Fiqh al-Adiyah wa-al-Adhkar - Abd al-Razzaq ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Badr - (1/119)

Fiqh al-Adiyah wa-al-AdhkarAbd al-Razzaq ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Badr

21 / The Importance of Knowledge of Allah’s Names and Attributes

We have already discussed the merit of remembering Allah by mentioning His names and attributes as found in His Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him. There can be no doubt about its merit, its tremendous importance, and its many benefits. Engaging in this matter yields abundant benefits, ripe fruits, lasting reward, and enduring good in this world and the Hereafter. This merit is due to numerous reasons, the most important of which are:

First: Knowledge of the oneness of Allah in His names and attributes is the noblest and most excellent of all branches of knowledge, the highest in rank and the greatest in importance. The nobility and merit of any branch of knowledge derive from the nobility of its subject matter, and nothing is nobler or more excellent than knowledge of Allah and of His names and attributes as found in the Quran and Sunnah. Therefore, seeking to understand, know, and study this subject is to engage in the noblest of pursuits and the loftiest of aims.

Second: Knowing Allah and possessing knowledge of Him lead the servant to love, exalt, revere, fear, and place his hope in Him, and to devote his deeds sincerely to Him alone. The servant’s need to attain this knowledge is the greatest, finest, and most sublime of all needs. Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

“Souls have never needed anything more than they need to know their Creator and Originator, to love Him, remember Him, delight in Him, seek the means of drawing near to Him, and attain nearness in His presence. There is no way to achieve this except by knowing His attributes and names. The more knowledgeable the servant is about them, the better he knows Allah, the more earnestly he seeks Him, and the nearer he draws to Him. Conversely, the more he rejects them, the more ignorant he is of Allah, the more averse he is to Him, and the farther he is from Him. Allah accords the servant a place in relation to Himself corresponding to the place the servant accords Him in relation to himself.”1.

Thus ends his statement, may Allah have mercy on him.

(1) *Miftāh Dār al-Sa‘āda*, p. 202.

٢١ / أهمّيَّةُ العلم بأسماء الله وصفاته لقد مرّ معنا بيانُ فضل ذِكر الله بذِكر أسمائه وصفاته الواردة في كتابه وسنة رسوله ﷺ، وما من ريبٍ في فضل ذلك وعِظم شأنه وكثرة عوائده وفوائده، وكم للاشتغال بهذا الأمر من الفوائد المغدقة والثمار اليانعة، والأجر الدائم والخير المستمر في الدنيا والآخرة، وهذا الفضل يرجع إلى أسبابٍ عديدةٍ، أهمُّها: أوّلاً: أنَّ علم توحيد الأسماء والصفات أشرفُ العلوم وأفضلُها وأعلاها مكانةً وأجلُّها شأناً، وشرف العلم وفضلُه من شرف معلومه، ولا أشرف وأفضل من العلم بالله وأسمائه وصفاته الواردة في الكتاب والسنة، ولهذا فإنَّ الاشتغال بفهمه والعلم به والبحث عنه اشتغال بأشرف المطالب وأجَلِّ المقاصد. ثانياً: أنَّ معرفة الله والعلم به تدعو العبد إلى محبّته وتعظيمه وإجلاله وخشيته وخوفه ورجائه وإخلاص العمل له، وحاجة العبد إلى هذا وتحصيله هي أعظمُ الحاجات وأفضلها وأجلها، قال ابن القيم ﵀: "وليست حاجة الأرواح قطُّ إلى شيءٍ أعظمَ منها إلى معرفة باريها وفاطرها ومحبّتِهِ وذِكره والابتهاج به، وطلب الوسيلة إليه والزلفى عنده، ولا سبيل إلى هذا إلا بمعرفة أوصافه وأسمائه، فكلَّما كان العبد بها أعلم كان بالله أعرف وله أطلب وإليه أقرب، وكلَّما كان لها أنكر كان بالله أجهل وإليه أكره ومنه أبعد، والله ينزِل العبد من نفسه حيث يُنزله العبدُ من نفسه"١. اهـ كلامه ﵀.

١ مفتاح دار السعادة (ص:٢٠٢) .