HEARTS' JOURNEY IN THE ATTRIBUTES OF ALLAH
Friday Sermon Presented by
Dr Mahmud Abul-Huda Al Husaini
Al 'Adiliyya Mosque, Aleppo, 30\11\2007

The Divine Attributes of the Exalted Allah have educational implications. At reading the Hadith: "Whoever counts them enters the Garden", we should not stop at the meaning of counting, reciting and memorizing the Divine Attributes only. His Attributes, Exalted He is, are guiding, instructing, rectifying, warning and auspicious.
Whoever lives in the blessings of the Divine Attributes will be steadfast in the way of Allah. Doing that will lead him to have righteous behavior, guided heart, understanding mind, igniting activity and glowing determination.
The Divine Attributes of the Exalted Allah are not merely means of invocation. In addition, they are a method that should be followed as they administer and direct our life.
I am going to acquire from them a little illuminations which my tiny vessel can contain:
-When one is confused, the Divine Name 'the Truth' guides and conducts him, because 'Truth' is an absolute reality void of any suspicion or doubt. When one adheres to 'the Truth', he will certainly be fixed in truth.
The Exalted Allah said:
"Therefore exalted be Allah, the King, the Truth; there is no god but He, the Lord of the Throne of Honor" (Al Mu'minun, v. 116).
If one is not aware of His attribute, 'The Truth' for certain and definitely, he will know that He is The Truth when He, Exalted He is, reveals His dazzling signs in the universe.
"Soon will We show them Our Signs in the (furthest) regions (of the earth), and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth" (Fussilat, v. 53).
Unfortunately, there is a group of people who are not guided to His attribute 'The Truth' till the Day of Truth. The Exalted Allah said:
" On that Day Allah will pay them back (all) their just dues, and they will realize that Allah is the (very) Truth, that makes all things manifest" (Al Nur, v. 25).
-When the believer adheres to 'The Truth', he will find that 'The Truth' is the Most Glorious, the Worthy of all Praise, because He is praised by His Attributes and His Deed. He is praised by His Generosity, His Favor, His Blessings, His Bounties, and His Grace. Thus He, Exalted He is, makes us be acquainted with His Attribute 'Worthy of all Praise' so that our hearts become attached to Him. He, Exalted He is, said:
" He is the One that sends down rain (even) after (men) have given up all hope, and scatters His Mercy (far and wide). And He is the Protector, Worthy of all Praise" (Al Shura, v. 28).
The One Who is Worthy of All Praise deserves to be glorified. Thus His Attribute 'Worthy of All Praise' makes us know His Name 'Glorified', because the One Who deserves to be really praised, not by flattery or lying, deserves to be Glorified, Sanctified and Exalted.
The Exalted Allah said: "Lord of the Throne of Glory", 'the Lord of the Throne' is the Exalted Allah, and 'the Glorified' is His attribute: " Doer of all that He intends" (Al Buruj, vs. 15-16).
When the believer wants to be acquainted with His doing as He is the Worthy of all Praise and the Glorified, he will find that his Sponsor is 'the One of Bounty'. The verses that make us know this Attribute of His are many, one of which is the following:
"It is Allah who has made the Night for you, that ye may rest therein, and the Day, as that which helps (you) to see. Verily Allah is Full of Grace and Bounty to men: yet most men give not thanks" (Ghafer, v. 61).
If you ask about whether He is far so that you call him, or near so that you woo Him, He , Exalted He is, answers you saying: "When my servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them)" (Al Baqarah, v.186).
His Attribute is 'The Close', "for my Lord is (always) near, ready to answer" (Hud, v.61), "It was We Who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein" (Qaf, v.16). He is the One of Bounty Who is nearer to you than your jugular vein, nearer than you own self and your sensations, and even nearer than your breaths.
From this high status of the Exalted Allah you supplicate Him for your needs and entrust Him with your demands, and the One to whom demands are raised is the 'Eternal and the Absolute'. He is the One Who said: "Allah, the Eternal, Absolute" (Al Ikhlas, v. 2).
When you raise your demands to Him, habits assault you saying: 'causes are weak', so that you depend on causes and fall in the illusive pit of depending on them. You find yourself in need and find that causes are missing, so how can your needs be realized if their causes are missing? Thus one of His Attributes answers you saying: He is 'the Provider, the Most Strong, the Firm One. Consequently, the Strong with the attribute of the Provider and the Firm prevents the control of the habit and causes over your heart, these attributes also prevent you from feeling arrogant when you raise your need to the Eternal:
"And for those who fear Allah, He (ever) prepares a way out, and He provides for him from (sources) he never could imagine" (Al Talaq, vs. 2-3).
This is to show that providing sustenance contradicts habits, prediction and illusion, and to show that it may come from a source different from the rules of your habits that you are used to:
" For Allah is He Who gives (all) Sustenance, Lord of Power, Steadfast (forever)" (Al Thariyat, v. 58).
" Gracious is Allah to His servants: He gives Sustenance to whom He pleases: and He has Power and can carry out His Will" (Al Shura, v. 19).
Notice how the Exalted Allah always compares between power and sustenance in the Holy Qur'an that is the source of supply for His servants. The Exalted Allah favors His creatures by existence then by supplying them with sustenance. Existence is His creating them, and supplying is sustenance. If you have the illusion that supplying will not reach you because causes are missing and because of your weak belief in their rules within your heart, remember the Exalted Allah's saying: " Gracious is Allah to His servants: He gives Sustenance to whom He pleases: and He has Power and can carry out His Will" so that you raise your need to the Eternal with great belief in His Power and Sustenance, in His Kindness, in His Glory that never oppress you.
The Exalted Allah said: "and Allah hath power over all things" (Al Nisa', v.85), i.e., it is He Who gives everything its power and supplying.
In order to have firm certainty in your heart that becomes stronger, and in order to know to whom you raise your need when you ask the Eternal, remember His Attribute 'the Most Generous' Who gives you His favors, with nothing in return. He even gives you more than you expect. There are no limits of the bounty of 'the Most Generous' to make your hopes come true. However great your hopes are, still His generosity is greater. It is He Who said: 'O man! what has seduced thee from thy Lord Most Beneficent?' (Al Infitar, v. 6). It is He Who condescends and deigns to bestow, honor, grant, and award you far above what you can ever hope for. After all that, you become arrogant and do badly and in the presence of the Most Generous…!
-When your heart becomes attached to Him, and you know that He is the Truth; He is the Most Praised and Most Commendable; He is the Glorified and Most Exalted; He is the One of the Much Favor the Vouchsafer; He is too close to you even nearer than your jugular vein; He is the Eternal to whom you raise your demands; He is the Provider of the Great Power; He is the Most Generous, after all that, you find yourself obliged to stand before Him as a servant stands in humiliation before His Lord, the Lord Who is deserved to be worshipped. So, is not the One Who has such qualities worthy of being worshipped?
-Only then, He asks you by His Attribute 'Lord' to be a servant to Him, and when you become attached to the Lord, you worship Him: "O ye people! adore your Guardian Lord, Who created you" (Al Baqarah, v.21). When you worship Him, you aim at reclining to a Strong Pillar, and trust the One who is Trustworthy, the One Who is immortal, so He calls you with His attribute 'the Alive, and the Alive said to you: "And put thy trust in Him Who lives and dies not" (Al Furqan, v. 58), because as long as you depend on the mortal, you will be always disappointed, disparate and frustrated. Thus if you want to depend on a strong pillar, depend on the Alive Who never dies. It is high time you stopped trusting the mortal but resort to the Immortal.
-When your heart becomes acquainted with Him and trust and faith settle in your heart, you turn right and left and ask yourself: "What shall I do? How should I behave?", His Attribute 'The Wise' guides you to do the right, for with this Attribute, He organizes His universe with His Wisdom and commands His servants to follow His rule. Thus, He guides His servants to His Law by means of His Wisdom after He makes them witness His Wisdom in His universe.
"And the Firmament has He raised high, and He has set up the Balance (of Justice)," He trusts them with His Law that represents His Wisdom which He orders them to follow, "In order that ye may not transgress (due) balance. So establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance" (Al Rahman, vs. 7-9).
He, Exalted He is, makes affairs in the universe run according to His Wisdom, some of which are known to us, and others are not. But He organizes our life according to His Legal order. He guides us to the straightway, so His Wisdom becomes an excuse against us when we do not take it into consideration, that is when we resort to anarchy, rebellion and absurdity. He, Exalted He is, makes us witness His Wisdom in His universe and commands us to oblige ourselves to choose the method of wisdom.
When Ya'qub (PBUH) wondered why the Exalted Allah took his beloved, Yusef, and threw him in the well depriving him of a beloved who was pious, chaste and clever, he said to his children:
"Jacob said: Nay, but ye have yourself contrived a story (good enough) for you so patience is most fitting (for me). Maybe Allah will bring them (back) all to me (in the end). For he is indeed full of knowledge and wisdom" (Yusef, v. 83).
He (PBUH) was certain of his Lord's prevention as he was of His giving.
When Ya'qub met Yusef (PBUTH), Yusel was like the mirror that repeated and emphasized that truth. After the meeting of father and son, Yusel said:
"he was indeed good to me when he took me out of prison and brought you (all here) out of the desert, (even) after Satan had sown enmity between me and my brothers. Verily my Lord understands best the mysteries of all that he plans to do. For verily he is full of knowledge and wisdom" (Yusef, v. 100).
If you want to witness His Wisdom, the above mentioned story is a good example. Thus, that was what Ya'qub said in prevention and that was what Yusef answered in giving.
Wisdom is present in His universe. It is the method of our religion. It is our Law that administers our life.
The Holy Qur'an is not revealed to us just for reciting it when somebody dies, nor for reading it while we are in seclusion to make our hearts submissive, nor is it revealed to us to read it frequently, morning and evening in order to learn it by heart and stop at this stage with the illusion that whoever memorizes the Holy Qur'an and repeats it not going beyond that, he will be promoted in the Garden, as is mentioned in the Hadith.
Definitely not, for the believer should read the Holy Qur'an with the purpose of making his behavior, the particles of his being, his manners, his life, all changed into a Holy Qur'an. It is this kind of believer that will be promoted. The Exalted Allah revealed His Book by His Wisdom. He said:
" A. L. R. (this is) a book, with verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning), further explained in detail, from one who is wise and well acquainted (with all things(" (Hud, v. 1).
The Wise has not revealed this Holy Qur'an, but to make it the method of administering our life on all levels and all fields.
However elaborately the liars talk about separating religion from life, the Holy Qur'an will be always superior to whatever they suggest. The Holy Qur'an will prevail over them with its lights and secrets and say to them: 'It is me who administer life… . It is me who is the most efficient to administer life… . It is me who can never be separated from life on all levels'.
This is a truth, and whoever knows the attribute "the Wise" will definitely be well acquainted with this truth.
The Most Dignified Speaker said: "The Believers, men and women, are protectors, one of another" (Al Tawbah, v. 71), i.e., they are concerned only with the people of belief. We call disbelievers to have faith in the Exalted Allah, but we attend only to the people of belief, and we do not fight but the one who fights us. We do not assault the others and transgress their rights, but we do not feel cordiality but towards the people of belief: "And incline not to those who do wrong, or the fire will seize you" (Hud, v. 113). So, love, cordiality and care should be directed only to the people of belief. This is the method which 'the Wise' directs us to apply.
"The Believers, men and women, are protectors, one of another: they enjoin what is just, and forbid what is evil" (Al Tawbah, v. 71), for the one who does not confess truth is a silent devil.
You have only one soul, so let it get out of the body with honor and dignity.
Enough humiliation, enough submission, enough weakness, enough dumbness:
"they enjoin what is just, and forbid what is evil: they observe regular prayers, practice regular charity, and obey Allah and His Messenger. On them will Allah pour His Mercy: for Allah is Exalted in power, Wise"(Al Tawbah, v. 71).
The Wise addresses you at every task He entrusted you with, and guides you at every step you take in your behavior.
His Mercy exists in the very Wisdom of His. We are guided to the mercy of Islam by the description of our Master, Muhammad (PBUH) who is sent as mercy to the whole world: "We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures" (Al Anbiya'. V. 107). We also deduce the mercy of Islam from the signs of legislation itself that say: 'His Mercy is in His Wisdom itself, and His Wisdom is in His Mercy Itself'.
One example can be seen in the following verse in the Holy Qur'an:
"nor kill (or destroy) yourselves", i.e., do not make killing your customary practice. Do not make killing prevalent among you, "for verily Allah hath been to you Most Merciful" (Al Nisa', v. 29), i.e., He is merciful to you in His Law.
Nowadays, assassination has become a common practice used in the name of Islam , while Islam disavows and condemns this horrible deed, as when explosives are blown in public places and markets.
-The One Who is Wise and runs the world, the One Who orders man to commit himself to the method of wisdom, is the One to whom command belongs, and He is the Worthiest and the Most Deserving to command. Command should belong only to 'the Wise', therefore the Exalted Allah said: "The Command is with Allah, Most High, Most Great" (Ghafer,v. 12).
-Thus, whenever you want to have the upper hand over the others and dominate the people weaker than you, however small is your dominion – your family, your country, your nation… -- remember 'the Most High'.
To have a good example, read the educational instruction in the Holy Qur'an concerning prohibition of using violence against the woman, an issue of great importance nowadays. Read the world statistics about how many women are killed, not beaten, in every second, so that Westerners walked out in protest and rebellion against what is called the aspect of violence against the woman. But listen to what the One Who has the command say, 'the Wise' Who if you realize that to Him belongs the Command and He is the Most High Most Great, you cannot have the upper hand over whoever is weaker than you. He, Exalted He is, said:
"Seek not against them (women) means (of annoyance): for Allah is most high, great (above you all)" (Al Nisa',v. 34).
If kings remember the Most High, the Most Great, they will not be able to oppress anybody, and if officials remember the Most High, the Most Great, the Omnipotent over everything, and know that they are part of these things, they will not be able to have the upper hand over the others and oppress them.
But when hearts become locked, and people forget 'the Wise' Who has the command, when they forget 'the Most High', 'the Most Great', violence, oppression, tyranny and domination spread all over the world.
When you agree on the wisdom of the Exalted Allah and become obedient to His command, He will sponsor you, and be present with you with His Attribute 'the Protector':
"For my protector is Allah, who revealed the book (and follow the Book), and he will choose and befriend the righteous" (Al A'raf, v. 169). When He sponsors you he will make you satisfied:
"Allah is the protector of those who have Faith: from the depths of darkness he will lead them forth into light" (Al Baqarah. V. 257).
-When the Exalted Allah becomes your Sponsor, He will be your Trustee.
When you have a legal case, you send an attorney to represent you in the court to defend you. Do you want an attorney?
When the Exalted Allah sponsors you, you become His servant, and when you become His servant He becomes your Trustee.
Lawyers may do wrong and may become weak, but how could you fear anything if your Trustee is the Exalted Allah?
The Exalted Allah said to the devil:
"As for my servants, no authority shall thou have over them: enough is thy Lord for a Disposer of affairs" (Al Isra', v.65).
He also said:
"Men said to them: a great army is gathering against you: and frightened them: but it (only) increased their Faith: they said: for us Allah suffices, and he is the best Disposer of affairs"ِ ) ‏Al Umran, v. 173).
When you slip into committing a sin, and your self-desires overcome you, you find 'the Forgiving', 'the Loving' and 'the Merciful'.
The Exalted Allah said:
"Those of you who turned back on the day the two hosts met, it was Satan who caused them to fail, because of some (evil) they had done. But Allah has blotted out (their fault): for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, most forbearing" (Al Umran, v. 155).
He, Exalted He is, said:
" But ask forgiveness of your Lord, and turn unto him (in repentance): for my Lord is indeed full of mercy and loving kindness" (Hud, v.90).
He, Exalted He is, said:
"then turned He unto them in mercy. Lo! He is Full of Pity, Merciful for them" (Al Tawbah, v. 117).
He, Exalted He is, also said:
Tell my servants that I am indeed the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful" (Al Hijr, v. 49).
-But when you insist on enmity, and you intend to be a fighter of the Exalted Allah though He treats you with forgiveness, forbearance, generosity and bountifulness, then wait for humiliation and retribution:
"Allah forgives what is past: for repetition Allah will exact from him the penalty. For Allah is exalted, and Lord of retribution" (Al Ma'idah, v. 95).‏
-Nevertheless, He makes you crave His favor and frightens you with His Attribute 'the Compassionate':
" On those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, will (Allah) Most Gracious Bestow Love" (Mariam, v. 96).
On the other hand, our Master Ibrahim (PBUH) said to his father as is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an:
"O my father! I fear lest a penalty affect thee From (Allah) Most Gracious, so that thou become To Satan a friend" (Mariam, v. 45).
The people of educating and verification said that the Attribute of 'the Compassionate' is like a medicine used as a treatment to cure maladies, but it is too bitter.
-In order that the servant has always with him one of the Attributes of the Exalted Allah to be righteous, to be heedful and not be perverted, he needs the attribute 'The Witness'
" On the Day that Allah will raise them all up (again) and show them the truth (and meaning) of their conduct. Allah has reckoned its (value), though they may have forgotten it, for Allah is Witness to all things" (Al Mujadila, v. 6).‏
'The Witness' is not absent from you, not even for a breath, for He is ever present and sees you wherever you are:
"Whether we show thee (realized in thy life time) some part of what we promise them, or we take thy soul (to our mercy) (before that), in any case, to us is their return: ultimately Allah is witness. To all that they do "(Yunus, v.46).
As man is a transgressor by nature" Nay, but man doth transgress all bounds, In that he looks upon himself as Self-Sufficient" (Al 'Alaq, vs. 6-7) , he needs the attribute 'Subduer', because the one who always remembers this Attribute never transgresses the legal limits: " He is the irresistible, (watching) from above over his worshippers" (Al An'am, v. 61).
On the Day of Judgment, the Exalted Allah will manifest Himself to the tyrants in the attribute of 'the Subduer' so that they live in a state of subjection as they were the cause of subjecting people.
The Exalted Allah said:
"One day the earth will be changed to a different earth, and so will be the heavens, and (men) will be marshalled forth, before Allah, the one, the Irresistible" (Ibrahim, v. 48).
He also said:
" The Day whereon they will (all) come forth: not a single thing concerning them is hidden from Allah. Whose will be the Dominion that Day? That of Allah, the One, the Irresistible" (Ghafer, v. 16).
-If you are one of the proselytizers and have undergone a trial, beware of forgetting ' the Reckoner' who will call to account the one who oppresses you.
" It is the practice of those) who preach the Messages of Allah, and fear Him and fear none but Allah. And enough is Allah to call (men) to account" (Al Ahzab, v. 39).
The Reckoner will call to account the oppressors who treat people unjustly.
-In order that He, Exalted He is, opens the door of hope for the proselytizers, He addresses them with His Attribute 'the Best Who Decides': "Hold yourself in patience until Allah doth decide between us: for He is the best to decide" (Al A'raf, v. 87).‏
-'The Best Who Decides' cannot be but 'Just'.
If the believer suffers from adversity until he becomes in a very weak state, the Exalted Allah makes for him an attribute that would release him in his adversity. It is ' the Most Merciful of those that are Merciful:
"And (remember) Job, when He cried to his Lord, truly distress has seized me, but thou art the Most Merciful of those that are merciful" (Al Anbiya', v. 83).
When you suffer from a tribulation, repeat the attribute 'the Most Merciful of those who are merciful' frequently, and you will find that your tribulation will pass away.
-In order that He, Exalted He is, opens the door of request for you in your intimate discourse with Him, He becomes 'the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing':
" And remember Abraham and Isma`il raised the foundations of the House (with this prayer): "Our Lord! accept (this service) from us: for Thou art the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing" (Al Baqarah, v.127).
If your heart is present with 'the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing', you request will be realized.
The Exalted Allah said:
"Behold a woman of Imran said: O my Lord I do dedicate unto thee what is in my womb for thy special service: so accept this of me: for thou hearest and knowest all things" (Al Umran, v. 35).
-In order that the Exalted Allah bestows on His servant the key of support, He guides him to the attribute 'Protector and Helper'.
When you are in adversity and need help, repeat frequently the Attributes of the Exalted Allah as you have passed through them in your journey in the realm of the Attributes of the Exalted Allah beginning with 'the Truth' and ending in 'the Most Merciful of those that are merciful'. Repeat what 'the Best to Protect and the Best to Help' (Al Anfal, v. 40) teaches you to say:
This is the journey of the hearts in the Attributes of the Exalted Allah that guide, instruct and help the believer. They are the Attributes that open the door of hope for you and save you when you are about to drown in the fathomless seas of frustration.
Allahum…, guide us to You favorably, and make us from those who listen to wisdom and follow the best of it.
I say my words and ask Allah's forgiveness.