بِسْــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِالرَّحْمَنِ اارَّحِيم
Reflections of Aziz and Ghafoor
Allah Almighty using two of his attributes together has significant meaning, and we can find them throughout the Quran, including Surah Mulk. The pairs of His attributes that I would like to highlight in Surah Al-Mulk are the reflections of Aziz and Ghafoor (the All-Mighty and the Oft-Forgiving) and “Lateef” and “Khabeer” (the Most Kind and Courteous and the Most Aware).
In Ayat No. 2, Allah Almighty refers to himself as “Aziz Ul Ghafoor.” This is Allah Almighty’s way of telling us how merciful He is towards us. Even when he tests us and we make mistakes, continuously disobeying him, He may choose to exercise his authority by punishing us, as He is the All-Mighty, and nothing and no one can stop him from doing what he pleases.
But he may choose to forgive us, as he is very forgiving, and he wants us to constantly strive to do better. Thus, he gives us many chances so that we can learn from our mistakes and try not to repeat them. At the same time, Allah Almighty is subtly telling us that when he gives us a portion of his “mulk” (dominion), He gives us authority and power over others.
We must be extremely mindful that with power comes pride, arrogance, and haughtiness, and we can easily become deluded by this. In such a state, we are quick to judge others and punish them for their wrongs, as we start to engage from a position of power.
The use of the attribute “Lateef Ul Khabeer” comes in Ayat No. 14. Allah Almighty is trying to tell us that he has detailed knowledge of everything that we do, individually or as a community. He is not only aware of our thoughts and actions, whether we perform them in public or in secret (reference to Ayah No. 13), but he is also aware of the thoughts that we have not thought of yet.
Also Read:
- The Concept of Ar-Rahman in Surah Mulk (Part 1)
- Can I Recite Surah Mulk Full Lying in Bed?
- This is Why You Should Recite Surah Mulk Every Night?
- Discovering The Hidden Beauty Of Surah Al-Mulk
Because of this intimate knowledge that he has of us, He is Al-Khabeer. But by joining lateef with khabeer, Allah Almighty is subtly telling us that He can only plan our entire lives for us subtly and gently by being courteous and mindful of us and our emotions by being the Al-Lateef, because of the knowledge he possesses of us. Hence, he is late because he is Al-Khabeer! Let us truly ponder Hazrat Imam Hussain’s (RA) saying:
“The most merciful person in the one forgives when he is able to take revenge.”
Few Words
Let us check ourselves when we admonish our staff and cut their salaries for breaking or damaging some of our things, when we talk rudely to a beggar on the road when he or she asks for more money, and when we have the power and ability to punish someone who has committed a petty crime. Where is our moral compass of forgiveness, then? What actually stops us from forgiving them?
Is it our pride? Let’s think about it. Let us also truly focus on ourselves. Let us try to gather as much knowledge as concerns us, not just of our actions but also of our thoughts. How do our emotions play a part in our lives, and what triggers set us off in anger, resentments, and unforgiveness towards others, Allah Almighty, and ourselves?
We need to really sit with ourselves to figure this out, be it through meditation, journaling, hypnosis, Zikr, a combination of these, or whatever works for us. We need to give ourselves that time.