99 Names of Allah - Asma ul Husna - And the Answer is . . . Al-Wahhaab!

Allah (swt) calls Himself Al-Wahhaab— The Giver of Gifts, The Most Liberal Bestower— three times in the Quran. Al-Wahhaab is the All-Giver and gives gifts constantly, generously, and without expecting anything in return! According to the scholars this divine name is related to love.

Or do they have the depositories of the mercy of your Lord, the Exalted in Might, the Bestower? [Quran, 38:9]

Wahhaab comes from the root waw-haa-baa, which points to the attribute of gifting or bestowing something. The word hiba means gift.

Waw-haa-baa (و ه ب) occurs 25 times in the Quran, in two derived forms: 22 times as the verb wahaba (وَهَبَ), three times as the nominal wahhāb (وَهَّاب).

The Arabic word Al-Wahhaab has the structure of intensification and is the intense form of Al Wahib, the giver.
This beautiful name illustrates the amazing way in which Allah ‘azza wajal bestows gifts on His creation.

Your Heart and Mind

With your mind you get to know Allah (swt) and with your heart you love Him. The purpose of knowing Allah’s name Al-Wahhaab is to love Allah, and love is the essence of  your faith.

Our deen is not only facts to understand and learn about but also emotions to live. What motivates you is more your love than your mind. By using the mind we might be certain and believe, but driven by love we sacrifice everything. That’s why if you call people to Islam, you should call their minds and hearts at the same time. If somebody is convinced mentally and they reach an attitude of love, the success is complete!

How Can You Recognize a Gift From Allah (swt)?

Rizq (provision) is something that’s written for you, but you have to work for it; it depends in part on your efforts. A gift (hiba) is what the name says— it’s not something directly related to your efforts. When you meet an amazing person “just at the right moment,” or you’re able to go on ‘umrah without any planning, or you miss a loved one and they call you, these are gifts.

Sometimes you give gifts to someone you love and sometimes you give gifts to draw someone closer to you. What does it mean when Al-Wahhaab gives you a gift? It might mean that He gives you a gift so that you can come closer to Him, even though you were going astray.

The Art of Giving: Are You a True Giver?

When was the last time you gave someone a gift? What was your motivation? SubhanAllah, remembering Al-Wahhaab we as mankind can strive to give in a beautiful way, with a sincere intention, for Allah’s sake only. This way our giving becomes ‘ibaadah!

Abû Hâmid al-Ghazâlî said: Whoever bestows gifts with an eye to some interest to be realized by it sooner or later, either appreciation, affection or release from blame, or acquiring distinction of mention— he is neither a giver nor generous, but rather engaged in transaction and recompense . . . But the one who sacrifices all he owns, even his life, for the sake of God alone— such a one is worthy of being named giver and generous.

Learn From the Love of the Companions

How could the sahabah do the impossible? Why did they purchase themselves for the cause of Allah? Why did they sacrifice everything? If the finger of one of us is wounded, we cry out, bandage it, and excuse ourselves from meetings.  Look at what Ja’far, may Allah be pleased with him, did. A sword chopped off his right hand, so he held the Islamic flag with his left hand.

Another blow chopped off his left hand, so he held the flag up with his upper arms and held it there until he died. What love could drive him to sacrifice his life? Let’s learn from these great role models and cultivate our love and sacrifice for Al-Wahhaab!

How Can You Live by This Name?

1.Remember Al-Wahhaab.

Imagine that someone pays your bus ticket for you— wouldn’t you rush to thank him? Think of the last time you received a gift. How did you feel? Happy, humbled, shy? Did you rush to thank him or her? And only because this person gave you a gift!

Al-Wahhaab gives us so many gifts, each day, again and again whether we are close to Him or further astray, His Ultimate way of Giving is with the most detailed wisdom. His gifts come in the form of moments you experience, scenes you see, things you hear, and as material blessings.

This is the difference between a believer and a disbeliever. The disbeliever lives with the gifts of Allah ‘azza wajal but doesn’t remember Him, while a true believer knows the Giver through the gifts. Be someone who is always thankful to His Maker for everything you get.

2.Use the gifts of Al-Wahhaab in the right way.

Another way how we can thank Al-Wahhaab for His gifts to us is by using them in His way and in His cause. If Al-Wahhaab has given you a gift, do not use it for what He dislikes. A good example is the mobile phone. He gave you this technology, use it  for sharing knowledge and not for wasting time!

He also might give you the chance to have a beautiful afternoon with friends; don’t use it for backbiting. Or He gave you the opportunity to go to a certain place— don’t use it by disobeying Him while you’re there. Our limbs, our minds, our wealth, and our belongings should be used to please Al-Wahhaab.

It is said that there are three things to always remember: 1). Your purpose:  to worship Allah alone. 2). Your goal: Jannatul Firdaws, The Highest Paradise. Your plan: following the Quran and Sunnah sincerely and with excellence.

3. Love Al-Wahhaab.

If you use your mind to contemplate the universe, you get to know Allah, the Almighty. If you realize the great gifts Al-Wahhaab bestows upon you, you love Him with all of your heart. It is said, if you knew how Allah ‘azza wajal manages your affairs, your heart would melt out of love for Him.

As soon as our heart is filled with love for Allah, we find out our Lord’s beautiful care, love, help, and guidance to us, and we feel ultimate happiness.

4. Ask al-Wahhaab.

Use the prayer that He Himself taught us! Amazingly, using this ism (Name), there are more than one du’aa mentioned in the Quran. Here you may find the prophets asking Al-Wahhaab, by asking for mercy, offspring etc, ending with ‘ innaka anta al-Wahhaab’.

5. Don’t praise yourself.

Sometimes we say, I got married, worked hard, and got a beautiful house. Or we say, I gave my child a good upbringing, that’s why he is so good-mannered— I made my son like that!

We say all such things, forgetting the One Who bestowed all those favors upon us.  Your good spouse or child is given to you as a gift from Al-Wahhaab. It is as Al-Wahhaab says in the Quran: And We granted him (Abraham) Isaac and Jacob, each of whom did We guide; and before him, We did guide Noah, and among his progeny, David, Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses and Aaron. Thus do We reward the good-doers.

6. Ponder what Al-Wahhaab has given you.

First of all, He gave you your existence. Then think of the greatest gift Al-Wahhaab gave you: guidance. Think about water, which is scentless, colorless, etc. Imagine if water were sticky— how could you wash yourself? Look at your memory and how Allah gave foods a nice smell. All of these are gifts of Al-Wahhaab; ponder them!

7. Give gifts to others

The Prophet (saws) said, Give gifts, for this will increase your mutual love. [Muslim].
SubhanAllah, no human being gives anything for nothing, even if it’s that we give to gain the reward of Allah ‘azza wajal by it.  The only One Who gives asking for nothing in return is Al-Wahhaab.

If a human being gives you a gift who is the real donor? It is Al-Wahhaab, Who inspired him to give you what he has given you!  So first thank Allah ‘azza wajal for inspiring people to help you and then be grateful to the people by doing a favor for them, or, if you can’t, by saying jazaakAllahu khayr or baraakAllaahu feek(i)!

Wallahu ta’alaa ‘alem.

O Allah, Al-Wahhaab, make us of those who are grateful for Your gifts and use them to please You, adorn us with love for You. Make us ponder Your gifts, inspire us to give gifts to others, give us from Your mercy that overwhelms us in this present world and the world to come, verily, You are the Best Giver of Gifts, ameen!

99 Names of Allah - Asma ul Husna - And the Answer is . . .Al-Hafeedh!

Allah calls Himself Al-Hafeedh— The All-Preserver, The All-Heedful, The All-Protecting— on three occasions in the Quran. He is the One Who created and preserves the worlds and what they contain. Al-Hafeedh is Heedful of all we do and He protects us from things we do not even realize, giving believers many opportunities to earn His special protection!

The Ultimate Preserver, Guardian and Protector

Hafeedh and Haafidh come from the root haa-faa-dhaa, which points out to three main meanings. The first meaning is guarding, protecting, retaining and taking care of. The second main meaning of this root is to prevent from perishing or becoming lost and the third is to be watchful, mindful, attentive and vigilant.

This root appears 44 times in the Quran in eight derived forms. Examples of these forms arehaafidheen(“guardians”), mahfoodh (“guarded, protected”) and wahaafidh’naahaa (“and We have protected it”).

Al-Hafeedh is the Guardian of the whole creation, everything is operating under His care of which He is never tired. Al-Hafeedh tells angels to protect us and He revealed the Quran as our guide and it is only Him that can protect us from evil and disasters. Al-Hafeedh is the One Who remembers all that was and all that is, keeping in His divine protection all that there will be! He is the Ultimate Preserver, Guardian and Protector of the whole creation!

Al-Hafeedh Himself says: “..and you will not harm Him at all. Indeed my Lord is, over all things, Guardian.” (Quran 11:57) “.. We might make evident who believes in the Hereafter from who is thereof in doubt. And your Lord, over all things, is Guardian.” (Quran 34:21) and “..And those who take as allies other than Him – Allah is [yet] Guardian over them.” (Quran 42:6)

Knowledge, preservation and recompense

Allah ‘azza wajal negated forgetfulness on Himself, this means that Al-Hafeedh knows all and He will protect and guard the knowledge and never forget it. He says: “And we (angels) descend not except by the Command of your Lord (O Muhammad). To Him belongs what is before us and what is behind us, and what is between those two, and your Lord is never forgetful” (Quran 19:64). Musa ‘alayhi sallam testified to this fact, saying: “The knowledge thereof is with my Lord, in a Record. My Lord is neither unaware nor He forgets, ” (Quran 20:52)

We should know that ‘haafidh’ is made of three aspects; first knowledge (‘ilm), then preservation (hifdh) and then recompense (hisaab). For example, you removed a small piece of dirt from the floor so it wouldn’t make someone slip. Even though no one saw it, you need to be sure Allah knows about it, then you should be sure He will preserve it (hifdh) and finally you should be certain that Al-Hafeedh will recompense you for it. This goes for anything anyone does for Allah’s Sake! Therefore there’s a relation between the Beautiful Names Al-‘Aleem (the All-Knowing), Al-Hafeedh (The All-Preserving) and Ash-Shakoor (The Appreciative).

How Can We Live By This Name?

1. Be motivated by Al-Hafeedh.

Al-Hafeedh is Heedful of everything you do by His Knowledge, Al-Hafeedh is recording and ordering His noble angels to record everything that each human being does, at any time and place, secret and open. Even the smallest deeds, like coming to an Islamic lecture, sitting nicely and making notes, Al-Hafeedh will preserve and appreciate it. When you know this you will really be a slave of Allah and not of people.

2. Fear Al-Hafeedh.

He is also Al-Hafeedh when you do bad actions. Remember even your “very small” wrong deed Allah sees, preserves and will recompense you for it unless you repent. For example in prayer you need presence of the heart, khushoo means presence of the heart (hudoor al qalb) plus understanding (fahm). Maybe in only one rukoo you remember Allah and the rest of the time your heart is distracted or heedless. How Allah is hafeedh, even this He knows. If you only remembered Him in rukoo

then He will keep this remembrance in rukoo for you and will reward you according to this. Depending on whether your deed was good or bad al-Hafeedh will reward you or punish you, so this Name gives you both hope (ar rajaa) and fear (al-khawf or khashiyah)!

3. Remember people.

One of the siffaat ul mu’mineen – attributes of the believers- is being mindful and attentive to others. Maybe you met someone once and you lent her your pen and she remembers that so many years later, you would feel happy.  The best example of this quality of remembering is the Prophetsallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, who never forgot Khadeejah radiyallaahu ‘anha; he remembered and appreciated her even after she died. It’s a praiseworthy character when someone has this attribute and we look up to people who are like this.  Then imagine how you should feel about the real Hafeedh, Allah, the One Who never forgets.

4. Memorize the Quran.

Work hard to be of those who preserve His Book, the Quran, by memorizing it! When memorizing His Book call upon Al-Hafeedh and make dua to Him to preserve and keep it in your mind. You must seek His help to protect what you memorized!

5. Purify your heart.

The Name Al-Hafeedh helps us purify some sins of the heart. For example you talk bad about someone just out of your desire, not because that person did you wrong. You simply don’t like him or her. Al-Hafeedh will never forget what you did; this knowledge will be preserved with Him and maybe after a period of time you will be put in the same situation where you are innocent and yet someone accuses you wrongly or says something untrue about you. When this happens it is for you to recall and repent for what you did to someone else. Al-Hafeedh is giving it as a test to nurture you because He has this knowledge preserved whereas maybe you forgot or saw it as insignificant!

6. Strive for the special protection of Al-Hafeedh.

Aboo Tayyib At-Tabaree , an early scholar, was about hundred years old and he was remarkable as his vision and his hearing were sharp. He was physically capable of running and performing actions just like the young man. He once came back from a journey by sea and when everyone was exhausted, Aboo Tayyib At-Tabaree jumped off the boat on the land. People were amazed. He said: “When I was a young man, I preserved these bodily limbs from the disobedience of Allah and allah preserved them for me in my old age.” [Narrated by Ibn Rajab] . To receive the special protection of Al-Hafeedh in your religion and your worldy affairs, the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam said: “Guard Allah(‘s Commands) and He will guard and protect you.” [Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi]

7. Be thankful to Al-Hafeedh.

Al-Hafeedh protects His slaves from all kinds of hardship and evil, many times from matters we don’t even realize. He preserves your body in an amazing way, only imagine if your blood would freely flow into your brain! Be thankful to Al-Hafeedh for the way He preserves you and protects you.

8. Reflect on your environment and increase your awe for Al-Hafeedh.

Look around you , be amazed by the way Al-Hafeedh is able to preserve even the biggest creations, it is He Who preserved the sky from falling on us. We come up with ways by His Leave to preserve even the food in fridges and by salt so we can use it longer, as well as the money in the bank.
Allah is Al-Hafeedh and He guides humans for a means to even preserve food, health and wealth!

9. Repent to Al-Hafeedh.

This Name should shake you even more than the Name Al-‘Aleem, because Al-Hafeedh not only implies that He knows everything, He even remembers the smallest things.  You need the forgiveness of Al-Hafeedh, so another important impact of this Name is that it will make you not delay but hasten to tawbah!

Wallahu ta’alaa ‘alem.

O Allah, Al-Hafeedh, we know that You preserve all there ever was, is and will be. Give us your special protection by aiding us to fulfill Your Commands, help us to be mindful of even the smallest sins and make us rush to repent and be thankful to You for Your Protection. Honour us by being of those who memorize the Quran and support us in our belief and awareness of Your Knowledge, Preservation and Recompense so we will strive to please You and earn Your Gardens, ameen!

Reference:

http://understandquran.com/and-the-answer-is-al-hafeedh.html

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