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:

<King Hasan forcefully pushing Cat through a hula hoop. Faraz the Cat looks very upset.>

<Professor Hums luring Cat through the hula hoop using some kitty treats. Prof looks very proud at his success.>

Dr. Fatima: Forcing an innocent creature to do something against its will? Not a good idea. 

Acting overly proud of your success? Not a good idea either!

Aunty Hiba: 

• There are some Names which describe Allah, that we should try to incorporate into our own character. Like Allah is the Merciful and we should all try to be as merciful as we can be. 

• There are other Names of Allah that we cant even try to copy or emulate. One example is the Name Al Hayy which means The Ever Living. Ever Living means not needing to be born and never dying. We aren’t ‘ever living’ right? We were all born very recently and will all one day eventually die. So Al Hayy is a Name that humans can’t even try to copy.

• And finally there are other Names of Allah that we should not try to copy. This is because these qualities are beautiful and great when applied to Allah, but are terrible when humans try to copy them. That's pretty confusing right? What can these Names be, that are great for Allah, but terrible for humans? 

Two of these beautiful names of Allah are Al Jabbar- The Compeller and Al Mutakabbir - The Proud. Two strong names that only befit Allah. Humans should actually try to be the opposite of these Names.

Let's look at both of these one at a time. 

Aunty Hiba: So the first Name we will look at is Al Jabbar. Jabbaar is from the root: jeem ba ra or jabr. One of the meanings is: The Compeller. What does Compeller mean? It means someone who forces things to happen. 

Al Jabbar, The Compeller. One who forces. Let's think about this for a minute. Do we like it when anyone forces us to do something?

SCENE:

Jester: Hear me Hear me!

King Hasan: It's hear ye, hear ye.

Jester: What’s a ye?

King Hasan: Oh nevermind. I, the mighty King Hasan, declare that everyone in my kingdom should be asleep by 8:00 pm. It is the best time to sleep. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man happy, healthy and wise! An early, good night’s sleep will help everyone wake up fresh for Fajr prayers! Imagine that! What a wonderful thing. 

This is what I have declared and this is the law. Lights out and everyone asleep by 8:00! 

Professor Hums: But, but, but I was planning on studying the night sky!

Dr. Fatima: But, but, but I have patients who need me at night! 

Cat: Meow meow 

King Hasan: No buts, coconuts! I am absolutely sure that sleeping early is good for your health, right Doc?

Dr. Fatima: <reluctantly> Well..Early sleep does lead to a sharper brain, better mood, healthier heart, athletic achievement and immunity boost.

King Hasan: I think we will all agree that these are all good and desirable things. And anyway. I am not looking for anyone’s opinion. I am laying down the law. Everyone has to do what I say. Lights out and everyone asleep by 8:00!

Jester <patting kids to sleep, worriedly looking at watch>

Aunty Hiba: Yikes! This looks like a perfect example of a person being Jabbar and it's definitely not a good look. Everyone is miserable with being forced to obey this law. 

King Hasan, did you know that the word ‘Jabbaar’ appears 10 times in the Qur’an? Nine out of those ten times the word Jabbar is used for people who compel and force other people. All of those nine times Allah is angry at those people who are being tyrannical. 

King Hasan: I feel terrible about being Jabbar! I never want to be a tyrant! I don’t want to do anything that will make Allah angry with me! I am going to ask for forgiveness right away. And I am going to immediately repeal the law!

Jester: Hear me hear me! The Bedtime Law has been unpeeled!

King Hasan: Repealed!

Aunty Hiba: The tenth and final time the word Jabbar appears in the Quran is in Surah Hashr, in the same ayaat we are studying these days. And here Allah refers to himself as Al Jabbar. This is definitely a positive thing! 

When Allah (s) forces things, it is not in an oppressive way. This is because he really does know what is best for us. And no one can force Him to do anything. 

It’s quite comforting to know that Allah is the one and true Compeller. That He is the one in charge. Because we know Allah loves us and is kind and merciful and just. There is great hope for us! Alhamdulillah He is Al Jabbar! ALLAH IS IN CHARGE!

SCENE:

Dr. Fatima: Okay okay guys. You don’t need to be so bossy! I know perfectly how to set my medicines up.

King Hasan: I’m not being bossy. I’ve just been blessed with leadership skills.

Professor Hums: I’m not being bossy either. I just have strong opinions on what everyone else should be doing.

Dr. Fatima: <feels exasperasted>

Aunty Hiba: Having strong opinions on how other people should live their lives is never a good idea. It’s a slippery slope from being bossy to becoming Jabbar! But when is wanting to be strong recommended? When we are praying our salah there is a dua that we say between the two sujoods. Notice the third word in this dua. It's wajburnee. This means Strengthen me. And it comes from the same root word as Jabbar. 

Aunty Hiba:

Rabbighfirlee 

Warhamnee

Wajburnee

Warfaanee

Warzuqni

Wahdini

Wa aafini

Lord forgive me

Have mercy on me

Strengthen me

Elevate me

Sustain me

Guide me

And pardon me

Aunty Hiba: And the second Name we will look at is Al Mutakabbir. Mutakabbir comes from the root kaaf-baa-raa or kibr. This means The Proud. What does proud mean? Proud means having a high opinion of yourself for your achievements or your possessions.

Aunty Hiba: Al Mutakabbir, The Proud. One who is deeply satisfied with their own achievements, or qualities or possessions. So let's think about this one for a moment. Are you guys ever proud of something you have done? Or proud of new clothes or a cool game you have?

SCENE:

Professor Hums: <scanning the night sky with a telescope> Oh wow I cant believe what I am looking at! I do believe that it is a previously undiscovered asteroid! This is amazing! I must immediately share this discovery with my colleagues. I feel so grateful to Allah for allowing me to make this discovery. <falls down into sujood>

Dr. Fatima: <holding a mike interviewing Professor Hums> Well Professor this is a great day for you. We are all gathered here to honor your achievement in the discovery of the asteroid. Can you say a few words to your fans, professor? You must be very proud of your accomplishments! 

Professor Hums: First of all I would like to thank my Allah. He gave me the ability, the materials, and the opportunity to make this discovery. I can never be grateful enough that He blessed me with this honor. 

Other than that I’d like to encourage all my young fans to study and gain knowledge about any field they are interested in. May Allah raise you all in power in this world and the hereafter! 

Dr. Fatima: There you have it folks! A wonderful display of humility after an amazing scientific feat. And there is more wonderful news to share! The new science centre in our town will be named in Professor Hums honor! 

The Prophet (s) said: “He who has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of pride shall not enter paradise.” 

Aunty Hiba: Well that was refreshing! The Professor had every reason to be proud of his scientific discovery. But instead of being arrogant and showing off about it, he gave credit where all credit is always due - to Allah. And the super cool thing is if we do this - if we show the opposite of pride, if we show humility, then Allah will raise us up. We can be great by being humble!

Aunty Hiba: Ok so we have figured out that humans should not be Mutakabbir. But how about when it applies to Allah? Well it's very simple, when Allah says He is better than everyone else, it is the truth! He is the only one in the universe who CAN and SHOULD be proud. He is the best and He takes care of everything. I love Allah Al Mutakabbir!

SCENE:

Professor Hums: Oh hello. How can I help you.

Jester: I just came by to see if I could borrow a book from you. I’m doing some research for my own writing project.

Professor Hums: How remarkable. I had no idea you were…<ahem> What are you working on?

Jester: Oh, I’m actually writing a ten part book series on humility.

Professor Hums: Oh...that’s an interesting choice…

Jester: I’m sure it's no surprise that I happen to know a LOT about humility. Pretty sure it’ll be a bestseller. 

Aunty Hiba: Practicing humility is certainly not easy but we have to keep trying! One way to do that is when someone praises us, redirect it all to Allah. He gets all credit for whatever awesome thing we have achieved. That’s why we say Alhamdulillah. All praise to Allah. You know... Professor Hums and his discovery reminded me of an interesting fact. As we all know, Islam really encourages all of us to study and increase our knowledge. But the study of stars, astronomy, is one of the fields whose study and knowledge are explicitly encouraged in the Quran. I love looking at the night sky! What is more majestic than a sky full of twinkling lights. Really makes you appreciate the majesty of the Creator of the sky full of twinkling lights! 

إِنَّا زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِزِينَةٍ الْكَوَاكِبِ

 “Indeed, We have adorned the nearest heaven with an adornment of stars.” [Quran 37:6]

SCENE:

<King, Prof, Doc sitting companionably together>

King Hasan: I’m sorry for being bossy. Of course you know best about your medicines.

Dr. Fatima: And I’m sorry for being snappish. I would love for you to help me set things up.

Jester: And I’m sorry for being so good at being humble. <everyone laughs>

Aunty Hiba: Oh Jester! Let’s all say the dua we learned earlier again together:

Rabbighfirlee 

Warhamnee

Wajburnee

Warfaanee

Warzuqni

Wahdini

Wa aafini

Lord forgive me

Have mercy on me

Strengthen me

Elevate me

Sustain me

Guide me

And pardon me

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 I am so glad to learn Al Jabbar and Al Mutakabbir today. Allah is the Compeller and the Rightly Proud and thinking of this name we remember to stay humble and not be tyrants in any ones life. Kindness, gentleness and humility is the way of the Muslim! Alhumdulillah!

And let’s watch our Surah Hashr ayahs again. This time see if you can see and hear the beautiful names of Allah Al Jabbar Al Mutakabbir!

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]