#ninetyninenames

[ninety-nine-names]

Al-Aziz - meaning the most powerful and strong, this name is mentioned multiple times in the Quran such as verse 6 of Surah Imran: "He is the One Who shapes you in the wombs of your mothers as He wills. There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him—the Almighty, All-Wise."

[ninety-nine-names]

[ninety-nine-names]

Al-Malik: the King, owner of all dominions, in complete supremacy and control of everything. Linguistically attributed to the word Mulk, which means possession, ownership, or power. Holder of all our affairs and holder of knowledge itself. Knowing this, we should humble ourselves in front of His laws and creation -- by respecting the laws of Al-Malik and by showing mercy to everything He owns. 

“So high above all is Allah, the true ruler; and do not [oh Muhammad] hasten in the recitation of the Quran before it is properly conveyed; and say ‘Oh my Lord, increase me in my knowledge.’” (Taha, 114)

Hope you like this spread <3 I really have a lot of pink to spare XD

[ninety-nine-names]

Abu Huraira reported that the prophet Muhammad (saw) said: “Verily, there are ninety nine names of Allah and whoever preserves them will enter Paradise.”

But this is only one of the virtues of learning the names of the Exalted; memorizing and understanding the meaning of each name will help a person develop a stronger connection with their Creator when they realize the depth of the Creator’s attributes -- the true denotation of mercy, richness, ownership, and size. These meanings can come in handy when a person is facing a struggle and forgets who to turn to first for help. These names can also be used in prayers. For instance, for every situation, there is a name for it. Most importantly, knowledge attained with the right intentions increases wisdom, and wisdom enhances a person’s character. Knowledge about the creator will instill a love, awe, and veneration in the heart, contribute to richness in soul, and generate a higher consciousness and wisdom of the world. It will benefit the person both in this life and in the hereafter. 

Remember: the best learning is done with others and with consistency. Even if you learn slowly, let each meaning soak in and become a part of your life. Also, if you have someone to share the knowledge with, share it. That is always better. 

Start with the dua’a “Rabbii Zidni Ilman.” May Allah bless your journey and soften your heart and grant you contentment in this life and the next. All the best <3

[ninety-nine-names]

“Self-care” is an expression we often see being used. Starting as a medical term coined in the 1950′s for mentally ill patients, it became a concept borrowed for political reasons by women in the civil rights movement, before moving to San Francisco bay where the public’s attention drew towards a holistic approach to fitness and healthy life style. Today, the term is used more than ever as a way to tell a person to take emotional breaks, to overcome compassion fatigue, burnout and others. While the concept of taking care of yourself physically and emotionally is beyond important, it’s not exactly a concept we should be throwing around easily either. Especially when constantly using it as an excuse to isolate yourself from people that care for you.

The prophet (saw) suffered countless human loss in his life but had the capacity to listen to a bird complain about its nest, and a cat complain about its treatment. After burying over six children and many other loved ones, he was still able to smile. He even felt a deep connection and love for people he never met... us. Yes, he is a prophet, sent as a mercy to humanity, but even so, he was also sent as an example, as a human - just like us. How did he manage to stay strong without resorting to depending on the tactics of self-care that we generally turn to? 

First, his escape route was prayer. And while no one can match his level of focus and devotion during prayer, we can still learn from it and perceive the importance of inherently depending on prayer in our daily lives. And this route never made him ignorant of the problems faced by everyone around him. Instead, it enabled him to become more involved physically and emotionally with his surroundings. It made him stronger. At the same time, the five daily prayers are structured in a way to balance our work and spiritual matters in life. They serve as necessary frequent breaks between the day and give us time to find tranquility in the moment. It’s a form of self-care that is constant, an essential ingredient in the recipe of every single day of our lives. 

A part of prayer is making dua’a. This includes changing our mindset about our personal goals and the world around us. For example, a dua’a found in Surah Furqan ayah 74 is, “Oh my Lord, make our spouses and children a comfort to our eyes and make us leaders of the virtuous.” This journey in life is not just about ourselves; it’s also about the people around us. Taking care of our family, neighbors, friends is our responsibility -- not just a means of doing good deeds to make us feel better about ourselves. We have a greater purpose in life, and every single person is accountable. Asking God for help is a perfect starting point to making us fulfill this purpose with the capacity that we have. We should always ask the question, “how can I get myself to a place where I am able to take care both of myself and others?” Self-care is only one miniscule step in a long, worthwhile, journey of actively taking care of the people around us. 

Another important point to digest is that ‘isolation’ from people is actually not inherently bad. On the contrary, the prophet used to isolate himself during the night time to organize his thoughts, especially before prophethood, and this brought him a lot of benefit. A healthy lifestyle, spending time outside (i.e playing sports), breathing in nature, silence, reading, and spending time alone are crucial to our well-being. Especially as work of school assignments pile up on out desks, it’s hard to stay focused constantly. These intervals are necessary to our livelihood, programmed inside of us. We yearn for love and change; we enjoy silence after noise; we see poetry in the darkness after spending time in light; we want peace. However, this is not only self-care; it is human nature. It is crucial to our health and peace of mind. Today’s version of ‘self-care’ however, has turned into something more - an industrial concept that seems to imply that humans are capital, that family is hardship, and that empathy, or feeling sad, are harmful. 

Finally, most importantly, the key to finding the great potential and strength in ourselves is gratitude. Not just experiencing occasional flickers of the feeling - but rather, turning gratitude into a lifestyle. Sincerely reserving time to deeply contemplate the blessings we can count before we start noticing our worries grow smaller. One specific self-care practice includes something called “gratitude exercises.” Islam introduced the practice of internalizing the word Alhamdullilah, and saying it after every meal, after every injury, after every success, long before 2019 updates of this “secular” method popped up on our search engines. 

Before we start using self-care as an excuse to deliberately allow ourselves to become emotionally exhausted over matters that have practical solutions, we should look towards the stories of the prophets, prayer, and gratitude. We should also look into ourselves. What exactly is bothering me, or causing me to feel a certain way and how can I fix it? Of course, self-care is important -- but it should not include the act of creating a personal bubble that disjoins us from others. And it shouldn’t simply involve a hobby that makes us happy, or an action of worldly-gain. And it most certainly shouldn’t cause us to view empathy and sacrifice for the sake of others as qualities that are more harmful to us than virtuous. Most importantly, self-care should not be done just for our sake. It is actually a serious requirement of our religion that should empower us to do effectual good for others without expecting reward from anyone else except God, who will, with his grace and mercy, shower us with blessings both in this short life and the eternal hereafter. 

[ninety-nine-names]

~ what my journaling notebook looks like ~

can’t wait to start ^^

[ninety-nine-names]

Al-Rahman, the most kind, loving, and merciful. We open the recitation of every surah using this name. “Al-Rahman” occurs 57 times in the Quran (and it’s root appears 339 time in the Quran). A whole chapter of the Quran is also named “Al-Rahman.” 

One of the most prominent aspects of life is seeking forgiveness despite sinning. The fact that the first name of God to learn is “the Most Merciful” signifies the type of perception we should be having of God before learning any other name: the kindest, most merciful, more merciful than anyone on Earth. It does not matter who you are, how many sins you carry, how you perceive yourself as - God will forgive you if you are sincere. 

But “Al-Rahman” is more than just forgiveness. It encompasses a much broader type of tenderness and devotion and love. The root word “Rahma” is closely tied to love. God has, since the beginning, loved and cared for His creation much more than we discern. It is because of God’s love that we will enter Paradise. And sometimes, we need to experience hardship in life to realize God’s love and mercy.  

How can we interpret Al-Rahman in our daily lives? Life is too short for grudges. Be merciful to others - show compassion to people, animals, plants - race to forgive, and God will in turn shower you with blessings and abundant mercy. 

[ninety-nine-names]

If God is loving, why does He allow for Iblees to go astray?

Surah Isra, verse 82. "And we send down from the Quran that which is a healing and mercy to those who believe."

Everything in the world is an ayah- signs of existence, signs of Allah (sw). The Quran is a mercy because it further clarifies the existence of God with its verses. It delineates stories and points to "Amthal," examples, in the world for us to learn from. This includes the story of Iblees.

All the angels prostrated to Adam (as) except Iblees, because of arrogance in his heart.

Arrogance is the seedling of separation from Allah (sw). It builds a barrier between creation and the Creator, because the creation thinks it is worthy of being separate from the Creator.

Surah Hijr, verse 31. "except Iblis; he refused to join those who prostrated."

This story of Iblees is also an ayah for the people who believe. The Shayateen, which are not constricted to only being Jinn, are signs. The bad repercussions of following the footsteps of Shaytan are clear signs for the believers.

If Allah did not allow for the story of Iblees to happen, then we would never be able to truly learn about God in the way He wants, nor would submitting to His will be anything to consider if everything we knew about creation and God was closeness to God. What does it mean to be far from God? God gives us stories and examples as a mercy. Iblees and His denial is an example for us, a reminder, a warning. Some even believe Iblees to be a manifestation of God's great power.

Regardless, the moral of the story is a powerful one. It even addresses one of the problematic issues afflicting humanity, an inherently evil and destructive belief: racism.

If God did not inform us of it, then on the Day of Judgment, humans would argue that God's proofs were not enough. But instead, we are given different ayat to contemplate on.

Surah Nisa, verse 82. "Do they not contemplate the Qur'an (so that they may be convinced that it is from God)? Had it been from any other than God, they would surely have found in it much (incoherence or) inconsistency."

All the stories of the prophets and nations punished before are also ayat for the people who contemplate on the Quran's verses.

Surah Fussilat, verse 15. "As for 'Aad, they were arrogant upon the earth without right and said, "Who is greater than us in strength?" Did they not consider that Allah who created them was greater than them in strength? But they were rejecting Our signs."

To submit to God, is to submit fully to His will. This includes accepting and learning from the stories He gave us, so we can grow closer to Him in the exact way He wants.

And in the end, God is the Most Forgiving and the Most Merciful.