Prof researches how many times Allah refers to Himself with this Name. King and Jester discuss what it means to live by this Name. Prof compares The Good Word to a good tree. Doc prepares for surgery by starting with the Name of Allah.
During this episode:
- Ask your child to try and "hum" along during the recitation of Surah Hashr. Picking up the rhythm of it will help them eventually learn the words.
After this episode:
- Read Reflect Book page 2
- Do Reflect Book page 3
هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ عَـٰلِمُ ٱلْغَيْبِ وَٱلشَّهَـٰدَةِ ۖ هُوَ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ ٢٢هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْمَلِكُ ٱلْقُدُّوسُ ٱلسَّلَـٰمُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُ ٱلْمُهَيْمِنُ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْجَبَّارُ ٱلْمُتَكَبِّرُ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ ٢٣هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْخَـٰلِقُ ٱلْبَارِئُ ٱلْمُصَوِّرُ ۖ لَهُ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ ٢٤
“He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed. He is the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. He is Allah , other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, the Bestower of Faith, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the Superior. Exalted is Allah above whatever they associate with Him. He is Allah , the Creator, the Inventor, the Fashioner; to Him belong the best names. Whatever is in the heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.” [Quran 59:22-24]
SCENE:
Professor Hums: Patterns, patterns, everywhere. I must say, seeing patterns all around is a most reassuring reminder of the Creator. And a gift to my mathematical brain! This morning’s discoveries have been quite delightful. Did you know, the first and the last word of the adhaan is Allah? The first and last word of salah is Allah and in a typical prayer the word that comes most is Allah. Our last words when we go to sleep mention Allah and when we wake up each day we mention His Name, Allah. As well, the beginning of our life starts with Allah (the adhaan) and one hopes that our life ends by us saying: laa ilaaha illAllah- there is no god but Allah. It’s almost mathematically beautiful. A balanced equation hmm….
Aunty Hiba: Assalamu Alaikum Everyone! The professor’s morning discoveries are quite appropriate because today, we’re taking a look at the very first Name that Allah refers to Himself as...what’s that name? Allah!
SCENE:
Professor Hums: Allah mentions Himself by His Name Allah on 2699 occasions in the Quran.
Aunty Hiba: Linguistically, the word Allah is a proper name and belongs to the true God. The word Allah is unique and it is the personal Name of Allah. It encompasses all of the other divine names and attributes of perfection that Allah uses to describe Himself. We can't even imagine how amazing Allah is. Allah is The One who is worshipped.
What is ibadah?
Ibadah means to worship. To worship Allah means we SUBMIT to Him, we OBEY Him and we LOVE Him.
Aunty Hiba: What is worshipping? Worship is a combination of love and obedience...love without obedience isn’t worship and obedience without love isn’t worship either. Who deserves human being’s utmost love and obedience? It is Allah (s) the One who created in perfection humans, the seven heavens and the earth and all that they contain. Therefore no one but Allah (s) has the right to be worshipped.
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ
“Allah! There is no god but He.”
[Quran 2:255]
Aunty Hiba: So how can you live your life knowing the Name Allah?
SCENE:
Jester: <skipping around, carefree> I believe in Allah! I believe in Allah! I believe in Allah!
King Hasan: Alhamdulillah for blessing you with faith in Allah!
Jester: Easy pass to Jannah for me!
King Hasan <laughing>: InshaAllah you and I will go to Jannah for our belief! But to have true belief, we must submit and strive!
Jester: What does this mean to submit and strive?
King Hasan: Well if a person truly believes in Allah, they would obey Him right?
Jester: Right...if someone truly truly believes in Allah, they should obey Him...
King Hasan: So that means we must obey His commands on the way of life that He has taught us! We must pray five times a day, we must fast in Ramadan, we must pay zakah, and we must perform Hajj at least once in our lifetime! This is called submitting to Allah!
Jester: And what does it mean to strive?
King Hasan: It means we should try to be the best we can at all our acts of worship.
Jester: There is a silver ship and a golden ship. But the best ship is worship.
Aunty Hiba: King Hasan has such a good point! Saying we believe in Allah is the first step. We must practice our actions to reflect our beliefs.
SCENE:
Professor Hums: I am planting this date seed with the hopes that it will grow into a good strong tree.
Jester: How interesting! I’ve always been interested in denderology.
Professor Hums: Denderology?!!
Jester: That’s the study of trees. What does a good, strong tree look like?
Professor Hums: Well a good, strong tree has deep and strong roots so it can't be shaken by heavy winds or torn down by people. It has a straight and strong trunk. dsxzIts branches are shooting high into the skies. It provides shade and shelter. It bears sweet and healthy fruit. What’s more, it looks beautiful and is pleasing to the eye!
In Arabic we would say it is Shajarah Tayyibah, A Good Tree.
Jester: A good tree eh? I know a good tree joke!
Professor Hums: As long as it doesn’t throw shade <chuckle>
Jester: Noice. Okay mine was: which tree has hands
Professor Hums: Tell me
Jester: A palm tree!
SCENE:
Professor Hums <whispering to himself>: Laa ilaaha illaAllah, Laa ilaaha illaAllah, Laa ilaaha illaAllah
Jester: You’re done salah. So what’s that you’re saying? I can’t hear you
Professor Hums: I was just doing my Zikr...I was saying: Laa ilaaha illaAllah
Jester: Laa illaaha illaAllah! I know what that means! It means There is no God but Allah!
Professor Hums: Yes indeed. It is The Good Word.
Jester: The Good Word?
Professor Hums: Laa ilaaha illaAllah is known as the Good Word. In Arabic it is called Kalimah Tayyibah.
Professor Hums: Do you wonder why Laa ilaaha illaAllah is called Kalimah Tayyibah, The Good Word? Well, like the Good Tree, the Good Word is fruitful, beneficial and beautiful. It is perfect in every way! And just like the Good Tree needs to be watered and taken care of, our faith, which is Laa ilaaha illaAllah, needs to be taken care of too!
أَلَمۡ تَرَ كَیۡفَ ضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلࣰا كَلِمَةࣰ طَیِّبَةࣰ كَشَجَرَةࣲ طَیِّبَةٍ أَصۡلُهَا ثَابِتࣱ وَفَرۡعُهَا فِی ٱلسَّمَاۤءِ
“Have you not seen how Allah presents an example, [making] a pure word like a pure tree, whose root is firmly fixed and its branches [high] in the sky?”
تُؤۡتِیۤ أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِینِۭ بِإِذۡنِ رَبِّهَاۗ وَیَضۡرِبُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡأَمۡثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمۡ یَتَذَكَّرُونَ
“It produces its fruit all the time, by permission of its Lord. And Allah presents examples for the people that perhaps they will be reminded.”
وَمَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبِیثَةࣲ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِیثَةٍ ٱجۡتُثَّتۡ مِن فَوۡقِ ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مَا لَهَا مِن قَرَارࣲ
“And the example of a wretched word is like a wretched tree, uprooted from the surface of the earth, not having any stability.”
[Quran 14:24-26]
Jester: I want to take care of Kalimah Tayyibah, The Good Word, Laa ilaaha illaAllah! How can one do that? Should I pour water over it?!!
Professor Hums: Well properly taking care of Laa ilaaha illaAllah has three parts to it:
So heart, tongue, body.
Aunty Hiba: Do you truly feel it when you say laa ilaaha illAllah? There is no god but Allah? Just by saying these words you are a Muslim. We are so lucky that we were chosen by Allah to say these words. The Prophet (s) said: The best dhikr is Laa ilaaha illAllah. Each time you say laa ilaaha illAllah think about the real meaning of these words. Try to increase this dhikr and say it from your heart!
SCENE:
Dr. Fatima <pinning hijab in place>: Bismillahir rahmaanir raheem
Dr. Fatima <putting on white coat>: Bismillahir rahmaanir raheem
Dr. Fatima <hanging stethoscope around her neck>: Bismillahir rahmaanir raheem
Jester: That sure is a lot of Bismillahs. Why are you saying Bismillah before everything you do?
Dr. Fatima: I am about to go into surgery for a patient of mine. It's important that I do a good job of it...I need all the help I can get!
Jester: Don't you know how to do surgeries pretty well? Why do you need help? And how does saying Bismillah help you?
Dr. Fatima: Alhamdulillah I know how to do the surgery...but I want to do the best I can for my patients and I can only do that with Allah’s help. Saying Bismillah before any big or little surgery...or any big or little action...automatically invokes Allah’s help!
Jester: From now on, I am going to start my juggling act with Bismillah!
Aunty Hiba: When you start anything with the name of Allah, your act becomes blessed because you started with Allah’s Name. When you say bismillah before beginning something, it means you are seeking Allah’s blessings and His help in what you are going to do next. This habit also helps you to tend to refrain from a bad deed, because how can you start something wrong in the name of Allah? So to make all your good deeds amazing, start all your deeds with Bismillah!
Aunty Hiba: Allah is the Name through which worries are removed, and through which prayers are answered. Through it mistakes are corrected, difficulty is eased, and good deeds are performed. If a weak one says the Name of Allah, he is strengthened. If a poor one says the Name of Allah he is enriched. It is the Name with which the heavens and earth were established, with which the revealed Books were sent down, and with which the Messengers were sent. Through this Name the creation will become divided into the fortunate and the wretched. This Name is the reason for creation. The creation comes about through it, returns to it, and exists because of it. There is nothing in creation and no command, nor reward and no punishment, except that it starts from it and ends with it.
I am so glad to think over Allah today. Allah is our lord and everything starts and ends with Him. Alhumdulillah!
Aunty Hiba: Oooh I think King Hasan is just putting on our favorite tv show. All of us are going to watch it together. Come with?
Aunty Hiba: Wow, that was really fun! I love a good game show! And Let's watch Surah Hashr ayahs again. Try to read along! Notice the Name of Allah, Allah right near the beginning!
هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ عَـٰلِمُ ٱلْغَيْبِ وَٱلشَّهَـٰدَةِ ۖ هُوَ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ ٢٢هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْمَلِكُ ٱلْقُدُّوسُ ٱلسَّلَـٰمُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُ ٱلْمُهَيْمِنُ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْجَبَّارُ ٱلْمُتَكَبِّرُ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ ٢٣هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْخَـٰلِقُ ٱلْبَارِئُ ٱلْمُصَوِّرُ ۖ لَهُ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ ٢٤
“He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed. He is the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. He is Allah , other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, the Bestower of Faith, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the Superior. Exalted is Allah above whatever they associate with Him. He is Allah , the Creator, the Inventor, the Fashioner; to Him belong the best names. Whatever is in the heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.” [Quran 59:22-24]
