

“He is the One who spread out the earth and made mountains and rivers on it, and created in it the pairs of two from all the fruits. He makes the night cover the day. Surely, in that there are signs for a people who think.And in the earth, there are tracts of land neighboring each other, and gardens of grapes, and farms and date palms, some having twin trunks and some having a single one. (Although) all of them are irrigated with the same water, We make some of them better than others in taste. Surely, in that there are signs for a people who understand”.

﴿ وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ خِلْفَةً لِمَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَذَّكَّرَ أَوْ أَرَادَ شُكُورًا ﴾ [الفرقان: 62]

“And He is the One who made the day and the night following each other, for the one who wishes to be mindful or wishes to show gratitude”.

And thirdly: What increases the glorification of Creator in the heart is: reading His words - the Most High - with contemplation and presence of the heart; Because, when a Muslim reads the words of his Lord, he reads about his dignified deity, and about His cosmic signs, and he comes to know stories, lessons, intimidation and warning:

﴿ فَذَكِّرْ بِالْقُرْآنِ مَنْ يَخَافُ وَعِيدِ ﴾ [ق: 45]

“So, exhort, through the Qur’an, the one who fears My warning”.

﴿ لَوْ أَنْزَلْنَا هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ عَلَى جَبَلٍ لَرَأَيْتَهُ خَاشِعًا مُتَصَدِّعًا مِنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ وَتِلْكَ الْأَمْثَالُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ ﴾ [الحشر: 21]

“Had We sent down this Qur’an to a mountain, you would have seen it humbled, burst apart out of awe for Allah. We cite such examples for people, so that they may ponder”.

﴿ وَلَوْ أَنَّ قُرْآنًا سُيِّرَتْ بِهِ الْجِبَالُ أَوْ قُطِّعَتْ بِهِ الْأَرْضُ أَوْ كُلِّمَ بِهِ الْمَوْتَى بَلْ لِلَّهِ الْأَمْرُ جَمِيعًا أَفَلَمْ يَيْئَسِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنْ لَوْ يَشَاءُ اللَّهُ لَهَدَى النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا وَلَا يَزَالُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا تُصِيبُهُمْ بِمَا صَنَعُوا قَارِعَةٌ أَوْ تَحُلُّ قَرِيبًا مِنْ دَارِهِمْ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ وَعْدُ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُخْلِفُ الْمِيعَادَ ﴾ [الرعد: 31]

“And even if there were a Qur’an wherewith the mountains could be moved, or the earth could be split apart, or wherewith the dead are spoken to, (they would not believe). In fact, every decision rests only with Allah. Are the believers not satisfied with the fact that, if Allah willed, He would have brought all the people to the right path? And the disbelievers are continually receiving affliction because of what they did, or it visits somewhere close to their homes, until the promise of Allah come to pass, for, verily, Allah will not fail in His promise”.

There is a lesson for those with understanding in some recent discoveries and the so-called scientific miracles.

Then send peace and blessings upon the one about whom Allah has commanded you to pray:

﴿ إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا ﴾ [الأحزاب: 56]

“Surely, Allah and His angels send blessings to the Prophet. O you who believe, do pray Allah to bless him, and send your Salam (prayer for his being in peace) to him in abundance”.

Oh Allah, send your blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions and his offspring.

Oh Allah, make our hearts obedient, and purify them, you are the best One to purify them, you are the protector and guardian of them.

O Allah, grant us your love, glorification, and pleasure.

﴿ رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ ﴾ [الأعراف: 23]

“They said, “Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and do not bless us with mercy, we shall, indeed, be among the losers”.

﴿ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ ﴾ [البقرة: 201]

“Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and save us from the punishment of Fire.”

Oh Allah, grant honor to Islam and to the Muslims, Oh Allah, help those who helped the religion of Islam, Oh Allah, be with our Muslim brothers everywhere, Oh Allah, feed the hungry of Muslims, remove their fear, mend their broken, heal their sick, and release their captives.

O Allah, guide the rulers of Muslims to what you love and is pleased with, and take their foreheads to righteousness and piety, O Allah, forgive the Muslims and Muslim women, the living of them and the dead.

﴿ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ * وَسَلَامٌ عَلَى الْمُرْسَلِينَ * وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴾ [الصافات: 180 - 182]

“Pure is your Lord, the Lord of all might and honor, from what they describe. And Salam be on the messengers.And praised is Allah, the Lord of all the worlds”.