اَلَا يَعۡلَمُ مَنۡ خَلَقَؕ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيۡفُ الۡخَبِيۡرُ
Would He not know, He Who has created, when He is All-Subtle, All-Aware? [Surah 67. Al-Mulk - 14]
In the verse above, two attributes of Allah come together: Al Latif " اللَّطِيۡفُ ", the All Subtle, and al Khabir " الۡخَبِيۡرُ ", the All Aware.
In the verse above Al Latif is used in the original, meaning the One Who works in imperceptible ways as well as the One Who knows the hidden truths and realities.
While many non Muslims try to find excuses that Allah is mostly talking of His wrath on the disbelievers, they forget that Allah in His very nature is Most Subtle and Gracious. The One whose nature is gentle, affectionate, courteous and refined. And His instilling fear into the hearts of the disbelievers in fact mean to lead them to path of righteousness so that they are saved from the Hell Fire when the world comes to an end and every soul who was ever born will awarded rewards or punishments for their deeds in the worldly life.
And time and again Allah reminds the mankind that He is the Ever Forgiver and those who sincerely repent their sins shall be forgiven.
Allah’s name Al Latif occurs seven times in the Quran, expressing the notion that Al Latif is the One Who disposes of our affairs to the best of our benefit without us even perceiving it.
Al Latif continuously pours His blessings unto His servants; while Al Latif has combined in Him terse and wise compassion. Al Latif pleases His servants when He removes the clouds of His wrath away from them, the One Who is compassionate towards His servants even in matters related to His decree.
Al Latif is derived from the root l-t-f which in the classical Arabic language means (1) to be gentle (gracious, courteous, kindly), (2) to be most soothing and refined in manner, and (3) to treat with kindness (goodness, gentleness, benevolence, affection).
In Surah 12. Yusuf, verse 100, the attribute Al Latif appears at the end of a long verse:
وَرَفَعَ اَبَوَيۡهِ عَلَى الۡعَرۡشِ وَخَرُّوۡا لَهٗ سُجَّدًاۚ وَقَالَ يٰۤاَبَتِ هٰذَا تَاۡوِيۡلُ رُءۡيَاىَ مِنۡ قَبۡلُقَدۡ جَعَلَهَا رَبِّىۡ حَقًّاؕ وَقَدۡ اَحۡسَنَ بِىۡۤ اِذۡ اَخۡرَجَنِىۡ مِنَ السِّجۡنِ وَجَآءَ بِكُمۡ مِّنَ الۡبَدۡوِ مِنۡۢ بَعۡدِ اَنۡ نَّزَغَ الشَّيۡطٰنُ بَيۡنِىۡ وَبَيۡنَ اِخۡوَتِىۡؕ اِنَّ رَبِّىۡ لَطِيۡفٌ لِّمَا يَشَآءُؕ اِنَّهٗ هُوَ الۡعَلِيۡمُ الۡحَكِيۡمُ
"And after they had entered the city, Joseph raised his parents to the throne beside himself, and they (involuntarily) bowed in prostration before him. Joseph said: "Father! This is the fulfillment of the vision I had before - one that My Lord has caused to come true. He was kind to me when He rescued me from the prison, and brought you from the desert after Satan had stirred discord between me and my brothers. Certainly my Lord is Subtle in the fulfillment of His will; He is All-Knowing, All-Wise."
The above verse is from Surah Yusuf (Joseph) and the context is when after years of separation, parents of Prophet Yusuf are finally united with him and he is quoted praising Allah for the favours He has done to him and for Him being The Benignant.
It would be seen from above verse, the usage of "Al-Latif" is expressive of Allah's extreme kindness and compassion in a way which no human faculty can ever fathom, for the Fulfillment of His Will is always towards forgiving and sincerely showing the path of truth to those who believe inn Him and strive for it.
In Surah 31 Luqman, verse 16, Luqman the wise man who ever lived is advising his son about many attributes of Allah and how Allah sustains His servants:
يٰبُنَىَّ اِنَّهَاۤ اِنۡ تَكُ مِثۡقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِّنۡ خَرۡدَلٍ فَتَكُنۡ فِىۡ صَخۡرَةٍ اَوۡ فِى السَّمٰوٰتِ اَوۡ فِى الۡاَرۡضِ يَاۡتِ بِهَا اللّٰهُ ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَطِيۡفٌ خَبِيۡرٌ
(31:16) (Luqman said):27 “Son, Allah will bring forth everything even if it be as small as the grain of a mustard seed even though it be hidden inside a rock or (anywhere) in the heavens or earth. Allah is Most Subtle, All-Aware [ Khabeer, " خَبِيۡرٌ " another attribute of Allah - The Inner-Aware, The Reality-Knower ].
The attributes Al Qahhār (ever-dominating, overpowering) and Al Latīf (subtle, refined) are sometimes used together to honor and appreciate the opposing, yet complementary, ways of the One.
While we expect Allah to be subtle and kind to us, we in return should also inculcated such attributes into our personality so that when it comes to dealing with our brethren, we too are kind and gracious to them.
Please listen to an enlightening commentary on the explanation of attribute Al Latif by prominent Muslim scholar and teacher Nouman Ali Khan:
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 | 5 |
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