بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Allah encompasses everything by His attributes of Knowledge, Will and Power in that Allah’s knowledge encompasses all matters. Allah’s Will relates to all that exists--it encompasses all that comes to be. His Will encompasses everything. Allah encompasses with His power because everything is under the Power of Allah. They only exist because He created them and remain in existence because He keeps them existing with His Power.
وَلِلَّهِ ٱلْمَشْرِقُ وَٱلْمَغْرِبُ ۚ فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا۟ فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ وَٰسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ ﴿١١٥
And to Allah belongs the east and the west. So wherever you [might] turn, there is the Face of Allah. Indeed, Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing. (115) [Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:115]
Allah has informed us that the basis of His dealing with his creation is mercy. Despite what He knows about His creation He deals with them with mercy. That is the beauty of Allah with respect to His attributes.
ٱلَّذِينَ يَحْمِلُونَ ٱلْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُۥ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِۦ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ رَّحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا فَٱغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا۟ وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ سَبِيلَكَ وَقِهِمْ عَذَابَ ٱلْجَحِيمِ ﴿٧
Those [angels] who carry the Throne and those around it exalt [Allah] with praise of their Lord and believe in Him and ask forgiveness for those who have believed, [saying], "Our Lord, You have encompassed all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who have repented and followed Your way and protect them from the punishment of Hellfire. (7) [Qur'an, Al-Ghafir 40:7]
When Allah tells us about Himself, He tells us about Himself as we are to relate to Him. One of the important aspects of knowing that Allah is All Encompassing is to have a sense that Allah knows absolutely everything. So that it Instills in us a sense of consciousness and responsibility such that it stirs within us both hope and fear. Hope because Allah’s mercy encompasses everything. The encompassing of Allah’s mercy is a Divine promise
The Quran begins every chapter but one with …بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ (In the Name of Allah Most Merciful, Most Compassionate). Allah could have dealt with His creation on the basis of any of His qualities….for example, The Overwhelming, The Compelling, The Majestic, but He chose to deal with His creation on the basis of mercy.
So this knowledge of the encompassing reality of Allah’s mercy instills one, not only with hope but an awareness the reality of Allah’s knowledge. Not just what we manifest but what we hide. He knows everything about everything and beyond. So that instills a sense of fear and awe of the Divine.
The believer is between unconditional hope and unconditional awe of the Divine. The awe of Allah is not the fear of dislike. Fear of awe who has fear of the great station of their Lord but it is the fear that causes one to turn to Him and yearn for Him.
How does one draw closer to Allah? By knowing that He is the All Encompassing (Al Wasi').
Knowing that Allah is the All Encompassing entails that the servant who knows Allah and seeks Allah relies on Allah’s mercy and knowledge so that one’s seeking is from Allah. And knows that He encompasses everything with His mercy.
The nature of Allah’s mercy has two aspects -- Allah puts together Al-Rahman Al-Rahim. So everything in existence is an expression of Divine mercy in that He brought them into existence but in every moment there is a particular mercy as well, which is granted for those who turn to Him in the ways that would cause one to attain His mercy, if one responds to it in the ways that earn one in Allah’s mercy. So one relies on that and find sufficiency in the knowledge of Allah. In doing the right thing the believer finds sufficiency in the knowledge of Allah. If you are doing the right thing and having the right intention and then someone gets upset, hurt or annoyed, you don’t mind because Allah's knowledge is sufficient for you. Of course for it to be sufficient you had done things in the way that is pleasing to Allah. If people take it the wrong way and they dislike it, one find sufficiency in the expansive knowledge of Allah. And part of that also is that one does not rely in oneself and one’s own ability and intelligence rather one does what is within one’s own capacity and knows the encompassingness of Allah’s mercy. It gives one a sense of sufficiency by Allah, the sense of "la hawla wala quwwata illah billah" (there is no ability nor power except with Allah).
Part of Allah being Al Wasi' is that He has promised His servant is ...
... لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity...[Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:286]
Allah’s capacity is beyond limit but part of His encompassingness is that He only takes His servant to account to the extent of their capacity.
As we recite each night the last two verses of Surah Al Baqarah before we go to sleep, reviving the sunnah of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), one of the things we affirmed is
لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا
(Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity.)
Allah rewards us by His capacity, which is beyond limit. Knowing that Allah is the all encompassing gives one a sense of internal contentment.
As a servant of Al Wasi' (the All Encompassing), we should reflect on the human qualities of one who serves the All Encompassing. One should strive in most encompassing manner, in one's good character, in one's mercy and and in one's gentleness. "Truly gentleness is the pinnacle of wisdom" (hadith). This is the Prophetic quality. And one deal in expansive way with Allah's creation because they are Allah's creation. If Allah deals with his creation on the basis of mercy, gentleness and expansiveness, then we should strive to do so as well.
It also entails to have encompassing spiritual states. One should not just have a little hope but one's hope in Allah should be vast and without limit. One should not have a little bit fear of Allah but one's fear and awe of Allah should be encompassing and without limit. One's trust and reliance in Allah should be accordingly. One's good opinion of Allah should be vast. One's seeking from Allah should be vast. "Allah loves the highest of matters and dislikes paltry matters." (hadith) If you ask Allah, ask Him for the vastest of matters.
وَسَارِعُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ مَغْفِرَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتُ وَٱلْأَرْضُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ ﴿١٣٣
And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a garden as wide as the heavens and earth, prepared for the righteous (133) [Qur'an, AleImran 3:133]
Ask for both of what He has promised of the good of the next life and of your standing with Allah.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) was encompassing in his virtues.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to give everyone he sat with their due share such that each person thought that there was no one that he cared for more than them. The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) encompassed all people with the vastness of his concern and his character. He was so vast in his concern that he encompass all people, with his concern for them and with his character. He is like a father to them. Anyone could come to him and take them by the hand, he will not let go of their hand until they let go of their hand. Anyone could come to him and express their needs, and he either fulfilled their needs or pointed them to the fulfillment of their needs or assisted them to the fulfillment of their needs. He wouldn't finish their conversation until they finished. He held all people to be the same with respect to their due rights. He give everyone their rights completely as due to them, with excellence. He manifested that in his gatherings. There are many beautiful aspects of his gatherings. During the difficult times (e.g. during the boycott), he could easily deny people a meeting with him, but one of the aspects of the encompassing nature of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) is that anyone who are in the gatherings of Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) would benefit something. They would taste something of benefit--knowledge, guidance, inspiration. They never part except having benefited something. The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) would invariably serve something so they taste something of food as well. This you see in the akhlaq (character) of those who reflect on the Prophetic character.
May Allah grant us noble character and encompassing spiritual states, contentment, and conduct most pleasing to Him. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.
Wassalaam
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