Al Aẓīm is one of those attributes of Allah that describe His Absolute Dignity and Magnificence for none is worthy of praises other than One Allah:
فَسَبِّحْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الْعَظِيمِ
" So glorify the name of your Lord, the Most Supreme." (Quran, Surah 56 Al-Waqi'a: 96)
In the verse above, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has been asked to mention Allah's blessed attribute and proclaim that He is free from and far above the defects and faults and weaknesses that the pagans and polytheists ascribe to Him, and which underlie every creed of disbelief and every argument that is presented by the deniers of the Hereafter.
Uqbah bin Amir Juhni relates that when this verse was sent down the Prophet (peace be upon him) commanded that the people put it in their ruku, i.e. they should recite Subhana-Rabbi-yal-Azim in the position of ruku in the Prayer. And when the verse Sabbi-hismi-Rabbi-kal-Aala was sent down, he enjoined that they put it in their sajdah, i.e. they should recite Subhana-Rabbi-yal-Aala in sajdah. (Musnad Ahmad, Abu Daud, Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibban, Hakim). This show that even the most minor details of the procedure enjoined by the Prophet (peace be upon him) for the Prayer are derived from the allusions given in the Quran.
ٱلْعَظِيمُ is from the root 'a-z-m which in classical Arabic means (1) to be great, large, big, (2) to be vast, huge, enormous, (3) to be great in rank, importance or dignity, (4) to be imposing, powerful, superior, (5) to be magnificent, honored, revered, sublime, (6) to be immense, stupendous, lofty, and (7) to be above imperfection.
The famous verse 255 of Surah Al Baqarah, known as the Ayat ul Kursi describes this vert attribute of Allah in the most befitting words:
اللّٰهُ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا هُوَ الۡحَـىُّ الۡقَيُّوۡمُ لَا تَاۡخُذُهٗ سِنَةٌ وَّلَا نَوۡمٌؕ لَهٗ مَا فِى السَّمٰوٰتِ وَمَا فِى الۡاَرۡضِؕ مَنۡ ذَا الَّذِىۡ يَشۡفَعُ عِنۡدَهٗۤ اِلَّا بِاِذۡنِهٖؕ يَعۡلَمُ مَا بَيۡنَ اَيۡدِيۡهِمۡ وَمَا خَلۡفَهُمۡۚ وَلَا يُحِيۡطُوۡنَ بِشَىۡءٍ مِّنۡ عِلۡمِهٖۤ اِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرۡسِيُّهُ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالۡاَرۡضَۚ وَلَا يَـُٔوۡدُهٗ حِفۡظُهُمَا ۚ
وَ هُوَ الۡعَلِىُّ الۡعَظِيۡمُ
"Allah, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting by Whom all subsist, there is no god but He. Neither slumber seizes Him, nor sleep; to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. Who is there who might intercede with Him save with His leave? He knows what lies before them and what is hidden from them, whereas they cannot attain to anything of His knowledge save what He wills them to attain. His Dominion overspreads the heavens and the earth, and their upholding wearies Him not.
He is All-High, The Most Supreme
In fact Al Aẓīm is the One whose greatness cannot be grasped by vision; it is beyond all limits, so much so that no human intellect can ever absorb it. If we consider the greatness of Al-Az`eem, we will realize that anyone besides Him is insignificant. The human being, no matter how knowledgeable, is limited in the scope and content of his knowledge. How can you compare such a limited amount of knowledge with that of the Almighty?
You may refer to our post "99 Attributes of Allah" for complete list of 99 attributes of Allah Almighty with meaning and explanation.
Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
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