A Lord Worthy of All Praise

Letters to Hajjatee, #3.

Hajjatee am,

Allah, my Lord and your Lord, is worthy of praise at all times — during times of ease and times of difficulty, in times of health and abundance, and in times of inability and lack. Do you only say “alhamdulillah” when life is rosy and peaceful? Do you say alhamdulillah and mean it when your chest is constricted and your eyes are leaking and you feel like the world is caving in on you?

That’s how I felt when I started to realize that Baba was gone from this world. Someone (may Allah reward them) told me to say “alhamdulillah ala kulli haal” and I was SO offended. I asked, “what did you just say?” It didn’t make sense to me — the idea of thanking Allah for my father’s death. Astaghfirullah, I see where I got it wrong now.

I want you to reflect on Suratul Buruj. The surah speaks about the “People of the Trench” who dug holes and burnt people alive for believing in Allah and refusing to renounce that belief.

“Cursed were the people of the Ditch (in the story of the Boy and the King). Of fire fed with fuel, When they sat by it (the fire), And they witnessed what they were doing against the believers (i.e. burning them). And they had no fault except that they believed in Allâh, the All-Mighty, Worthy of all Praise!” -Suratul Buruj v4–8 (Hilali and Khan)

I want you to take a moment (or many) to think about why the names of Allah Al-Azeez and Al-Hameed appear here. Al-Azeez might be more intuitive. Allah is reminding us that Ultimate Power belongs to Him alone. Tyrants and oppressors everywhere have very limited power. Their power is constrained by their dependence on armies and resources, and their tyranny is tremendously fleeting. Think about King Leopold II, who brutally reigned terror on the Congo for decades in a brutal colonialist regime that killed at least 10 million people. Where is he now?

Why Al-Hameed? This is my favorite part. Allah is worthy of all praise, at all times, unconditionally. Everything He decrees is Praiseworthy. Yes, even the torture of muslims. Even the loss of our loved ones. Remember that Allah is also Al-Hakeem, the One who has Perfect Wisdom; Al-Adl, The Just; Al-Ra’uf, The Most Kind, etc. We need to keep all of His Perfect Names and Attributes in mind when evaluating situations, whether in history, our individual lives, or global current events.

Additionally, as muslims, it’s imperative that we don’t view things from a strictly-dunya perspective. One might be inclined to ask, “why didn’t Allah just save the muslims from the people of the trench?” Let’s talk about this part of the story:

‘The king commanded that trenches be dug and fire lit in them, and said: “He who would not turn back from his (the boy’s) religion, throw him in the fire” or “he would be ordered to jump into it.” They did so till a woman came with her child. She felt hesitant in jumping into the fire. The child said to her: “O mother! Endure (this ordeal) for you are on the Right Path.”’

The child understood that this ordeal would be nothing compared to the reward Allah would have for them as martyrs. All the muslims who have endured persecution over the course of history saw the bigger picture. They did not lose sight of the ultimate goal, and understood that the hereafter is better and more lasting than this dunya, a place of trials and tribulations.

Hajjatee, you should say “alhamdulillah” all the time, and be especially conscious of it when enduring difficulty. That temporary hardship becomes an opportunity for you to earn the everlasting reward of your Lord.

Photo by Kiki Siepel on Unsplash

Suhayb ibn Sinān Ar-Rūmi (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “How wonderful the affair of the believer is! Indeed, all of his affairs are good for him. This is for no one but the believer. If something good happens to him, he is grateful to Allah, which is good for him. And if something bad happens to him, he has patience, which is good for him.” [Muslim]

I especially think about this in the context of death. We spend our lives fearing death (rightfully so) but it’s not an entirely negative thing. Our loved ones can’t get to paradise without dying first, and neither can we. I doubt we’ll remember the grief that came with the (relatively short) absence of our loved ones in this life. This also applies to every possible negative circumstance we could face in this life. Eternity is hard to conceptualize but I think it’s kind of awesome that we have an opportunity to get all the suffering and strife out of the way and then face a lasting peace. May Allah make us among the successful.

In our grief, sickness, tests, poverty, insecurity, and everything negative, there’s a chance to attain a lasting good. Even in situations where we fail to attain this good because we’re human and will make mistakes, Allah is ever accepting of repentance. What a Loving, Bountiful, Generous Lord we have. Alhamdulillah. Indeed, He is worthy of All Praise.

Fi Amanillah,

Khawla, the dreamer

Quote of the Day

“If a grievance is preceded by Shukr, it will not remain a grievance.”

-Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud (RA)