younger generation, are almost wholly preoccupied with negativity:
through baseless arguments, gossip, and useless talk. Their time and
energies are constantly being wasted on fruitless distractions that
squander their potential, foster enmity, and make them unmindful of
Allah's remembrance. These habits are like an addiction. They are hard
toshake off, and they are as effective as any intoxicant in making
people speak and act contrary to good sense.
I believe that the greatest way to repel such tendencies is to focus
on Allah. This is not only a cure for negative thoughts and bigoted
notions, but it provides relief for all the negativities, problems and
worries of life. The remembrance of Allah calms and fortifies the
soul. It cultivates fortitude and perseverance, moderates impatience,
and repels depression and despair.
Remembering Allah is also very easy. It is accessible to everyone.
There are no prerequisites to fulfill or procedures to follow. There
are no permissions to be sought. The doors to Allah's remembrance are
open at all times, whether we have recently been engaged in worship or
haverecently committed a sin. We havethe opportunity to remember Allah
upon waking, whenever something good happens, when misfortune strikes,
when we make a mistake, and whenever else we are given cause to be
reminded of our Lord.
It has been my experience that remembering Allah is the first step in
treating all maladies, both physical and spiritual. It is a
prescription for every person afflicted with bodily illness or
spiritual doubt. It is equally suitable for the young and old, rich
and poor, the powerful and the weak, since everyone is equally
dependent on Allah.
Anyone who takes time to consider the names of Allah will come to a
surprising realization: not one of these names focuses on Allah's
punishment, anger or wrath. Instead, we find names that express His
mercy, love, and kindness, others that communicate His knowledge and
wisdom, those that speak about His greatness and majesty, as wellas
those that speak about His creative powers and providence.
We find names like: the Beneficent, the Merciful, the Forgiving, the
Source of Peace, the Bestower, the Provider, the Most Kind, and the
Loving. There are no names like: "the Punisher","the Avenger", or "the
Wrathful". The Qur'an speaks about Allah being "severe in punishment",
but this is actually a description of Allah's punishment and not of
Allah Himself. It is Allah's punishment that is severe.
A number of scholars have pointed out this distinction, among them Ibn
Taymiyah who writes:
None of Allah's names denote anything terrible or bad. The
consequences of Allah's actions, however, can at times be described as
bad. For instance, Allah says:
"Announce, (O Muhammad) to My slaves that verily I am the Forgiving,
the Merciful, and that My punishment is a painful one."[Sūrah al-Hijr:
49-50]
and:
"Indeed Your Lord is swift in punishing, and indeed He is
Most-Forgiving, Merciful." [Sūrah al-A`rāf: 167]
and:
"Know that Allah is severe in punishing and (know as well) that Allah
is Most-Forgiving, Merciful." [Sūrah al-Mā'idah: 98]
Ibn al-Qayyim observes:
Blessings and salvation are attained through Allah's mercy,
forgiveness, benevolence, and generosity. Therefore, we find these
meanings attributed to Allah. As for Allah's punishment and its
consequences, these are among Allah's creations, and as such, Allah is
not called "the Punisher" or "the Wrathful". This is an important
difference. The former set of meanings is attributed to Allah directly
while the latter are only used to describe His actions. This
distinction can even be found in asingle passage of the Qur'an, for
instance:
"Announce, (O Muhammad) to My slaves that verily I am the Forgiving,
the Merciful, and that My punishment is a painful one."[Sūrah al-Hijr:
49-50]
Dr. Umar al-Ashqar writes:
"Names are not ascribed to Allah from the derivative attributes of His
actions, such as His being severe or swift in punishing, or swift in
reckoning…"
These phrases are always descriptive of certain circumstances and we
never see them directly attributed to Allah as names. Moreover, such
descriptions only apply to the specific contexts in which they appear.
Therefore, Allah is not described as being eternally in a state of
anger or wrath, or of eternally dispensing punishment. By contrast,
the meanings that Allah's names convey are eternally and constantly
applicable to Him.
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