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Ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “A Jewish rabbi came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and said: ‘O Muhammad, Allah will put the Heavens on one finger and the earth on one finger, the trees on one finger, water and dust on one finger, and the rest of the creation on one finger, and then He will say: “I am the King.”’
Thereupon, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) laughed until his molar teeth became visible, in confirmation of the rabbi’s words. Then, he recited: {They did not recognize the true worth of Allah. On the Day of Judgment the whole earth will be in His grasp, and the heavens shall be folded up in His right hand. Glory be to Him! Exalted be He above what they associate with Him.} [Surat az-Zumar: 67]” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri]
No one knows what He deserves but He.
No one comprehends His knowledge but He.
No one knows His true worth but He.
No one can render the due praise to Him but He.
Words and eloquence fall short here and declare their incompetence.
Modesty fills our hearts at this moment as we seek to enumerate the excellent traits of the King of all kings. We would be honored to rub our noses in dust in exaltation of Him, and we are honored to move our tongues and pens in praise of Him. Whenever we glorify and extol Him, this is but a favor from Him upon us.
O Lord, none can praise You duly.
No matter what we say, You are still far greater.
{He is Allah, there is no god except Him, the King...} [Surat al-Hashr: 23]
Our Lord, Exalted be He, executes His commands in His dominion, and He is the Owner of all dominion. He is the King and Sovereign on the Day of Judgment and of all creation. There is no other king higher or equal to Him. All else are below Him. He is the Disposer of all things. None can resist His will or compete with Him - Exalted be He.
He is the All-Mighty King, Who owns every part and corner of the whole universe. All kings perish, but He is the Eternal King.
He is the One Whose forgiveness is sought and Whose dominion endures eternally.
The true dominion belongs to Allah Almighty alone, no one shares it with Him. Anyone who owns something is only given by the real Owner of all things. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “There is no owner but Allah Almighty.” Another narration reads: “There is no king but Allah.” [Narrated by Muslim] {Say: “O Allah, Owner of Sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will and You take sovereignty away from whom You will. You honor whom You will and You humble whom You will. In Your hand is [all] good. Indeed, You are Capable of all things.} [Surat Ᾱl-‘Imrān: 26]
Our Almighty Lord is the Owner of the treasures of the heavens and earth. All goodness lies in His hand, and He gives sustenance to whomever He wills.
He is the Sovereign over death, life, resurrection, benefit, harm, and all things.
He disposes of His dominion as He wishes. Every day He is upon some affair. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is authentically reported to have said: “His affairs include forgiving sins, relieving distress, raising some people, and bringing others down.” [Narrated by Ibn Mājah; Hasan (sound)]
This is the dominion of Allah Almighty, and He gives it to whomever He wills. {...And Allah gives His sovereignty to whom He wills...} [Surat al-Baqarah: 247]
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Do not curse time, for Allah Almighty said: ‘I am time. The days and nights belong to Me. I make them come and go and bring kings after kings.’” [Narrated by Ahmad, the first part is narrated by Muslim; Sahīh (authentic)]
Where are the kings who once wore magnificent crowns, yet they were later destroyed?
They could do nothing against the command of Allah and so they perished as if they had never existed.
When Allah Almighty gave dominion to Pharaoh, he thought he was its real owner, so he acted arrogantly and tyrannically and oppressed people. He even attributed to himself the dominion and divinity. {And Pharaoh said: “O eminent ones, I have not known you to have a god other than me...} [Surat al-Qasas: 38] Thus, Allah Almighty destroyed him and made him an example and a lesson for all kings on earth till the Day of Resurrection so their authority would not make them forget their reality and weakness and the Day of Judgment.
Although kings have a semblance of dominion in worldly life, as they possess estates, palaces, gardens, gold and silver, they inevitably have one of two choices: either their possessions will go away and leave them, or they themselves will pass away. Indeed, their kingdom is a transient one, a loan to be paid back.
So, Allah Almighty reminds them that they will ultimately return to Him: {...And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and to Allah is the destination.} [Surat al-Mā’idah: 18]
Also, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) forbade using the title “king of kings” for any human being. He said: “The meanest name in the sight of Allah is a man calling himself the king of kings.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
On the Day of Judgment, Allah Almighty will put the heavens in His right Hand and the earth in the other Hand. In the Qur’an, He says: {They did not recognize the true worth of Allah. On the Day of Judgment the whole earth will be in His grasp, and the heavens shall be folded up in His right hand. Glory be to Him! Exalted be He above what they associate with Him.} [Surat az-Zumar: 67]” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri]
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Allah Almighty will take in His grip the earth on the Day of Judgment and He will fold up the sky in His right hand. Then, He will say: ‘I am the King; where are the kings of the earth?’” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Allah Almighty will fold up the heavens on the Day of Judgment and then hold them with His right hand. Then, He will say: ‘I am the King! Where are the tyrants? Where are the arrogant?’
Then, He will fold up the earths with His left Hand and say: ‘I am the King! Where are the tyrants? Where are the arrogant?’” [Narrated by Muslim]
On the Day of Judgment, the Almighty Lord will call out: “To whom belongs the dominion today?” No one will answer Him! Then, He will respond to Himself: {...To Allah, the One, the Superb Vanquisher.} [Surat Ghāfir: 16]
Although Allah Almighty is the King and is in no need for our worship, He, out of His kindness and bounty, couples His name “Al-Malik” (the King) with other names that inspire assurance within our hearts and make us long to meet Him. He says: {The Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. The Sovereign of the Day of Recompense.} [Surat al-Fātihah: 3-4] He also says: {...He is the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. He is Allah; there is no god except Him, the King...} [Surat al-Hashr: 22-23] Allah Almighty informs us that a kingdom does not become good and perfect without benevolence and mercy. He, Glorified and Exalted, is the Merciful King.
The kingdom of our Lord is free from any deficiency. {Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth glorifies Allah, the King, the Most Holy, the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.} [Surat al-Jumu’ah: 1]
Since the kings of this world do have deficiencies and defects such as arrogance, indulgence in vain desires, and injustice, Allah Almighty informed us that His dominion is perfect and comprises all attributes of perfection and excellence. Hence, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) would always say after finishing Witr prayer: “Subhān Al-Malik Al-Quddūs (Glory be to Allah, the King, the Most Holy).” He would say it three times, raising his voice in the third one. [Narrated by Al-Nasā’i; Sahīh (authentic)]
One is required to praise Allah Almighty for His kingship and mercy and to constantly glorify Him. Our Lord says: {...To Him belongs the dominion, and to Him belongs all praise...} [Surat at-Taghābun: 1] He is praised in His dominion. A dominion without praise entails deficiency, and praise without a dominion entails powerlessness. Indeed, praise along with dominion represent the utmost perfection and majesty.
As an aspect of the magnificence of His dominion, He helps those who resort to Him, and none can help or protect anyone whom Allah wills to destroy. {Say: “In whose hand is the realm of all things - and He protects while none can protect against Him - if you should know?”} [Surat al-Mu’minūn: 88]
O the King, Who holds the forelocks of His creation, I seek refuge in You, O the Most Generous Lord.
Your predestination is sure to occur. I am Your servant, seeking Your refuge and protection.
Biographers said: “When Hārūn al-Rashīd built his palace, whose magnificence was unmatched at the time, people came to congratulate him. Among them was Abu al-‘Atāhiyah, who stood up and sang:
‘Live as long as you wish, safe and sound. Whatever you covet comes to you and whatever you want happens. But when the soul is struggling to leave the body and you are in the throes of death, you will then know for sure
that your living in lofty palaces and great luxury was nothing but conceit and delusion!’
Thereupon, Hārūn wept so powerfully that he fell to the ground. Only a month later, he was dead.”
That was Hārūn! The one who would address the cloud saying: “Drop your rain wherever you want. The yield will reach me.” The one who used to perform Hajj in a year and conduct Jihad the following year.
‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marawān, the ruler of the Muslim world in the past, when he was in the throes of death, he heard a washing man next to his palace singing in great joy. Thereupon, ‘Abd al-Malik said: “I wish I were a washing man! Would that I did not know the rule or caliphate!” Then, he died.
Another man said: “O You Whose dominion never goes away, show mercy to the one whose dominion went away.” Hearing these words, Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyib replied: “Praise be to Allah Who made them flee to us in the throes of death, and we do not flee to them.”
Dear reader, illness goes away, afflictions come to an end, sins are forgiven, debts are repaid, prisoners get released, absent people come back, sinners repent, and the poor get rich. All these lie in the hand of the King of all kings, Glorified and Exalted. So, let Allah be your refuge and source of hope at all times, especially in the last part of the night when He descends every night to the lowest heaven and calls out: “I am the King, I am the King! Who will supplicate Me, so that I will answer his supplication? Who will ask from Me, so that I will grant him his request? Who will ask Me for forgiveness, so that I will forgive him?” He continues to say so till dawn comes bright.” [Narrated by Muslim]
Our Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), who is the most knowledgeable among people of the Almighty Creator and the most devoted in worshiping Him, urged us to constantly acknowledge the dominion of Allah Almighty right after the prayers and if we abruptly wake up in the night. We should make this part of our regular Dhikr in the morning and evening and upon return from journeys. Moreover, if we repeat this a hundred times during a day, we will be among the winners.
The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is authentically reported to have said: “Whoever says a hundred times in a day: ‘La ilāha illallāh wahdahu la sharīka lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-hamdu wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadīr (there is no god except Allah. He is One and He has no partner with Him; to Him belong the sovereignty and praise, and He is over all things competent),’ he will have a reward equivalent to that of emancipating ten slaves, a hundred good deeds will be added to his record, a hundred of his sins will be erased, and he will be shielded against the devil on that day till the evening; and no one will exceed him in doing good deeds except someone who says more than that.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
O Allah, the Sovereign of the Day of Recompense, render our last deeds to be the best ones, and make the reckoning easy for us, O Lord of the worlds.