Article on public speaking stage fright

Public Speaking:

Stage Fright Strategies

 

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Stage fright Is Good and Makes You Better Looking Too! Before you learn how to speak in public, it is important to be ready to speak in public. Stage fright is a phenomenon that you must learn to control if you want to be good at public speaking. Actually, stage fright isn't the most accurate term for the nervousness that occurs when considering a speaking engagement. In fact, most of the fear occurs before you step on-stage. Once you're up there, it usually goes away. Try to think of stage fright in a positive way. Fear is your friend. It makes your reflexes sharper. It heightens your energy, adds a sparkle to your eye, and color to your cheeks. When you are nervous about speaking, you are more conscious of your posture and breathing. With all those good side effects you will actually look healthier and more physically attractive.

When making public performances, many of the top performers in the world get stage fright so you are in good company. Stage fright may come and go or diminish, but it usually does not vanish permanently. You must concentrate on getting the feeling out in the open, into perspective and under control.

Remember Nobody ever died from stage fright or speaking in public. But, according to surveys, many people would rather die than speak in public. If that applies to you, try out some of the strategies in this section to help get yourself under control. Realize that you may never overcome stage fright, but you can learn to control it, and use it to your advantage in your public speaking efforts.

Symptoms of Stage fright

• Dry mouth.
• Tight throat.
• Sweaty hands.
• Cold hands.
• Shaky hands.
• Give me a hand (Oops, I couldn't resist).
• Nausea.
• Fast pulse.
• Shaky knees.
• Trembling lips.

 

Any out-of-the-ordinary outward or inward feeling or manifestation of a feeling occurring before, or during, the beginning of a
public speaking engagement (Wow! What a dry mouthful!).

Here are some easy to implement strategies for reducing your stage fright.

Not everyone reacts the same and there is no universal fix. Don't try to use all these fixes at once. Pick out items from this list and try them out until you find the right combination for you.



Visualization strategies that can be used anytime

• Concentrate on how good you are at public speaking.
• Pretend you are just chatting with a group of friends.
• Close your eyes and imagine the audience listening, laughing, and applauding.
• Remember happy moments from your past.
• Think about your love for and desire to help the audience.
• Picture the audience in their underwear.

 

Strategies in advance of program

• Be extremely well prepared.
• Join or start a Toastmasters club for extra practice.
• Get individual or group public speaking coaching.
• Listen to music.
• Read a poem.
• Anticipate hard and easy questions.
• Organize your speaking notes.
• Absolutely memorize your opening statement so you can recite it on autopilot if you have to.
• Practice, practice, practice. Especially practice bits so you can spit out a few minutes of your program no matter how nervous you are.
• Get in shape. I don't know why it helps stage fright, but it does.

 

Strategies just before the program Remember Stage fright usually goes away after you start. The tricky time is before you start.

• Be in the room at least an hour early if possible to triple check the public address system and everything else on your checklist. You can also schmooze with participants arriving early.
• Notice and think about things around you.
• Concentrate on searching for current and immediate things that are happening at the event that you can mention during your speech (especially in the opening).
• Get into conversation with people near you. Be very intent on what they are saying.
• Yawn to relax your throat.
• Doodle.
• Draw sketches of a new car you would like to have.
• Look at your notes.
• Put pictures of your kids/grandkids, dog, etc., in your notes.
• Build a cushion of time in the day so you are not rushed, but not too much time. You don't want to have extra time to worry.
• If your legs are trembling, lean on a table, sit down, or shift your legs.
• Take a quick walk.
• Take quick drinks of tepid water.
• Double check your A/V equipment including the public address system, projectors, etc..
• Don't drink alcohol or coffee or tea with caffeine.
• Concentrate on your speaking ideas.
• Hide speaking notes around the stage area so you know you have a backup if you happen to draw a blank.
• Concentrate on your audience.
• Listen to music.
• Read a poem.
• Do isometrics that tighten and release muscles.
• Shake hands and smile with attendees before the program.
• Say something to someone to make sure your voice is ready to go.
• Go somewhere private and warm up your voice, muscles, etc.
• Use eye contact.
• Go to a mirror and check out how you look.
• Breathe deeply, evenly, and slowly for several minutes.
• Don't eat if you don't want to and never take tranquilizers or other such drugs. You may think you will do better, but you will probably do worse and not know it.

 

Strategies when the program begins

• If legs are trembling, lean on lectern /table or shift legs or move
• Try not to hold the microphone by hand in the first minute.
• Don't hold notes. The audience can see them shake. Use three-by-five cards instead.
• Take quick drinks of tepid water.
• Use eye contact. It will make you feel less isolated.
• Look at the friendliest faces in the audience.
• Joke about your nervousness. What's the right wine to go with fingernails?

 

Remember nervousness doesn't show one-tenth as much as it feels. Before each speaking engagement make a short list of the items you think will make you feel better. Don't be afraid to experiment with different combinations. You never know which ones will work best until you try. Rewrite them on a separate sheet and keep the sheet with you at all times so you can refer to it quickly when the need arises.

When speaking in public use these steps to control stage fright so it doesn't control you.

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Rethinking Islam

Rethinking Islam

By Ziauddin Sardar

Professor
of Postcolonial Studies, London



Serious rethinking within Islam is long overdue. Muslims have been
comfortably relying, or rather falling back, on age-old interpretations
for much too long. This is why we feel so painful in the contemporary
world, so uncomfortable with modernity. Scholars and thinkers have
been suggesting for well over a century that we need to make a serious
attempt at Ijtihad, at reasoned struggle and rethinking, to reform
Islam. At the beginning of the last century, Jamaluddin Afghani
and Mohammad Abduh led the call for a new Ijtihad; and along the
way many notable intellectuals, academics and sages have added to
this plea - not least Mohammad Iqbal, Malik bin Nabbi and Abdul
Qadir Audah. Yet, ijtihad is one thing Muslim societies have singularly
failed to undertake. Why?

The why has now acquired an added urgency. Just look around the
Muslim world and see how far we have travelled away from the ideals
and spirit of Islam. Far from being a liberating force, a kinetic
social, cultural and intellectual dynamics for equality, justice
and humane values, Islam seems to have acquired a pathological strain.
Indeed, it seems to me that we have internalised all those historic
and contemporary western representations of Islam and Muslims that
have been demonising us for centuries. We now actually wear the
garb, I have to confess, of the very demons that the West has been
projecting on our collective personality.

But to blame the West, or a notion of instrumental modernity that
is all but alien to us, would be a lazy option. True, the West,
and particularly America, has a great deal to answer for. And Muslims
are quick to point a finger at the injustices committed by American
and European foreign policies and hegemonic tendencies. However,
that is only a part, and in my opinion not an insurmountable part,
of the malaise. Hegemony is not always imposed; sometimes, it is
invited. The internal situation within Islam is an open invitation.

We have failed to respond to the summons to Ijtihad for some very
profound reasons. Prime amongst these is the fact that the context
of our sacred texts – the Qur’an and the examples of
the Prophet Muhammad, our absolute frame of reference – has
been frozen in history. One can only have an interpretative relationship
with a text – even more so if the text is perceived to be
eternal. But if the interpretative context of the text is never
our context, not our own time, then its interpretation can hardly
have any real meaning or significance for us as we are now. Historic
interpretations constantly drag us back to history, to frozen and
ossified context of long ago; worse, to perceived and romanticised
contexts that have not even existed in history. This is why while
Muslims have a strong emotional attachment to Islam, Islam per se,
as a worldview and system of ethics, has little or no direct relevance
to their daily lives apart from the obvious concerns of rituals
and worship. Ijtihad and fresh thinking have not been possible because
there is no context within which they can actually take place.

The freezing of interpretation, the closure of ‘the gates
of ijtihad’, has had a devastating effect on Muslim thought
and action. In particular, it has produced what I can only describe
as three metaphysical catastrophes: the elevation of the Shari`ah
to the level of the Divine, with the consequent removal of agency
from the believers, and the equation of Islam with the State. Let
me elaborate.

Most Muslims consider the Shari`ah, commonly translated as ‘Islamic
law’, to be divine. Yet, there is nothing divine about the
Shari`ah. The only thing that can legitimately be described as divine
in Islam is the Qur’an. The Shari`ah is a human construction;
an attempt to understand the divine will in a particular context.
This is why the bulk of the Shari`ah actually consists of fiqh or
jurisprudence, which is nothing more than legal opinion of classical
jurists. The very term fiqh was not in vogue before the Abbasid
period when it was actually formulated and codified. But when fiqh
assumed its systematic legal form, it incorporated three vital aspects
of Muslim society of the Abbasid period. At that juncture, Muslim
history was in its expansionist phase, and fiqh incorporated the
logic of Muslim imperialism of that time. The fiqh rulings on apostasy,
for example, derive not from the Qur'an but from this logic. Moreover,
the world was simple and could easily be divided into black and
white: hence, the division of the world into Daral Islam and Daral
Harb. Furthermore, as the framers of law were not by this stage
managers of society, the law became merely theory which could not
be modified - the framers of the law were unable to see where the
faults lay and what aspect of the law needed fresh thinking and
reformulation. Thus fiqh, as we know it today, evolved on the basis
of a division between those who were governing and set themselves
apart from society and those who were framing the law; the epistemological
assumptions of a ‘golden’ phase of Muslim history also
came into play. When we describe the Shari`ah as divine, we actually
provide divine sanctions for the rulings of by-gone fiqh.

What this means in reality is that when Muslim countries apply
or impose the Shari`ah – the demands of Muslims from Indonesia
to Nigeria - the contradictions that were inherent in the formulation
and evolution of fiqh come to the fore. That is why wherever the
Shari`ah is imposed – that is, fiqhi legislation is applied,
out of context from the time when it was formulated and out of step
with ours - Muslim societies acquire a medieval feel. We can see
that in Saudi Arabia, the Sudan and the Taliban Afghanistan. When
narrow adherence to fiqh, to the dictates of this or that school
of thought, whether it has any relevance to real world or not, becomes
the norm, ossification sets in. The Shari`ah will solve all our
problems becomes the common sentiment; and it becomes necessary
for a group with vested interest in this notion of the Shari`ah
to preserve its territory, the source of its power and prestige,
at all costs. An outmoded body of law is thus equated with the Shari`ah,
and criticism is shunned and outlawed by appealing to its divine
nature.

The elevation of the Shari`ah to the divine level also means the
believers themselves have no agency: since The Law is a priori given
people themselves have nothing to do expect to follow it. Believers
thus become passive receivers rather than active seekers of truth.
In reality, the Shari`ah is nothing more than a set of principles,
a framework of values, that provide Muslim societies with guidance.
But these sets of principles and values are not a static given but
are dynamically derived within changing contexts. As such, the Shari`ah
is a problem-solving methodology rather than law. It requires the
believers to exert themselves and constantly reinterpret the Qur’an
and look at the life of the Prophet Muhammad with ever changing
fresh eyes. Indeed, the Qur’an has to be reinterpreted from
epoch to epoch – which means the Shari`ah, and by extension
Islam itself, has to be reformulated with changing contexts. The
only thing that remains constant in Islam is the text of the Qur’an
itself – its concepts providing the anchor for ever changing
interpretations.

Islam is not so much a religion but an integrative worldview: that
is to say, it integrates all aspects of reality by providing a moral
perspective on every aspect of human endeavour. Islam does not provide
ready-made answers to all human problems; it provides a moral and
just perspective within which Muslims must endeavour to find answers
to all human problems. But if everything is a priori given, in the
shape of a divine Shari`ah, then Islam is reduced to a totalistic
ideology. Indeed, this is exactly what the Islamic movements –
in particularly Jamaat-e-Islami (both Pakistani and Indian varieties)
and the Muslim Brotherhood – have reduced Islam to. Which
brings me to the third metaphysical catastrophe. Place this ideology
within a nation state, with divinely attributed Shari`ah at its
centre, and you have an ‘Islamic state’. All contemporary
‘Islamic states’, from Iran, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan
to aspiring Pakistan, are based on this ridiculous assumption. But
once Islam, as an ideology, becomes a programme of action of a vested
group, it looses its humanity and becomes a battlefield where morality,
reason and justice are readily sacrificed at the alter of emotions.
Moreover, the step from a totalistic ideology to a totalitarian
order where every human-situation is open to state-arbitration is
a small one. The transformation of Islam into a state-based political
ideology not only deprives it of its all moral and ethical content,
it also debunks most of Muslim history as un-Islamic. Invariably,
when Islamists rediscover a ‘golden’ past, they do so
only in order to disdain the present and mock the future. All we
are left with is messianic chaos, as we saw so vividly in the Taliban
regime, where all politics as the domain of action is paralysed
and meaningless pieties become the foundational truth of the state.

The totalitarian vision of Islam as a State thus transforms Muslim
politics into a metaphysics: in such an enterprise, every action
can be justified as ‘Islamic’ by the dictates of political
expediency as we witnessed in revolutionary Iran.

The three metaphysical catastrophes are accentuated by an overall
process of reduction that has become the norm in Muslim societies.
The reductive process itself is also not new; but now it has reached
such an absurd state that the very ideas that are supposed to take
Muslims societies towards humane values now actually take them in
the opposite direction. From the subtle beauty of a perennial challenge
to construct justice through mercy and compassion, we get mechanistic
formulae fixated with the extremes repeated by people convinced
they have no duty to think for themselves because all questions
have been answered for them by the classical `ulamas, far better
men long dead. And because everything carries the brand name of
Islam, to question it, or argue against it, is tantamount to voting
for sin.

The process of reduction started with the very notion of `alim
(scholar) itself. Just who is an `alim; what makes him an authority?
In early Islam, an `alim was anyone who acquired `ilm, or knowledge,
which was itself described in a broad sense. We can see that in
the early classifications of knowledge by such scholars as al-Kindi,
al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, al-Ghazali and Ibn Khuldun. Indeed, both the
definition of knowledge and its classification was a major intellectual
activity in classical Islam. So all learned men, scientists as well
as philosophers, scholars as well as theologians, constituted the
`ulama. But after the ‘gates of ijtihad’ were closed
during the Abbasid era, ilm was increasingly reduced to religious
knowledge and the `ulama came to constitute only religious scholars.

Similarly, the idea of ijma, the central notion of communal life
in Islam, has been reduced to the consensus of a select few. Ijma
literally means consensus of the people. The concept dates back
to the practice of Prophet Muhammad himself as leader of the original
polity of Muslims. When the Prophet Muhammad wanted to reach a decision,
he would call the whole Muslim community – then, admittedly
not very large – to the mosque. A discussion would ensue;
arguments for and against would be presented. Finally, the entire
gathering would reach a consensus. Thus, a democratic spirit was
central to communal and political life in early Islam. But over
time the clerics and religious scholars have removed the people
from the equation – and reduced ijma to ‘the consensus
of the religious scholars’. Not surprisingly, authoritarianism,
theocracy and despotism reigns supreme in the Muslim world. The
political domain finds its model in what has become the accepted
practice and metier of the authoritatively ‘religious’
adepts, those who claim the monopoly of exposition of Islam. Obscurantist
Mullahs, in the guise of the `ulama, dominate Muslim societies and
circumscribe them with fanaticism and absurdly reductive logic.

Numerous other concepts have gone through similar process of reduction.
The concept of Ummah, the global spiritual community of Muslims,
has been reduced to the ideals of a nation state: ‘my country
right or wrong’ has been transpose to read ‘my Ummah
right or wrong’. So even despots like Saddam Hussein are now
defended on the basis of ‘Ummah consciousness’ and ‘unity
of the Ummah’. Jihad has now been reduced to the single meaning
of ‘Holy War’. This translation is perverse not only
because the concept’s spiritual, intellectual and social components
have been stripped away, but it has been reduced to war by any means,
including terrorism. So anyone can now declare jihad on anyone,
without any ethical or moral rhyme or reason. Nothing could be more
perverted, or pathologically more distant from the initial meaning
of jihad. It’s other connotations, including personal struggle,
intellectual endeavour, and social construction have all but evaporated.
Istislah, normally rendered as ‘public interest’ and
a major source of Islamic law, has all but disappeared from Muslim
consciousness. And Ijtihad, as I have suggested, has now been reduced
to little more than a pious desire.

But the violence performed to sacred Muslim concepts is insignificant
compared to the reductive way the Qur’an and the sayings and
examples of the Prophet Muhammad are brandied about. What the late
Muslim scholar, Fazlur Rahman called the ‘atomistic’
treatment of the Qur’an is now the norm: almost anything and
everything is justified by quoting individual bits of verses out
of context. After the September 11 event, for example, a number
of Taliban supporters, including a few in Britain, justified their
actions by quoting the following verse: ‘We will put terror
into the hearts of the unbelievers. They serve other gods for whom
no sanction has been revealed. Hell shall be their home’ (3:
149). Yet, the apparent meaning attributed to this verse could not
be further from the true spirit of the Qur’an. In this particular
verse, the Qur’an is addressing Prophet Muhammad himself.
It was revealed during the battle of Uhud, when the small and ill
equipped army of the Prophet, faced a much larger and well-equipped
enemy. He was concerned about the outcome of the battle. The Qur’an
reassures him and promises the enemy will be terrified with the
Prophet’s unprofessional army. Seen in its context, it is
not a general instruction to all Muslims; but a commentary on what
was happening at that time. Similarly hadiths are quoted to justify
the most extremes of behaviour. And the Prophet’s own appearance,
his beard and cloths, have been turned into a fetish: so now it
is not just obligatory for a ‘good Muslim’ to have a
beard, but its length and shape must also conform to dictates! The
Prophet has been reduced to signs and symbols – the spirit
of his behaviour, the moral and ethical dimensions of his actions,
his humility and compassion, the general principles he advocated
have all been subsumed by the logic of absurd reduction.

The accumulative effect of the metaphysical catastrophes and endless
reduction has transformed the cherished tenants of Islam into instruments
of militant expediency and moral bankruptcy. For over two decades,
in books like The Future of Muslim Civilisation (1979) and Islamic
Futures: The Shape of Ideas to Come (1985), I have been arguing
that Muslim civilisation is now so fragmented and shattered that
we have to rebuild it, ‘brick by brick’. It is now obvious
that Islam itself has to be rethought, idea by idea. We need to
begin with the simple fact that Muslims have no monopoly on truth,
on what is right, on what is good, on justice, nor the intellectual
and moral reflexes that promote these necessities. Like the rest
of humanity, we have to struggle to achieve them using our own sacred
notions and concepts as tools for understanding and reshaping contemporary
reality.

The way to a fresh, contemporary appreciation of Islam requires
confronting the metaphysical catastrophes and moving away from reduction
to synthesis. Primarily, this requires Muslims, as individuals and
communities, to reclaim agency: to insist on their right and duty,
as believers and knowledgeable people, to interpret and reinterpret
the basic sources of Islam: to question what now goes under the
general rubric of Shari`ah, to declare that much of fiqh is now
dangerously obsolete, to stand up to the absurd notion of an Islam
confined by a geographically bound state. We cannot, if we really
value our faith, leave its exposition in the hands of under educated
elites, religious scholars whose lack of comprehension of the contemporary
world is usually matched only by their disdain and contempt for
all its ideas and cultural products. Islam has been permitted to
languish as the professional domain of people more familiar with
the world of the eleventh century than the twenty-first century
we now inhabit. And we cannot allow this class to bury the noble
idea of Ijtihad into frozen and distant history.

Ordinary Muslims around the world who have concerns, questions
and considerable moral dilemmas about the current state of affairs
of Islam must reclaim the basic concepts of Islam and reframe them
in a broader context. Ijma must mean consensus of all citizens leading
to participatory and accountable governance. Jihad must be understood
in its complete spiritual meaning as the struggle for peace and
justice as a lived reality for all people everywhere. And the notion
of the Ummah must be refined so it becomes something more than a
mere reductive abstraction. As Anwar Ibrahim has argued, the Ummah
is not ‘merely the community of all those who profess to be
Muslims’; rather, it is a ‘moral conception of how Muslims
should become a community in relation to each other, other communities
and the natural world’. Which means Ummah incorporates not
just the Muslims, but justice seeking and oppressed people everywhere.
In a sense, the movement towards synthesis is an advance towards
the primary meaning and message of Islam – as a moral and
ethical way of looking and shaping the world, as a domain of peaceful
civic culture, a participatory endeavour, and a holistic mode of
knowing, being and doing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ziauddin Sardar: A cultural critic, Muslim scholar, author of many
books, and editor of Futures: The Journal of Planning, Policy, and
Futures Studies. His newest book is Ziauddin Sardar's A-Z of Postmodern
Life (Visions Publications, Feb 2002). He is based in London.

 

 

Sabr or Patience

Sabr

by Ayub Hamid

It implies patience, forbearance, perseverance, determination,
fortitude, constancy and steadfastness. Sabr assumes different dimensions
depending upon which aspect of life is the point of reference:



Sabr in personal life

1. The first kind of Sabr is 'patience' as it is ordinarily understood.

It is the ability to hold back, remain calm, maintain one's cool,
restrain oneself and wait and see despite the urge to jump on, barge
in, respond, and do something in the situations of heat, pressure,
anxiety, curiosity, anger, confrontation, etc.

It also represents the patience exercised during the hardships
people face in their lives such as illnesses and diseases, death
of loved ones, natural calamities and disasters, and problems or
setbacks emanating from the situations and circumstances beyond
one's control. Knowing that all these things are part of our test
for which we have been put on the earth and knowing that our success
lies in how well we react to and handle such situations helps a
believer endure these hardships without panicking, complaining or
being frustrated.

"A person who faces a physical or financial setback, keeps
quiet about it and does not complain to people, has a right on Allaah
to be forgiven." Attributed by Ibn 'Abbaas to the Prophet sal-Allaahu
alaihi wa sallam as reported in At-Tabaraani's Al-Owsat

"A Muslim does not suffer any mental or physical anguish,
or any distress, grief, pain or sorrow - even from the prick of
a thorn - except that Allaah expiates his mistakes and sins."
Bukhaari and Muslim

This Sabr is an extremely important virtue for a believer. The
Prophet sal-Allaahu alaihi wa sallam, talking to some poor Muslims
from Ansaar whom he had given whatever he had, said:

"Whoever practices Sabr, Allaah Subhanahu wa Ta'alaa gives
him Sabr. And no one can be given anything better or more far-reaching
(comprehensive) than Sabr." Aboo S'eed Khudri in Bukhaari and
Muslim.

In a letter of condolence dictated for Mu'aadz Ibn Jabal on the
death of his son, the Prophet sal-Allaahu alaihi wa sallam said,
"May Allaah increase your reward and bestow you patience, and
enable us and you to be thankful to Him. Our lives, our wealth and
our families are blissful gifts that are trusts temporarily entrusted.
Allaah gave you the opportunity to enjoy (your son gifted to you
in trust) with happiness and pleasure, and then he took it from
you in return for a big reward. May He bestow upon you blessings,
mercy and guidance, if you restrain yourself in expectation for
His reward. So, be patient and do not let wailing destroy your reward,
to be sorry afterwards. Remember wailing neither brings back the
dead, nor removes the grief. What had to happen has happened."
At-Tabaraani.

However, tears or sadness is not against the spirit of the patience.
When the son of the Prophet's daughter, Zainab, was taking his last
breath in the Prophet's lap, tears came down from Prophet 's eyes.
When Sa'd wondered, the Prophet sal-Allaahu alaihi wa sallam explained,
"This is an expression of mercy that Allaah has put in the
hearts of people." Reported from Usamah Ibn Zaid in Bukhaari
and Muslim.

This kind of patience is the lowest level of Sabr expected of the
believers and is one of the qualities emanating from the Taqwaa
in the heart. The test of the patience is at the initial shock.
With time, everyone cools down. The patient person controls his/her
reactions at the very outset. Reacting emotionally in the beginning
and then cooling off is indicative of lack of patience.

The Messenger of Allaah sal-Allaahu alaihi wa sallam told a women
crying over the grave of her husband, "Maintain Taqwaa and
be patient." Later on he explained to her, "The real Sabr
(patience) is that which is demonstrated at the initial shock."
Reported from Anas in Bukhaari and Muslim.

The Messenger of Allaah sal-Allaahu alaihi wa sallam said, "Allaah
Tabaaraka wa Ta'alaa says: O son of Adam! If you remained patient
restraining yourself and expecting my reward at the initial shock,
I will not be happy without rewarding you with Jannah." From
Abee Umaamah in Ibn Maajah.

The complementary quality for this Sabr is Shukr (gratitude) which
means thanking Allaah Subhanahu wa Ta'alaa for any good things,
happy occasions, successes, health, profitability, good harvest
and prosperity we enjoy in our life. Because all of these things
depend, in addition to our hard work, on many favourable circumstances
and conditions that are beyond our control, a believer thanks Allaah
Subhanahu wa Ta'alaa for providing the ability to work hard and
making our efforts fruitful through all those favourable circumstances
and conditions.

This is what is alluded to in the following Ahaadeeth:

The Messenger of Allaah sal-Allaahu alaihi wa sallam said, "Wondrous
are the believer's affairs. For him there is good in all his affairs,
and this is true only for a believer. If he encounters

something troubling, he remains steadfast with patience, and that
is good for him. If he experiences something pleasing, he thanks
Allaah, and that is good for him. Reported from Suhaib in the Muslim.

The Messenger of Allaah sal-Allaahu alaihi wa sallam said, "Allaah
told Eesa (Jesus) peace be upon him: I will bring up an Ummah after
you who will thank Allaah when they encounter what they like; and
they will restrain themselves expecting reward from Allaah and will
remain patient when they suffer something they dislike." Reported
from Aboo-Ad-Dardaa by Baihiqi in Shu'abul-Eemaan.

Here is a brief review of the second dimension of Sabr:



Forbearance

2. The second kind of Sabr is the forbearance exercised in the
face of the ignorant behaviour shown by people around oneself. It
is to endure verbal abuse, accusations, disrespect, slander, backbiting,
false assumptions, name-calling, ridicule, maligning comments, etc.
from people around us because of their jealousy, misgivings, maliciousness,
difference of opinion or dislike for whatever reason.

A person will be within one's right to defend himself from any
misbehaviour. That is justice and everyone is entitled to it without
being blamed for it. However, Ihsaan is that the believer takes
all that in stride graciously and magnanimously without responding,
fighting back, paying much attention or complaining. Ihsaan is the
standard good Muslims are expected to strive for. The Holy Qur-aan
states:

"The fair settlement for a wrong is equal retribution. However,
whoever forgives and reconciles, his reward is due on Allaah, and
Allaah does not like the unjust. And whoever avenges himself after
being wronged, they are not to be blamed. The blame is on those
who oppress people and wrongfully rebel in the land. For them, there
will be a painful punishment. And indeed whoever practices Sabr
and forgives, that is a highly resolute, top-notch behaviour."
Ash-Shoora 42:40

It is also indicated by the following episode:

Once, a person was verbally abusing Aboo Bakr while the Prophet
sal-Allaahu alaihi wa sallam was curiously watching with a smile.
After taking much abuse quietly, Aboo Bakr responded to a few of
his comments. At this, the Prophet sal-Allahu alaihi wa sallam exhibited
his disapproval, got up and left. Aboo Bakr caught up with the Prophet
sal-Allaahu alaihi wa sallam and wondered, "O Messenger of
Allaah, he was abusing me and you remained sitting. When I responded
to him, you disapproved and got up." The Messenger of Allaah
sal-Allaahu alaihi wa sallam responded,

"There was an angel with you responding to him. When you responded
to him, Shaytaan took his place."

He then said,

"O Aboo Bakr, there are three solid truths: If a person is
wronged and he forbears (without seeking revenge) just for the sake
of Allaah Subhanahu wa Ta'alaa , Allaah will honour him and give
him upper hand with His help; if a person opens a door of giving
gifts for cementing relationships with relatives, Allaah will give
him abundance; and, if a person opens a door of seeking charity
for himself to increase his wealth, Allaah will further reduce his
wealth." Reported from Aboo Hurairah in Mishkaah and Musnad
Ahmad.

The prime example for practising Sabr, forbearing and then forgiving
is the behaviour of Yousuf in response to his brothers' wrongs.
The Holy Qur-aan observes:

"Indeed, whoever maintains Taqwaa and practices Sabr, Allaah
does not let the reward of the Muhsineen be lost." Yousuf 12:90



The above two dimensions of Sabr were purely from the perspective
of the personal life of a Muslim. The third and fourth dimensions
cover the kind of Sabr needed in the Islamic work. No matter what
dimension of sabr we talk about, we must always remeber, that our
Prophet sal-Allaahu alaihi wa sallam provided the best examples
in all of them.

Sabr in the Islamic Work

The most important Sabr expected of Muslims is the determination,
endurance, fortitude, perseverance, steadfastness and constancy
that the Muslims must demonstrate in fulfilling their duties of
establishing Islam in their own lives, in their communities and
in their societies with a vision to implement Islamic world order
of peace, justice and security over the whole globe. This work --
which all believers are obligated to undertake firstly to establish
a global community of believers and then to maintain it is a very
perilous work beset with hardships, challenges and risks. It requires
a lot of endurance, fortitude, tenacity and perseverance (Sabr).
Practising Sabr In the Islamic work is the basic requirement of
faith.

The Islamic work has two distinct stages that call for two kind
of Sabr, each relative to a different stage of Islamic work.

3. The first stage of Islamic work is spreading the word of Islam,
seeking commitment of people to the Islamic work and organizing
and mobilizing those who respond positively to the Islamic Da'wah.
This work continues until the majority of the people of a selected
society have become workers of the Islamic movement resulting in
the establishment of an Islamic state or kingdom of God.

As soon as a believer sincerely dedicates himself to and embarks
upon an organized Islamic mission, tests and tribulations start
in full force. The more dedicated and effective the efforts are,
the harder the persecution is. The persecution starts with verbal
abuse progressing to psychological, financial and physical abuse,
imprisonment and sometimes leads up to attempts on one's life. Depending
upon who is the object of Da'wah and where the Da'wah is being given,
the perpetrators of the persecution can be people who call themselves
Muslims or they can be Non-Muslims. Some of the problems are even
caused by those who are companions of the Islamic workers. It may
be due to their lack of experience or vision, or due the gullibility
or influence of negative propaganda of the people against the Islamic
movement.

The negative reaction from non-Muslims is understandable and expected,
but opposition from 'Muslims' is very discouraging, injurious and
problematic. As soon as a believer stands up for Islam, people expect
him to be perfect according to what they think Islam is about. The
moment the worker differs in any respect from their viewpoint or
the moment he makes a small mistake which every human being is prone
to, all his selfless efforts and the high standard of his character
are disregarded and

forgotten. People overlook their own major sins but the Islamic
worker's small error of judgement becomes the biggest concern in
the world. Backbiting, baseless accusations and false stories start
flying against the person all over without even his knowledge. His
words are twisted, motives doubted, and even the best of the action
flawed. The most popular accusations are usually: 'He is greedy
for leadership or fame' or 'he thinks he is better than others'
or 'he has caused disunity in the community'. But this is just the
beginning, If the Islamic worker remains strong and continues his
work with dedication, it becomes much more nasty.

The Sabr during this work, at the basic level which is the corollary
of faith, is to continue to work steadfastly for the mission, enduring
all the verbal, physical and financial abuse as well persecution,
torture, oppression, imprisonment and loss of respect,

wealth and property without retaliating, fighting back, and showing
any weakness, reduction in efforts or giving up. Sabr at the level
of Ihsaan is enduring the aforementioned abuse and persecution,
while continuing to wish for the guidance and well being of the
people with care and conviction, without slowing down in the missionary
work and enthusiasm; without making any compromises whatsoever;
and without hating the tormentors.



The Messengers of Allaah sal-Allaahu alaihi wa sallam have set excellent
examples of this Sabr. Moosa (Moses) peace be upon him demonstrated
a good example of Sabr on the problems caused by Banee Israaeel,
the members of his Islamic movement, with their nagging questions,
superficial objections, foolish arguments, short-sighted suggestions,
undue demands, improper expectations, lack of firm commitment, half-hearted
support and weakness in obedience. To discourage repetition of that
kind of behaviour, Allaah Subhanahu wa Ta'alaa commanded,

"O Believers, do not be like those who abused Moosa; then
Allaah cleared him from what they said. And he was, in the sight
of Allaah, honourable." Al-Ahzaab 33:70

"And when Moosa said to his people, 'O my people, why do you
abuse me when you surely know that I am the messenger of Allaah
to you?' When they deviated, Allaah caused their hearts to deviate."
As-Saff 61:5

Eesa peace be upon him was the best example of those who practised
Sabr on the reaction of the so-called Muslims, Banee Israaeel (who
were supposed to be and claimed to be the believers), to his call
for the Islamic movement and revival. He was sent to revive Islam
without bringing any new Sharee'ah. So, he tried to bring them from
petrified, ritualistic Islam to the true spirit of the dynamic Islam
that results in the establishment of the kingdom of God and that
converts every believer into a missionary for the establishment
for the supremacy of the Islamic way of life, but he was rejected
and persecuted. So much so that they plotted to kill him, siding
with the pagan Romans.

Our Prophet sal-Allaahu alaihi wa sallam demonstrated best of Sabr
in all of the situations described above giving us a vivid picture
of what a perfect and ideal Sabr looks like. The most outstanding
example of Sabr in the way of Allaah Subhanahu wa Ta'alaa demonstrated
in the face of persecutions from non-Muslims was that of our Prophet
sal-Allaahu alaihi wa sallam's 13 years in Makkah and his experience
in Taaif. That was humanity at its best, Sabr par excellence and
Ihsaan without a parallel. To prepare for this, he was admonished
at the very outset of the mission,

"And practice Sabr for the sake of your Lord." Al-Mudaththir
74:7

And then he was reminded,

"Rejected were the messengers before you, and they continued
to practise Sabr while they were being rejected and persecuted,
until Our help reached them." Al-An'aam 6:34

"And practice Sabr, certainly Allaah does not let the reward
of the Muhsineen be lost." Younus 11:115

He indeed excelled in what he was commanded. The same is expected
from us. Although we may not be able to reach that level of excellence,
our goal is to strive towards that level. We all have an obligation
to revive Islam as a movement and we are bound to face all three
kind of difficulties mentioned in this section requiring us to exhibit
appropriate Sabr in response to all of those circumstances. The
Prophet sal-Allaahu alaihi wa sallam did warn us about this situation,

"A time is going to come on people when remaining steadfast
on Deen will be like holding a burning coal in one's hand."
Anas in At-Tirmidzee

When asked what should we do in those circumstances, he said:

"Just as did the companions of Eesa Ibn Maryam: they were
sawed into pieces, they were hanged on the crosses. Death in the
obedience of Allaah is better than the life in disobedience of Allaah."
Mu'aadz Ibn Jabal in At-Tabaraani

Often, when Kuffaar become blinded by their hatred and anger against
Muslims, they violate every principle of human decency, break every
ethical rule or moral code, use every deceitful and immoral tactic
and they viciously persecute and savagely torture Muslims. This
has always happened in the past and continues to happen today, though
unashamedly they lay claims to civilization, freedom and human rights.
However, despite observing this vicious phenomena or experiencing
the deceit and torture at their hand, a Muslim continues to practise
Sabr by strictly following Islamic values and moral code in their
treatment of Kuffaar.

Thus, the true believers stand up for Islamic mission and, when
they face the persecution, they say:

"And why should we not rely upon Allaah while He indeed has
shown us our ways? And we shall certainly practice Sabr on the persecution
you inflict on us." Ibraaheem 14:12.

4. Once an Islamic state or the kingdom of God is established to
conduct the affairs of the community of believers according to Islamic
values and Allaah Subhanahu wa Ta'alaa's rule, Kuffaar usually attack
such a state with their full military might to destroy and annihilate
the Islamic state. They usually do not give up until either their
own power is eroded or Islamic state is destroyed. If the Islamic
state survives by withstanding the onslaught and by eroding the
power of Kuffaar, then they try to put obstacles in the way of the
Islamic state's ability to expand and to bring the rest of the humanity
under the law of Allaah Subhanahu wa Ta'alaa. Whether it is a war
when the Islamic state is trying to survive or whether it is a war
put up to stop an Islamic state from liberating other people from
the rule of Kufr, the believers are supposed to demonstrate Sabr
by fighting bravely with valour, without showing any weakness and
without retreating, surrendering, running away or giving up despite
the intensity of battle or casualties. This Sabr pertains to the
Madani stage of the Islamic movement. Again, the most excellent
example of this Sabr was demonstrated by our Prophet sal-Allaahu
alaihi wa sallam and his devout companions at battles of Uhad, Ahzaab
and Hunain.

At the beginning of the Madani stage, keeping the inevitability
of onslaught of Kuffaar over the fledgling Islamic state, Muslims
were prepared to face the inevitability by the following command:

"O Believers! Seek strength through Sabr and Salaah, verily
Allaah is with those who practice Sabr. And do not consider those
who are killed in the way of Allaah dead, but alive; however, you
do not understand. Surely, we are going to test you through things
like fear, hunger and loss of wealth, lives and produce. And give
the good news to those who practice Sabr -those who, when they encounter
troubles, say we are for Allaah and to Him we are going to return."
Al-Baqarah 2:153

They were also told:

"You will surely be tested in regard to your possessions and
your lives; and you will surely hear from those who were given the
Book before you and from those who equate others with Allaah much
hurtful abuse." Aali Imraan 3:186

This is the most emphasized Sabr in the Holy Qur-aan. In this regard,
Muslims were commanded:

"O Believers! Practice Sabr, outdo others in practising Sabr,
and be prepared to face the enemies so that you may be successful."
Aali-Imraan 3:200

"And We shall test you until We know those who perform Jihaad
and those who practice Sabr (remain steadfast);

and We shall test to appraise your state." Muhammad 47:31

"Do you think that you will enter Jannah without Allaah testing
as to who are those that perform Jihaad and that practice Sabr."
3:142

And the Prophet sal-Allaahu alaihi wa sallam admonished, while
addressing people in one of expeditions:

"Do not wish war, rather ask Allaah Subhanahu wa Ta'alaa
for peace and security. However, when you confront the enemy, practice
Sabr (fortitude and perseverance) and know that Jannah is under
the shade of the swords." 'Abdullaah ibn Abee Owfaa in Bukhaari
and Muslim

And Muslims are assured:

"Allaah is with those who practice Sabr." Anfaal 8:46,
66

Regardless of the type of circumstances and causes of difficulties,
Sabr is an essential quality of a believer. Sketching the personality
of those who truly have Taqwaa, Allaah Subhanahu wa Ta'alaa mentioned:

"And those who practice Sabr in hardships, physical afflictions
and during the war." Al-Baqarah 2:177



Although Sabr is a basic requirement of faith expected of all Muslims,
the difficulty of the task is well recognized:

"And if you practice Sabr and keep Taqwaa, that is quite a
resolute, high calibre of the tasks." 'Aali Imraan 3:186



"O my son! Establish Salaah, enjoin good, forbid evil, and
bear with Sabr whatever befalls on you, indeed, that is quite a
resolute, high calibre of the tasks." Luqmaan 31:17

Hence the reward promised to those who practice Sabr is equally
outstanding:

The people who practice Sabr will be entered into the beautiful,
everlasting Jannah and angels of Allaah will welcome them with:
"Peace be upon you for the Sabr you practised. Excellent indeed
is the final home." Ar-Ra'd 13:24

"And He will reward them for their Sabr in the form of Jannah
and silk, reclining on raised thrones wherein they will not see
sun or cold." Ad-Dahr 76:12-13

"Those who practice Sabr will be rewarded their recompense
without measure." Zumar 39:10

They will be rewarded not according to their average, but according
to the best of their performance:

"We will certainly reward those who practice Sabr according
to the best of their actions they used to perform." An-Nahl
16:96

The practice of this standard of Sabr is not possible without collective
efforts of the Ummah and mutual support and reminder towards each
other. Hence, it is incumbent upon believers to enjoin each other
this Sabr. Without it, (according to Soorah Al-'Asr) loss is not
insured, salvation is not promised and success is not assured.

 

 

99 attributes of Allah

Praise be to Allah,
full of Grace and Mercy; Peace and Blessings be upon His servant
Muhammad, along with his Family and Companions.

"
'Wa Lillahil Asmaaul Husna, Fad'uhu Biha', i.e, The Most Beautiful
Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by Them."(Quran
A'raf 7: 180)

Abu Hurairah (may
Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (Peace
and Blessings be upon him) said, "There
are 99 Names that are Allah's alone, one-hundred less one.

Whoever (learns, understands, and) enumerates Them, enters Paradise.

Allah is 'Witr', i.e, Odd in number, and loves Witr."
(Related by Imaam Bukhari, Vol. 8, Kitab 'Da'wat'; also related
by Imaam Muslim in Kitab 'Dhikr wa Du'aat'; See Lu'lu wal Marjan,
Hadith #1714)

The
Evidences for Allah's Beautiful Names:

The hadith most often quoted and
widely distributed all over is the one contained in Sunan Tirmidhi
(5/530, Hadeeth no.3507), in which is listed 99 Names of Asmaaul
Husna in detail fully. This hadith was deemed by the scholars of
hadith as being one that is 'Dhaeef', i.e, weak, in caliber of narration.
Similarly, other ahadith list 99 Names in full as well, but they
were all deemed 'Dhaeef'. None of the hadith texts that have 99
Names listed is graded higher than 'Dhaeef'. Therefore, we do not
recommend the use of those Ahadith. However, we are not saying those
Names are 'Maudhuc', i.e, fabricated, rather their grade level of
those ahadith are 'Dhaeef', though they contain many authentic Names
in their listings.

Since exalting Allah is a must from
all kinds of unclear, not-so-strongly reported Names and Attributes,
we list for you, dear brothers and sisters in Islam, Names and Attributes
that can be found in the Holy Quran and in the 'Sahih' Ahadith,
i.e, high caliber authenticated narrations, below.

We have limited ourselves to just
one sufficient proof for each name, though many Names occur in the
authentic texts in several instances. Those found in the Quran are
listed first, though many of them occur in the hadith as well, followed
by those found in the Sahih texts. The meanings in English or other
can be found in their respective verses mentioned in texts of the
translated Quran. We have, however, compiled meanings for the first
seven Exalted Names.

NAMES IN THE QURAN:

First Category:
Those Names found not in annexation nor in plural form,

but in Singular Word or Noun :

1.
ALLAH, la Ilaha illa Huwa, i.e, there is no god but He:

The most common Name found in the Quran and Sunnah.

First proof in the Quran (1:1) meaning Surah (i.e, chapter) 1, and
Ayah (i.e, verse) 1.

2.
Ar-RAHMAAN: (1:3)

3.
Ar-RAHEEM: (1:3)

4.
Al-MALIK: (59:23)

5.
Al-QUDDUUS: (59:23)

6.
AS-SALAAM: (59:23)

7.
Al-MU'MIN: (59:23)

8. Al-MUHAYMIN:
(59:23)

9. Al-AZEEZ:
(59:23)

10. Al-JABBAAR:
(59:23)

11. Al-MUTAKABBIR:
(59:23)

12. Al-KHAALIQ:
(59:24)

13. Al-BAARI':
(59:24)

14. Al-MUSAWWIR:
(59:24)

15. Al-HAKEEM:
(59:24)

16. Al-AWWAL:
(57:3)

17.
Al-AAKHIR: (57:3)

18. At-THAAHIR:
(57:3)

19. Al-BAATIN:
(57:3)

20. Al-HAYY:
(2:255)

21. Al-QAYYUM:
(2:255)

22. Al-ALIYY:
(2:255)

23. Al-ATHEEM:
(2:255)

24. Al-AHAD:
(112:1)

25. As-SAMAD:
(112:2)

26. Al-ALEEM:
(22:59)

27. Al-HALEEM:
(22:59)

28. Al-AFUW:
(22:60)

29. Al-GHAFUUR:
(22:60)

30. As-SAMEE':
(22:61)

31. Al-BASEER:
(22:61)

32. Al-HAQQ:
(22:62)

33. Al-KABEER:
(22:62)

34. Al-LATEEF:
(22:63)

35. Al-KHABEER:
(22:63)

36. Al-GHANIYY:
(22:64)

37. Al-HAMEED:
(22:64)

38. Ar-RA'UUF:
(22:65)

39. Al-WAAHID:
(39:4)

40. Al-QAHHAAR:
(39:4)

41. Al-GHAFFAAR:
(39:5)

42. Al-WAHHAAB:
(3:8)

43. Ar-RAZZAAQ:
(51:58)

44. Al-MATEEN:
(51:58)

45. Al-FATTAAH:
(34:26)

46. Al-KAAFI:
(39:36)

47. Al-HAKAM:
(6:114)

48. As-SHAAKIR:
(2:158)

49. As-SHAKUUR:
(35:30)

50. Al-HAFEEDH:
(11:57)

51. Al-HASEEB:
(4:6)

52. Al-MUQEET:
(4:85)

53. Al-KAREEM:
(82:6)

54. Al-AKRAM:
(96:3)

55. Al-QAREEB:
(11:61)

56. Al-MUJEEB:
(11:61)

57. Al-WAASI':
(2:115)

58. As-SHAHEED:
(85:9)

59. Al-WADUUD:
(85:14)

60. Al-MAJEED:
(85:15)

61. Al-KAFEEL:
(16:91)

62. Al-QAAHIR:
(6:18)

63. Al-WAKEEL:
(6:102)

64. Al-GHAALIB:
(12:21)

65. Al-QAWIYY:
(42:19)

66. Al-WALIYY:
(42:28)

67. Al-MAWLAA:
(47:11)

68. Al-MUBEEN:
(24:25)

69. Al-MUHEEDH:
(2:19)

70. Al-QAADIR:
(75:40)

71. Al-MALEEK:
(54:55)

72. Al-MUQTADIR:
(54:55)

73. Al-MUTA'AAL:
(13:9)

74. Al-BARR:
(52:28)

75. At-TAWWAAB:
(49:12)

76. Al-MUSTA'AAN:
(21:112)

77. Al-KHALLAAQ:
(15:86)

78. Al-QADEER:
(2:284)

79. Al-HAADI:
(25:31)

80. An-NASEER:
(25:31)

81. Ar-RAQEEB:
(4:1)

82. Al-A'LAA:
(87:1)

Second Category:
Those Names that were derived as they happened

in plural form though the meaning is singular since Allah is One:

83. Al-WAARITH:
(15:23)

Third Category:
Those Names found in annexation with other Nouns:

84. Al-ALLAAM:
(5:109)

85. Al-FAATIR:
(35:1)

86. Al-MUHYI:
(41:39)

87. Ar-RABB:
(1:2)

88. Al-MAALIK:
(3:26)

89. Al-AALIM:
(59:22)

90. Al-GHAAFIR:
(40:3)

91. Al-BADEE':
(2:117)

92. An-NUUR:
(24:35)

93. Al-JAAMI':
(3:9)

Fourth Category:
Those Names found with 'Dhu' or 'Dhi' or 'Dhal':

94. Dhul
Fadhl:
(2:105)

95. Dhul
Arsh:
(85:15)

96. Dhil
Ma'aarij:
(70:3)

97. Dhul
Jalali wal Ikram:
(55:27)

98. Dhul
Tawl:
(40:3)

NAMES FOUND
IN THE SUNNAH:

99. SUBBUUH
(i.e, The Exalted):



A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger
of Allah (Peace be upon him) would say while in Salaah in Ruku'
(i.e, bowing) and in Sujuud (i.e, prostrating):

'Subbuuh, Qudduus, Rabbul
Malaaikah wa Ruuh'

(i.e, Exalted is He, Holy is He, Lord of the angels and the Ruuh,
i.e, Jibreel)."

(Related by Muslim; See Husnil Muslim of Qahtaani, #35)

100,101,102. QAYYIM,
MUQADDIM, MU'AKHKHIR

(i.e, The Keeper, The Expeditor, The Delayer):



Ibn Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When the Prophet
(Peace be upon him) got up at night (for Tahajjud, i.e, latenight
prayer), he would say in Du'aa Istiftah (i.e, opening his
prayer):

'O Allah! All Praise belongs to You, You are Nuur (i.e, The
Light) of the heavens and the earth and all that is within them.
All Praise is due to You, You are Qayyim (i.e, The Keeper)
of the heavens and the earth and all that is within them. To You
belongs all Praise, You are Rabb (i.e, The Lord) of the heavens
and the earth and all that is within them. Praise be to You, to
You belong the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and all that
is within them. Praise to You, You are Malik (i.e, The King)
of the heavens and the earth. And 'Lakal Hamdu' (i.e, All Praise
due to You), You are Al-Haqq (i.e, The Truth), Your promise
is true, Your Word is true, meeting You (in the hereafter) is true,
Al-Jannah (i.e, the Garden of Paradise) is true, An-Naar
(i.e, Hellfire) is true, the Prophets are true, Muhammad (PBUH)
is true, and the Final Hour (of the end this world) is true. O Allah!
unto You I submit, in You I believe, upon You I rely, to You I turn
in repentance, for you I have fought, and to you I seek arbitration.
So forgive me of my sins: for what I have done in the past, and
what will come to pass, and what I have hidden, and what I have
confessed, and what You know better than me (of what I did or will
do). You are Al-Muqaddim (i.e, The One who favours and puts
forward whom He pleases), and You are Al-Mu'akhkhir (i.e,
The One who delays and holds back whom He pleases), there is no
god but You, and You are my Ilah (i.e, God), none has the
right to be worshipped except You." (Related by Bukhari and
Muslim and others; See Husnil Muslim of Qahtaani, #32)

103, 104. HANNAAN,
MANNAAN (i.e, The Compassionate, The Benefactor):



Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I was sitting
in a gathering with the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), and a man was
standing for Salaah, after bowing and prostrating he sat. He said
Tashahhud and then supplicated saying, 'O Allah! Verily,
I ask of You, by the fact that to You belongs all Praise, there
is no god except You, You alone and You have no partners, Al-Mannaan
(i.e, The Benefactor), O Badee' (i.e, Originator) of the
heavens and the earth, O Dhal Jalali wal Ikram (i.e, Lord
of Majesty, Bounty and Honour), O Hayy (i.e, The Everliving)
and O Qayyum (i.e, The Self-subsisting): Indeed I ask of
You Al-Jannah (i.e, The Garden of Paradise), and I seek refuge
with You from An-Naar (i.e, Hellfire)'. The Prophet (PBUH)
said to his companions, 'Do you know with
what he had supplicated?' They said, 'Allah and His Messenger
know best. He (PBUH) said, 'By Him in Whose
Hand is my soul! he has supplicated Allah with His Greatest Name,
The One with Which if He is supplicated (in Duaa) He answers, and
with Which if He is asked He gives'." (Related by Abu Dawud,
Tirmidhi, Nasaa'i, Ibn Maajah; Albaani declared it Sahih in 'Sifatu
Salatu Nabi'; See Husnil Muslim of Qahtaani, #64)

In a version of the
same above hadith of Anas ibn Malik, related by Imaam Ahmed in his
Musnad: The Name of Allah Al-Hannaan (i.e, The Compassionate),
is there instead of Al-Mannaan (i.e, The Benefactor). (Musnad,
Vol. 3, p. 158; Albaani said it is Sahih in Mishkat Masaabih, Kitab
Da'wat, #2290; See Fath Rabbani by Ahmed Al-Banna, Vol. 14, p. 279)

105. AS-SHAAFI
(i.e, The Curer or Healer):



A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: Whenever the Prophet
(Peace and Blessings be upon him) paid a visit to a patient or a
patient was brought to him, he used to supplicate,

' O Allah! Rabbi Naas (i.e, Lord of
Mankind)! Remove the trouble and heal the patient, for You are As-Shaafi
(i.e, The Healer). No healing is of any avail but Yours, healing
that will leave behind no trace'." (Related by Bukhari, Vol.
7, Kitab 'Dhib'; and Muslim in Kitab 'Salaam';

See Lu'lu wal Marjan, #1414)

106. HAYIYY
(i.e, The Modest):



Salmaan Al-Faarisi (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The
Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said,
"Verily, Allah (Most High) is Hayiyy (i.e, Modest), and Kareem
(i.e, Generous), and He is ashamed to turn away empty the hands
of His slave when he raises them to Him." (Related by Abu
Dawud, Tirmidhi, Ibn Maajah, and Ahmed; See Sahih Jaami Sagheer
of Albaani, #1757)

107. SITTEER
(i.e, The One Who covers faults):

Ya'ala ibn Umayyah
(may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (Peace and
Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Verily,
Allah is Hayiyy (i.e, Modest), and Sitteer (i.e, Covers
faults), and He loves modesty and covering other's faults."
(Related by Abu Dawud, Nasaa'i, and Ahmed; See Sahih Jaami Sagheer
of Albaani, #1756)

108. TAYYIB
(i.e, The Good):



Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger
of Allah (Peace and Blessings be upon him) said, "
Verily, Allah (Most High) is Tayyib (i.e, Good), and He accepts
only that which is good." (Related by Muslim in Kitab 'Zakaah';
See Arba'iin Nawawi, #10)

109. RAFEEQ
(i.e, The Kind):



A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger
of Allah (Peace and Blessings be upon him) said,
" Verily, Allah is Rafeeq (i.e, Kind), and likes kindness
in all matters." (Related by Bukhari and Muslim; See Riyadh
Saleheen of Nawawi, #633)

110. JAMEEL
(i.e, The Beautiful or Elegant):



Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The
Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings be upon him) said, "
'Anyone who has an iota of 'Kibr' (i.e, Pride and Arrogance) will
not Paradise'. Someone said, 'What about a man who likes
to have nice clothes and nice shoes? He (PBUH) replied, 'Verily,
Allah is Jameel (i.e, Beautiful), and He loves beauty (and
elegance). 'Kibr' (i.e, Pride and Arrogance) means rejecting the
truth and looking down on other people.'" (Related by Muslim;
See Riyadh Saleheen of Nawawi, #612)

111. MUHSIN
(i.e, Doer of that which is best)



Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet
(Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "
If you discharge judgment between people be just, and if you kill
do it well, verily, Allah is Muhsin (i.e, Doer of that which
is best), and He loves those who do the best (i.e, the appropriate,
or be just, or be humane, or be more efficient)." (Related
by Ibn Abi Aasim and Abu Nu'aim; See Silsilah Sahihah of Albaani,
#469)

112, 113, 114, 115.
QAABIT, BAASIT, RAAZIQ, MUSA'IR,

(i.e, Constrictor, Releaser, Nourisher, Appraiser):



Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The people
said to the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon him), 'O Messenger
of Allah! Prices (for goods) are expensive, so can you set them
aright for us?' He (PBUH) replied, 'Verily,
He is Allah Who is Al-Khaaliq (i.e, Creator), Al-Qaabit
(i.e, The Constrictor), Al-Baasit (i.e, The Releaser), Ar-Raaziq
(i.e, Sustainer), and Al-Musa'ir (i.e, The Appraiser). Indeed
I hope to meet my Lord without anyone of you holding against me
any act of injustice with respect to blood or wealth'." (Related
by Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Ibn Maajah, and Ahmed; See Sahih Jaami Sagheer
of Albaani, #1846)

116. AL-MU'DHI
(i.e, The Giver)



Mu'awiya (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of
Allah (Peace and Blessings be upon him) said,
" If Allah wants to do good for somebody, He makes him comprehend
the religion. And Allah is Al-Mu'dhi (i.e, The Giver) and
I am Al-Qasim (i.e, the distributor)."
(Related by Bukhari, Vol. 4, Kitab 'Fardh Khumus', #3116)

117. DAYYAAN
(i.e, Final Supreme Justice)



Abdullah ibn Unais (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard
the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say, "Allah
(Mighty and Glorious is He) will gather the people, and call them
with a Voice which will be heard by those who will be far away and
those who will be near, by saying,

'I am Al-Malik (i.e, The True and Only King), I am Ad-Dayyaan
(i.e, The Final Supreme Judge)."

(Related by Bukhari, Vol. 9, Kitab 'Tawhid')

 

---

 

CONCLUSION:

Allah, therefore, we must
remember and draw near by learning His Names or His Attributes.
His Name is His proper Name Allah and His Names and
Attributes are innumerable. This does not mean, however, there are
only these above Exalted Names mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah,
there are more names mentioned in Quran and Sunnah not accounted
for in the above list, we have only listed those we ourselves studied
and had strong clear evidence for. As a matter of fact, some people
got confused about the above hadith of Abu Hurairah, RA, which mentions
99 Names of Allah as being a proof of the limit to just the number
99, though it clearly states that the meaning of the hadith is whoever
guards those 99 Names will enter Paradise, not that this is the
limit of the number of Names. Allah's Names and Attributes are numerous
while some were revealed by Him and some were kept with Him (Mighty
and Wise is He) as attested to by this following hadith:

Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud,
RA, reported that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "
There is no one who becomes afflicted with anxiety and sorrow and
then says: ' O Allah! I am your slave, son of your slave, son
of your maidservant, my forelock is in Your Hand (i.e, You have
total mastery over me), Your command over me is forever executed,
and Your decree over me is just, I ask You by every Name which belongs
to You which You named Yourself with, or revealed in Your Book (i.e,
the Quran), or You taught to any of Your creation, or You have preserved
in the knowledge of the unseen with You, that You make the Quran
the life of my heart, and the light of my breast, and a departure
for my sorrow, and a release for my anxiety.' Unless Allah releases
him of his sorrow and anxiety, and He (Most High) exchanges them
in their place happiness for him. And then they (the companions
of prophet Muhammad, Radiya Allahu Anhum) said: O Messenger
of Allah! shouldn't we learn it? He (PBUH) said: Indeed! it is better
for everyone who heard it to learn it." (Related by
Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal in his Musnad; Albaani declared it Sahih;
See Husnil Muslim of Qahtaani, section of 'Duaa ul Hammi wal Hazn',
i.e, invocation for anxiety and sorrow)

Naming someone
in relation to Allah's Names

It is a good practice of Islam to
name oneself or name his offspring Abd' (i.e, slave of, for boys)
or Amah (i.e, female slave of) along with One of the Most Exalted
Names of Allah: For example, a boy can be named Abdul-Waahid or
a girl can be named Amatil-Waahid. However, we should avoid naming
someone after Names that are not authenticated strongly in the texts
of Quran and Sunnah: For example, Abdul-Rasheed or Abdul-Sabuur
or Abdul-Mun'im.

On the other hand, naming oneself
after One of the Names of Allah word for word like Raheem or Hakeem
is permissible with exceptions: For example, one should never name
himself Allah, or Rahman, or Ahad (i.e, The
One), or Samad (i.e, One whom all creatures need and He does
not need anyone), or Khallaaq (i.e, Creator Supreme), or
Jabbaar (i.e, One who cannot be resisted), or Mutakabbir
(i.e, Full of Pride), or Atheem (i.e, The Greatest), or Hayy
(i.e, the Everliving), or Qayyum (i.e, Self-subsisting),
or A'laa (i.e, Most High), or Akram (i.e, Most Noble),
or Razzaaq (Sustainer Supreme), or Mannaan (i.e, The
Benefactor), or Dayyaan (i.e, the Final Supreme Judge), for
those Names are exclusively for Allah Most High. Similarly, other
Names should be approached carefully so that one should not name
himself Maalikul Mulk (i.e, Owner of All), or Rabbul 'Aalimeen
(i.e, Lord of the Worlds), or Rabbul A'laa (i.e, Lord Most
High), or Aalimul Ghayb (i.e, the knower of the unseen),
for such exaltation belongs only to Allah, but one can be called
Maalik for instance.

It is not recommended, though, to
name oneself Word for Word Allah's Names unless it is accompanied
by Abd' or 'Ubayd or Amah, to demonstrate clearly our belonging
to Allah as we are His own hand-crafted slaves and creation. On
the opposite, it is not permissible to use the prefix Abd' or Ubayd
or Amah expressing servitude to other than Allah: For example, Abdul-Rasuul
(i.e, the slave of the Messenger), or Abdul-Shams (i.e, the slave
of the Sun), or Abdul-Hassan (i.e, the slave of a someone named
Hassan).

 

---

 

This above presentation
was compiled from:

- Mu'jam Mufahris li'alfadhi Quran Kariim, compiled by Sh. Muhammad
Fuad AbdulBaaqi.

- Qawaa'id Muthla, written by Sh. Muhammad Saleh Uthaymeen.

- Asmaaul Allah wa Sifaatihi, written by Sh. Umar Suleyman Al-Ashqar.

- Al Usratu Muslimah, vol. 4, named Ufladu Akbaduna, written by
Muhammad al Jibali.

- Husnil Muslim min Adhkar Kitab wa Sunnah, compiled Saeed ibn Ali
ibn Wahf Qahtaani.

- Sifatu Salatu Nabi, written by Sh. Nasiruddin Albaani.

- Lu'lu wal Marjan, compiled by Sh. Muhammad Fuad AbdulBaaqi.

- Arba'iin Nawawi, compiled by Imaam Nawawi.

- Riyadh Saleheen, compiled by Imaam Nawawi.

- Mishkat Masaabih, authenticated by Sh. Nasiruddin Albaani.

- Sahih Bukhari, compiled by Imaam Bukhari.

- Sahih Muslim, compiled by Imaam Muslim.

- Sahih Jaami Sagheer, compiled by Sh. Nasiruddin Albaani.

- Silsilah Sahihah, compiled by Sh. Nasiruddin Albaani.

 

When is slaughtering for someone other than Allaah regarded as shirk?

When is slaughtering for someone other than Allaah regarded as shirk?

Is every slaughter that is not done for the sake of Allaah regarded as shirk? Please give details, may Allaah reward you.

 

Praise be to Allaah.
 

 

Slaughter may sometimes be a sacrifice, done to glorify and
venerate Allaah, and it may sometimes be done to honour a guest or to
provide meat to eat and so on. In the first case, it is not permissible to
offer this kind of glorification and veneration to anyone other than Allaah;
whoever offers that to anyone other than Allaah has associated someone else
with Him and committed major shirk (shirk akbar), and the meat he
slaughtered is regarded as maytah (dead meat). But in the second case, this
is permissible and may be required, but in all cases it is not permissible
to mention the name of anyone other than Allaah when slaughtering the meat,
otherwise it becomes maytah (dead meat) which is haraam, so mentioning the
name of Allaah when slaughtering the animal is a separate issue from the
issue of the purpose of the slaughter. 

If it is said: how can we differentiate between that which is
done to honour a person and that which is an act of worship to someone other
than Allaah? The answer is:  that in the case of seeking to draw closer to
someone other than Allaah, the intention is not to slaughter the animal for
meat, rather the intention is to venerate the one for whom it is slaughtered
and to give the meat to other people, such as the one who slaughters before
a chief when he returns from a journey and so on, then he gives the meat to
other people to eat it. This is what some people used to do in the past, and
this sacrifice was only done in order to venerate the chief, so it comes
under the heading of major shirk. 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said: 

Slaughter means killing by shedding the blood in a specific
manner, which is done in several ways: 

1 – That which is done as an act of worship with the
intention of venerating the one for whom the sacrifice is done and humbling
oneself before him and drawing closer to him. This may only be done for
Allaah in the manner prescribed by Allaah. Doing this for anyone other than
Allaah is major shirk. The evidence for that is the verse in which Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Say (O Muhammad): Verily, my Salaah (prayer), my
sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allaah, the Lord of the ‘Aalameen
(mankind, jinn and all that exists)”

[al-An’aam 6:162] 

2 – That which is done to
honour a guest or for a wedding feast and the like. This is something which
is enjoined and is either obligatory or mustahabb (encouraged), because the
Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever
believes in Allaah and the Last Day, let him honour his guest.” And he SAWS
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn
‘Awf: “Give a wedding feast even if it is with only one sheep.” 

3 – That which is done to provide food or to sell the meat
and so on. This comes under the heading of that which is permissible and the
basic principle is that it is allowed, because Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning): 

“Do they not see that We have created for them of what Our
Hands have created, the cattle, so that they are their owners.

72. And We have subdued
them unto them so that some of them they have for riding and some they eat”

[Ya-Seen 36:71-72] 

and it may be required or
forbidden, depending on what it is a means to. 

Sharh al-Usool al-Thalaathah in
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 6/62. 

It says in Mawaahib al-Jaleel: With regard to
slaughtering sacrifices to idols, there is no dispute that it is haraam,
because this is something that is sacrificed to something other than Allaah.
(3/213). 

It says in Radd al-Muhtaar (6/309): 

Slaughtering an animal
for the arrival of prominent figure is forbidden, whilst slaughtering an
animal to honour a guest is permissible. Then he said: The difference is
that if he offers some of the meat to the prominent figure, then the
slaughter is for the sake of Allaah and the benefit is for the guest or the
wedding feast or the purpose of making money (by selling the meat), but if
he does not offer any of it to the prominent figure and he gives it to
others, then it was done to venerate someone other than Allaah, so it is
haraam. 

It says in al-Majmoo’: It is not permissible for the
one who is slaughtering the animal to say “In the name of Muhammad” or “In
the name of Allaah and the name of Muhammad.” Rather it is the right of
Allaah that slaughtering should be done only in His name and vows should be
made only in His name, and prostration should be done only to Him, and no
created being should be associated with Him in that. Al- Ghazaali said in
al-Waseet that it is not permissible to say, “In the name of Allaah and
Muhammad the Messenger of Allaah (S).” because this is shirk. (8/384). 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen was
asked about the ruling on offering a sacrifice to someone other than Allaah,
and whether it is permissible to eat that meat. He replied: Offering a
sacrifice to someone other than Allaah is major shirk, because offering a
sacrifice is an act of worship, as Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning): 

“Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him
only)”

[al-Kawthar 108:2] 

“Say (O Muhammad): Verily, my Salaah (prayer), my
sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allaah, the Lord of the ‘Aalameen
(mankind, jinn and all that exists)”

[al-An’aam 6:162] 

So whoever offers a sacrifice to anyone other than Allaah is
a mushrik whose shirk puts him beyond the pale of Islam – we seek refuge
with Allaah – whether he offers that sacrifice to an angel, a Messenger, a
Prophet, a caliph, a wali (“saint”) or a scholar. All of that is shirk
(associating others in worship with Allaah) which puts one beyond the pale
of Islam. People must fear Allaah and not allow themselves to fall into that
shirk of which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Verily, whosoever sets
up partners (in worship) with Allaah, then Allaah has forbidden Paradise to
him, and the Fire will be his abode. And for the Zaalimoon (polytheists and
wrongdoers) there are no helpers”

[al-Maa’idah 5:72] 

Eating from this meat is haraam, because it has been
sacrificed to someone other than Allaah, and everything that is sacrificed
to someone other than Allaah or slaughtered on an altar is haraam, as Allaah
says in Soorat al-Maa’idah (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Forbidden to you (for
food) are: Al‑Maitah (the dead animals — cattle — beast not slaughtered),
blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which Allaah’s Name has not been
mentioned while slaughtering (that which has been slaughtered as a sacrifice
for others than Allaah, or has been slaughtered for idols) and that which
has been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall,
or by the goring of horns — and that which has been (partly) eaten by a wild
animal — unless you are able to slaughter it (before its death) ‑ and that
which is sacrificed (slaughtered) on An‑Nusub (stone‑altars)”

[al-Maa'idah 5:3] 

These sacrifices which are slaughtered for anyone other than
Allaah come under the heading of haraam food which we are not permitted to
eat. 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen was asked about the ruling on offering
sacrifices to anyone other than Allaah. 

He replied: 

We have stated elsewhere that Tawheed means devoting worship
only to Allaah – may He be exalted – and not worshipping anyone other than
Allaah with any kind of act of worship. It is well known that offering
sacrifices is a kind of worship by means of which a person seeks to draw
closer to his Lord, because Allaah has enjoined it in the verse
(interpretation of the meaning): 

“Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to
Him only)”

[al-Kawthar 108:2] 

Every act by means of which a person seeks to draw closer (to
his Lord) is an act of worship. So if a person offers a sacrifice to someone
other than Allaah as an act of veneration and humility, seeking thereby to
draw closer to him, as he seeks to draw closer to his Lord and venerate Him,
then he is a mushrik who associates others in worship with Allaah. And if he
is a mushrik, then Allaah has stated that He has forbidden Paradise to the
mushrik and his abode is Hell. 

Based on that, we say that what some people do, offering
sacrifice to graves – the graves of those whom they claim to be awliya’
(“saints”) – is shirk which puts them beyond the pale of Islam. Our advice
to these people is to repent to Allaah from their actions and to make their
sacrifices for Allaah alone, and their prayer and fasting for Allaah alone;
if they do that, He will forgive for them what they did before, as Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Say to those who have disbelieved, if they cease (from
disbelief), their past will be forgiven”

[al-Anfaal 8:38] 

Majmoo’ al-Fataawa
2/148. 

For more information see al-Qawl al-Mufeed ‘ala Kitaab al-Tawheed, 1/215; Tayseer al-‘Azeez al-Hameed, 1/155;
al-Durar al-Sanniyyah min al-Ajwabah al-Najdiyyah, 1/428.