32 - 33
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Pharaoh fastened the hands and feet of his wife to four wedges. Whenever they were pulled away to make her suffer, the angels would cover her. Thereupon, she said: {...My Lord, build for me near You a house in Paradise and save me from Pharaoh and his deeds and save me from the wrongdoing people.} [Surat at-Tahrīm: 11]” [Narrated by Abu Ya‘la; Sahīh (authentic)]
From the room of the tyrant Pharaoh, one of the world’s best women did emerge; and from his palace Mūsa (Moses) (peace be upon him) came out.
That is the Pharaoh who said: {...We will kill their sons and keep their women alive; and indeed, we are dominant over them.} [Surat al-A‘rāf: 127] In response, Allah, the Superb Vanquisher, vanquished this tyrant and made him a lesson and sign for the succeeding generations. {So today We will save your body, so that you may be a sign to those who succeed you. And indeed, most people are heedless of Our signs.} [Surat Yūnus: 92]
Allah Almighty praises His sublime essence saying: {And He is the Vanquisher over His servants. And He is the All-Wise, the All-Aware.} [Surat al-An‘ām: 18]
Our Lord is the Vanquisher by His might and power, and He is the Disposer of everything in the universe. Nothing can repel His will.
He vanquished tyrants and broke kings, and to Him everyone, all creatures, all faces, and every difficulty became humbly submissive and stood in humility before His pride and majesty.
It is our Lord, Exalted be He, to Whom all creatures yield and submit, and before Whose utmost power and might they stand in humiliation.
He is the Vanquisher of the entire universe, including the upper and the lower worlds. Nothing happens or remains still in this universe without His permission. Whatever He wills comes to pass, and whatever He does not will never happens. This is the meaning of the two names: Al-Qāhir and Al-Qahhār.
Being the Vanquisher entails being Ever-Living, All-Mighty, and Able.
The creation and creatures, on the other hand, are vanquished, dominated, and subject to Allah’s power and authority.
Who responds to those in distress when they supplicate Him and removes the harm from them? Who gives life back to the rotten bones and repeats the creation as He made it in the first place? Who supports the oppressed and helps the weak?
Our Lord is the Vanquisher, the All-Wise. He does not create anything for no purpose, does not neglect anything, and does not accept any act or legislate any law except for a wise purpose, whether it is known or not.
To You the whole matter returns.
And from You hopes and glad tidings are received.
So, who is worthy of being worshiped as the One God? It is definitely Allah, the Superb Vanquisher, to Whom none is equal.
Prophet Yūsuf (Joseph) (peace be upon him) used this reasoning in his argument with his two fellow prisoners. He said: {O [my] two companions of prison, are separate lords better or Allah, the One, the Superb Vanquisher?} [Surat Yūsuf: 39]
Have you ever seen a vanquished person who can bring himself any good or avert from himself any harm? So, how could we ask from and rely upon weak and vanquished beings, apart from Allah, the One, the Superb Vanquisher?!
When the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) got up from sleep suddenly, he would make this supplication: “La ilāha illallāh Al-Wāhid Al-Qahhār, Rabbu as-samāwāti wa al-ardi wa ma baynahuma Al-‘Azīz Al-Ghaffār (There is no god but Allah, the One, the Superb Vanquisher, the Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, the All-Mighty, the Superb Forgiver).” [Narrated by Ibn Hibbān; Sahīh (authentic)]
As the believer knows that Allah is the One, the Superb Vanquisher, he declares his submission to Him, entrusts his affairs to Him, relies upon Him, and extols none and fears none but Him. He no longer fears the helpless created beings, even if they claim to possess power and might.
When faith entered the hearts of the magicians of Pharaoh and they knew that Allah is the One, the Superb Vanquisher, their response to Pharaoh’s threat was: {They said: “No harm. Indeed, to our Lord we will return.”} [Surat ash-Shu‘arā’: 50]
Allah Almighty is the Vanquisher of tyrants and sinners: {And He is the Vanquisher over His servants. And He is the All-Wise, the All-Aware.} [Surat al-An‘ām: 18] He Vanquished the people of Nūh (Noah) with the flood, the people of Sālih with the outcry, the people of ‘Ād with the storm, the people of Lūt (Lot) with the stones, the people of Qārūn with sinking inside the earth, the people of Saba’ with hunger, thirst, and extreme poverty, and He vanquished the Children of Israel with fear, dominance of their enemies, prevalent killings, and some of them were subject to transformation and plague.
The vanquishing power of Allah Almighty is quite apparent. {...And We did not wrong them, but they were wronging themselves.} [Surat an-Nahl: 118] The power of Allah dominates and crushes the power of all created beings. {...To whom belongs sovereignty this Day? To Allah, the One, the Superb Vanquisher.} [Surat Ghāfir: 16]
Al-Rāzi (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: “Where will the tyrants and powerful kings be when this statement will be made?
And where will the prophets, messengers, and close angels be when this reproach will be proclaimed?
Where will the people of misguidance and atheism as well as the followers of guidance and monotheism be?
Where will Adam and his progeny be?
Where will Satan and his followers be?
It is as if they will be destroyed and non-existent!
The souls depart the bodies, the bodies decay and get rotten, and all bonds are severed, and only Allah remains and will remain forever.”
Not all issues are necessarily settled in worldly life. Some grievances will be dealt with again on the Day of Judgment. This truth is so hard and bitter for the unjust people. {...And indeed, our return is to Allah...} [Surat Ghāfir: 43]
Al-Shāfi‘i said: “There is a verse in the Qur’an that is considered as an arrow settled within the heart of the wrongdoers and a source of relief for the heart of the wronged.” It was said: “What is it?” He said: “{...And never is your Lord forgetful.} [Surat Maryam: 64]”
O Allah, the Owner of power and might, keep us safe from the evil of the wicked and the cunning plots of the transgressors.