The Most Beautiful Names Belong To “Allah” (SWT)

The Most Beautiful Names Belong To “Allah” (SWT)

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Ibn Khuzaymah House
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What is invocation? What are the means of invoking Allah?

Allah has revealed the means of invoking Him in the Holy Qur’an: “O you who believe! Do your duty to Allah and fear Him. And seek the means of approach to Him, and strive hard in His Cause (as much as you can), so that you may be successful” [Al-Ma'idah 5:35]

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَٱبۡتَغُوٓاْ إِلَيۡهِ ٱلۡوَسِيلَةَ وَجَـٰهِدُواْ فِى سَبِيلِهِۦ لَعَلَّڪُمۡ تُفۡلِحُونَ

Transliteration: Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo ittaqoo Allaha waibtaghoo ilayhi alwaseelata wajahidoo fee sabeelihi laAAallakum tuflihoona

Al-Hafiz Ibn Katheer, may Allah bless his soul, in his book (Interpreting the Holy Qur’an), explained this verse saying: Allah commanded His faithful slaves to fear Him, which if connected to obedience, was intended to stop committing sins and abandon the forbidden.

Allah said afterwards “And seek the means of approach to Him” [Al-Ma'ida 5:35]

وَٱبۡتَغُوٓاْ إِلَيۡهِ ٱلۡوَسِيلَةَ

Transliteration: waibtaghoo ilayhi alwaseelata

Ibn Abbas said: this means draw near to Him by acts of worship” and so said Mujahid and Qatadah: “this means draw nearer to Him by obeying Him and by doing whatever leads to His satisfaction”. There is no dispute among the interpreters of Qur’an in interpreting this verse.

In interpreting His words: “Those whom they invoke seek means of access to their Lord, [striving as to] which of them would be nearest, and they hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. Indeed, the punishment of your Lord is ever feared.” [Al-Isra' 17:57]

أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَدۡعُونَ يَبۡتَغُونَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمُ ٱلۡوَسِيلَةَ أَيُّہُمۡ أَقۡرَبُ وَيَرۡجُونَ رَحۡمَتَهُ ۥ وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُ ۥۤ‌ۚ إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّكَ كَانَ مَحۡذُورً۬ا

Transliteration: Olaika allatheena yadAAoona yabtaghoona ila rabbihimu alwaseelata ayyuhum aqrabu wayarjoona rahmatahu wayakhafoona AAathabahu inna AAathaba rabbika kana mahthooran

Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih that Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said that this verse was revealed by Allah about a group of Arabs who were worshiping jinn, the jinn embraced Islam but the Arabs did not know that, so the verse      ” Those whom they invoke seek means of access to their Lord, “ [Al-'Isra' 17:57]

أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَدۡعُونَ يَبۡتَغُونَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمُ ٱلۡوَسِيلَةَ

Transliteration: Olaika allatheena yadAAoona yabtaghoona ila rabbihimu alwaseelata

was revealed” [Sharh Sahih Muslim, and Al-Nawawi].

Bukhari stated the same about the interpretation of this verse in his Sahih (see Fath al-Bari in Explaining Sahih Al-Bukhari). Al-Hafiz ibn Hajar Al-’Askalani elaborated that the jinn embraced Islam, but the people who were worshipping them continued to worship the jinn, however, the jinn did not accept that because they converted to Islam, and they (jinn) have become those who desire means of access to their Lord .. This is the adopted interpretation of this verse “.

From the previous it is clear that the means of invoking Allah is whatever that brings him nearer to Allah, and Allah says: {desire means} that is to say they seek His closeness by good deeds, as explained by Qatada in the interpretation of the first verse: “this means draw nearer to Him by obeying Him and by doing whatever leads to His satisfaction”.