- Names of Allah
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- Names of Allah- 2008
Al-Kareem is one of the Beautiful Names of Allah:
Dear brother, we will talk about a new name of Allah's Beautiful Names, and it is Al-Kareem.
The name Al-Kareem is mentioned in the Noble Quran:
The Almighty Allah called His Exalted Divine Character by the name Al-Kareem, and this name is mentioned in many Ayat in the Quran and in the authenticated Prophetic texts. Allah says:
﴾O man! What has made you careless concerning your Lord, the Most Generous?* Who created you, fashioned you perfectly, and gave you due proportion;﴿
The religious call succeeds if it addresses both the heart and mind:
Allah addresses man's heart and reasoning in one of the most delicate Ayat in the Quran, which indicates that the religious speech will not be fruitful unless it addresses man's heart and mind together. Man is a comprehending mind, a loving heart and a moving body. The mind is nourished by knowledge, the heart is nourished by love, whereas the body is nourished by food and drinks. Thus, when man fulfills the needs of these three important parts, definitely there will be prosperity. However, falling short in fulfilling any of these needs on the account of other needs will lead to extremism, and there is a big difference between prosperity and extremism.
﴾ O man! What has made you careless﴿
Allah then addresses man's heart:﴾Who created you, fashioned you perfectly, and gave you due proportion;﴿
﴾ Verily, We created man of the best stature (mould),﴿
﴾ The Work of Allah, Who perfected all things﴿
The name Al-Kareem sticks to the name Al-Ghani in some Ayat:
Dear brother, the name Al-Kareem comes with the name Al-Ghani (The Ever-Affluent) in the following Ayah:
﴾And whoever is grateful, truly, his gratitude is for (the good of) his ownself, and whoever is ungrateful, (he is ungrateful only for the loss of his ownself). Certainly! My Lord is Rich (Free of all wants), Bountiful." ﴿
In the world of men, you might notice that the stingy rich man is closefisted. Allah says:
﴾ Verily, man (disbeliever) was created very impatient*Irritable (discontented) when evil touches him* And niggardly when good touches him ﴿
He does not spend unlike the Almighty Allah who is Kareem and Ghani. You also might find a generous man in spite of his poverty, or a rich man who is stingy. In fact being generous and rich is one of the noblest characteristics one can have.
﴾And whoever is grateful, truly, his gratitude is for (the good of) his ownself, and whoever is ungrateful, (he is ungrateful only for the loss of his ownself). Certainly! My Lord is Rich (Free of all wants), Bountiful." ﴿
The name Al-Kareem is mentioned in the Noble Prophetic Sunnah:
We have discussed how the name Al-Kareem is mentioned in the Quran so far, but what about Sunnah?
((Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "The Messenger of Allah said to me, 'Should I not teach you some words that if you say them, Allah will forgive you, even if you were already forgiven?' He, peace be upon him, said, 'Say: None has the right to be worshipped by Allah, the Most High, the Magnificent. None has the right to be worshipped by Allah, the Ever-Forbearing. None has the right to be worshipped but Allah glory be to Allah, the Lord of the Magnificent Throne. (La Ilaha Illallahul-Aliyul-Azim, La Ilaha Illallahul-Halimul-Karim, Lailaha Illallah, Subhan Allahu Rabbil-Arshil-Azim.)'"))
((Indeed your Lord is Modest and Generous, and would never turn the hands of a slave without gain when he raises them to Him (in supplication).))
Du'a is the core of Ibadah:
Hence, Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Say (O Muhammad, peace be upon him, to the disbelievers): "My Lord pays attention to you only because of your invocation to Him. But now you have indeed denied (Him). So the torment will be yours for ever (inseparable permanent punishment)."﴿
Du'a is the core of Ibadah (worshiping), because the one, who makes Du'a to Allah believes in Allah's Existence, believes that Allah hears him, believes that Allah Has the Power to answer his Du'a and believes that Allah loves him. Hence, if man believes that Allah exists, hears, knows everything, has the power to answer him and loves him, and that Allah is the Most Merciful of all those who show mercy, only then he will reach the highest ranks of having faith. This is why Allah loves to be supplicated persistently:
"Allah likes to see His servant resorting to Him even in the most trivial things:
((Let one of you ask his Lord concerning his needs until he asks him even for the salt of his food and a shoestring when his breaks.))
Thus, Du'a is the gist of Ibadah. Allah says:
﴾ Those who remain constant in their Salat (prayers);﴿
In this Ayah "remain constant" means in their Du'a to Allah.
((Aishah reported, "I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, what do you think, if I witness Lailatul-Qadar, what I should say?' The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, 'Say, O Allah You are Forgiving and Generous, and you love forgiveness, so forgive me.'))
One of the most repeated supplications made by the Prophet, peace be upon him, is the following:
((O Allah You are Forgiving and Generous, and you love forgiveness, so forgive me))
These are the texts from the Quran and Sunnah where the name Al-Kareem is mentioned.
Al-Kareem in Arabic language:
Dear brother, according to the Arabic language Al-Kareem is an adjective in the form of the active participle, which means that it describes the one who is generous. Hence, whoever is generous is Kareem, and its antonym is La'eem (the vile). A lot of exalted characters are included in generosity, whereas lots of indecent manners are included in vileness. In the Arabic language, the adjective Kareem might be used to describe a man, a horse, a camel a tree or any other thing. Also, Al-Kareemah is used to mention the daughter of someone. Moreover, the word Kareem in Arabic language denotes the good thing, like the Kareem stones (like diamond and other gems), and it also describes the rich and As-Sakhi (charitable man). The difference between Al-Kareem (the generous man)and As-Sakhi, is that As-Sakhi is generous when he is asked by sh3er, whereas Al-Kareem is generous even without being asked by sh3er, and this makes him more exalted than As-Sakhi. Again, Al-Karam (the noun) denotes bestowal, greatness, honor, dignity and generosity in giving sh3er.
Men are of two types:
((Men are of two types, a man who is righteous, fearful of Allah and honorable to Allah, or a man who is vicious, miserable and little to Allah the Exalted.))
The believer acts according to his pure nature and exalted soul, so he believes what he is told by sh3er giving the benefit of the doubt, he thinks about sh3er positively and he is generous, whereas the Fajir (evil doer) is vile and deceiving.
((Men are of two types, a man who is righteous, fearful of Allah and honorable to Allah, or a man who is vicious, miserable and little to Allah the Exalted.))
The most outstanding saying by Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, about himself is, "I am not a deceiver nor will I allow anyone to deceive me." This means that I am not gullible to be deceived, and not a deceiver; I do not deceive sh3er and never let sh3er deceive me. A man found an almond while offering Tawaf in Hajj, so he started yelling and asking about the owner of this almond. Our Master Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, was standing in front of him, so he said, "Eat the almond, O you who pretends piousness and get this over with"
A man asked our Master Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, "Why people were obedient to Abu Bakr and Umar, but they are not obedient to you?" The man meant by these words to undermine our Master Ali, so Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "because their companions are of my kind, whereas my companions are of your kind". Let me repeat the words of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, "I am not a deceiver nor will I allow someone to deceive me." In other words, I am not sly to deceive sh3er, nor am I so naïve to let sh3er deceive me. This is the perfect attitude towards people.
Some of the meanings of Al-Kareem:
1- The Almighty Allah is All-Embracing in His Character, Attributes and Actions:
When we say Allah is Kareem, we mean something different (from the generosity of people). Allah the Almighty is Al-Kareem, Who is All-Embracing in His Character, Attributes and Actions. As you all know, part of Allah's Names are the Ones which describe the Divine Character, a second part of the Names describes His Attributes and the third part of them describes His Actions. One of the senses of Being All-Embracing is manifested in the following Ayah:
﴾ His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth﴿
Given the heavens and the earth are Quranic terms which mean the universe, and the universe is everything other than Allah. Allah says:
﴾ His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them. And He is the Most High, the Most Great. [This Verse 2:255 is called Ayat-ul-Kursi.]﴿
2- The One with Glory, Mighty, Greatness, Exaltedness and Perfection:
Allah describes His Throne using the adjective Kareem, Allah says:
﴾So Exalted be Allah, the True King, La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Lord of the Supreme Throne!﴿
Allah is Kareem in the sense of having the Glory, the Divine Pride, the Exaltedness, the Greatness, the Loftiness and the Perfection. This means that Allah is peerless in His Names and Allah has no compeer, no partner and no equal. The Lord of the heavens and the earth says:
﴾ Lord of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, so worship Him (Alone) and be constant and patient in His worship. Do you know of any who is similar to Him? (of course none is similar or coequal or comparable to Him, and He has none as partner with Him). [There is nothing like unto Him and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer].﴿
Do you know anyone who is similar or coequal to Him?
The concepts of Ibadah:
﴾ and be constant and patient in His worship.﴿
Ibadah, as you all know, is a voluntary obedience, mixed with heartedly love, based on certainty and leads to eternal happiness. Better yet, Ibadah is the purpose of our existence as Allah says in the following Ayah:
﴾And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone)﴿
1- Ibadah according to who you are:
This Ibadah has to do with the main characteristic you are well-known for. Who are you? Are you rich? If you are rich, then your foremost Ibadah is to spend from your money on the poor. Who are you? Are you powerful? If you are a powerful man, then your foremost Ibadah is to put the truth into effect and be fair to the tyrannized. Who are you? Are you a knowledgeable person? If you are so, then your foremost Ibadah is to teach your knowledge to sh3er.
﴾ Those who convey the Message of Allah and fear Him, and fear none save Allah. ﴿
Who are you? If you are a woman, then your foremost Ibadah is to look after your husband and children.
((Understand O woman (Go and tell sh3er), and inform the other women. Indeed a woman's perfection of her relationship with her husband, her seeking his pleasure, and doing that which he approves of is equivalent to all of that (i.e. Al Jihad in the cause of Allah))
This is the Ibadah according to your identity.
2- I badah according to your condition:
This sort of Ibadah is performed through fulfilling your duties in all conditions. For example, if your father is sick, your foremost Ibadah is to take care of him. Also, if you have a guest in your house, then your foremost Ibadah is to honor him and be generous to him. If your son has exams, then your foremost Ibadah is to prepare the best environment for him to study.
3- Ibadah according to the right time:
Ibadah according to the right time means offering the acts of worship and your duties in their right time. Hence, when you offer Fajr in its proper time, spend part of your time in reciting the Quran, performing an act of obedience to Allah, then when it is daytime, let this time be dedicated to earn your living. The Prophet, peace be upon him, saw a young man reauthor the Quran or may be worship in the time of working, so he asked him:
(("Who spends on you and maintains your provision?" He answered, "My brother does." The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "He is a better worshiper than you.")).
Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Allah has deeds to be done for Him in the day which He will not accept if they are done at night, and He has deeds to be done for Him at night which He will not accept if they are done during the day."
((If the people knew the reward for pronouncing the Adhan and for standing in the first row (in congregational prayers) and found no other way to get that except by drawing lots they would draw lots, and if they knew the reward of the Zuhr prayer (in the early moments of its stated time) they would race for it (go early) and if they knew the reward of 'Isha' and Fajr (morning) prayers in congregation, they would come to offer them even if they had to crawl.))
((He/she who offers the dawn (Fajr) in congregational Prayer will come under the Protection of Allah till the night, and he/she who offers night Salah (Isha'a) in congregational Prayer will come under the protection of Allah till the dawn))
3- The One who honored man by allowing him to bear the trust:
Al-Kareem is the One (Allah) Who honored man when the latter bore the trust. As the man accepted to bear the trust, Allah honored man, dignified him, made him a successor on earth, put the trust of His Kingdom in his hands and preferred him above many of those whom Allah have created with a marked preference. Allah says:
﴾And indeed We have honoured the Children of Adam, and We have carried them on land and sea,﴿
This is because man accepted to bear the trust:
﴾ And indeed We have honoured the Children of Adam, and We have carried them on land and sea, and have provided them with At-Taiyibat (lawful good things), and have preferred them above many of those whom We have created with a marked preference.﴿
Man is the foremost and highest ranked creature:
By the way dear brother, man is in the highest rank among creatures, Allah says:
﴾ Truly, We did offer Al-Amanah (the trust or moral responsibility or honesty and all the duties which Allah has ordained) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and were afraid of it (i.e. afraid of Allah's Torment). But man bore it. Verily, he was unjust (to himself) and ignorant (of its results). ﴿
Man is the honored creature:
﴾ And indeed We have honoured the Children of Adam, and We have carried them on land and sea, and have provided them with At-Taiyibat (lawful good things), and have preferred them above many of those whom We have created with a marked preference.﴿
Man is the only creature who is Divinely assigned:
﴾ And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone). ﴿
Hence, man is the foremost creature, the assigned and the honored one, and he, who knows himself, shall know his Lord.
4- The One who gives glad tidings to His believing servants:
Al-Kareem is The One Who gives glad tidings to His believing servants promising them with an abundant and vast forgiveness.
﴾ verily, your Lord is of vast forgiveness. ﴿
He is of abundant provision.
﴾ And if the people of the towns had believed and had the Taqwa (piety), certainly, We should have opened for them blessings from the heaven and the earth,﴿
﴾ If they (non-Muslims) had believed in Allah, and went on the Right Way (i.e. Islam) We should surely have bestowed on them water (rain) in abundance.﴿
Accordingly, man might be deprived of provision because of his sins. The less decent people become, the less rain they will get, and the more women expose their body, the more expensive the meet of sheep will be. Hence, Al-Kareem is the One Who gives His believing servants glad tidings of an abundant reward, vast forgiveness and sufficient provision. Allah says:
﴾ It is they who are the believers in truth. For them are grades of dignity with their Lord, and Forgiveness and a generous provision (Paradise). ﴿
When you make a lawful living, you earn money and spend it without having any worries.
5- The Bounteous Whose Bestowal never runs out and Whose Generosity never depletes:
Al-Kareem also means that Allah is the Granter and the Bounteous Whose Bounty never runs out, and Whose Generosity never comes to an end. He gives to whom He wills, and when He gives He amazes. Moreover, He Gives in His Ways with or without being asked by His servants, and Allah does not remind His servants of His favors. This is why man yearns to get favors from Allah directly, because the one who does favor may remind the one he gives something of his favor. For instance, he says, "Are you comfortable in the house?" if he allows him to live in his house, or he says: "Is it good upon being used?" if he gives you an electric devise as a gift.
Man usually reminds sh3er of his favors unlike the Almighty Allah Who gives His Favors without reminding His servants. Furthermore, because Allah the Almighty is Kareem, He forgives sins, covers flaws, rewards the believers due to His favor over them and deals with those who turn away from Him by His Just.
6- Al-Kareem is the One Who Honors:
Al-Kareem honors sh3er:
((Narrated Kharija bin Zaid bin Thabit: Um Al-'Ala', an Ansari woman who gave the pledge of allegiance to the Prophet, peace be upon him, said to me, "The emigrants were distributed amongst us by drawing lots and we got in our share 'Uthman bin Maz'un. We made him stay with us in our house. Then he suffered from a disease which proved fatal when he died and was given a bath and was shrouded in his clothes, Allah's Apostle, peace be upon him, came I said, 'May Allah be merciful to you, O Abu As-Sa'ib! I testify that Allah has honored you'. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, 'How do you know that Allah has honored him?' I replied, 'O Allah's Apostle! Let my father be sacrificed for you! On whom else shall Allah bestow His honor?' The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, 'No doubt, death came to him. By Allah, I too wish him good, but by Allah, I do not know what Allah will do with me though I am Allah's Apostle. Then, she said, "By Allah, I never attested the piety of anyone after that."))
Refraining from passing final judgement manifests politeness towards Allah:
You should say, "May Allah admit him to Paradise" instead of "Allah will honor you with paradise". Who are you to pass a judgment that this or that person will be admitted to Paradise? This is the unseen future and only Allah knows it.
((By Allah, I too wish him good, but by Allah, I do not know what Allah will do with me though I am Allah's Apostle))
This is politeness towards the Almighty Allah. We hope and long for Allah's Mercy, because no one can be pretty sure that this or that person will be admitted to Paradise. She then said after what the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((By Allah, I never attested the piety of anyone after that."))
When Abu Bakr appointed Umar to be in charge for this Ummah (nation), some people blamed him saying, "You appointed a rigid man" to which Abu Bakr said, "Are you trying to fill me with fear? I swear by Allah, if He asked me on the Day of Resurrection about the reason behind appointing Umar, I would say, 'O, Lord I appointed the most merciful man upon them, and that what I know about him, but if he will change, I do not have any knowledge of the behavior that Umar might lead in the unseen future'."
This is the ultimate politeness. You should say, "Only Allah knows", you should say, "I think he is a good man, but I do not attest the piety of him". This is what the believer says.
((The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, used to say, when he entered the Masjid: "I seek refuge with Allah Almighty, with His Noble Face, and with His Eternal Domain from the accursed Shaytan." He (one of the narrators) asked, "Is that all!" He, peace be upon him, answered, "Yes, if he says this, the Shaytan says, 'He will be protected from me all day long'."))
((Auf Ibn Malik narrates that he prayed behind the Prophet (Peace and Salutations be upon him) who reauthord the following Du'a during the Janaaza Prayer, "O Allaah, forgive and have mercy upon him, excuse him and pardon him, and make honorable his reception. Expand his entry...))
One of the notable scholars of Damascus died while he was listening to Friday Khutabah in the Masjid.
((… excuse him and pardon him, and make honorable his reception. Expand his entry, and cleanse him with water, snow, and ice, and purify him of sin as a white robe is purified of filth. Exchange his home for a better home, and his family for a better family, and his spouse for a better spouse. Admit him into the Garden, protect him from the punishment of the grave and the torment of the Fire.))
The good deed towards creatures is considered a goodly loan:
Whatever good deed you offer towards the creatures (human beings, animals or plants) is considered as lending to the Almighty Allah a goodly loan. Allah says:
﴾ Who is he that will lend to Allah a goodly loan, then (Allah) will increase it manifold to his credit (in repaying), and he will have (besides) a good reward (i.e. Paradise). ﴿
We come to the end of this lecture, in which we have tackled the first part of the Name of Allah Al-Kareem, and let me conclude it with the following Hadith: The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((If a people's dignitary pays a visit, honour him))
