- Names of Allah
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- Names of Allah- 2008
Allah's Beautiful Name Al-Mujeeb (The Respondent):
Dear brother, today we will talk about one of Allah's Beautiful Name: Al-Mujeeb "The Respondent".
Allah's Great Name Al-Mujeeb has a general meaning:
Allah the Almighty calls His Divine Character Al-Mujeeb giving it an unlimited meaning. To make this point clear, consider the following point: Had Allah the Almighty only said:
(And that I may do righteous good deeds)
Then any righteous deed would have been included in this Noble Ayah:
(And that I may do righteous good deeds)
However, Allah the Almighty has conditions that should be fulfilled in order to have the righteous deeds accepted. He says:
(And that I may do righteous good deeds that will please You)
Which means the righteous deed is not accepted by Allah the Almighty unless it is done sincerely and unless it is correct; the phrase "done sincerely" means it is performed for the Sake of Allah the Almighty Alone, and the word "correct" means it is done exactly as prescribed by the Prophet, peace be upon him.
Some people innovate things (i.e. Bid'ah) in religion such as holding a charity singing party or lottery, saying that its proceeds are dedicated to an orphanage, which is unacceptable in Islam. Allah the Almighty says:
(And that I may do righteous good deeds that will please You)
Let me repeat it once again, there are two conditions for the righteous deeds to be accepted by Allah the Almighty. The first condition is sincerity; the good deed should be done for the Sake of Allah Alone, and the second one is correctness, which means the good deed should be performed according to the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him. Allah the Almighty says:
(And that I may do righteous good deeds that will please You)
The good deed one is supposed to perform is restricted in the Noble Ayah below, and I have just said that had Allah the Almighty only said, "and that I may do righteous good deeds", the righteous deed would have been unrestricted. However, Allah the Almighty says:
(righteous good deeds that will please You)
Pleasing Allah the Almighty by the good deed one performs is a kind of restriction. To elaborate, when you say "human beings" in general, about 6000 million people are included, but when you say, "Muslims", 1500 million people are included, which means the group (of people you are referring to) is narrowed down. Then, when you say, "Arab Muslims", 400 million people are included, and so on… Thus, whenever you mention another characteristic, the circle gets narrow.
Allah the Almighty calls Himself Al-Mujeeb as a matter of generalization and glorification.
Al-Mujeeb is mentioned in the Quran asdefinite and indefinite noun:
This Name is mentioned as Ma'refah (definite) noun as it is preceded by Al At-Ta'reef (the definite article), in the following Noble Ayah in which Allah the Almighty says:
(And indeed Nuh (Noah) invoked Us, and We are the Best of those who answer (the request).)
The transliteration of "those who answer (the request)" is "Al-Mujeeboon", which is a definite noun. While in the following Noble Ayah, this Name is followed by Tanween (The Tanween is an "n" sound added to the end of the Nakirah (indefinite) word). Allah the Almighty says:
(Then ask forgiveness of Him and turn to Him in repentance. Certainly, my Lord is Near (to all by His Knowledge), Responsive.)
The transliteration of "my Lord is Near (to all by His Knowledge), Responsive." Is: "Qareebun Mujeebun"
In Arabic, the difference between Ma'refah (definite noun) and Nakirah (indefinite noun) is that the definite noun refers to specific nouns, such as the names of cities like Damascus or Cairo, etc… while the indefinite noun refers to common or non-specific nouns such as when you say: a city.
The categories of definite nouns are mentioned all together in the following verse:
The definite nouns are seven types; ana (I am), Saleh (Proper name), za (this), ma (who) al-Fata (the boy), ibni (my son), ya rajol (O man).
* * *
Accordingly, the definite nouns are seven categories:
1- Pronouns, such as Ana (I).
2- Proper nouns, such as Saleh.
3- The demonstrative pronouns, such as za or haza (this).
4- The relative pronouns, such as ma (who)
5- The nouns preceded by Al, such as al-Fata (the boy)
6- The nouns which are related to any of the definite nouns; the possessive adjectives, such as ibni (my son)
7- The vocative case, such as ya rajol (O man)
The definite nouns are seven types; ana (I am), Saleh, za (this), ma (who)
al-Fata (the boy), ibni (my son), ya rajol (O man).
* * *
Thus, the Name Al-Mujeeb is mentioned in the Noble Quran sometimes as definite noun and other times as indefinite noun. It is not mentioned in the Noble Hadith except in the One in which the 99 Beautiful Names and Sublime Attributes of Allah the Almighty are mentioned, and the Hadith was reported by At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah. That is all about how this Noble Name is mentioned in the Noble Quran and Sunnah.
The linguistic meanings of Al-Mujeeb:
In Arabic, Al-Mujeeb is an active participle (a specific form in Arabic which is used commonly to refer to the doer of the action). This form is derived from the verb ajaba (to respond) as follows: we make the verb in the form of the present tense, so it becomes yujeeb, then we replace the first letter by the letter m with dhamma (It resembles a tiny waw, goes above the end of a word, and is pronounced as a short "u", and we put kasra (a short slanting line under the letter; it is put under a letter when a short "i" is supposed to be pronounced after the letter) on the penultimate letter.
Thus, Al-Mujeeb is an active participle derived from the verb ajaba (the past), yujeeb (the present). You can also derive many nouns from this verb, such as jawab (answer, response), ijabah and istijabah (answering, responding), and so on. Regarding al-Ijabah (response or answer), it has two meanings; the first one is the echo or the repetition of the sound, and the second meaning is the dialogue or the conversation which is entirely different from the undesirable dispute. Also, ijabah is to answer other's question, saying for instance, "It is 7 o'clock" when you are asked, "What is the time?. Hence, al-Ijabah is answering a question.
In the story of Al-Ifk (the slander), Al-Bukhari narrated that the Mother of Believers Mrs. Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
((Then I found my necklace after the army had gone. I came to their camp but found nobody therein (no one responded to me).))
Thus, one of Allah's Beautiful Names is Al-Mujeeb. Generally speaking, the verb ajaba (to response or to answer) has two meanings: to answer someone's question, or give him the thing he asks you for. There is a slight difference between the two conditions of these meanings; to give someone an answer or to give the poor or the needy person what he asks you for. In conclusion, Al-Mujeeb has two great meanings; to give an answer to the one who is seeking knowledge, and to grant the poor person what he asks Allah for.
The two great meanings of Al-Mujeeb:
The first meaning of the Name Al-Mujeeb is answering the question, while the other meaning is granting you what you ask Allah the Almighty for, like when a man in the prime of life asks Allah the Almighty to grant him a righteous wife. On the other hand, when a man asks Allah to guide him, answering this request is a manifestation of the first meaning of Al-Mujeeb.
Let me repeat it again, the verb ajaba (to response or to answer) has two meanings; to answer someone's question or to give him what he asks you for. In other word; the two meanings of this verb are to give an answer to the one who seeks knowledge or to grant him something he asks you for. For example, someone may ask you about the Hour (the Day of Resurrection), Al-Qada' and Al-Qarad (the Divine Decree and Predestination), Allah's Justice, the Afterlife, the punishment of the grave, the bliss of Paradise, and so on…, so you respond to him and give him an answer. Thus, Allah the Almighty is Mujeeb (as He has answers to all these questions).
Actually, man may ask Allah the Almighty in his heart without even moving his lips, saying, "O Allah, help me get closer to You", "O Allah, there is a certain Islamic matter which is unclear to me, so grant me knowledge in order to understand it", "O Allah, put light in my heart", and so on… Hence, one may utter his Du'a or he may ask Allah the Almighty in his heart without articulating any word with his tongue like when Prophet Zakariya (Zachariya), peace be upon him, invoked Allah the Almighty in his heart:
(When he called out his Lord (Allah) a call in secret)
He did not say a word. One of the great principles of the Islamic creed is to believe that Allah the Almighty is the All-Hearing; when you make Du'a honestly and sincerely in your heart without even moving your lips, He hears you and may answer it. He says:
(When he called out his Lord (Allah) a call in secret)
Once I traveled to Lattakia, I saw a fascinating Masjid (mosque) in a beautiful coastal place. I prayed two rak'at in that Masjid, then a man invited me to drink coffee with him in a room in that Masjid. He said, "This Masjid was built at my own expense. Twenty years ago, I was extremely poor, I travelled to the Gulf to find a job. On my way, I invoked Allah in secret saying, 'O Allah if you grant me abundance of wealth, I will build a Masjid in this place'." Then Allah the Almighty answered his call, and he built that wonderful Masjid. The lesson to be deduced from this story is that the man invoked Allah secretly; he did not utter a word, yet Allah the Almighty responded to his invocation. Likewise, you can make a great Du'a without saying a word and Allah answers it. Allah the Almighty says:
(When he called out his Lord (Allah) a call in secret)
Allah the Almighty granted that man considerable wealth, and made it easy for him to build that Masjid. He told me about his interesting story and how he asked Allah the Almighty to grant him success, and Allah the Almighty heard his Du'a even though he made it without moving his lips.
(When he called out his Lord (Allah) a call in secret)
Al-Mujeeb is He Who responds to the distressed and helps the oppressed:
Man may say, "O Allah, guide me to You", then unexpectedly, he meets someone who tells him about some righteous scholars, so he learns from them what benefits him. Thus, no matter how you make Du'a; either in your heart or with your tongue, Allah the Almighty hears you and answers your Du'a, because He is Al-Mujeeb. Furthermore, Allah the Almighty always waits for you to make Du'a, because He likes to hear your voice when you call Him.
Dear brother, Al-Mujeeb is He Who answers people's invocations and accepts their Du'a. He is The One Who responds to the distressed and helps the oppressed. Moreover, Al-Mujeeb is the One Who drives the evil and afflictions away from his pious worshippers, like solving a big problem they have, or saving them from the evil of their bitter enemy who is awaiting for them. Allah is Al-Mujeeb Who keeps waiting for us to make Du'a to Him.
In fact all creatures are in desperate need of Him, depend on Him crucially regarding all aspects of their lives, and find no refuge and no place of safety from Allah except with Him. The Only Deity in the world Who has power over everything and to Whom all matters return is Allah the Almighty. Therefore, you seek refuge in Him from His Punishment. To make this point clear to you, consider the example of a son who had done his mother a great wrong, and so she threatened to punish him. However, he went to her, kissed her hand, and asked her to forgive him. What did he do in this case? He sought refuge in her from her punishment.
If you want to know your position in Allah's Sight, just consider your deeds:
Dear brother, Allah the Almighty says:
(Whosoever is in the heavens and on earth begs of Him (its needs from Him). Every day He has a matter to bring forth (such as giving honour to some, disgrace to some, life to some, death to some, etc.)!)
This Noble Ayah has a very critical meaning, Allah the Almighty says:
(Whosoever is in the heavens and on earth begs of Him (its needs from Him). Every day He has a matter to bring forth (such as giving honour to some, disgrace to some, life to some, death to some, etc.)!)
To clarify the meaning of this Noble Ayah, pay attention to the following example: If a doctor asks his patient to have some medical examinations then finds that he has a high blood pressure, he will order him to stop adding salt to his food. Even if that patient will find the food no more tasty, he should follow the doctor's instructions to the letter. Thus, when the patient has a high blood pressure, he should stop adding salt to his food.
(Every day He has a matter to bring forth (such as giving honour to some, disgrace to some, life to some, death to some, etc.)!)
In another case, when the doctor finds that the blood pressure of a patient is normal, and that his body needs some fat, he will allow his patient to eat delicious and superb food. The different conditions of the two patients have been treated differently. Likewise, your position in Allah's Sight is based on your situation and connection with Him; if you perform acts of obedience to Allah the Almighty, He will honor you (He will shower His Blessings and Mercy upon you), but if you disobey Him, He will punish you. He says:
(Every day He has a matter to bring forth (such as giving honour to some, disgrace to some, life to some, death to some, etc.)!)
Every day He has a matter to bring forth. If you try to get closer to Him, He will honor you, but if you earn some Haram (illegal) money, He will test you with a calamity so that He will destroy that Haram money and purify your wealth. Also, if you are modest, Allah the Almighty will raise your position, while if you are arrogant, He will make people belittle you (to help you get rid of your arrogance). Besides, when you spend money for the Sake of Allah, He will make the means of subsistence abundant for you, while when you do not spend for Allah's Sake, Allah will decrease your means of subsistence. Allah the Almighty says:
(Every day He has a matter to bring forth (such as giving honour to some, disgrace to some, life to some, death to some, etc.)!)
If you like that Allah the Almighty treats you as you want (that Allah will answer your Du'a, shower His Blessing and Mercy on you, and so on), then be as He wants you to be. It was mentioned in the relic that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((O My servant! You desire (something) and I desire (something else). If you surrender to that which I desire, I suffice you concerning that which you desire; but if you refuse to surrender to that which I desire, I tire you out in that which you desire, and then you get nothing but that which I desire.))
Thus, this Ayah has a delicate meaning. Allah the Almighty says:
(Every day He has a matter to bring forth (such as giving honour to some, disgrace to some, life to some, death to some, etc.)!)
Allah treats you according to your situation; when you obey Allah, He will honor you, while when you disobey Him, Allah forbid, He will punish you. Also, when you spend money on your own pleasures, Allah will decrease your means of sustenance, but when you spend money on performing righteous deeds, Allah will increase your sustenance. Furthermore, when you humiliate and humble yourself to Allah, He will raise your position, while when you behave haughtily towards other people, Allah will humiliate you. He says:
(Every day He has a matter to bring forth (such as giving honour to some, disgrace to some, life to some, death to some, etc.)!)
If you want to know your position in Allah's Sight, just consider your own deeds; whether they are good or bad ones, and keep in mind that all creatures depend entirely on Allah and are in desperate need of Him.
There are two conditions for the acceptance of Du'a: Sincere faith and loyalty:
Everyone invokes Allah the Almighty, either by words (verbally) or by deeds (scholars say that whoever does an act of worship is calling upon Allah as he hopes for Allah's Mercy and fears His Punishment). Thus, there are two conditions for the Du'a to be accepted: sincerity of faith and loyalty to Allah (having a strong relationship with Allah the Almighty).
Allah the Almighty answers Du'a according to His Deep Wisdom; He may answer the supplicant's prayer soon, or He may delay it depending on the situation of the supplicant or the Du'a itself. Also, due to Allah's Great Kindness to His servants, Allah chooses for the supplicant what is more appropriate to his situation, or Allah reserves it for him in the Hereafter which will be to his own advantage. Thus, Allah the Almighty will definitely answer His servant's invocation and will never let him down as He promises us. Consider the following Ayah in which Allah, the Most Truthful, says:
(And when My servants ask you (O Muhammad, peace be upon him) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright.)
(So let them respond to Me)
It means let them obey Allah.
(and believe in Me)
This means to believe in the Oneness of Allah the Almighty and in the fact that He is the Sublime Performer of whatever He wills. Allah the Almighty says:
(It is He (Allah) Who is the only Ilah (God to be worshipped) in the heaven and the only Ilah (God to be worshipped) on the earth)
Thus, one of the conditions for the acceptance of Du'a is to have deep faith in Allah which prevents you from doing harm to any of His servants, keeps you obedient to Him and makes you abide by His Orders and Prohibitions. He says:
(So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright.)
We move to discuss another point concerning the responded Du'a.
Allah answers Du'a according to His Deep Wisdom:
In another Ayah, Allah the Almighty says:
(And your Lord said: "Invoke Me, [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islamic Monotheism)] (and ask Me for anything) I will respond to your (invocation). Verily! Those who scorn My worship [i.e. do not invoke Me, and do not believe in My Oneness, (Islamic Monotheism)] they will surely enter Hell in humiliation!)
Some scholars said that had not Allah wanted to answer your invocation, He would not have ordered you to invoke Him, had not Allah wanted to give you, He would not have ordered you to ask Him and had not Allah wanted to accept your repentance, He would not have ordered you to turn to Him in repentance. Consider the following Ayah which shows obviously that Allah the Almighty responds to invocations according to His Deep Wisdom. Allah the Almighty says:
(Whoever wishes for the quick-passing (transitory enjoyment of this world), We readily grant him what We will for whom We like.)
Allah the Almighty grants the amount He wills for whom He wills, and it all happens due to His Deep Wisdom. He says:
(Then, afterwards, We have appointed for him Hell, he will burn therein disgraced and rejected, (far away from Allah's Mercy). * And whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it, with the necessary effort due for it (i.e. do righteous deeds of Allah's Obedience) while he is a believer (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic Monotheism), then such are the ones whose striving shall be appreciated, thanked and rewarded (by Allah).)
No one asks Allahexcept that his Du'a will be answered:
Pay attention to the following Noble Ayah:
(To each these as well as those We bestow from the Bounties of your Lord. And the Bounties of your Lord can never be forbidden.)
Allah the Almighty will grant you whatever you seek; if you seek prosperity in the worldly life, it will be granted to you, if you seek prosperity in the Hereafter, it will be granted to you, and if you seek prosperity in them both, it will be granted to you, but everything has its own price. Allah the Almighty created you and granted you the free will, and seems that Allah has taken it upon Himself to fulfill the requests you make by your own choice. Thus you have the free will, and whatever you choose has its price. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((There is not a man who calls upon Allah with a supplication, except that he is answered.))
How does it happen?
((There is not a man who calls upon Allah with a supplication, except that he is answered.))
Allah the Almighty is Al-Mujeeb; when someone invokes Allah the Almighty, he will be in one of three situations; Allah the Almighty will respond to his invocation soon, such as when someone asks Allah to make him rich, to make him a knowledgeable scholar, or to make him a powerful person, and Allah the Almighty answers his Du'a. The abovementioned Hadith goes as follows:
((Either it shall be granted to him in the world, or reserved for him in the Hereafter, or, his sins shall be expiated for it according to the extent that he supplicated - as long as he does not supplicate for some sin, or for the severing of the ties of kinship, and he does not become hasty." They said, "O Messenger of Allah, and how would he be hasty?" He, peace be upon him, said, "He says, 'I called upon my Lord, but He did not answer me.'))
Never say, "I made Du'a to my Lord, but He did not respond to me", because when man becomes hasty, his Du'a will not be answered.
((Either it shall be granted to him in the world, or reserved for him in the Hereafter, or, his sins shall be expiated for it according to the extent that he supplicated - as long as he does not supplicate for some sin, or for the severing of the ties of kinship, and he does not become hasty." They said, "O Messenger of Allah, and how would he be hasty?" He, peace be upon him, said, "He says, 'I called upon my Lord, but He did not answer me.'))
Man's real success is to try o get closer to Allah in times of ease:
Dear brother, the last great meaning of Allah's Name Al-Mujeeb is that He showers His Bounty upon you and grants you whatever you want even before you ask Him or invoke Him. Let me clarify this point by an example. If a father notices that his child's face grows pale, he will take him to the doctor even though his child has not asked him to do that, since the father, whose heart is full of mercy, will fulfill his child's need before the child asks him to do that.
Thus, one of the meanings of the Name Al-Mujeeb is that Allah the Almighty grants you before you call Him, and gives you from His Bounties before you invoke Him. However, out of Allah's Deep Wisdom, He sometimes does not grant us what we want until we ask Him, because He likes to hear our voices while making Du'a to Him, and He likes that we turn to Him, invoke Him, humble ourselves before Him, and humiliate ourselves completely in front of Him, because by doing so we will have a sense of connection with Allah the Almighty which will make Him extremely pleased.
Actually, we are oblivious to the real source of our happiness, which is to get closer to Allah the Almighty, invoke him in secret, turn to Him, and humble ourselves before Him. These acts make us quite delighted. Thus, Allah the Almighty makes us in need of something so that we ask Him, make Du'a to Him, get connected with Him, invoke Him in secret, and humble ourselves completely before Him. As a result, we will be fairly pleased by getting connected with Him. Thus, Allah the Almighty makes our needs as a means to reach this goal.
Basically, you should have a strong relationship with Allah the Almighty, but if you are heedless of Him, Allah forbid, then Allah makes you in desperate need of something, or makes you fear a looming calamity or a bitter enemy so that you will invoke Him saying, "O Allah, no one can help me except You." Allah likes to hear your voice while you make Du'a to Him. The real success is to have a strong relationship with Allah the Almighty and to try to get closer to Him in times of ease. Because we all fall short of being connected with Allah the Almighty, He tested us with some trials such as the dire need of something, looming misfortunes, and so on… so that we turn to Him. This is the meaning of the following Noble Hadith in which the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((Our Lord Most High is charmed with people who will be led to Paradise in chains.))
Dear brother, the Name Al-Mujeeb is one of Allah's Names which are close to our hearts; Allah is waiting for us to make Du'a, and He likes to respond to our Du'a.
