بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
We named things that have value to us. We don't name particle of dust or
insects. Things are elevated through their names and if something is
given many names, it shows that this matter is extremely exalted and
also it gives you different angles to look and understand this named
being.
Two of the Names of Allah are Al-Kabir and Al-Mutakabbir. Al-Kabir is the All Great, the Most Great, the Grand. He is the One who is unimaginably great
and perfect. Al-Kabir embraces all kinds of greatness, from rank, size,
nobility, and knowledge to mercy, and it tells us that nothing was, is,
or will ever be like Him.
Al-Kabir Himself says,
ذَٰلِكُم بِأَنَّهُۥٓ إِذَا دُعِىَ ٱللَّهُ وَحْدَهُۥ كَفَرْتُمْ ۖ وَإِن يُشْرَكْ بِهِۦ تُؤْمِنُوا۟ ۚ فَٱلْحُكْمُ لِلَّهِ ٱلْعَلِىِّ ٱلْكَبِيرِ
﴿١٢
[They will be told], "That is because, when Allah was called upon alone,
you disbelieved; but if others were associated with Him, you believed.
So the judgement is with Allah, the Most High, the Grand." [Quran, Ghafir 40:12]
ذَٰلِكَ
بِأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلْحَقُّ وَأَنَّ مَا يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِۦ هُوَ
ٱلْبَـٰطِلُ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْكَبِيرُ
﴿٦٢
That is because Allah is the Truth, and that which they call upon other
than Him is falsehood, and because Allah is the Most High, the Grand. [Quran, Al Hajj 22:62]
Al-Mutakabbir is the Supremely Great, The
Perfection of Greatness. He is the One who
is supremely great. Al-Mutakabbir reveals His Greatness and power at
every moment and in every incident.
Al-Mutakabbir Himself says,
هُوَ
ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْمَلِكُ ٱلْقُدُّوسُ
ٱلسَّلَـٰمُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُ ٱلْمُهَيْمِنُ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْجَبَّارُ
ٱلْمُتَكَبِّرُ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
﴿٢٣
He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Pure,
the Perfection, the Bestower of Faith, the Overseer, the Exalted in
Might, the Compeller, the Superior. Exalted is Allah above whatever they
associate with Him.
[Quran, Al Hashr 59:23]
We are naturally predisposed to admire those who are most beautiful, most intelligent, most eloquent, most powerful, most generous, most merciful, etc. However Al-Kabir Himself says:
See how We prefer one above another (in
this world), and verily, the Hereafter will be greater in degrees and
greater in preferment [Quran, 17:21].
The poorest in this world can be
the richest in the Hereafter; it all depends on one thing: your rank
with Allah al-Kabir.
When we know that Allah is Al Kabir, Al-Mutakabbir, that immediately puts everyone else
in their places. Not only it protects us from being proud but it also
protects us from falling into feeling inferior than everybody else.
Those people may have more resources, power, titles, position, and
everything else but we know someone who is greater than them. They can't
break the backs of someone who really knows who Allah is.
When all the kings, the mighty and the proud of this world are being resurrected, Allah will show that He is the greatest of them all.
يَوْمَ هُم بَـٰرِزُونَ ۖ لَا يَخْفَىٰ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ مِنْهُمْ شَىْءٌ ۚ لِّمَنِ ٱلْمُلْكُ ٱلْيَوْمَ ۖ لِلَّهِ ٱلْوَٰحِدِ ٱلْقَهَّارِ
﴿١٦
The Day they come forth nothing concerning them will be concealed from
Allah. To whom belongs [all] sovereignty this Day? To Allah, the One,
the Prevailing. [Quran, Ghafir40:16]
Allah is great in everything and greater than everything. This concept of Allah being great is found in Surah An-Nisa. Eventhough Allah chooses men to be in charge of their wives, Allah says to men don't be deluded with his power. Allah concludes the verse by reminding men that He is high and great.
ٱلرِّجَالُ قَوَّٰمُونَ عَلَى ٱلنِّسَآءِ بِمَا فَضَّلَ ٱللَّهُ بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ وَبِمَآ أَنفَقُوا۟ مِنْ أَمْوَٰلِهِمْ ۚ فَٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتُ قَـٰنِتَـٰتٌ حَـٰفِظَـٰتٌ لِّلْغَيْبِ بِمَا حَفِظَ ٱللَّهُ ۚ وَٱلَّـٰتِى تَخَافُونَ نُشُوزَهُنَّ فَعِظُوهُنَّ وَٱهْجُرُوهُنَّ فِى ٱلْمَضَاجِعِ وَٱضْرِبُوهُنَّ ۖ فَإِنْ أَطَعْنَكُمْ فَلَا تَبْغُوا۟ عَلَيْهِنَّ سَبِيلًا ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيًّا كَبِيرًا
﴿٣٤
Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over
the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So
righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband's]
absence what Allah would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom
you fear arrogance - [first] advise them; [then if they persist],
forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them. But if they obey you
[once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted
and Grand.
[Quran, An-Nisa 4:34]
Only Allah is Al-Mutakabbir in a positive sense.
The opposite of kibr (arrogance) is humility, the
adornment of a believer.
Abu Hurayrah radiyallaahu ‘anhu narrated that
the Prophet salallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: . . . and no one will
exercise humility for Allah’s sake, except that Allah will raise him up .
[Muslim]
'Urwah ibn Zubair radiyallaahu ‘anhu said: I saw Umar carrying a
large leather water canteen on his shoulder. I said to him, ‘O
Amir-ul-Mu’mineen, you shouldn’t be carrying that’. 'Umar replied by
saying, A delegation came to Madina and I saw their obedience to me, and
some ‘nakwah’ entered into my heart and I wanted to destroy it.
We all know of the strong personality of Umar radiyallaahu ‘anhu and yet when a small amount of pride (nakwah) entered into his heart, he hurried in an attempt to destroy it before it destroyed him.
How Can You Live by These Names?
1. Be great by being humble
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا
ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مَن يَرْتَدَّ مِنكُمْ عَن دِينِهِۦ فَسَوْفَ
يَأْتِى ٱللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَهُۥٓ أَذِلَّةٍ عَلَى
ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَعِزَّةٍ عَلَى ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ يُجَـٰهِدُونَ فِى سَبِيلِ
ٱللَّهِ وَلَا يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لَآئِمٍ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ فَضْلُ ٱللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ وَٰسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ
﴿٥٤
O you who have believed, whoever of you should revert from his religion - Allah will bring forth [in place of them] a people He will love and who will love Him [who are] humble toward the believers, powerful against the disbelievers; they strive in the cause of Allah and do not fear the blame of a critic. That is the favor of Allah; He bestows it upon whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing. [Quran, Al Ma'ida 5:54]
The greatest strength that you can attain is to
have true reliance upon Allah and to seek His support in
hardship and ease. The highest level of greatness you can attain is to
show humility (tawaada) to your Lord. Those who are well grounded in
knowledge say:
وَٱلرَّٰسِخُونَ فِى ٱلْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ ءَامَنَّا بِهِۦ كُلٌّ مِّنْ عِندِ رَبِّنَا ۗ وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلَّآ أُو۟لُوا۟ ٱلْأَلْبَـٰبِ
﴿٧ ....
But those firm in knowledge say, "We believe in it. All [of it] is from
our Lord." And no one will be reminded except those of understanding. [Quran, Aleimran 3:7].
Don’t only
follow the ayaat or ahadeeth that suit you, but strive to apply the
whole message to your daily life and dealings.
2. Respect others for the sake of Allah
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا
ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا يَسْخَرْ قَوْمٌ مِّن قَوْمٍ عَسَىٰٓ أَن
يَكُونُوا۟ خَيْرًا مِّنْهُمْ وَلَا نِسَآءٌ مِّن نِّسَآءٍ عَسَىٰٓ أَن
يَكُنَّ خَيْرًا مِّنْهُنَّ ۖ وَلَا تَلْمِزُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَلَا تَنَابَزُوا۟ بِٱلْأَلْقَـٰبِ ۖ بِئْسَ ٱلِٱسْمُ ٱلْفُسُوقُ بَعْدَ ٱلْإِيمَـٰنِ ۚ وَمَن لَّمْ يَتُبْ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ
﴿١١
O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the name of disobedience after [one's] faith. And whoever does not repent - then it is those who are the wrongdoers. [Quran, Al Hujurat 49:11]
Your
knowledge of others is only by perception. Don’t mock or insult others
as they might have a higher position with Al-Mutakabbir than yourself. Respect others, even though they may possess less beauty, knowledge,
wealth, fame, or status or have a different skin color.
The Prophet
salallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: Whoever possesses an atom’s weight of
kibr will not enter into the paradise [Muslim].
Abu Bakr radiyallaahu
‘anhu said: Let not any Muslim belittle another Muslim, for the lowest
of the Muslims is great in the Sight of Allah.
3. Battle arrogance and never be arrogant
Guard yourself against arrogance (kibr). Never look down on others; you
don’t know the rank they have with Al-Kabir. Arrogance can also be
found in how you deal with the commands of Allah. Look at the sin of
Iblees; he refused to bow down due to arrogance. A good tip to keep you
away from disobedience to the commands of Allah is that whenever you’re
about to sin, look up and imagine Al-Kabeer watching you— would you dare
to look up and say “no” to Him?
Allah is the only true king and you are His slave— let’s not forget this. It’s easy to fall into arrogance (takabbur), thinking you know better and transgressing the limits set by Allah al-Mutakabbir. So keep checking your heart for feelings of arrogance creeping in and deal with them straight away by reminding yourself of the greatness of Allah.
Al-Hasan al-Basri said: I wonder at the son of Adam. He uses his
hand to wash himself from his waste once or twice a day, yet he seeks to
compete with the All-Mighty?
Don’t get carried away with your wealth or
achievements, know it is from Al-Mutakabbir and not from yourself. The
way to avoid arrogance is to remember Allah as much as we can until it
becomes a habit to instantly thank Him for any good that comes our way,
so increase in saying alhamdulillah.
4. Be humble to increase your knowledge
Abdullah ibn Mu’tazz radiyallahu ‘anhu said: The humble student is the one who gets the most knowledge, just as the lowest places on earth collect the most water. So always be humble towards your teachers and invoke Allah for them.
Glorify Him alone and be humble in life in order to be great in the sight of Al-Kabir, Al-Mutakabbir. If Allah Al-Kabir Al-Mutakabbir blessed you with being kabir in this world in knowledge, job position, or any other skill, make others benefit and truly become kabir to Him in the Hereafter.
6. Call upon Al-Kabir and Al-Mutakabbir
Make dua using these name to ask Him to lead you to deeds pleasing to Him. There is no rank higher or achievement better than attainment of Allah’s good pleasure.
It is as Al-Kabir, Al-Mutakabbir says: Verily, to Us will be their return; and then verily, for Us will be their reckoning. [Quran, 88:25-26]
Always aim high in your supplications— ask Him for Jannatul Firdaus, the higest paradise, without reckoning.
Every day ask Allah al-Mutakabbir to save you and protect you from the evil of pride and arrogance.
O Allah, Al-Kabir, Mutakabbir, we know that You are supremely Great.
Help us to reflect on Your Greatness in order for us to stay close to Your commandments. Guide our hearts and actions to humility towards You, our Deen and Your
creation. Adorn us with pride in Islam, protect us from arrogance and assist us to ways to cure any
arrogance that entered our hearts. Make us of those who are blessed to
witness Your Grandeur in the highest Paradise without reckoning. Aameen.
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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