Oh Allaah, help us understand and memorise Your attributes!

حدثنا أبو اليمان أخبرنا شعيب حدثنا أبو الزناد عن الأعرج عن أبي هريرة أن رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- قال:

إن لله تسعة وتسعين اسما مائة إلا واحدًا، من أحصاها دخل الجنة

“Indeed Allah has 99 names save one, whoever counts them will enter Paradise.”

The word أحصاها (root word حَصَى) means :

1. To count;

2. To protect;

3. To memorize;

4. To understand, learn and teach.

So really أحصاها here would mean to understand the names and attributes of Allaah, memorise them and teach them. Understanding the attributes would entail establishing a relationship with Allaah through those attributes. And by securing that bond with Allaah, by pleasing Him, we secure our aakhirah.

There are narrations that indicate that there exists more than 99 names and attributes of Allaah. Ibn Haajar al-Asqalaani narrated from Sufyaan Ibn Uyaynah and other sahaabah that there are more than 99 names of Allaah mentioned in various ahadeeth. Some scholars have actually collected around 200 names according to another narration.

But anyway, here I’ll mention those that are generally known to us and hope that it will encourage myself and others to memorize them solely to seek Allaah’s pleasure. I ask Allaah to make it of some benefit to not just those who reads them but to myself as well.

الرَّحْمَنُ – The most Merciful; that there is no higher degree of Mercy that this.

<< وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْء >>

“..and My Mercy embraces all things..” Soorah al-A`raaf; 156

Recall this aayah? Amazing isn’t it? Subhaan’Allaah and the hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah (radiyAllaahu `anhu) that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said:

“Allaah has one hundred parts of mercy, of which He sent down one between the jinn, mankind, the animals and the insects, by means of which they are compassionate and merciful to one another, and by means of which wild animals are kind to their offspring. And Allaah has kept back ninety-nine parts of mercy with which to be merciful to His slaves of the Day of Resurrection. “

and,

It was narrated that Umar ibn al-Khattaab said: Some prisoners were brought to the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam), and there was a woman among the prisoners who was searching (for her child). When she found her child she embraced him and put him to her breast. The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said to us: “Do you think that this woman would throw her child in the fire?” We said: “No, by Allaah, not if she is able not to.” The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Allaah is more merciful to His slaves than this woman is to her child”.

[Agreed upon. Al-Bukhaari, 5653; Muslim, 6912.]

Imagine the status of the one who is loved by someone with a love stronger and higher than the love of a mother for her child? How can that person be sad or at a loss when he or she is shown love and affection in so much abundancy?

Self-reflection:

If Allaah loves us so much, shouldn’t we be loving Him more than every other person in our life? More than our parents, our siblings, our spouses and our children? After knowing and learning about His infinite Mercy towards us, should we not disregard every obstacle that we may come across in our path towards attaining Allaah’s pleasure and only seek that which He wants for us?

…to be continued..

 

 

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Tips on memorizing translation of the Qur’aan

 

 

Tips on memorizing translation of the Qur’aan:

1. Keep in mind, the reward of reciting and memorizing the Qur’aan. It is reported from `Abdullaah bin Mas`ood (radiyAllaahu `anhu) that RasoolAllaah (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) stated that “Whosoever read one letter from the Kitaab of Allaah (Qur’aan), will be granted one reward for it and one is equal to ten. I do not say that Alif, Laam, Meem is one letter but Alif is one letter, Laam is one letter and Meem is one letter. ” ( Narrated by Tirmidhi – Hasan Sahih ). Imagine how much reward you will reap if you were to recite and memorize the whole of Qur’aan by understanding the depth and meaning of each word?
2. Always start with seeking refuge in Allaah and begin with His name. “And when you read the Qur’an seek refuge with Allah from the rejected Satan.” {An-Nahl 98}.

   Ibn Jareer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Allaaah, may He be exalted and His name sanctified, taught His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) proper manners by teaching him to mention His most beautiful names before all his actions. He commanded him to mention these attributes before starting to do anything, and made what He taught him a way for all people to follow before starting anything, words to be written at the beginning of their letters and books. The apparent meaning of these words indicates exactly what is meant by them, and it does not need to be spelled out.”

3. Focus and concentrate on the words while writing down the translation.
4. If your writing is slow (this is while the ustaadh(ah) is teaching or if you are listening to a tape), make sure you get down the difficult words as much as you can. The rest you can check with your friends, or refer to this site to fill in the missing words.
5. Don’t panic if you don’t understand. Take a break. Renew your wudhoo, and restart with a fresh mind.
6. Repetition. Repeat each aayah atleast 10 times or more. Start with repeating each word of the aayah, then the aayah itself and then the whole lesson.
7. Don’t try to memorize everything in one go. Divide your time and set various portions of the day to learning and memorizing.
8. Best time of the day to memorise is Fajr.
9. Make a vocabulary list and note down words that you find difficult. Carry that note-book with you wherever you go, so you can utilize any free time by going over the list.
10. Don’t try to memorise anything without looking at the book. Read each aayah atleast 7-8 times from the Qur’aan. Then read it withoutglancing at the book. That way the memory retains it better.
11. Read your lesson out loud, either to a friend or to yourself.
12. Never give up hope. If there are times when you don’t understand anything due to stress or anxiety ask Allaah for His help and guidance. Pray 2 rak`ahs of nafl and start over.