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 9 names, Allah, Al-Rahman, Al-Rahime, Al-Malik, Al-Quddus, Al-Salaam, Al-Mu’min,Al-Muhaymin and Al-Aziz and today, we will Insha’Allah discuss the name Al-Jabbar.

10 Al-Jabbar (الجبار) – The Compeller

Allah’s name Al-Jabbar came in the Quran once in Surah Al-Hashr (59:23):

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)

Allah’s name Al-Jabbar involves three qualities:

1. Al-Jabbar is a name that is derived from the root that means the one who is very high and cannot be reached. Allah is Al-Jabbar because He is beyond reach; eyes cannot see Him, and thoughts cannot visualize Him.
2. Al-Jabbar is derived from the root that is used to represent the act of fixing broken things and is used to describe the specialist who puts broken bones in their proper position to be healed properly.  Allah is Al-Jabbar because He straightens crookedness, removes injustices, supports the weak and mends the broken hearts by restoring peace of mind as well as reward if they are patient.
3. Al-Jabbar is derived from the root that means forcing His will on everything and compelling everyone to follow His command. Al-Jabbar is the One who compels the tyrants, overwhelming them with His power and might. So, Allah’s will shall always be fulfilled. Consider the Pharaoh who wanted to save himself by killing the male children of the Jews and how Allah compelled him to raise the one child who caused his demise.  

There are many saying of the Prophet (PBUH) intended to encourage his companions to aid each other, as example, the Prophet (PBUH) said:

عن ابن عمر: أن رجلًا جاء إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، فقال: يا رسول الله، أي الناس أحب إلى الله؟ وأي الأعمال أحب إلى الله؟ قَالَ أَحَبُّ النَّاسِ إِلَى اللَّهِ أَنْفَعَهُمْ لِلنَّاسِ، وَأَحَبُّ الْأَعْمَالِ إِلَى اللَّهِ سُرُورٍ تُدْخِلُهُ عَلَى مُسْلِمٍ، أَوْ تَكْشِفُ عَنْهُ كُرْبَةً، أَوْ تَقْضِي عَنْهُ دِينًا، أَوْ تَطْرَدُ عَنْهُ جُوعًا، وَلِأَنْ أَمْشِيَ مَعَ أَخٍ لِي فِي حَاجَةٍ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ أَنْ أَعْتَكِفَ فِي هَذَا الْمَسْجِدِ، يَعْنِي مَسْجِدَ الْمَدِينَةِ، شَهْرًا، وَمَنْ كَفَّ غَضَبَهُ سَتَرَ اللَّهُ عَوْرَتَهُ، ، وَمَنْ مَشَى مَعَ أَخِيهِ فِي حَاجَةٍ حَتَّى أَثْبَتَهَا لَهُ ، أَثْبَتَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَدَمَهُ عَلَى الصِّرَاطِ يَوْمَ تَزِلُّ فِيهِ الْأَقْدَامُ ) المعجم الأوسط للطبراني(

“The most beloved person to Allah is the one who is most beneficial to people. The most beloved deed to Allah is to bring happiness to a Muslim, or to remove one of his difficulties, or to forgive his debt, or to feed his hunger.

If I would walk with a brother regarding a need is more beloved to me than secluding myself in this mosque (in Medina) for a month. Whoever swallows his anger, Allah will conceal his faults.

Whoever walks with his brother regarding a need until he secures it for him, Allah Almighty will make his footing firm across the bridge on the day when the footings are shaken.” (Al-Tabarani).

Also, the seerah includes many examples demonstrating the Prophet’s keen concern to protect people’s feelings and mend their heart when they are in distress.  The prophet (PBUH) never waited for people to complain to him, but he always inquired as soon as he sees a sign of distress in the face of anyone and does his best to comfort them and satisfy their needs whether their need is materialistic or emotional.  The following is just one example of protecting people’s feeling. 

حُكي أنه جاء رجل فقير من أهل الصفة بقدحٍ مملوءةً عنباً إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يُهديه له، فأخذ رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم القدح وبدأ يأكل العنب، فأكل الأولى وتبسم، ثم الثانية وتبسم، والرجل الفقير يكادُ يطير فرحاً بذلك، والصحابة ينظرون قد اعتادوا أن يشركهم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في كل شيء يهدى له، ورسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يأكل عنبة عنبة ويتبسم، حتى أنهى بأبي هو وأمي القدح والصحابة متعجبون !!! ففرح الفقير فرحاً شديداً وذهب، فسأله أحد الصحابة يا رسول الله لم لم تُشركنا معك؟! فتبسم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وقال: قد رأيتم فرحته بهذا القدح وإني عندما تذوقته وجدته مُراً فخشيتُ إن أشركتكم معي أن يُظهر أحدكم شيئا يفسد على ذاك الرجل فرحتهُ.

One day a poor man brought a bunch of grapes to the holy prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم as a gift.  The holy prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ate one, two, three and then the whole bunch of grapes by himself. He did not offer grapes to anyone present. The poor man who brought those grapes was very pleased and left.

One of the companions asked, “O prophet of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم ! How come you ate all the grapes by yourself and did not offer to any one of us present?

The holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم smiled and said, “I ate all the grapes by myself because the grapes were sour. If I would have offered you, you might have made funny faces and that would have hurt the feelings of that poor man. I thought to myself that it’s better that I eat all of them cheerfully and please the poor man. I did not want to hurt the feelings of that poor man.”

Elements to Adopt in our Character

By knowing the name Al-Jabbar, you should be influenced in five ways:

1. Never fear anyone when you have Allah, Al-Jabbar in your side. Seek help and protection from anyone else other than Al-Jabbar.
2. Never do injustice to anyone because Al-Jabbar will come to his/her aid against you. If you have oppressed someone, ask for their forgiveness straight away.
3. Be active in ensuring justice and supporting the weak and the needy. If you see people suffering, try to talk to them and show them your care. Mend someone’s heart because Al-Jabbar will mend yours in times of need.
4. Make your character of honesty and righteousness so high to worthy of the support from Allah, Al-Jabbar, and be worthy of compelling others to emulate you and follow his character and conduct.  Strive to have positive influence on others.

5. Invoke Allah, name Al-Jabbar in your supplications, the Prophet (PBUH) used to say between the two prostrations in prayers:

عن عبد الله بن عباس-رضي الله عنه- أن النبي  كان يقول “اللهم اغفر لي وارحمني واجبرني وارفعني واهدني وعافني وارزقني”[الترمذي]

O Allah, forgive me, have mercy upon me, fix my affairs, elevate me, guide me, protect me, provide for me. [Al-Tirmidhi).

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

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)

DUA