الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينه ونستغفره، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا، ومن سيئات أعمالنا ، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ، وأشهد أن سيدنا محمداً عبده ورسوله ، اللهم صلِّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه  ومن تبعه إلى يوم الدين

We will continue in this talk by studying the names of Allah as part of our answer to the fourth question in the series of the topic entitled:” Your Life in Light of Eternity”, as a reminder, this topic addresses the following four questions:

1. What is the purpose of our lives on earth?
2. What is the nature of this life on earth?
3. What is our role on earth to fulfil the purpose of our lives on it?
4. What are the traits and qualities that we must possess to fulfill our role and achieve our purpose on earth?

We already addressed the first three questions, and we started the answer to the fourth question which is adopting in our character elements of the Names/Attributes of Allah.  We already discussed 8 names, Allah, Al-Rahman, Al-Rahime, Al-Malik, Al-Quddus, Al-Salaam, Al-Mu’min and Al-Muhaymin and today, we will Insha’Allah discuss the name Al-Aziz.

9 Al-Aziz (العزيز) – The Victorious, the Eminent)

Allah’s name Al-Aziz (العزيز) is revealed in the Quran 59 times.  It came most often associated with Allah’s name Al-Hakeem (the Wise) but it also came associated with the names Al-Qawi (the Powerful), Al-Raheem (the Merciful), Al-Aleem (the Knowledgeable) and Al-Ghafour (the Forgiver).   In verse 23 of Surat Al-Hashr, it came associated with several other names:

هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلَامُ الْمُؤْمِنُ الْمُهَيْمِنُ الْعَزِيزُ الْجَبَّارُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ

“He is Allah, there is no god but He, the King, the Holy, the Peace, the Inspirer of faith, the Guardian, the Eminent, the Compeller, the Proud, glory to Allah above the partners they attribute to Him.” (Al-Hashr 59:23)

In addition to Allah’s name Al-Aziz, Allah’s attribute as Aziz came in the Quran 40 time for a total of 99 times.  This name is very important for Muslims because of its major impact on their character and behavior.

The name Al-Aziz is derived from the root that infers rarity, high value, power, wealth, honor, and eminence.   Allah’s Name Al-Aziz involves at least the following four key elements:

Uniqueness in Rarity and Value

Possessor of All power

Source of Honor

Absolute authority to Grant and Remove Honor

1. Uniqueness in Rarity and Value

Allah is the only God with no other gods besides him and all creations relies on Him for their survival and He needs none.   Allah is not only One, but He is also unique and there is nothing like Him. Allah says:

قُلۡ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ (١) ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ (٢) لَمۡ يَلِدۡ وَلَمۡ يُولَدۡ (٣) وَلَمۡ يَكُن لَّهُ ۥ ڪُفُوًا أَحَدٌ (٤)

“Say: He is Allah, the One and Only (1); Allah is Besought of all, needing none. (2) He begets not, nor is He begotten (3); And there is none like unto Him.” (Al-Ikhlas 112:1-4)

2. Possessor of All power

Allah has infinite power, authority, and wealth. Everyone is in need of Him and He is in need of no one or anything.

اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ

“Allah! there is no god but He, the Living, the Sustainer. “ (Al-Imran 3: 2)

Allah, Al-Aziz possesses all sources of power, and He is always victorious and whatever He wants will always come to pass.

وَاللَّهُ غَالِبٌ عَلَى أَمْرِهِ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

“And Allah has full power to enforce His commands; but most of the people do not know.” (Yousef 12:21)

3. Source of Honor

Allah, Al-Aziz is the source of eminence and the provider of power and honor to whom He wishes and thus from Him alone, honor, status and power should be sought.  Allah says:

مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًا

“If any do seek honor, to Allah belong all the honor.”   (Fatir 35:10)

وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

“The honor belongs to Allah and His Messenger and the Believers; but the Hypocrites do not know.” (Al-Monafeqeen 63:8)

4. Absolute Authority to Grant and Remove Honor

While honor and power are granted by Allah, He can take it away from them when He wills as He says.

قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَنْ تَشَاءُ وَتَنْزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّنْ تَشَاءُ وَتُعِزُّ مَنْ تَشَاءُ وَتُذِلُّ مَنْ تَشَاءُ بِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرُ إِنَّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

“Say: “O Allah! Lord of Power (and Rule), You give Power to whom You please, and You strip of Power from whom You please: You bestow honor on whom You please, and You bring disgrace to whom You please: in Your hand is all Good. Verily, over all things You have power.” (Al-Imran 3:26)

Real honor, dignity and power are granted by Allah.  Therefore, we should never make any compromise in our religion to secure honor and power from others.  Allah warns the believers by saying:  

الَّذِينَ يَتَّخِذُونَ الْكَافِرِينَ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَيَبْتَغُونَ عِنْدَهُمُ الْعِزَّةَ فَإِنَّ الْعِزَّةَ لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًا

“To those who take unbelievers as their guardians rather than the believers: are they seeking honor from them? Indeed, all honor belongs to Allah.” (Al-Nisaa 4:139)

No one can grant honor but Allah, Al-Aziz as He said:

وَمَنْ يُهِنِ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ مُكْرِمٍ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَفْعَلُ مَا يَشَاءُ

“Whomever Allah disgraces, no one can raise to honor: for Allah carries out all that He wills. “(Al-Hajj 22:18)

Having honor, status and power should not lead the believers to arrogance but rather to humility.  However, position and status and power can be used to oppose the wrongdoers.

The life of the Prophet (PBUH) sets examples of honor and dignity.  Even before receiving the revelation, he (PBUH) never humiliated himself by prostrating in front of an idol or engaging in any immoral activities that was common in his society. 

After receiving revelations, the leaders of Quraysh offered to bestow on him the greatest honor to be their king and the wealthiest man among them in return for him stopping preaching that God is one and all people are equal in the sight of Allah.  But he refused and as a result suffered greatly.  

The Prophet (PBUH) emphasized to his companions that their honor comes from Allah and a good example for the success of his teachings is the response of Khalifa Omar to Abu Ubaidah (أبو عبيدة بن الجراح) when they travelled from Madinah to Jerusalem so Khalifa Omar can receive the key of Jerusalem.  When they approached Jerusalem, they crossed a muddy area, so Khalifa Omar took off his slippers and carried them and walked pulling the rein of his camel.   Abu Ubaidah told Omar not to enter this way because the people, the army and the patriarchs of Jerusalem will be meeting him and seeing him this way will diminish his respect in their eyes.   Omar said to Abu Ubaidah:

أوِّه لو قال ذا غيرك أبا عبيدة جعلته نكالاً لأمة محمد، إنا كنا أذل قوم فأعزنا الله بالإسلام، فمهما نطلب العزة بغير ما أعزنا الله به أذلنا الله

“If anyone else said this other they you Abu Ubaidah, I would have punished him to make him an example of the nation of Muhammad. We were the most humiliated people and Allah honored us with Islam and if we seek honor from anything other than what Allah has honored us with, Allah will humiliate us.”

Early Muslims never humiliated themselves in front of anyone other than Allah and never sought honor from anyone other than Allah.  Therefore, they have secured the honor and respect from all people.    Omar ibn Al-Khatab said, I heard the Prophet (PBUH) saying:

عن عمر بن الخطاب قال: سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: “من اعتزّ بالعبد أذلّه الله”. أخرجه أحمد

“Whoever seek honor from any slave (human being), Allah will humiliate him.”

Since Allah said that He granted the honor to the believers, how can any true believer seek honor from any other source.

وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

“The honor belongs to Allah and His Messenger and the Believers; but the Hypocrites do not know.” (Al-Monafeqeen 63:8)

Elements to Adopt in our Character

By understanding Allah’s name Al-Aziz, a Muslim must implement the following attributes in his/her life:

1. You should know that all sources of power, honor and dignity are in the hand of Allah alone. Therefore, you must always be proud and should never degrade yourself in front of anyone because no one has the power to impact your life except Allah.   The prophet (PBUH) said: (ابتغوا الحوائج بعزة الأنفس، فإن الأمور تجري بالمقادير) “Seek what you want with dignity, because all matters are fulfilled by Allah’s will.”  The Prophet also said:  (من تضعضع لغني ذهب ثلثا دينه) “Whoever degrades himself to a rich man has lost two thirds of his religion.” 
2. Because Allah is the source of honor, you should know and always be God conscious and follow His commands. You should never belittle any sin because it is not the nature of the sin that counts but it is the One whom you have disobeyed.  You contradict yourself when you claim that you know Allah and then disobey Him. The true belief in Allah is the belief that has settled in the heart, expressed by the tongue, and manifested by your actions.   If you want to be Aziz, honorable and respected, dedicate yourself to Allah’s obedience. If you glorify Allah’s commands, He will glorify you and if you ignore Allah’s commands, He will ignore you.
3. You should purify your heart from all signs of arrogance and boastfulness because Allah has provided you with the means of honor and dignity, and He can take them away from you.   In spite of his eminent position, the Prophet (PBUH) was the true example of being humble.  One time a slave came to him and was shaken and overwhelmed by meeting him, so he told him: “Feel comfortable, I am just a son of a woman from Quraysh that used to eat the old and dry meat in Mecca.”
4. If you want to possess elements of Allah’s attribute Al-Aziz, you should strive to make your character well recognized that people can look at you with respect and admiration because of your morality, wisdom, knowledge, kindness, mercy and tolerance. You also should strive to give honor and respect to all people, after all Allah is the Creator of all men and as such they are honored by the nature of their Creator.
5. To be Aziz, you should always be honorable to yourself, don’t do anything that will humiliate you if people know about it.

In the next talk, we will Insha’Allah discuss Allah’s name Al-Jabbar.

هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلَامُ الْمُؤْمِنُ الْمُهَيْمِنُ الْعَزِيزُ الْجَبَّارُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ

“He is Allah, there is no god but He, the King, the Holy, the Peace, the Inspirer of faith, the Guardian, the Eminent, the Compeller, the Proud, glory to Allah above the partners they attribute to Him.” (Al-Hashr 59:23)

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