Explanation of the Names of Allah, "The Mighty and The Wise"

The Shaykh : A chapter on the saying of Allah the Exalted: This chapter includes two of the Names of Allah, the first being al-Aziz (The Mighty) and the second al-Hakim (The Wise). Al-Aziz has derivations in the Arabic language. It is taken from 'azza, meaning to be immune or to be rare, and from 'azza, meaning to be strong. So when Allah the Exalted says: , it means by the Immune One. And when He says: , it means He overpowered me. And they say, "This is a land of 'azaz," meaning hard. And in our colloquial Arabic, we say "a land of 'aza," meaning hard. So al-Aziz indicates might. The scholars said: The might of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is divided into three categories: the might of divine decree, the might of subjugation, and the might of immunity. The might of divine decree means that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) possesses a mighty decree with no parallel. The might of subjugation is the might of dominance, for He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is the Dominant One whom no one can overpower. Even the polytheists in their age of ignorance, their poet would say: "Where is the escape? The God, the Seeker, and al-Ashram the Overpowered is not the Dominant" They believed that Allah possesses the dominant might. The third meaning is the might of immunity. What is the meaning of the might of immunity? It means that it is immune from any deficiency in any of His attributes. The immunity of deficiency from Allah is the meaning of the might of immunity. So might has three meanings: the might of divine decree, secondly subjugation, and thirdly the might of immunity. Now, is al-Aziz among the transitive names or the intransitive names? We say that in one of its meanings, it is transitive. Al-Aziz in the meaning of the Dominant One is transitive because He is the Dominant One and not the Overpowered One. As for the meaning of the might of subjugation, decree, and immunity, these are among the intransitive names. And you have learned how faith in the transitive names and the intransitive names works. As for al-Hakim, it is a fa'il form derived from al-hukm (judgment) and al-hikmah (wisdom). Because fa'il means fa'il (doer) or mu'fil (causer) if it is from al-hikmah, meaning He makes things wise, then it means muf'il (causer). And if it is from al-hukm, then al-Hakim means fa'il (doer). Now, the occurrence of al-Hakim in the meaning of fa'il, and fa'il in the meaning of fa'il, is not strange. Fa'il in the meaning of fa'il is common in the Arabic language, like rahim (merciful) in the meaning of rahim (one who shows mercy), and it is common in the Arabic language. But fa'il in the meaning of mu'fil, meaning al-Hakim in the sense of making things wise, has it occurred? The answer is yes. And among that is the saying of the poet:
"Or is it the fragrant flower of the hearing caller *** Who keeps me awake while my companions are in slumber"
"Or is it the fragrant flower of the hearing caller" means the one who makes things heard. And for this reason he said: "Who keeps me awake while my companions are in slumber." So it is established that fa'il in the Arabic language comes in the meaning of muf'il (causer), whereas its coming in the meaning of fa'il (doer) is common. So regarding al-Hakim, we say it is derived from al-hikmah (wisdom) and derived from al-hukm (judgment). Then we return and say that al-hukm, meaning the judgment of Allah (Glorified and Exalted), is divided into two categories: cosmic judgment and legislative judgment. An example of legislative judgment is in the saying of Allah the Exalted in Surat al-Mumtahanah: And an example of cosmic judgment is:
Meaning He decrees for me. So judgment is divided into two categories: legislative judgment and cosmic judgment. The example in the legislative is and the example in the cosmic is: . Wisdom is in the cosmic judgment and in the legislative judgment. There is no cosmic judgment without wisdom, and there is no legislative judgment without wisdom. This is because a legislative judgment without wisdom, or a cosmic judgment without wisdom, is folly, and Allah the Exalted is free from folly. Or it is vain, and Allah the Exalted is free from vanity. So there is no cosmic or legislative judgment without wisdom. But does it necessitate that because it has wisdom, the wisdom is known to us? No. And how many cosmic judgments and legislative judgments are there whose wisdom is hidden from us? Either relatively hidden, meaning hidden from some but not others, or truly hidden from everyone. Now, how many categories is judgment divided into? Two: cosmic and legislative. Wisdom is in the cosmic and the legislative. Wisdom is also divided into two categories: current wisdom and purposive wisdom. Current wisdom means that the thing being in this state is wisdom. Purposive wisdom means that the intended purpose of this thing is a profound wisdom and its fruit is great. So current wisdom, and the second one, the one who said this, is purposive, and the second is current. Fine, complete the division so that the speech is consistent and complete. Wisdom is now divided into two categories: current wisdom, meaning the state in which the thing is found is in accordance with wisdom, and what wisdom? Purposive wisdom, meaning a noble end is intended by it. And on this basis, does the cosmic judgment, in which there is wisdom, have it in both aspects or in one aspect? In both aspects. So the cosmic judgment by which Allah rules over the servants has wisdom in its being in this form, which is one wisdom, and its having a noble end, which is another wisdom. Corruption in the earth, such as drought, famine, severe heat that destroys fruits, and hail, this is corruption. But its occurrence is sometimes wisdom, rather, it is not sometimes, but in every instance it occurs, it is wisdom. So this corruption caused by what our hands have earned has a noble end. What is it? So everything that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) decrees for the servants of trials, calamities, fighting, or anything else, its end is noble. Its end is noble, even if it involves death and destruction, because the end is noble. For those afflicted by this, they have their reward with Allah, the expiation of sins, the raising of degrees, and the increase of good deeds, with patience and expecting reward. And those who were not afflicted take a lesson from it and return to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Is it clear now? And the fact that this thing which Allah (Mighty and Majestic) decreed is in this form is in accordance with wisdom, but sometimes we perceive that and sometimes we do not, because our minds are limited. Similarly, regarding the legislative judgment, the legislative judgment has current wisdom, meaning that its being in this form has wisdom, and it has purposive wisdom, that its end is noble and Allah is praised for it. So look at all the legislations and you will find them like this. All the legislations. For example, wudu (ablution) is washing the four limbs or purifying the four limbs. There is no doubt that its legislation in this form is wisdom, because these limbs are the limbs of acquisition: the face, the hands, the head, and the feet. And the fact that it is washing in three limbs and wiping in one limb is also wisdom. If Allah had obligated us to wash our heads, especially in the time when people grew their hair in the era of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then obligated us to wash the head as we were obligated to wash the face, what hardship would result, especially in the winter? For this reason, its purification is by wiping, and the purification of the three limbs is by washing. So this is in accordance with wisdom. And extend this to all the legislations and you will find that their being in this state is wisdom, and then the end of it is also a great wisdom. So in wudu, its end is spiritual purification, which is the most important thing. For the sins of these limbs are removed with the last drop of the drops of water. And this spiritual purification is the important thing. Is there physical purification or not? Yes, there is physical purification, because these limbs are mostly exposed. And if they are exposed, they are exposed to dust and dirt. For this reason, they were commanded to be washed. The important thing is that we return now to the rule of wisdom: wisdom is current and purposive, and in the legislation and in the decree. So there are four: current wisdom in the decree, purposive wisdom in the decree, current wisdom in the legislation, and purposive wisdom in the legislation. That is complete. As for judgment, you have known it. And in Allah's (Mighty and Majestic) combining al-Aziz (The Mighty) and al-Hakim (The Wise), there is an increase in perfection. Because al-Aziz, who is the Dominant One, his might might lead him to bad conduct, as is found in the created beings. If one has might, dominance, and authority, he may act foolishly. So Allah (Mighty and Majestic) coupled might with wisdom to make it clear that His might is based on wisdom, and that He is not like the created beings whose might might lead them to recklessness and not acting well. And He, Glorified and Exalted is He, said: Subhan: They say, meaning the people of language say, that it is a noun of the verb sabba (to glorify), and the verbal noun is tasbih (glorification). And they also say that it is bound to the accusative case as an absolute object, and it has not deviated from that except rarely. And they say that it is bound to the genitive case, it does not come except with a genitive, either to an explicit noun or to a hidden pronoun. And it may occasionally stand alone from the genitive. What is the meaning of tasbih? Its meaning is to declare free from imperfection. And what is Allah declared free from? He is declared free from resembling the created beings and from deficiency and fault. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And He the Exalted said: And He the Exalted said: And the texts in this are many, in negating fault from Allah, and likewise in negating resemblance from Allah.