- Names of Allah
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- Names of Allah- 1996
Allâh’s Beautiful Name: Al-‘Adl:
Now, we go on to the twentieth of Allah’s Beautiful Divine Names, namely “Al-‘Adl” (the All-Just), which the whole Muslim nation agrees to attribute to Allah, All Mighty, and which is, therefore, one of Allah’s Beautiful Divine Names.
In fact, Allah, Most Gracious, is All Just in His Creation just as He is All-Just in His Legislation, Cosmic Laws and Acts. In other words, whenever He creates something, bids to something, or does something, He is All Just.
Allah is All Just in His Creation: consider location of your arm! It is located in a very suitable place: in the middle of the body. And things are said to be right and just if they stand between two controversial extremes. An electric switch, for example, is usually located in a place where all members of the family can easily use it. We describe such location as being right and just. If it were located in an excessively high place, we would need a special ladder in order to switch it on or off; and if it were put in a low place, we would also find difficulty in turning it on or off. However, when a switch is properly located, we say that such location is right and just, as it does not lend itself to extremism.
In this context, we should notice that if man were made to see all living microscopic creatures that exist in water, he would abstain from drinking it. If the human eye were given the power to see all things, our life would be not only miserable but also unbearable; and if the human eye were made too weak to see dangerous things around us, we would not be able to survive. Both cases symbolize improper deviation from the right and just work of the human eye. Therefore, Allah, Most Gracious, is All Just in His Creation not only of the human eye but all other things as well.
Another example is the human ear, which is specially designed by the Lord, Allah, the All Just, to hear only the sounds that befit the human life on earth. There are a great many sounds that exist in the world, but we do not hear them. If we did, human life would be unbearable. Ordinary sound waves fade away, while electro-magnet ones do not. By the way, a spacecraft was launched to Jupiter at a speed of 40,000 m/h. As soon as it reached Jupiter after six years of continuous travel, it sent radio messages to the earth. Radio waves do not fade away, while those of ordinary sound do. That is why electro-magnet waves are used for radio transmission and communication. Now, if ordinary sound waves were like electro-magnet ones that do not weaken or fade away, you would hear, in this mosque in Damascus, all sounds existing in the whole world. All at once, you would hear the sounds of the sea-waves, factories, and volcanoes, and life would be impossible. Hence, creation of the human ear and the nature of sound in such a way as to fit each other is right and just. In this context, Allah, All Mighty, All Just, says
“Verily, We (i.e. Allah) have created all things in due measures.”
In other words, your sight is made in due measures and so is your hearing. If your sense-nerves were made to grow more than they do, your life would be impossible. The same thing applies for your pressure-nerves as well as nerves that have to do with your vision, hearing, and movement. Joint of the elbow is most properly located in the human body. It helps you eat and drink most easily. If it were located somewhere else in your body, you would have to put a plate on the ground and lie down in order to eat food with the help of your tongue as animals do. Therefore, location of the joint of your elbow is right and just.
Location of the arm on the shoulder is also right and just. If it were located on the hip and made to hang down to the feet, life would be unbearable. If the eye were located on top of the head, on the back, or in the palm of the hand, your life and work system would get confused. In the same context, Allah, the All Just, says
“O man! What has made you careless about your Lord, the Most Generous, Who created you, fashioned you perfectly, and gave you due proportion? In whatever form He willed, He put you together.”
In other words, Allah, the All Just, has created you - your senses, parts, organs, apparatuses, and systems - in a right just way and in due measures and proportions.
Allah’s Rightness and Justness are also manifested in the fiber used in textile. If a piece of clothes were to get worn out from the very first time we wore it, life would be too hard for people. It is totally unreasonable and even unbearable for people to buy new clothes or have them made every day. However, fiber is usually strong enough to endure at least one or two years before it is worn out. Hence, the fiber that we use in textile shows clearly that the Lord, Allah, has created it in a right just way.
A hen usually lays one egg a day. This is right and just, for if it laid one egg a month or a year, eggs would be too expensive. If fodder cost more than the milk that cows would produce, no one would keep cows. But the quantity of milk that a cow produces is right and just compared to the cost of fodder a cow needs.
We can go on for a hundred years giving innumerable examples of the Quranic fact that goes
“Verily, We (i.e. Allah) have created all things in due measures.”
This Verse means that Allah, the All Just, has created all things in due measures and in a right just way. In Allah’s Creation there is no extremism, immoderation or contradiction.
The earth is most rightly and justly spaced apart from the sun. If the earth were closer to the sun, it would be a blazing furnace; if it were farther, it would be an ice grave. Distances between the sun and the earth, and between all of the heavenly objects are most rightly and justly designed.
An embryo remains in its mother’s womb for nine months. If it remained for five years, it would be intolerable. If it remained for only one week, one mother would have hundreds of children, which is also unbearable. But the period of time that an embryo has to stay in its mother’s womb is most rightly and justly designed. If a woman’s ovulation went on till the end of her life, she would have babies even when she were eighty or more years old, which would be really unbearable. Due to Allah’s Mercy upon women, He, Most Gracious, makes ovulation usually goes on until they are only forty-five or fifty. In other words, ovulation in women is most rightly and justly designed.
The foregoing examples are spontaneous unprepared ones derived from the creation of the heavens and the earth, the sun and the moon, and the night and day. If the day were fifty hours long, while your power were only eight hours, you would, for example, open your shop for eight hours and then close it, go home to sleep and have some rest during the day while other fellow humans would be working. Then, you would come back to resume work in the shop while sh3er were asleep. If the day were made fifty hours long, human life would be unbearable. In this context, Allah, the All-Just, says
“Say (O Muhammad): ‘Tell me! If Allah made the night continuous for you till the Day of Resurrection, which god besides Allah could bring you light? Will you not then hear?’ Say: ‘Tell me! If Allah made the day continuous for you till the Day of Resurrection, which god besides Allah could bring you night wherein you rest? Will you not then see?’”
Hence, you should believe that the length of the day and the night, the distance between the sun, the moon and the earth, and the size of the moon and the earth are all most rightly and justly designed.
If the earth were five times as greater as it actually is, your weight would be five times greater than it is, and your movement on the surface of the earth would be unbearable. This is because man’s weight is proportional with the size of the earth; and man’s weight on the moon’s surface is 1/6th of his weight on the earth.
Therefore, the size of the earth, its density, its power of gravity, and its distance from the sun and the moon while going round the sun in orbit, are all most right and just. Praised is Allah, Who has created all things most rightly and justly.
As for crops: if wheat were made to get ripe successively like melons, for example, we would need to check spikes of grain one by one in order to see if they have ripened or not. However, all spikes of grain need three months to ripen and are harvested altogether at one time. As for fruits, they ripen successively. Hence:
“O man! What has made you careless about your Lord, the Most Generous, Who created you, fashioned you perfectly, and gave you due proportion? In whatever form He willed, He put you together.”
Allah, Most Gracious, is All Just in His creation, as He, Glory to Him, creates all things with Utmost Divine Wisdom and Justness. This is what the foregoing Quranic Verse tries to reiterate: Allah is All Just in His Creation.
If you get up early in the morning in order to perform the Dawn Prayer, and then sit down to contemplate and deliberate, this will help you to know Allah better and to realize particularly that He, Most Gracious, creates and controls all things with utmost rightness and justness!
Imagine that a melon’s crust were as soft and thin as that of a tomato! You would never be able to eat a melon, as it would be impossible to carry from one place to another. And imagine that the peel of a tomato were as thick as the crust of a melon! It would be nothing but mere crust. However, the size, outer cover, stature, taste, and sweetness of the different kinds of fruits are most rightly and justly designed, for our Lord’s Creation is really marvelous.
Man may make mistakes in making sweets by using improper quantities of ingredients, but our Lord, Allah, the All Just, makes all kinds of fruits, such as apples, pears, grapes, apricots, figs, dates, …etc, with utmost rightness and justness.
Therefore, the first meaning of Allah’s Beautiful Divine Name “Al-‘Adl” (the All Just) is that He, All Mighty, Most Gracious, is Most Just in His Creation; i.e. He creates all things most rightly and justly, and with Utmost Wisdom. To this effect, the Quranic Verse goes
“And it is He, Who has created the heavens and the earth in the truth, and on the Day (of Resurrection) He will say: ‘Be!’ and it will be.”
The word “truth” in this Verse means “Utmost Divine Wisdom, which is Most Right and Just”. Just contemplate your own body and food, and then contemplate camels and other animals! In this context, Allah, the All Just, says
“Then let man look at his food.”
“So let man see from what he is created! He is created from a liquid gushing forth, proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs. Verily, He (Allah) is Able to bring him back (to life).”
“Do they not look at the camels: how they are created, at the heaven: how it is raised, at the mountains: how they are deeply rooted (and firmly established), and the earth: how it is outspread?”
The foregoing facts are about Allah’s Divine Name “Al-‘Adl” (the All Just) as manifested by His Creation. Let us now speak about His Name “Al-‘Adl” (the All Just) as manifested by His Divine Command.
Allah, the All Just, commands you to fast for thirty days, i.e. the whole month of Ramadan, every year. If He commanded you to fast for six months, it would be unbearable. This is because the last days of the month of Ramadan seem so long and hard, as if each day were a whole month. The fast in Islam is only for thirty days, which is right and just. Allah, the All Just, commands you to perform prayer only five times a day. If prayers were fifty, and each one were made up of fifty Rak’as, it would also be unbearable. In this context, Allah, Most Gracious, says
“Allah burdens not a self (person) beyond its scope.”
Therefore, the fast is right and just and so is the Zakat (almsgiving), which is only 2.5% of man’s wealth. The Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca) is also imposed on Muslims only one time in man’s lifetime. Hence, Islamic Religion is all right and just. Consider, in this context, laws legislated by human beings. Some man-legislated taxes are 80-93% of a person’s wealth, which makes him feel defrauded, wile Islamic Zakat (almsgiving) is only 2.5%, which is fair and just. In other words, Islamic rituals, such as Salat (prayer), Zakat (almsgiving), Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca), …etc, are all right and just. Not only Islamic rituals but also Islamic commandments and teachings are all right and just. Consider Allah’s Command:
“Tell the believing men to lower some of their gaze (from looking at forbidden things).”
If Allah, the All Just, commanded us to lower all of our gaze, altogether, it would be unbearable, as sometimes we are unintentionally taken by sudden surprise at seeing something indecent or unlawful, which makes us lower our gaze after 1/10th of a second. This is most fair and just.
Allah’s Divine Command as regards lowering our gaze is fair and just, and so is Allah’s Command of Zakat (almsgiving) or the fast. If you are traveling, it is permissible for you to break the fast. To this effect, Allah, the All Just, says
“(Observing the Fast is) for a fixed number of days; but if any of you is ill or on a journey, the same number (should be made up) from other days.”
Similarly, if you are traveling, you can shorten the Four-Rak’a prayers into only two-Rak’a ones. According to some Islamic doctrines, such as the Hanifites, this shortening of prayer is not only permissible but also obligatory in order to guarantee safety and comfort of travelers. While traveling, you have to deal with cars, airplanes, trains, airports, schedules, timetables…etc, which makes you so confused. Therefore, it is permissible for you to perform prayers both shortened and coupled (the Noon with the Afternoon Prayers, and the Evening and Late-Evening Prayers). In other words, Allah, All Mighty, is All Just in both His Divine Creation and Commands.
Before we go on, we would like to ask: what should man’s attitude be towards this Divine Name? In our study of Allah’s Beautiful Divine Names we have two main purposes: to get to know Allah, which is the most sublime and paramount of all human issues. It is most sublime for mankind to know their Lord, Allah, All Mighty, All Just, Who is the Perfect One with Whom you can be forever. The second purpose is to obey Allah and be happy by being intimate to Him and by attaining His Divine Love and Paradise.
If someone desires to get married, he spends quite a long time looking for a good wife with whom he can live happily all the rest of his life. Someone said that his wife was born when his mother first began to look for a suitable wife for him to marry. People also say that the wife is man’s life-long friend and companion, and has therefore to be chosen very carefully. However, you live with Allah and in His Divine Company and Mercy forever. Does any one in the whole existence deserve that you should know him better than Allah, All Mighty, Most Gracious?! Is there any issue that is more serious than to know Allah, the All Just?! To Him, Alone, do belong the Most Beautiful Names, so call Him thereby. When you invoke: [“O Allah, the Most Merciful!”, “O Allah, the All-Rich!”, “O Allah, The All Mighty!], should you not know the meanings of such Divine Names of Allah, with which you invoke Him?!
A great many people are inflicted with some diseases, and if doctors address one of them: “There is no hope for recovery!” he collapses, simply because he does not know that Allah is Able to cure him no matter how incurable his disease might be, and no matter how definitive doctors’ opinions might be. It is Allah Who creates strength from weakness, ease from difficulty, and hope from despair. When man invokes: “O Allah, the All-Powerful!” but feels desperate, this means that he does not know what Allah’s Beautiful Divine Name “the All-Powerful” means. What I would like to reiterate in this context is that if you firmly believe that Allah, All Mighty, is Able to cure you, even without any substantial means, of the most serious diseases or illnesses, this means that you are a true believer, as true faith knows no despair. Knowledgeable religious scholars invoke: “O Lord! There can be no distress so long as you are the Lord!” In other words, man should never suffer so long as Allah is there, he should never fear anything so long as Allah is there to help him and provide him with power and good health. Consider what the holy Prophet, Abraham, (PBUH), said to his people:
“He (Abraham) said: ‘Do you see that which you have been worshipping – you and your ancient fathers? Verily, they are enemies to me, save the Lord of all worlds, Who has created me, Who guides me, Who provides me with food and drink, Who – when I am ill – cures me, Who will cause me to die and then will bring me to life (again), and Who, I hope, will forgive me my faults on the Day of Recompense. My Lord! Grant me good judgment and join me with the righteous! Grant me an honorable mention in later generations! And make me one of the inheritors of the Garden of Bliss (Paradise)!”
Yes, indeed! It is He, Allah, and none but Allah, Who creates, guides, provides, cures, brings to life, causes to die, and forgives. Such is the Lord of all worlds! And therefore: “O Lord! There can be no distress so long as you are the Lord!” Once again, I reiterate that a true believer in Allah should never be distressed, simply because the Almighty Lord, Allah, is always with him. He should think well of Him and put all his trust in Him. In this context, the Lord, Allah, All Mighty, says
“And Allah said: ‘I am with you if you perform prayer, give alms, believe in My Messengers, honor and assist them, and lend a good loan to Allah, verily, I will expiate your sins and admit you into Gardens, underneath which rivers flow (in Paradise). But if any of you, after this, disbelieves, he has indeed gone astray from the Straight Path.”
It happens sometimes that a powerful and influential person promises another: “I am with you! Don’t be afraid! I’ll help you! Here is my phone number!” Such a promise provides the latter with a feeling of confidence and security although the former may, for some reason or another, fail to help him. But with the Almighty Lord, Allah, Glory to Him, things are different and His Divine Promise of Help and Security will certainly come true. Once again, I repeat Allah’s Words
“Indeed, Allah took the covenant from the children of Israel, and We appointed twelve leaders among them. And Allah said: ‘I am with you if you perform prayer, give alms, believe in My Messengers, honor and assist them, and lend a good loan to Allah, verily, I will expiate your sins and admit you into Gardens, underneath which rivers flow (in Paradise). But if any of you, after this, disbelieves, he has indeed gone astray from the Straight Path.”
Now, why should you study Allah’s Beautiful Divine Names and Attributes? The answer is simply: in order to attain happiness by them, in order to know that Allah is Most Merciful, in order to know that Allah is All-Knowing and watch your steps with Him, in order to know that Allah is Powerful over all things, in order know that Allah is the Rich, …etc. Therefore, when you get to know that Allah, All Mighty, is Able to cure you of your disease, you are never desperate or hopeless.
Why is the rate of suicide so high in some western countries? The answer is: simply because people of those countries do not know Allah through His Divine Names and Attributes. However, in most Islamic countries, where life is not so comfortable or luxurious, the rate of suicide is remarkably low!! The reason is, of course, belief in Allah, All Mighty, Most Gracious!
At the university, our professor of psychology, who had attended a conference in Europe about psychological disorders, told us: “During the conference, I delivered a speech in which I mentioned that the rate of psychological disorders in our countries is very low, simply because we believe in Allah and are contented with His Divine Decree and Foreordainment.” In fact, a true Muslim is someone who surrenders himself to his Lord, Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful, saying, “This is what Allah wills. This is Allah’s Will. Whatever Allah wills is, and whatever He does not will is not.” This protects him from all kinds of psychological stresses or disorders. The most beautiful Prophetic Hadith in this context is that
The venerable Companion, Ussamah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: I was with the Prophet, (PBUH), together with Sa’ad and Ubai Bin Ka’ab, when a messenger from one of his daughters came to inform him that her son was dying. Therefore, the Prophet, (PBUH), sent her, “To Allah does belong whatever He (Allah) takes, and to Allah does belong whatever He (Allah) gives. Every one has an end appointed (by the Lord). Therefore, she should be patient and seek Allah’s Good Recompense (in the Hereafter for her son’s death).”
Yes indeed! All things belong to Allah. Whatever He takes away is definitely His, and whatever He gives, out of His Grace, is also definitely His. If you firmly believe in this fact, you have no problems in the life of this present world.
The death of a young child in a family whose faith in Allah is weak and inadequate causes unbearable pains and sorrows, while a venerable Companion whose son was seriously ill came back home worriedly to ask about him. He asked his wife anxiously, “How is the child?” She answered calmly, “He is very quiet and peaceful. Don’t worry.” The father’s anxieties subsided, and he understood from her words that the child was very well. She prepared food for him and, as some narrations go, adorned herself well enough to please him and allow no fear or worry to creep onto him that night. Next morning, she told him, “If our neighbors lend us something and then get it back, do you get angry with them?” “No! Of course not!” He replied. “This is exactly what Allah did with our child.” Of course she meant to tell him that the child was dead, but she did so with utmost care, wisdom and faith in the Lord, Allah, Most Gracious. The man, of course, received the news with true faith and contentment. He went to Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), and told him what happened and what his wife did. Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), said
“May Allah make your night (which you spent with your wife) a blessed one.”
And it is related that after that he had another son, whose ten children were all reauthorrs of the Holy Quran.
Such is the death of a child in a Muslim family, while the death of a child in an unbelieving family may quite often drive the mother crazy or mad.
Therefore, knowledge of Allah’s Beautiful Divine Names and Attributes is meant to provide us with happiness. Moreover, you are actually with the Lord, Allah, and will be forever and, therefore, it is most wise to know Him before it is too late, it is most wise to know him while you are still healthy and wealthy in this present world, and before the Resurrection Day is come.
Another thing: What should your attitude be towards this Divine Name? You are a believer, so what benefit should you get from Allah’s Divine Names?
In fact, your share of this Divine Name is to be moderate, just and right, i.e. to beware of going to extremes as regards affairs and enjoyments of the life of this present world. In other words, as a true believer, you should have a balanced stance between exaggeration and negligence.
We might quite often find someone who is a Don Juan, or a so-called philanderer, who is involved up to his ears in illegal sexual relations, who is extremely aggressive against other people’s honor and dignity, and who is completely irreligious and immoral. On the other hand, we might, also quite often, find someone like the man whose wife came to complain about him to the venerable Companion and Caliph, Omar Bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, saying: “O Commander of the Faithful! My husband is constantly fasting and standing up the night in prayer.” Unnoticing that the woman was actually not praising her husband but rather complaining about him, Omar Bin Al-Khattab said, “May Allah bless your husband!” But someone drew Omar’s attention saying, “O Commander of the Faithful! She is not praising her husband but rather complaining about him.” Therefore, Omar summoned the man and advised him, “Verily, your wife has a right on you.”
Books of history also relate another story about a woman who entered upon the Prophet’s venerable wife, ‘A’isha, may Allah be pleased with her. The woman was so miserably and carelessly dressed that ‘A’ishah asked what was wrong with her. The woman said that her husband was so religiously devoted that he forgot about her altogether and never thought of or cared for her. In the day, he would be fasting and in the night standing up for prayer. Also, the Prophet, (PBUH), summoned the woman’s husband and asked him, “Do you not take me for your good model? You should give your wife her due rights.” The next day, the woman came to “A’ishah with a good apparel and nice smell; and when “A’ishah asked her what had happened between her husband and her the night before, she answered happily, “Well, We did what all other married people should usually do.”
Therefore, when we get to know Allah’s Beautiful Divine Name “Al-“Adl” (the All Just), we know how to color ourselves with such good qualities and manners that please our Lord, Allah, in the light of this Divine Name of Allah’s. That is why religious scholars say that we should beware of extremes of both exaggeration and negligence. We should always be moderate. We should always be right and just. In this context, Allah, the All-Just, praises those who are moderate and just, saying
“And those who guard their private parts (i.e. chastity from illegal sexual acts), except for their wives or (the slaves) that their right hands possess – for then, they are free from blame; but whosoever seeks beyond that, then those are the transgressors.”
Such is the right, moderate and just attitude as regards your relationship with your wife.
As for your relationship with your children, beware of giving them things that spoil them or deprive them of things in such a way as to make them hate you. Give each and every one of them their due financial, social and emotional rights. In this context
Hind Bint ‘Utbah told Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), “Verily, Abu Soufian is a niggardly man, and he does not give me enough money for me or for my son to spend, but I take some of his money without his knowing that. Am I sinful about that?” Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), answered, “Take only what suffices you and your son with justice.”
In times of anger, you should be careful of both reckless courage and weak cowardice, as they are both illaudable extremes. You should stand somewhere in between recklessness and cowardice. You should also be careful not only of being cunning, malicious, tricky, or sly, but also of being naïve, stupid, or idiotic. You should be confined by Omar’s saying, “I am not an imposter, but an imposter can never deceive me.” You should not be stupid enough to be deceived nor malicious enough to deceive sh3er. In this context, Allah, All Mighty, says
“And thus, We have made you a moderate nation”
i.e. in a right and just position between illaudable extremes of exaggeration or negligence.
As regards bringing up your children, it is easy to be too authoritarian and dictatorial or too lenient and tolerant. The right and just thing to do is stand in between both extremes. In this context, Abu Hurairah, may Allah be please with him, quoted Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), as saying
“Teach, but do not reproach. Verily, someone who teaches is far better than someone who reproaches.”
Also, you should not give your children free reign or allow them to go beyond proper bounds. The right and just thing is to keep your children in a balanced state of fear and hope with you. This is very accurate as it stands between two illaudable extremes. In other words, you should not be too lenient, lest you should be squeezed, nor too hard, lest you should be broken. The right and just thing is to leave the rope between you and other people loose and flexible. You should be lenient or hard when it is both necessary and proper to be as such. People around you should have adequate fear and hope towards you. In this context, Allah, Most Gracious, addresses Muslims, saying
“And thus, We have made you a moderate nation, that you may be witnesses over mankind, and that the Messenger (Muhammad) be a witness over you.”
Now, after having spoken about Allah’s Beautiful Divine Name “Al-‘Adl” (the All Just) as manifested in His Divine Creation and Commandment, we have to consider this Name as manifested in His Divine Acts. In this context, you should know for sure that Allah’s Absolute Divine Justice dominates the whole universe. However, you might be asked: someone is honest, trustworthy and straightforward in his business. His prices are right and just and so is quality of his goods. But suddenly, he might be unjustly fined, his goods might be confiscated and he might be even taken to jail. Is not this apparently both unjust and unfair?!
The answer to this question is: This particular incident is, on the face of it, unjust and unfair. But if you go deeper into the man’s life with his family, children, neighbors, those who are inferior or superior to him, if you take all things into consideration, you will certainly find absolute justice in that which has happened to him.
A seemingly strange incident took place about ten years ago. Two men had a row in one of the markets of Damascus city. One of them shot the other with a gun, but the bullet missed him and hit another innocent man, who had just looked out his shop to see what the matter was, in his backbone and caused him immediate paralysis.
A man stopped me saying, “O master! You teach us about Allah’s Justice, but what wrong has such innocent person done? He is a righteous man who has opened his shop in order to earn a living. He has done nothing wrong. He heard people quarrel and stretched his head out only to see what was wrong when suddenly the bullet penetrated his backbone and caused him immediate paralysis. Where is Allah’s Justice?” I answered: “I swear by Allah that I firmly believe that Allah is All Just, but you have told me only one part of the man’s story. Neither you nor I know the whole story. There must be something that neither you nor I know about the man. I surrender to Allah’s Infinite Divine Justice.”
I swear by Allah All Mighty! I was later to know the whole story about the man, for a friend of mine told me the following story: We once had a neighbor who was the custodian over the wealth of his dead brother’s orphan children. When they grew up, he refused to pay them a big amount that had been under his custody: twenty thousand Pounds, which was at that time enough money to buy a big house. The children went to a religious scholar, whose name was Sheikh Houssain Khattab, to complain about what their uncle had done. The Sheikh summoned the uncle to ask him about his dead brother’s children’s complaint. The latter denied the whole story and refused to give them back their due rights. However, the Sheikh advised the children not to call their uncle to court, as it would not be fitting for them to do so. He said, “My children! He is your uncle, and it does not befit you to call him to court. Just invoke Allah against him.” It was eight o’clock in the evening when the Sheikh told the orphan children to invoke Allah, All Mighty, against their uncle; and it was the very next morning when the uncle put his head out of his shop to see what was going on and when he was shot and paralyzed.
Another symbolic story goes: A kite once requested the holy Prophet, Solomon, (PBUH), “Ask your Lord, Allah, whether He is Slow or Hasty (in punishment). We want to move and act.” Solomon asked the Lord, and the Lord said, “Tell the kite that I am Slow, not Hasty.” Some time later, the kite saw some people grilling some meat on a fire. It seized a piece of meat and flew with it back to its nest. But a piece of live coal stuck to the meat and set the kite’s nest on fire. The kite went to Solomon, complaining, “O wise Solomon! Did you not tell me that Allah is Slow (in punishment). This is not true. He is Hasty.” Solomon told Allah about what the kite said, but Allah said, “Tell her that this was an old account!”
A man told me: “Is it reasonable that Allah should punish me for a sin that I have not so far committed?” I answered: “Such punishment might be for an old sin. You must believe in Allah’s Infinite Divine Justice!”
In the same context
Qatadah quoted Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), as saying, “A person is not afflicted with a prick, a slip of foot, or tremor of vein, except for a (certain) sin (that they have committed); and that which Allah forgives is much more (than that for which He punishes).”
I was once with a friend of mine in his car. While he was driving he had an accident in which he caused a lot of damage to another car. I expected the owner of the damaged car to be furious and quarrelsome, but all he did was that he got out of the car, examined it, and then said quietly, “It is alright. I don’t want anything of you.” I was greatly surprised, as I had not expected the man to be so calm and polite, because the accident caused a lot of damage to his car. When my friend came back to his car, he had some teardrops on his cheeks, as he was apparently touched by the other man’s gentle attitude. I asked, “What’s the matter? Why are you so touched?” He said affectedly, “About a year ago, I had a car accident with someone who did a lot of damage to my car. When I got out of my car to see what had happened, I noticed that some respectable veiled women were in the car, and because I did not desire to put the man and the women with him into any trouble, I said quietly and politely, ‘It’s alright. I don’t want anything of you.’ In other words, our Lord, Allah, made this man treat me as kindly and politely as I treated the other man a year ago. Allah dealt with me in the same way as I dealt with sh3er.” In this context, I would like to reiterate that we should believe in the saying: “Do as you like, because as you do so shall you be rewarded.”
Righteous work is never made to waste, a sin is never forgotten, and the Judge, Allah, never passes away. Do whatever you like, and you will be duly rewarded. If you are obedient and dutiful to your parents, Allah, Most Gracious, inspires your children to be obedient and dutiful to you. If you serve other fellow humans, they will also serve you. In this context, Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), bade the venerable Companion, Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him
“O Bilal! Spend (of your wealth) and do not fear straitening of the Owner of the Throne (Allah).”
He, (PBUH), also said
“Spend (of your wealth), and Allah will spend on you (i.e. provide you more).”
By the way, I am sure that my dear readers know lots of stories, similar to those mentioned above, which confirm the fact that whatever you do will be duly recompensed by the Lord, All Mighty, and that do whatever you like, as you will be duly rewarded for it.
Here is another story that I always like to relate: A man and his woman were deeply in love with each other. One day, while they were eating chicken, they heard a knock on their door. When the woman opened the door, she found a beggar standing at the door begging for some food. She was about to give him some of the chicken she and her husband were eating but her husband reproached her violently and prevented her from giving the poor man anything, saying, “Send him away!” The woman did as her husband bade her to do. Years passed, and things went wrong between the rich man and his wife, and they got divorced. Some years later, the woman married another man and lived happily with him. While she was with her second husband eating chicken one day, the same thing happened again: there was a knock on their door. When the woman opened the door, she was greatly shocked. Her new husband asked her, “What’s the matter?” “It is a beggar!” She answered. The husband asked, “What’s wrong with that?” “Nothing! But do you know who it is? It is my ex-husband!” The woman replied. “Do you know who I am?” The second husband said, “I am the beggar who came to ask you for food long ago!”
Of course, the foregoing stories are meant to teach us lessons; and I am sure that nothing could ever happen in the world except by Allah’s Divine Will and according to His Infinite Divine Wisdom and Justice. If you sometimes listen to a story or an incident that may seemingly include any injustice, it is advisable to think, “Well, I know only one chapter of the story; there still remain other chapters that I do not know. If I knew the whole story, I would find out Absolute Divine Wisdom and Justice lurking behind it. In other words, you should know all the details of incidents and not be too hasty in making judgments. You should always say, “Allah knows best. Allah is Fully Aware of the affairs of His slaves. Allah is the One Who sees all things. Allah is the One Who knows, but we do not.”
You have to know for sure that Allah is All Just in His Creation, Commands, and Acts. All His Divine Acts are Right and Just. I reiterate:
“A person is not afflicted with a prick, a slip of foot, or tremor of vein, except for a (certain) sin (that they have committed); and that which Allah forgives is much more (than that for which He punishes).”
Another thing:
“And whatever of misfortune befalls you, it is because of what your hands have earned; and He (Allah) pardons a lot.”
“And those towns: We destroyed them when they did wrong; and We appointed a fixed time for their destruction.”
Sometimes, you hear about an earthquake that hits a certain place. Such earthquake could be materialistically understood as a kind of disturbance in the crust of the earth. The Richter scale can measure its strength. Aghadeer, a city in North Africa, for example, used to be one of the most beautiful places on the Atlantic Ocean in North Africa. But it was a place for indecent and immoral practices: nude clubs, nightclubs, prostitution and fornication, among lots of other sinful things and activities. In only a few seconds, a big earthquake turned the whole city into mere ruins. In this context, I firmly believe that earthquakes are all subject to Allah’s Divine Wisdom. To this effect, Allah All Mighty, All Wise, says
“And Allah puts forward the example of a township that dwelt secure and well-content: its provision coming to it in abundance from everywhere; but it denied the Favors of Allah, so Allah made it taste extreme hunger and fear because of that which they (its people) used to do.”
To wrap up, Allah is All Just in His Creation, Commands, and Acts; and we, as true believers, should stand in the middle between two illaudable extremes, exaggeration and negligence, in all of our attitudes and deeds.
![Al-Fattah [The opener(Of The gates of profit and sustenance)]](https://nabulsicdn.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/thumbnail/3437.jpg)
