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You give sovereignty to whom You will, bring poverty after opulence, lower some people after being in a high position, and humiliate and weaken whom You will after being honorable and strong. You elevate whom You will, grant success to whom You will, decree acceptance among people for whom You will, and You give whom You will and withhold from whom You will; goodness lies in Your hand; indeed You have power over all things.
There is no god except You, the Magnificent, the Forbearing.
Your attributes are so sublime and magnificent
that we cannot extend enough praise to You.
“Al-‘Azhīm” is one of the Beautiful Names of Allah Almighty. A sublime name for a Magnificent Lord. It comprises the meanings of magnificence, greatness, honor, and might.
It gives a sense of supreme strength and awe. Allah Almighty says: {...And He is the High, the Magnificent.} [Surat al-Baqarah: 255]
The Magnificent Lord possesses supreme majesty and status, and His magnificence goes beyond all limits of our minds, which cannot perceive His nature or essence.
Our Lord is the Magnificent in His essence, and none is like Him in terms of His magnificence.
As an aspect of His magnificence, the heavens and the earth are smaller than a mustard seed in His hand. {They did not revere Allah His true reverence. On the Day of Resurrection, the whole earth will be in His Grip, and the heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand. Glorified and exalted is He above all what they associate with Him!} [Surat az-Zumar: 67]
The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is authentically reported to have said: “The seven heavens compared to the Kursi (Footstool) are only like a ring thrown in a desert; and the superiority of the Throne over the Kursi is like the superiority of this desert over this ring.” [Narrated by Ibn Abu Shaybah; Sahīh (authentic)]
Such is the majesty and magnificence of the Kursi and the Throne, which are part of His creation. So, what about the magnificence of Allah Almighty Himself, Who rose over the Throne high above all His creation?!
Our Lord is magnificent in His attributes for He possesses all attributes of perfection. He is magnificent in His mercy, power, giving, and beauty.
In a Qudsi Hadīth, Allah Almighty said: “Pride is My robe and magnificence is My lower garment. If anyone disputes with Me over one of them, I will throw him in Hellfire.” [Narrated by Abu Dāwūd; Sahīh (authentic)]
Our Lord is magnificent also in His actions as they point to His vast wisdom, justice, grace, and will.
He is magnificent in every sense that requires us to glorify Him, and we cannot extol Him enough.
Indeed, Allah Almighty has perfect magnificence: {They did not revere Allah His true reverence. On the Day of Resurrection, the whole earth will be in His Grip, and the heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand. Glorified and exalted is He above all what they associate with Him!} [Surat az-Zumar: 67]
Do not consider any matter as difficult for Him, regardless of how great or serious it may be. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is authentically reported to have said: “When anyone of you supplicates, he should not say: ‘O Allah, forgive me if You wish.’ But he should be determined in his request and persistent in expressing his desire, for no bounty is too great for Allah to bestow (upon His slaves).” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim - this is the wording of Muslim]
Our Lord is magnificent in His mercy, forgiveness, forbearance, kindness, and generosity. No sin is too great for Him to forgive.
In the Hadīth about intercession, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “... O Muhammad, raise your head, speak and you will be heard, ask and you will be given, and intercede and your intercession will be accepted.
I will say: ‘O Lord, give me permission with regard to those who said: la ilāha illallāh (there is no god except Allah).’ He will say: ‘By My honor, majesty, pride, and magnificence, I will bring out of it anyone who said: la ilāha illallāh (there is no god except Allah).’” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
When my heart hardened and life became too tough for me, I considered my sins so great.
But when I compared them to Your pardon, I found Your pardon far greater.
It is authentically reported that whenever the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) entered the mosque, he would say: “A‘ūdhu billāhi Al-‘Azhīm wa biwajhihi al-karīm wa sultānihi al-qadīm min ash-shaytān ar-rajīm (I seek refuge with Allah, the Magnificent, and with His honorable face, and His eternal domain from the accursed devil).” He said: “If he says so, the devil will say: ‘He is granted protection against me for the rest of the day.’” [Narrated by Abu Dāwūd; Sahīh (authentic)]
He who extols Allah by his tongue, i.e. engaging in Dhikr, will attain success and his scale of good deeds will be heavy on the Day of Judgment. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is authentically reported to have said: “Two phrases are light for the tongue to utter, heavy in the Scale, and dear to the Most Compassionate: Subhānallāh wa bihamdih subhānallāh Al-‘Azhīm (Glory be to Allah and His is the praise, glory be to Allah, the Magnificent).” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
Allah Almighty even commanded His servants to glorify Him using this name. He says: {So glorify the name of your Lord, the Magnificent.} [Surat al-Wāqi‘ah: 74]
The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) commanded his Ummah to glorify Allah in prayer by this name: “As for bowing, proclaim therein the magnificence of the Lord, Exalted be He.” [Narrated by Muslim]
If a disaster befalls you and life becomes so hard and distressful, say: “La ilāha illallāh Al-‘Azhīm Al-Halīm, la ilāha illallāh Rabbu al-‘arsh al-‘azhīm, la ilāha illallāh Rabbu as-samāwati wa Rabbu al-ardi wa Rabbu al-‘arsh al-karīm (There is no god except Allah, the Magnificent, the Forbearing. There is no god except Allah, the Lord of the mighty Throne. There is no god except Allah, the Lord of the heavens, the earth, and the Honorable Throne).” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
If you fear a person in power, indeed the power of Allah is far greater. ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd said: “O Allah, Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the mighty Throne, support me against so-and-so and his allies among Your creation, lest anyone of them should oppress or transgress against me. Your support is might, all praise is due to You, and there is no god except You.”
The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) used to seek refuge with the magnificence of Allah Almighty from being swallowed by earth in the morning and evening saying: “Allāhumma a‘ūdhu bi‘azhamatika min an ughtāla min tahti (O Allah, I seek refuge in Your magnificence from being swallowed up from underneath me).” [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi; Sahīh (authentic)]
Hence, whoever seeks refuge in Allah Almighty, the Magnificent Lord, and draws closer to Him and fears Him will attain security in this world and the reward in the Hereafter. Our Lord says: {...And whoever fears Allah - He will remove for him his misdeeds and make great for him his reward.} [Surat at-Talāq: 5]
As for the highest degree with Allah Almighty, it is for those about whom He says: {Those who believed, emigrated, and strove in Allah’s cause with their wealth and their lives are of a higher rank before Allah; it is they who will triumph.} [Surat at-Tawbah: 20]
Yet, he who associates partners with Allah and does not have faith enough to proclaim His magnificence will have a recompense similar to his action, namely Hellfire - may Allah protect us from it. {“Seize him and shackle him, then make him burn in the Blazing Fire, then tie him up with chain of seventy cubits long. For he did not believe in Allah, the Most Great,} [Surat al-Hāqqah: 30-33]
We extol our Lord by extolling His names and attributes, and our extolment of Him should lie within our hearts in the form of love for Him, acknowledgment of His magnificence, and being humbly submissive to Him. “Whoever believes himself to be better than others and walks with a swaggering gait will meet Allah while He is angry with him.” [Narrated by Ahmad; Sahīh (authentic)]
Moreover, we should extol Allah Almighty by our tongues and by remembering Him frequently. {So glorify the name of your Lord, the Magnificent.} [Surat al-Wāqi‘ah: 74]
And we should extol Him by our body organs, as we use them in worshiping and obeying Him. To extol Allah Almighty, we should obey Him and not disobey Him; remember Him and not forget Him; and give thanks to Him and not show ingratitude to Him.
Aspects of extolling Allah Almighty include extolling His messengers, angels, rituals, such as prayer, Zakah, fasting, Hajj, and ‘Umrah. {This is so. And whoever honors the rituals of Allah, it is from the piety of the hearts.} [Surat al-Hajj: 32]
Our extolment of Him also includes extolling His noble Book, which He describes as being magnificent: {We have surely given you the seven oft-repeated verses and the great Qur’an.} [Surat al-Hijr: 87]
And part of extolling Him is to extol His sanctities and the sanctities of the believers. {Such [is the pilgrimage]; whoever honors the sacred rituals of Allah, it is best for him with his Lord...} [Surat al-Hajj: 30]
Another aspect of extolling Him is not to give precedence to the speech of anyone, irrespective of his status, over the speech of Allah. {O you who believe, do not decide [any matter of importance] before Allah and His Messenger, and fear Allah, for Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.} [Surat al-Hujurāt: 1]
O You Who created this superb creation
and guarantee sustenance for all,
Your attributes are so sublime and magnificent
that we cannot extend enough praise to You.
Here I have come to You, having nothing but my trust in You
with a regretful heart and tearful eyes.
Forgive the past sins of Your servant and enable him
to do what is pleasing to You.
Your bounty is complete, indeed.
And I very much hope You will be Bountiful to me.
I implore Allah, the Magnificent, to make us among the pious who will win the gardens of bliss.