99 Attributes of Allah: Dhū-l-Jalāli wa-l-Ikrām - The Lord of Majesty and Generosity

One of the most comprehensive attribute of Allah is contained in "Dhū-l-Jalāli wa-l-Ikrām." The attribute sums up the best of the attributes of Allah: The Lord of Majesty and Generosity, the Lord of Glory and Honor.

Surah Ar Rehman is one of those chapters of the Holy Quran in which Allah expresses more of His bounties and less of torment to give tidings to those believers who walked the path of absolute faith and left their reward to none but the Glorious Allah. In the surah, Allah paints a picture of paradise and its many facets which await the true believers. And while reminding them  There is no deity which is more precious, revered and honored. In fact in this surah, Allah first talk of His Majesty by creating a wonderful world for everyone and then asked everyone that even after seeing all My bounties and gifts, "Which of the favours of your Lord will you twain – you men and jinn – then deny?"

And to those who acknowledge His Majesty, His glorious Lordship, He then speaks of His generosity with which the believers will be rewarded in the life of hereafter and He then tells them:

تَبٰـرَكَ اسۡمُ رَبِّكَ ذِى الۡجَـلٰلِ وَالۡاِكۡرَامِ‏ 

 "Blessed be the name of your Lord, the Lord of Majesty and Generosity"

This phrase begins with a pronoun Dhû (pronounced "thoo") = Lord of, Possessor of l = al, followed by the two great attributes of Allah: = the Jalâl = Majesty, Glory wa = and l = al = the Ikrâm = Generosity, Bounty.
The attribute Jalāl  also mean:

1. to be supremely great
2. to be glorious, majestic
3. to be sublime
4. to be high, lofty, far above, independent

While the attribute Ikrām also means:

• to be noble, high minded, generous
• to be highly esteemed, honored, prized, valued
• to be excellent, precious, valuable, rare
• to be productive, fruitful, bountiful

It may be added for information that two other attributes of Allah al-Jalīl and al-Karīm are also derived from these same two roots. The words jalāl (glory) and ikrām (generosity) are verbal nouns, while jalīl (glorious) and karīm (generous) are adjectives.

While the demonstrative pronoun Dhū literally means with, in, on, or of, but in this phrase from the Qur'ān it is often translated as Lord of, Owner of, or Possessor of. And when used as an invocation,  Dhū changes to Dha, as in Yā Dhal-Jalāli wal-Ikrām.

Thauban (May Allah be pleased with him) reported, whenever the Prophet MUhammad, peace be upon him, concluded his prayer, he would beg forgiveness from Allah three times (saying Astaghfirullah! Astaghfirullah! Astaghfirullah) and then would recite:

اللهم أنت السلام ومنك السلام تباركت يا ذا الجلال والإكرام

Transliteration: O Allah, You are the Grantor of security, and security comes from You. You are Blessing, O You Who have majesty and nobility.

[Riyad as-Salihin: The Book of the Remembrance of Allah, Book 16, Hadith 8]

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

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