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Showing posts with label Al Kabīr. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Al Kabīr. Show all posts

Tuesday, 20 October 2020

99 Attributes of Allah: Al-Kabīr - The Ever Great / The Incomparably Great


Man since the beginning is the knowledge of a supreme being up in the skies and has always looked up and asked for help. Even when there were no Divine Scriptures or prophets, man intrinsically knew the presence of a supreme being who could address his woes. And then came prophets with Divine revelations, telling man that there is actually a Supreme One, Allah, the Al-Kabīr " ٱلْكَبِيرُ " (pronounced Al Kabeer) - The Ever Great, The Perfection of Greatness, The Greatly Abundant of Extent, The Most Supreme.

This attribute is the superlative degree of greatness. Al-Kabīr is The One whose greatness is beyond measure. The One whose nature is Greatness. The Incomparably Great.

Allah tells His servants that He is the Supreme One and He is in fact The Perfection of Greatness at many places in the Quran:

عٰلِمُ الۡغَيۡبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ الۡكَبِيۡرُ الۡمُتَعَالِ‏ 
"He knows both what is hidden and what is manifest. He is the Supreme One, the Most High." (Surah 13. Ar-Ra'd :9)

وَلَا تَنۡفَعُ الشَّفَاعَةُ عِنۡدَهٗۤ اِلَّا لِمَنۡ اَذِنَ لَهٗ ؕ حَتّٰٓى اِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنۡ قُلُوۡبِهِمۡ قَالُوۡا مَاذَا ۙ قَالَ رَبُّكُمۡ ؕ قَالُوا الۡحَـقَّ ۚ وَهُوَ الۡعَلِىُّ الۡكَبِيۡرُ‏ 
"No intercession can avail with Allah except for him whom Allah permits (to intercede).40 When their hearts are relieved of fright they will ask the intercessors: “What did your Lord say?” They will reply: “(He said) what is right, and He is the High, the Great.” (Surah 34. Saba: 23)

If we look around, no two things look similar. Though apparently they may, but a close look would reveal that no two things are similar. And when it comes to the universe, the billions and trillions of stars, galaxies and planets are different form each other - incomparable. So how can the Creator of this almost incomparable things be comparable to any other deity? How can someone claim a prophet born miraculously be son of God, and thus equal to Him? Likewise, man worship many deities and is rest assured that no matter sins he commits', his deities will intercede for him and save him from the punishment in the hereafter.

That is, not to speak of owning something, or being a partner in the ownership of something, or being a helper of Allah in any way, there exists no one in the universe, who of his own accord, may intercede for someone before Allah. You are involved in the misunderstanding that there are some beloved ones of God, or some such powerful personalities, who can force and press God to accept their intercession, whereas the fact is that no one will dare utter a word of recommendation there without Allah’s permission. Only such a one will be able to make his submissions who is permitted by Allah to do so, and will intercede for him alone for whom permission for intercession is granted. (To understand the distinction between the Islamic concept of intercession and the polytheistic concept, see (Surah Yunus, Ayats 3, 18); (Surah Hud, Ayats 76, 105); (Surah Ta Ha, Ayat 109); (Surah Al- Anbiya, Ayat 28); (Surah Al-Hajj, Ayat 76).”

In the verse above, a graphic picture has been drawn of the time when, on the Day of Resurrection, an intercessor will be seeking permission to intercede on behalf of someone. It presents this scene: “After submitting the application for permission, both the intercessor and the person for whom intercession is being provided are awaiting the reply in a state of restlessness and awe. At last, when the permission is granted and the person perceives satisfaction in the face of the intercessor, he feels a little comforted and asks the intercessor: “What has your Lord said?” The intercessor says, “The truth”: permission has been granted. What is meant to be impressed is this: “O foolish people! Such will be the awe of the great court of Allah! How dare you entertain the notion that anybody will have you forgiven by his own power, or dare behave stubbornly and tell Allah: These are my favorites: they will have to be forgiven!”

ذٰ لِكَ بِاَنَّ اللّٰهَ هُوَ الۡحَـقُّ وَاَنَّ مَا يَدۡعُوۡنَ مِنۡ دُوۡنِهٖ هُوَ الۡبَاطِلُ وَاَنَّ اللّٰهَ هُوَ الۡعَلِىُّ الۡكَبِيۡرُ‏ 
"So shall it be because Allah, He is the Truth, and all whom they invoke instead of Him are false. Allah is Most High, All-Great." (Surah 22. Al-Hajj: 62)

Man is at peace for as long as he is under the grace of the Ever Great Creator of the universe. As soon as Allah’s grace is withdrawn, man immediately realizes how meager and insufficient are the means and resources and knowledge of the sciences. Similarly, man in the state of peace and security may be a hardened atheist or polytheist, but when his boat loses balance in the storm at sea, even the atheist comes to realize that there is God and the polytheist that there is only One God.

Undoubtedly, Allah is in the Supreme Sovereign of the universe, His worshipers will surely attain true success and the worshipers of false gods will meet with utter failure.

You may refer to our post "99 Attributes of Allāh" for complete list of 99 attributes of Allah Almighty with meaning and explanation.

You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Quran

Photo | References1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

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