Voice of British Muslim Women

By Dr Aalia Khan, London

God’s existence can be seen anywhere and everywhere, for those who are enabled to look. How can we see God’s existence in our day to day lives? Why is it important that we recognise, appreciate and praise His Being?

We know about God, Who we call Allah as Muslims, through His attributes which are immeasurable and numerous. In the Holy Quran and the Ahadith we are taught ninety-nine Divine Attributes. Al Hameed is one of them, translated as ‘The Praiseworthy’. It comes from the root Arabic word Hamd. The Holy Quran in its second verse, states:

الحمد للہ رب العلمین
‘All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds’ (1:2)

The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) writes that hamd ‘means lauding one who has done a favour of his own volition and according to his own choice. The true reality of hamd is the due only of the Being Who is the source of all grace and light and exercises beneficence deliberately and not in ignorance or under compulsion. All this is found only in Allah, the All-Knowing, the All-Seeing. Indeed He is the true Benefactor and from Him proceed all benefits from beginning to end, and for Him is all glorification, in this world and in the hereafter and all praise that is bestowed on others reverts to Him.’

After reading this, we can be certain that it is because of those 98 other Divine attributes, that Allah is most deserving of praise. We see His grace, His mercy and His perfection everywhere if we only take the care to look. The Supreme Being Who created the earth on which we live. A planet that is perfectly suited to life. Abundance of water, vegetation, living things for food and sustenance, each is evidence of Allah’s perfection and balance.

In his Friday Sermon of 2 February 2018, the spiritual head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad (may Allah be his Helper) explained the attribute of Al Hameed thus:

‘Hameed means the one worthy of praise and to whom true praise belongs. In other words, Allah alone is to be praised. Strive to learn about God’s blessings and His attributes and to seek ways of praising Him. Strive for this like a greedy person. And when you reach that perfect state or even get a whiff of it, it is as if you have found Him. And this is the secret that is only revealed to the seekers of guidance. This is your Lord and your Master Who is Perfect in Himself and possesses all the perfect attributes and praises. He is the repository of hamd and comprehends all praise and all that is praiseworthy. Therefore, we should be cognizant of God being the source of hamd so that we can recognize His other attributes as well.’

According to Sahih Bukhari Book 19 Hadith 1, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would offer this supplication during the Tahajjud (pre-dawn supererogatory Prayer):
‘O’ Allah! All praises are for you!’
The one man who recognised fully the glory of Allah the Almighty was Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him). And thus he supplicated by praising Allah. The perfect example of how to praise Allah is before us.

Our goal as Muslims is the worship of our Creator. We do this not only by observing the five daily Prayers but also in our appreciation of the good things in our life: our parents, our families, our neighbours, our fellow community members, our just and righteous leaders, our teachers, our children, our spouses, our peaceful places of worship. These are all blessings of Allah the Almighty that He has bestowed on us, the favours that He has given us. These are not things that we have beseeched Him to provide for us. He has given them to us without our asking. . We don’t have to look far to recognise these blessings, these gifts. When someone gives us a gift, we say thank you. Our Lord is entitled to much much more than mere thanks.

Here is an English translation of a verse from a poem of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace):

Praise and glory to the One Who’s Eternal
There is no one equal unto Him, nor one like Him.

References:

Commentary on the Holy Quran, Vol I, Surah Fatiha, p. 72

https://www.alislam.org/tj/sermons/FSJ20180202-EN.pdf (p.2)

Precious Pearls, p. 42