Al-Jabbar

Al-Azhar Quran Teaching | Al-Jabbar

Al-Jabbar

Whenever a dream fades away, Allah creates for you a more beautiful dream. And whenever a memory dims in your heart, Allah crafts a more wonderful one for you.

Al-Jabbar

Have circumstances broken you, hardships conspired against you, and crises overwhelmed you?

Has poverty altered your features? Have illnesses parched your fields? Has orphanhood made you feel small? Have humiliating glances surrounded you?

Your broken soul, heart, and feeble breaths all need someone to mend the fractures, heal the weakness, and soothe the pain. Why not get to know Allah by His Name “Al-Jabbar”—the Compeller, the Restorer? Let the compassionate meanings of this Name mend your cracks, heal your wounds, and calm the storms raging within your soul.

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Your Broken Heart … How was it broken?

 
One of the meanings of Al-Jabbar is the One who mends the broken bodies and hearts of His servants.
 
Living under the care of God fills us with the ointments of health, the bandages of happiness, the salves for pain, and the antidotes to worry. He, the Exalted, knew that His servants would face breaks in their bodies, hearts, and lives, breaks that leave scars on their brows and marks on their souls. Therefore, in His Mercy, He took it upon Himself to mend them and named Himself Al-Jabbar so that His servants would know He alone has the power to heal them, prompting them to turn to Him.
 
The Fractures of Life are so many:
 
Among them is an accident that shatters bones, an insult that crushes the soul, poverty that bends the spirit, an illness that drains strength, a fear that stifles ambition, trauma that chokes spontaneity, hatred that rebels against your feelings, and circumstances that force you to bow your head!
 
Yet, for every break, the heavens open with bandages of mercy and restorers of grace.
 
How many orphans have their spirits crushed by glances of the arrogant, and if it were not for Al-Jabbar, their souls would be broken forever?
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How many weak individuals have been slapped by life’s hardships through the hands of the strong, and if it were not for Al-Jabbar, they would have remained bowed in humiliation?

How many poor people have been humiliated by the words of the wealthy, and if it were not for Al-Jabbar, those words would have scarred them for life?

He mends the broken, aids the weak, elevates the lowly, advances the overlooked, and His mercies heal the wounds of souls.

We know people who suffered from the harshness of their parents and yet grew up to be models of compassion!

Others were mocked by their peers, yet they rose to become distinguished and successful!

Some suffered from anemia, tuberculosis, or asthma, but they grew up to become healthy and strong!

Where are those wounds now? Where are the traces of those illnesses? They were mended; they vanished under the bandages of mercy. It was decreed by Al-Jabbar that they would fade away.

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And mend me

It is prescribed for us to say between the two prostrations: “O Allah, forgive me, have mercy on me, grant me well-being, provide for me, and mend me.”

 (And mend me)! It is as if we are broken countless times throughout the day, needing Allah to mend us just as much.

About eighteen years ago, my sister’s only daughter passed away in her arms. I heard her choking cry from the adjacent room; it was her last cry. I entered to find her mother overwhelmed with grief and brokenness just before dawn. Her eyes reflected the sadness, and her sighs carried the weight of her sorrow. I guided her to the prophetic supplication: “O Allah, reward me for my affliction and replace it with something better.”

She repeated this supplication while her voice trembled under the calamity’s weight. Her broken words ascended to the One Who mends His servants’ hearts. Allah replaced her loss with sons and daughters who were a blessing to her, granting her righteous offspring and showering her and us with His immense bounty.

So, when your soul burns, when your dreams shatter, and when the structure of your spirit begins to crumble, say: “O Allah.”

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Untie the Knot from My Tongue

Last year, I met a student with a severe speech impediment. He could barely say a word without repeating it several times. I held him and advised him never to prostrate to Allah without saying: “Untie the knot from my tongue so they may.”

I met him again this year, and he had become as eloquent as possible. I had forgotten my advice, so I asked him why the change occurred. He replied: “It was the prayer: ‘Untie the knot from my tongue.’”

Al-Jabbar (the Compeller) had untied the knot.

He is Al-Jabbar (The Compeller), the One Who lifts every sorrow, heals every illness, and removes every trial.

The burdens may overwhelm a servant’s heart to despair, yet Al-Jabbar mends that heart. Months later, the servant forgets his pains and grief because Allah not only removed them but also mended the very place that had been shattered, making it as if it had never been broken.

He mends hearts, bones, and souls. By His Decree, wounds heal, and tears are dried. Glory be to Him.

Don’t prolong your weeping when worries weigh you down and tribulations surround you. Take your prayer mat, face the Qiblah, and with Allah’s permission, you will wipe away those worries and hardships in moments!

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He Loves You Smiling

A man sat after the Maghrib prayer, broken and seeking Allah’s forgiveness. His pocket held nothing but a few Riyals, insufficient to meet the demands of life. Even from a distance, you could see the poverty etched into his face and the scattered cracks in his soul. But Al-Jabbar was watching him from above the high heavens. That night, He decreed that this man would not sleep until his need was met in ways he couldn’t have imagined or predicted!

Allah loves you smiling. He arranges His beautiful decrees to help your lips curve into a smile, wiping the traces of sorrow from your face.

When you see someone broken, be the one to mend him. Be the person Allah uses to heal others’ wounds. Don’t sleep while your neighbor is hungry. Don’t laugh while your brother cries. Don’t enjoy the warmth of your home while others shiver in the cold winds of winter.

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The Cart

 
My friend says: “I saw an elderly woman pushing a cart near the Holy Masjid (Al-Haram) full of belongings. The years had carved deeply into her skin. I saw my mother in her, and everything in me wept. My eyes were the last to cry. I took out everything in my pocket and placed it in her hand, my soul nearly breaking from sorrow for that poor woman.”
 
He continues: “It never crossed my mind that I was being generous to her or that the All-Appreciative, the All-Praiseworthy, would thank me. I was merely trying to mend the fracture her broken image had created within me, but I failed.”
 
Before the month ended, the largest sum of money he had ever received was deposited into his bank account!
 
Allah will never let you mend the fractures of the weak without rewarding you, for He is Al-Shakoor (the Most Appreciative), the Al-Hameed (the Most Praiseworthy).
 
Be a balm, even if your state is a thorn.
 
Be sweet when others show only bitterness.
 
Be the window that lets a soft breeze into souls suffocated by the smoke of life’s hardships. Adopt the virtue of mending; be the upper hand that gives.
 
The Prophet (peace be upon him) visited a sick Jewish man!
 
Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) swept the house of a blind woman and cooked her food!
 
When Abdullah bin Al-Mubarak passed away, the poor missed the provisions that used to appear at their doors before dawn. Only after his death, they realized that it was from him.
 
One of Ibn Taymiyyah’s rivals passed away, and when people came to inform him of this tidying, he became angry. He went immediately to console the deceased man’s children, saying, “I am like your father. If you need anything, let me know.”
 
These noble figures were preoccupied with the great mission of mending broken hearts. Allah used them for this honorable task.
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83

A friend of mine, a student at Umm Al-Qura University, told me that while he was on his way to class one day, he encountered a pilgrim asking for the police station. My friend was in a rush as his Criticism class was about to begin, and the final exam, a notoriously tough one, was the following week. Despite this, he decided to ride the man closer to his destination.

In the car, the pilgrim told him that he had lost his wallet, phone, passport, and all forms of identification in the Haram three days ago. He had become a man without an identity, unable to eat, sleep, or contact anyone. The pilgrim added, “I am exhausted,” with that, he broke down in tears, saying, “I have been begging and sleeping on the streets for three days.” He was utterly broken.

My friend comforted him, reminded him of Allah, and said: “Allah did not allow you to lose these things in the Haram so that you would humiliate yourself before others. Prostrate to Him and ask Him, and He will suffice you.” He then gave him 83 riyals, which he had in his pocket, and dropped him off. He noticed a faint smile return to the pilgrim’s face.

Two weeks later, the results of his Criticism exam were released. It was an exam he had been sure to fail, having left it blank due to its difficulty. He had even prepared himself mentally for a grade of zero. To his astonishment, his score was 83 out of 100; the exact amount of riyals he had given the pilgrim!!

Yes, you may try to deny some things, but they manifest all the more clearly. When you try not to hear them, they cry louder, leaving you more astonished. It is Allah, my friend—it is Allah.

When Allah used him to mend the broken heart of that pilgrim, He thanked him.

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The Servant’s Quarters

 
When others knock on the doors of kings, knock on the door of the King of Kings…
 
When they stand humbly before a prince, stand humbly before the Most Generous Lord…
 
When they travel from hospital to hospital, rise at night and say: “O Allah”…
 
He holds the keys to relief. The treasure of healing belongs to Him. Do you know where this treasure is? It is with Allah!
 
“And there is not a thing, but with Us are its treasures.”
 
Happiness, security, comfort, and contentment all have treasures, too. Will we turn away from the One who holds the dominion of all things and turn to a servant with no power to bring benefit or harm, life or death, or resurrection?
 
How absurd it would be for a guest in the palace of a worldly king to leave the king’s company and instead enter the servant’s quarters to speak with the servant!
 
We do something even more absurd when we abandon supplicating the King of life and Hereafter to seek our needs from His creation. How often do we embark on long medical journeys to places like Washington or London, only to return months later with nothing but disappointment and loss?
 
This is not to discourage seeking treatment, which is permissible, but rather to caution against attaching one’s heart to creation while forgetting the Creator.
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The Dream and the Memory

 
Live a few days with Al-Jabbar (The Compeller). Let His magnificent meanings pass over your wounds. Make them be the balm for your soul’s aches, awaken the blossoms of joy within you, and create through reflections on His Names a sun of life that dispels the void in which you once lived.
 
Our Prophet (peace be upon him) descends from Ta’if, burdened with immense sorrow, pain, and heartbreak after the foolish had wounded his noble heels with stones. The King of Kings, the Lord of all worlds, sees him. His Beloved sees the grief weighing on his heart and sends Gabriel, accompanied by the Angel of Mountains, on a special mission to heal his pain, which involves the crushing of immovable mountains.
 
The Angel of Mountains looks at the Prophet in sorrow, walking aimlessly from Ta’if until he awakens at Qarn Al-Tha’alib. He says: “Allah has commanded me to obey you, O Muhammad. If you wish, I will crush them between these two mountains.”
 
If Allah wants to mend your brokenness, He could destroy an entire city for your sake. But Muhammad (peace be upon him) chooses patience and forgiveness for them instead.
 
When the biting whip of mockery scorched Noah’s heart, he turned to the heavens and prayed: “I am overpowered, so help me.” Allah opened the gates of the sky with torrential rain that flooded the entire earth for Noah’s sake!!
 
Who but Allah can mend the fractures of the soul in such a way?
 
Some people believe their role in life is to destroy, mock, and belittle you in front of others. Were it not for Al-Jabbar, their schemes would have crushed you.
 
They enter your eyes to steal your beautiful dreams and creep into your heart to erase your fondest memories. But every time a dream dims, Allah creates a more beautiful one for you. Every time a memory fades, He replaces it with one even more radiant.
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A Cup of Coffee

Al-Jabbar has filled our lives with healers, binders, and remedies. Some we know, while many remain hidden, He created and placed them in His universe just for you. So that you may smile, live an honorable life, and devote yourself fully to His worship.

Our wounds heal when we take the right medicine, eat nutritious food, and drink pure water.

Our spirits are uplifted when we see smiles on others’ faces, feel a comforting hand on our shoulder, or hear a kind word.

We overcome our struggles when we encounter a heart that beats with love for us, a hand that reaches out to help us, or when we savor a cup of coffee with someone dear.

There are things within us that heal when we gaze upon nature’s beauty, hear the babbling of a stream, or watch a bird feeding its chicks.

Prayer fills the gap of despair within our souls. Saying Subhana Rabbi Al-‘Azheem (Glory be to my Lord, the Great) creates a joy that lingers on our tongues, and uttering Subhana Rabbi Al-A’la (Glory to my Lord, the High)  lifts us closer to the Throne of Allah.

A mother’s prayers bring warmth to the winters of life. A friend’s visit brings joy amid life’s chaos. A neighbor’s concern adds color to the gray canvas of our souls.

Orange juice forces a smile, a piece of candy is a sweet delight, and a warm bath washes away the weariness.

Life is full of restorers, and our Lord wants us to be happy, smile, and live a beautiful life.

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Be in Prostration

What is keeping you away from Allah?

What delays you from joining the ranks of those humble before Him in the depths of the night, reciting His words?

The form of a fetus in its mother’s womb is strikingly similar to the posture of one prostrating to Allah!

So, in your life, remain in a state of prostration as you once were in your mother’s womb. Allah will provide for you, make even the tightest of spaces comfortable, and envelop you in His Mercy.

Be prostrate with your heart, even if you raise your head.

Let your heartbeat say, “Subhana Rabbi Al-A’la,” even as your lips smile.

Whisper with your veins, “O Compeller of the Broken, mend my brokenness,” then watch the miracle of your soul being reshaped anew.

O Allah, mend the fractures of our hearts, souls, and bodies. Verily, You are capable of all things.

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