The Meaning of the Saying of Allah the Exalted: "… So call upon Him by them, and leave alone those who distort [truth] regarding His names. They will be recompensed for what they used to do."
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The Shaykh :[Al-A'raf 7:180] Calling upon Allah the Exalted by these names includes two meanings. Pay attention to them, may Allah bless you both:
The first meaning: that you seek nearness to Allah the Exalted through these names; that you seek nearness to Allah through these names.
And the second meaning: that you worship Allah the Exalted in accordance with the implications of these names.
Let me repeat it a second time. The meaning of His saying "Call upon Him by them"—His saying—includes two meanings. The first meaning? Please.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : That you seek nearness to Allah through them. That is perfect, rest now. The second meaning is that you worship Allah in accordance with their implications. May Allah bless you. To seek nearness through them is like saying, "O Allah, O Forgiver, forgive me," as if you are saying, "O Forgiver, by Your forgiveness, forgive me." Did you understand? Good. You say, "O Provider, provide for me." You say, "O Gentle, be gentle with me in Your decree," and so on. And among this is the saying of the Blessed and Exalted, or rather the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to Abu Bakr. And here I ask you, those present: What is the connection of Abu Bakr to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : He married Aisha, meaning the Messenger married his daughter, and he married the daughter of 'Umar.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Huh?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : And 'Umar is his son-in-law, and vice versa, 'Ali is his son-in-law, and Uthman is his son-in-law. Rest now. Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : But what did the Messenger say about him? Good, rest now. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) announced on the pulpit at the end of his life and said:Sahih Ibn Hibban 63:8 Allah is the Greatest. The greatest person in terms of generosity to the Messenger in his wealth and his companionship is Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). And he said: Sahih al-Bukhari 3656 And who is the one whose companionship is mentioned in the Qur'an other than Abu Bakr? Answer, everyone. No one. [At-Tawbah 9:40] It is Abu Bakr by consensus. Good. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Mishkat al-Masabih 942 The questioner and the one being asked. The questioner is the most noble of this Ummah after its Prophet, and who is the one being asked? Who is the one being asked? The one being asked is the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He said, "Teach me a supplication that I may call upon in my prayer." He said, "Say: Sahih al-Bukhari 6326 Where is the seeking of nearness? Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. Perfect. This is a request. Sahih al-Bukhari 7387, 7388 This is seeking nearness. Meaning, because You are the Forgiving, the Merciful, forgive me and have mercy on me. This is one of the two aspects in the saying of Allah the Exalted: .
The second: What is worshipping Allah in accordance with their implications? And this is very important. For example, if you know that Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing, if you know that Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing, what does that obligate you to do? Brother.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : If you know that, here, if you know that what is the last thing? What? I said All-Hearing, All-Seeing. See, this slight attention from you missed it. Rest now. Good, brothers. We said that Al-Sami' (The All-Hearing) is among the names of Allah. If you know that He is All-Hearing, what does that obligate you to do? Not to say a word that angers Him, because if you say a word that angers Allah, He hears it. And if you know that Allah is Al-Basir (The All-Seeing), what does that obligate you to do? Not to do an action that angers Him, because He sees you. If you know that He is Al-Ghafur (The Forgiving), what does that obligate you to do? If you know that He is Al-Ghafur, here.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : It obligates forgiveness. Did you not know that the idle people claim that if Allah is Forgiving and Merciful, then they will remain in their sins? And if you forbid them from a sin, they say what? They say, "Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." Is this correct or incorrect? And what is the correct view?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Sit down. The correct view is that if I know that He is Forgiving, I expose myself to His forgiveness, I seek His forgiveness, I repent to Him, and I perform the deeds that obligate His forgiveness. What are the three deeds that obligate forgiveness in this blessed month, the month of Ramadan? Please.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Fasting Ramadan out of faith and seeking reward, standing in prayer in Ramadan out of faith and seeking reward, standing in prayer on the Night of Decree out of faith and seeking reward. May Allah bless you. And based on this, measure the rest. If "Call upon Him by them" includes two meanings: the first meaning is seeking nearness to Allah through them, and the second meaning is worshipping Allah the Exalted in accordance with their implications. And this is important, my brothers. If a person intends to commit a sin and he is in his house, in a room, and there is no one there, if he believes in Allah the Mighty and Majestic and in His names, he will not commit the sin, because he knows that Allah sees him if it is an action, and hears him if it is a word. Good. The reality is that if we were to speak about this verse, it would take us a long time, but perhaps we can summarize and limit ourselves to what we said. From where?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Did it fall on the ground and you did not take it from his pocket?
The student: No, it fell on the ground.
The Shaykh : Did you not take it from his pocket?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : Fine.
And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them
ولله الأسماء الحسنى فادعوه بهاThe first meaning: that you seek nearness to Allah the Exalted through these names; that you seek nearness to Allah through these names.
And the second meaning: that you worship Allah the Exalted in accordance with the implications of these names.
Let me repeat it a second time. The meaning of His saying "Call upon Him by them"—His saying
Call upon Him by them
ادعوه بهاThe student: ... .
The Shaykh : That you seek nearness to Allah through them. That is perfect, rest now. The second meaning is that you worship Allah in accordance with their implications. May Allah bless you. To seek nearness through them is like saying, "O Allah, O Forgiver, forgive me," as if you are saying, "O Forgiver, by Your forgiveness, forgive me." Did you understand? Good. You say, "O Provider, provide for me." You say, "O Gentle, be gentle with me in Your decree," and so on. And among this is the saying of the Blessed and Exalted, or rather the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to Abu Bakr. And here I ask you, those present: What is the connection of Abu Bakr to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : He married Aisha, meaning the Messenger married his daughter, and he married the daughter of 'Umar.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Huh?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : And 'Umar is his son-in-law, and vice versa, 'Ali is his son-in-law, and Uthman is his son-in-law. Rest now. Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : But what did the Messenger say about him? Good, rest now. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) announced on the pulpit at the end of his life and said:
Indeed, the most trustworthy of people to me in his wealth and his companionship is Abu Bakr
إن أمن الناس عليّ في ماله وصحبته أبو بكرIf I were to take a Khalil, I would have taken Abu Bakr
لو كنت متخذا من أمتي خليلا لاتخذت أبابكرand he said to his companion, "Do not grieve
إذ يقول لصاحبه لا تحزنhe asked God’s Messenger to teach him a supplication to use in his prayer
يا رسول الله علمني دعاء أدعو به في صلاتيAllahumma inni zalamtu nafsi zulman kathiran wala yaghfirudhdhunuba illa anta, Faghfirli maghfiratan min indika war-hamni, innaka antalGhafur-Rahim.
اللهم إني ظلمت نفسي ظلما كثيرا ولا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنت فاغفر لي مغفرة من عندك وارحمني إنك أنت الغفور الرحيمThe student: ... .
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. Perfect.
Forgive me and have mercy on me
اغفر لي وارحمنيNo doubt, You are the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
إنك أنت الغفور الرحيمCall upon Him by them
ادعوه بهاThe second: What is worshipping Allah in accordance with their implications? And this is very important. For example, if you know that Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing, if you know that Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing, what does that obligate you to do? Brother.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : If you know that, here, if you know that what is the last thing? What? I said All-Hearing, All-Seeing. See, this slight attention from you missed it. Rest now. Good, brothers. We said that Al-Sami' (The All-Hearing) is among the names of Allah. If you know that He is All-Hearing, what does that obligate you to do? Not to say a word that angers Him, because if you say a word that angers Allah, He hears it. And if you know that Allah is Al-Basir (The All-Seeing), what does that obligate you to do? Not to do an action that angers Him, because He sees you. If you know that He is Al-Ghafur (The Forgiving), what does that obligate you to do? If you know that He is Al-Ghafur, here.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : It obligates forgiveness. Did you not know that the idle people claim that if Allah is Forgiving and Merciful, then they will remain in their sins? And if you forbid them from a sin, they say what? They say, "Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." Is this correct or incorrect? And what is the correct view?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Sit down. The correct view is that if I know that He is Forgiving, I expose myself to His forgiveness, I seek His forgiveness, I repent to Him, and I perform the deeds that obligate His forgiveness. What are the three deeds that obligate forgiveness in this blessed month, the month of Ramadan? Please.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Fasting Ramadan out of faith and seeking reward, standing in prayer in Ramadan out of faith and seeking reward, standing in prayer on the Night of Decree out of faith and seeking reward. May Allah bless you. And based on this, measure the rest. If "Call upon Him by them" includes two meanings: the first meaning is seeking nearness to Allah through them, and the second meaning is worshipping Allah the Exalted in accordance with their implications. And this is important, my brothers. If a person intends to commit a sin and he is in his house, in a room, and there is no one there, if he believes in Allah the Mighty and Majestic and in His names, he will not commit the sin, because he knows that Allah sees him if it is an action, and hears him if it is a word. Good. The reality is that if we were to speak about this verse, it would take us a long time, but perhaps we can summarize and limit ourselves to what we said. From where?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Did it fall on the ground and you did not take it from his pocket?
The student: No, it fell on the ground.
The Shaykh : Did you not take it from his pocket?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : Fine.