Summary of Sunni concepts | 4- Concepts about the unification of divinity

0:00 A summary of the concepts held by the Ahl al-Sunnah.

0:08 The meaning of the term "Rabb" (Lord).

0:12 In the Arabic language, the term "Rabb" is applied

0:14 to an owner who has authority over his property,

0:16 to a master, a manager,

0:18 to one who nurtures, reforms, and maintains.

0:21 It is not used without being annexed to something

0:24 except when referring to Allah the Exalted.

0:26 As He, the Almighty, has said:

0:29 “There was indeed a sign for Sheba in their dwelling-place: Two gardens on the right hand and the left (as who should say): Eat of the provision of your Lord and render thanks to Him. A fair land and an indulgent Lord!” (34:15)

0:32 “There was indeed a sign for Sheba in their dwelling-place: Two gardens on the right hand and the left (as who should say): Eat of the provision of your Lord and render thanks to Him. A fair land and an indulgent Lord!” (34:15)

0:36 However, when it is used to describe someone other than Allah the Exalted,

0:39 it must be annexed to something else.

0:42 Thus, one says "Rabb al-dar" (master of the house),

0:45 or "Rabb al-dabbah" (owner of the beast),

0:47 meaning its owner who has authority over it.

0:50 The Qur'an most frequently uses the term "Rabb"

0:53 in reference to Allah the Exalted,

0:55 and it appears mostly in the annexed form,

0:58 as He, the Almighty, has said:

1:00 "Lord of the worlds."

1:02 And He said: "Lord of the heavens and the earth,"

1:05 "and whatever is between them."

1:07 And He said: "Your Lord,"

1:09 "and the Lord of your forefathers."

1:13 It is a description of Allah, the Almighty,

1:16 that encompasses the linguistic meanings

1:18 mentioned for the term "Rabb."

1:20 For Allah’s Lordship over the universe,

1:22 and everything within it,

1:24 entails His authority over it,

1:26 His management of it, His reforming of it,

1:29 and the execution of His command within it at every moment.

1:32 He, glory be to Him, is with the universe,

1:34 at every hour, in every affair.

1:37 He creates and provides sustenance,

1:39 He gives life and causes death,

1:41 He lowers and raises,

1:43 He gives and withholds,

1:45 He honors and humiliates.

1:47 He is ever-watchful over every soul,

1:49 regarding its good and its evil,

1:51 and everything in the universe

1:54 subsists through Him.

1:55 The entire affair of the universe is managed

1:58 by the will and decree of Allah.

2:01 The prohibition against using the name "Rabb"

2:04 for anyone other than Allah the Exalted.

2:07 The Prophet, peace be upon him, forbade

2:10 a servant from saying to his master,

2:12 "My Lord" (Rabbi).

2:14 He, peace be upon him, said:

2:16 "None of you should say,

2:18 'Feed your lord,'

2:20 'Perform wudu for your lord,'

2:22 but let him say, 'My master' (sayyidi) and 'my patron' (mawlaya)."

2:25 "And none of you should say,

2:27 'My slave' (abdi) or 'my slave-girl' (amati),"

2:29 but let him say,

2:31 "My young man" (fataya) or "my young woman" (fatati),

2:33 or "my servant" (ghulami).

2:35 Narrated by al-Bukhari.

2:37 The reason for this prohibition

2:40 is that the reality

2:42 of Lordship (Rububiyyah) belongs only

2:44 to Allah the Exalted,

2:46 because the "Rabb" is the owner

2:48 who sustains and maintains a thing,

2:50 and the reality of this

2:52 exists only for Allah the Exalted alone.

2:54 As for that which

2:56 one does not have absolute authority over, among animals

2:58 and inanimate objects,

3:00 it is not disliked to apply the term "Lordship"

3:02 to its owner.

3:04 Thus, it is correct to say,

3:06 "Master of the house," "owner of the horse,"

3:08 and "owner of the garment,"

3:10 and so on.

3:12 The name "Rabb"

3:14 is among the greatest of praises

3:16 with which Allah, the Almighty,

3:18 praises Himself.

3:21 The name "Rabb"

3:23 is among the greatest of praises with which

3:25 Allah, the Almighty, praises Himself.

3:27 For He has praised

3:29 Himself as being the Lord

3:31 of the worlds,

3:33 and He is the Lord of the heavens and the earth

3:35 and whatever is between them.

3:37 And He said: "And He is the Lord of everything,"

3:39 and "He is the Lord

3:41 of the Mighty Throne."

3:43 And other verses in which

3:45 the name "Rabb" is mentioned for Allah,

3:47 the Almighty.

3:49 All of them are in the context of praising

3:51 Allah and magnifying Him.

3:54 "Rabb" is one of the most frequent names

3:56 by which Allah, the Almighty, is invoked,

3:58 because

4:01 the Rabb is the Nurturer

4:03 of all His servants through His management

4:05 and various types of blessings.

4:07 He is the Nurturer, in particular,

4:09 of His chosen ones by reforming

4:11 their hearts, their souls,

4:13 and their characters. Since

4:15 this is the case,

4:17 the most frequent supplication of the prophets of Allah,

4:19 His chosen ones, and His allies

4:21 was with this majestic name,

4:23 as they began their supplications with it.

4:25 Adam,

4:27 peace be upon him, and his wife said:

4:29 "Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves,"

4:31 “They said: Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If thou forgive us not and have not mercy on us, surely we are of the lost!” (7:23)

4:33 "and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us,"

4:35 "we will surely be among the losers."

4:37 And Nuh (Noah), peace be upon

4:39 him, said: "My Lord,"

4:41 "forgive me and my parents."

4:43 And Musa (Moses), peace be upon

4:45 him, said: "My Lord, forgive"

4:47 "me and my brother, and admit us"

4:49 "into Your mercy."

4:51 Yusuf (Joseph), peace be upon him, said:

4:53 "My Lord, the prison is dearer"

4:55 "to me than that to which they invite"

4:57 "me."

4:59 And he said: "My Lord,"

5:01 “O my Lord! Thou hast given me (something) of sovereignty and hast taught me (something) of the interpretation of events - Creator of the heavens and the earth! Thou art my Protecting Guardian in the world and the Hereafter. Make me to die muslim (unto Thee), and join me to the righteous.” (12:101)

5:03 "You have taught me of the interpretation"

5:05 "of hadiths. Originator of"

5:07 "the heavens and the earth,"

5:09 "You are my protector in this world"

5:11 "and the Hereafter. Cause me to die"

5:13 "as a Muslim and join me"

5:15 "with the righteous."

5:17 And Zakariyya (Zechariah), peace be upon him, said:

5:19 “Then Zachariah prayed unto his Lord and said: My Lord! Bestow upon me of Thy bounty goodly offspring. Lo! Thou art the Hearer of Prayer.” (3:38)

5:21 "a goodly offspring."

5:23 "Indeed, You are the Hearer"

5:25 "of supplication."

5:28 And Sulayman (Solomon), peace be upon him, said:

5:30 "My Lord, forgive me"

5:32 “He said: My Lord! Forgive me and bestow on me sovereignty such as shall not belong to any after me. Lo! Thou art the Bestower.” (38:35)

5:34 "that will be suitable for anyone"

5:36 "after me."

5:38 And the righteous servants of Allah said:

5:40 "Our Lord, indeed we"

5:42 "have heard a caller"

5:44 "calling to faith,"

5:46 "saying, 'Believe in your Lord,' so we have believed."

5:48 "Our Lord,"

5:50 "forgive us our sins,"

5:52 "remove from us our misdeeds,"

5:54 "and cause us to die"

5:56 "with the righteous."

5:58 The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

6:00 would often

6:02 invoke Him by the name "Rabb,"

6:04 and praise and magnify Him through it.

6:06 Among these instances

6:08 is his saying, peace be upon him:

6:10 "Shall I not guide you"

6:12 "to the master of seeking forgiveness?"

6:14 "O Allah,"

6:16 "You are my Lord,"

6:18 “And (mention) Dhu'n-Nun, when he went off in anger and deemed that We had no power over him, but he cried out in the darkness, saying: There is no Allah save Thee. Be Thou Glorified! Lo! I have been a wrong-doer.” (21:87)

6:20 "You created me and I am Your servant."

6:22 Narrated by al-Bukhari.

6:24 And his saying, peace be upon him,

6:26 when he went to his bed:

6:28 "O Allah, Lord of the heavens,"

6:30 "and Lord of the earth,"

6:32 "and Lord of the Mighty Throne,"

6:34 "our Lord,"

6:36 "and Lord of everything."

6:38 Narrated by Muslim.

6:41 And his saying, peace be upon him,

6:43 during the night prayer:

6:45 "O Allah, Lord of Jibril (Gabriel),"

6:47 "and Mika'il (Michael),"

6:49 "and Israfil."

6:51 Narrated by Muslim.

6:53 And his saying, peace be upon him,

6:55 at times of distress:

6:57 "There is no god but Allah,"

6:59 "the Almighty, the Forbearing."

7:01 "There is no god but Allah,"

7:03 "Lord of the Mighty Throne."

7:05 "There is no god but Allah,"

7:07 "Lord of the heavens"

7:09 "and the earth,"

7:11 "and Lord of the Noble Throne."

7:13 Narrated by al-Bukhari.

7:15 All of this indicates

7:17 that this name

7:19 encompasses great meanings,

7:21 and for that reason,

7:23 Allah is invoked by it.

7:27 The covenant that Allah took

7:29 from the children of Adam

7:31 It is Tawhid (the Oneness of Allah).

7:34 The covenant that Allah took

7:36 from the children of Adam

7:38 is what He deposited within their innate nature (fitrah),

7:40 consisting of the acknowledgment that He is their Lord,

7:42 their Creator, and their Sovereign.

7:44 This is the meaning of His saying, the Exalted:

7:46 "And [mention] when

7:48 your Lord took from

7:50 the children of Adam

7:52 from their loins

7:54 their descendants

7:56 and made them testify

7:58 as to themselves,

8:00 'Am I not your Lord?'

8:02 They said, 'Yes,

8:04 we have testified.'"

8:06 [This was] lest you say

8:08 on the Day of Resurrection,

8:10 "Indeed, we were

8:12 of this unaware."

8:14 The intent of the verse

8:16 is not

8:18 that Allah established a proof against them

8:20 based on what they acknowledged at the time of their extraction

8:22 from the loins of Adam, peace be upon him,

8:24 and made them testify against

8:26 themselves regarding that,

8:28 as some have claimed.

8:30 Nor does the wisdom of Allah,

8:32 the Exalted, necessitate this.

8:34 Reality testifies that this covenant

8:36 and pledge is not remembered by

8:38 anyone, nor does it cross [their minds].

8:40 So how could

8:42 Allah establish a proof against them regarding a matter

8:44 of which they have no knowledge,

8:46 nor any trace,

8:48 nor any sign?

8:50 This indicates that the intended meaning is

8:52 what Allah deposited

8:54 into their innate nature at the time of their birth,

8:56 consisting of Tawhid,

8:58 as the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

9:00 "Every newborn

9:02 is born upon the fitrah,

9:04 then his parents make him a Jew,

9:06 or a Christian,

9:08 or a Magian."

9:10 Agreed upon.

9:13 Shirk in Rububiyyah (Lordship).

9:15 Most polytheists acknowledged

9:18 the Lordship of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic,

9:20 and did not deny it,

9:22 as the Exalted said:

9:24 "And if you asked them,

9:26 'Who created the heavens

9:28 and the earth and subjected the sun

9:30 and the moon?' they would surely say,

9:32 'Allah.' Then how

9:34 are they deluded?"

9:37 Yet, despite their acknowledgment of the Tawhid of Lordship,

9:39 and that Allah is the Creator and Disposer of affairs,

9:41 they fell into Shirk

9:43 in Uluhiyyah (Worship),

9:45 and worshipped others besides Allah.

9:47 However, some polytheists

9:49 fell into Shirk in Lordship

9:51 alongside their Shirk in Worship.

9:53 Among them are the Christians,

9:55 due to their belief

9:57 that Jesus, peace be upon him,

9:59 forgives sins and saves people from them,

10:01 and manages affairs alongside Allah

10:03 regarding provision and all other

10:05 matters of the servants.

10:07 Among them are the Magians,

10:09 who attributed the occurrences of good

10:11 to Light,

10:13 and attributed the occurrences of evil to Darkness.

10:15 Among them are the worshippers of the stars

10:17 and celestial bodies,

10:19 who believe they manage

10:21 the affairs of the world,

10:23 such as the Sabaeans.

10:25 Among them is a faction of the extremist Sufis,

10:27 who claim that the saints (awliya'),

10:29 or their souls after

10:31 their death,

10:33 act in managing the affairs of the world

10:35 and fulfilling the needs of the people.

10:37 They have regarding this

10:39 nonsense and claims

10:41 that are false and suspicious,

10:43 and titles for which Allah has sent down

10:45 no authority.

10:47 For them, the world is managed by

10:49 the Ghawth (Succor) or the Qutb (Pole),

10:51 the Greatest, and he is—

10:53 in their claim—a saint from among the saints of Allah.

10:55 He is followed by two ministers,

10:57 then the Awtad (Pegs),

10:59 who are four, holding up the world

11:01 from its four sides.

11:03 Then the Abdal (Substitutes),

11:05 who are seven, in every

11:07 continent of the seven continents

11:09 of the earth, one of them,

11:11 and so on, to the end of what they claim

11:13 of these absurdities

11:15 and inanities for which

11:17 Allah has sent down no authority.

11:19 They claim through them

11:21 the control of these people over the world

11:23 and the management of its affairs.

11:25 This is undoubtedly among the greatest

11:27 forms of Shirk, and it is Shirk

11:29 in Lordship, which was not even committed

11:31 by the early polytheists

11:33 from the people of the Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance).

11:35 It necessitates for them the lack of

11:37 forgiveness and eternity in the Fire.

11:39 Among the forms of Shirk

11:41 in Lordship is legislating

11:43 other than what Allah has revealed,

11:45 because legislation is among the characteristics

11:47 of the Lord, the Mighty and Majestic.

11:49 The Exalted said:

11:51 “Say: Allah is Best Aware how long they tarried. His is the Invisible of the heavens and the earth. How clear of sight is He and keen of hearing! They have no protecting friend beside Him, and He maketh none to share in His government.” (18:26)

11:53 anyone.

11:56 The fruits of the Tawhid of Lordship.

11:58 For faith,

12:01 in the Tawhid of Lordship,

12:03 there are many magnificent fruits.

12:05 Among the most important of them:

12:07 First:

12:09 Defining for people their purpose

12:11 for which they were created,

12:13 and informing them of what benefits them

12:15 and what harms them by receiving

12:17 that from their Lord,

12:19 because it does not befit the Lord of the worlds

12:21 to leave

12:23 His servants neglected,

12:25 without informing them of what benefits them

12:27 in their worldly life and their afterlife.

12:30 "Did you think that We

12:32 created you in vain

12:34 and that to Us

12:36 you would not be returned?"

12:38 Second:

12:40 Realizing the Tawhid of Names and Attributes,

12:42 because the Lord

12:44 must be Living, Sustaining,

12:46 Creator, All-Powerful,

12:48 All-Knowing, All-Hearing,

12:50 All-Seeing, Possessor of Will.

12:52 And say the same

12:54 regarding all the Names of Allah

12:56 and His supreme Attributes.

12:59 Third:

13:01 Contentment with the judgment of Allah and His law,

13:03 because acknowledging the Lordship of

13:05 Allah, the Mighty and Majestic,

13:07 is contentment with what Allah apportions

13:09 to the servant and decrees for him.

13:11 This also necessitates

13:13 contentment with what He legislates

13:15 and commands,

13:17 and desisting from what He forbids.

13:19 Fourth:

13:21 Love for Allah, the Mighty and Majestic,

13:23 gratitude to Him, glorification of Him,

13:25 and veneration of Him.

13:27 Creatures are naturally disposed to love

13:29 those who rectify them, provide for them,

13:31 and do good to them.

13:33 This produces in the heart of the servant

13:35 the love of Allah, the love of what

13:37 He loves, and the love of those whom He loves,

13:39 and hatred of what He hates,

13:41 and hatred of those whom He hates,

13:43 and hastening to His pleasure, glorifying Him,

13:45 venerating Him,

13:47 thanking Him, and praising Him.

13:49 Fifth:

13:51 Reliance (Tawakkul) upon Allah in all matters.

13:53 For whoever is certain

13:55 that Allah is the Provider, the Disposer of affairs,

13:57 and that He is over all

13:59 things All-Powerful,

14:01 his heart is filled with reliance

14:03 upon Him, Glorified be He, in all

14:05 his affairs.

14:07 Sixth:

14:09 Turning to Allah and supplicating

14:11 to Him during times of hardship and calamity,

14:13 out of certainty that He

14:15 alone is the Disposer of affairs,

14:17 The Bringer of Benefit and the Bringer of Harm.

14:19 The Reliever of distress.

14:21 And the One who fulfills all needs.

14:24 The use of the oneness of Allah as evidence.

14:26 The Lordship (Rububiyyah) is based upon the Oneness of Allah (Tawhid).

14:28 The Oneness of Allah in worship (al-uluhiyyah).

14:31 And among the greatest requirements of Tawhid

14:33 The Lordship [of Allah] as established through rational evidence.

14:35 through it upon the Oneness of Allah

14:37 The divinity, therefore,

14:39 It has been singled out as an independent concept.

14:41 This is because the Lord

14:43 He who created the heavens and the earth

14:45 And what is contained therein, and He who possesses

14:47 He alone possesses the authority to dispose of them.

14:49 and the management of its affairs.

14:51 He alone is the One who is worthy of worship.

14:53 For He associates no one with Himself.

14:55 No one [is] in that regard.

14:57 It is for this reason that the verses were revealed.

14:59 By using the Lordship of Allah as evidence.

15:01 regarding divinity

15:03 And the rejection of associating partners with Allah in worship.

15:05 Exalted is He, after the affirmation.

15:07 regarding Lordship

15:09 Among these examples is the saying of Allah the Almighty:

15:11 Ah, the best.

15:16 ... what do they associate [with Allah]?

15:18 As for

15:20 Who created the heavens

15:22 and the earth

15:24 and He has sent down for you

15:26 from the sky

15:28 water

15:30 and He has sent down for you

15:32 from the sky

15:34 water

15:36 Then We caused to grow

15:38 with it

15:40 gardens

15:42 possessing great beauty

15:44 It was not for you

15:46 for you to grow

15:48 its trees

15:50 Is there a god with

15:52 Allah

15:54 Rather, they are a people

15:56 They equate [others with Allah].

15:58 And in the same manner

16:00 The same thing came as a remainder.

16:02 The verses up to the verse

16:04 The sixty-fourth.

16:06 This refers to His saying, the Almighty:

16:08 Do you believe

16:10 The creation begins, then

16:12 He returns it, and

16:14 He provides for you from the heavens.

16:16 And the earth

16:18 Is there a god

16:20 with Allah

16:22 Say, "Bring forth your proof."

16:24 your proof

16:26 if you are

16:28 the truthful

16:31 Allah, the Almighty, says:

16:33 Do they associate with Allah partners that

16:35 He creates something

16:37 They are being created.

16:39 and they are unable

16:41 For them is victory.

16:43 ...and their souls.

16:45 They are victorious.

16:47 And like this

16:49 This is the essence of what is argued for using the concept of Lordship.

16:51 ...on divinity, many [disagreed].

16:53 As in Al-Baqarah.

16:55 and the bees and the believers

16:57 and the Companies (of the Qur'an)

16:59 This is a summary of concepts.

17:01 The People of the Sunnah

Summary of Sunni concepts | 4- Concepts about the unification of divinity | Concepts (38-45)

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