89 - 90
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: “A person is moving, not standing still. He is either going up or down, moving forward or backwards.
There is nothing standstill at all, neither in nature nor in the Shariah. There are only stages that pass by so quickly and lead to Paradise or Hellfire. One may go fast or slowly and may advance or lag behind.
No one ever remains standing on this path. People may only go in different directions and move at varying speeds. {Hellfire is indeed one of the greatest matters, a warning to mankind, to whoever among you chooses to advance or regress.} [Surat al-Muddaththir: 35-37] He does not mention anyone standing still, for there will be no abode other than Paradise and Hellfire and no path whatsoever that leads to other than them.
So, he who is not advancing towards this one by good deeds is necessarily lagging behind toward that one on account of evil deeds.”
Advancing and delaying are in the Hand of Allah Almighty. That is why His beautiful names include: The Advancer and the Delayer.
Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: “When the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) got up to perform prayer during the night, he would supplicate saying: ‘Faghfir li mā qaddamtu wa mā akhkhartu wa mā asrartu wa mā a‘lantu anta Al-Muqaddim wa anta Al-Mu’akhkhir lā ilāha illā anta - or lā ilāha ghayruk (So, forgive me my future and past faults and those faults I commit secretly or openly. Indeed, You are the Advancer and You are the Delayer. There is no god but You - or there is no god other than You).” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
Our Lord is the Advancer and the Delayer. He puts things in their proper place and position, advancing some and delaying others, as He wishes.
He had predestined measures before He created the creation.
And He prefers whomever He wishes among His pious servants to others and puts His servants in varying ranks and degrees, some above others.
He also advances those He wills to the ranks of the forerunners and delays those He wills and prevents them from reaching them. And He may delay things beyond their expected time for His knowledge and wisdom about the good consequences resulting from that. Indeed, no one can advance what He delays or delay what He advances.
Our Lord, Exalted be He, advances whomever He wills among His servants to His mercy by helping him, and delays whomever He wills and holds him from reaching that by way of disappointment.
As dictated by politeness and courtesy, we should use both names together, not separately, because perfection lies in using them together.
Our Lord is the Advancer and the Delayer, and these two names
describe His essence as well as His actions.
are both universal and Shariah-related:
As an example of the universal advance and delay, Allah Almighty puts some of His creatures ahead of others in terms of creation and existence. In a Hadīth, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The first thing Allah created was the pen.” [Narrated by Abu Dāwūd; Sahīh (authentic)] He created the heavens and the earth in six days, put the creation of the angels ahead of the creation of the jinn and humans, and put the creation of the jinn ahead of the creation of humans. He says: {And the jinn We created before that, from smokeless fire.} [Surat al-Hijr: 27] Adam (peace be upon him) was the first human created and then his children followed him in terms of creation and existence. They come in succession - some earlier and some later.
It does not follow that those who were created earlier are superior to those who were created later. In fact, Adam was created at the end of the six days. Nonetheless, he and his children are given preference over many of those created before them. {We have honored the children of Adam, carried them on land and sea, provided for them good things and favored them above many of those whom We have created.} [Surat al-Isrā’: 70]
Moreover, Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is the Seal of all prophets and he is the best of them; and his Ummah is the last nation and the best of all nations.
On the other hand, those who come earlier may be superior to those who come later. An example is Prophet Ibrāhim (Abraham) (peace be upon him). He is the father of prophets and better than all prophets and messengers who came after him, except for Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him).
As for the Shariah-related advance and delay, the Adhān (call to prayer), for example, comes ahead of prayer, and the Friday sermon is before the Friday prayer. Acts of worship have a specific order in terms of their requirements and duties, without which they may be invalid.
The Shariah-related advance also includes giving precedence to some acts of worship and persons over others. Obligations, for instance, are dearer to Allah than the supererogatory acts. Moreover, the best among people are the prophets and messengers, who also enjoy varying degrees of excellence and merit, which also applies to ordinary people, some of whom are better than others.
When the believer knows that Allah is the Advancer and the Delayer, he will get deeply attached to Him alone and implore Him to grant him faith and steadfastness, and he will rely upon Him, for none can advance what He delays or delay what He advances.
The true beneficial advance is the one a person makes towards the obedience of Allah Almighty and His pleasure and Paradise. The delay in doing so is the dispraised delay indeed. Allah Almighty says: {And hasten towards forgiveness from your Lord and a Paradise as wide as the heavens and earth, prepared for the righteous.} [Surat Ᾱl ‘Imrān: 133] He also says: {Race one another towards forgiveness from your Lord and Paradise the width of which is like the width of the heaven and earth} [Surat al-Hadīd: 21]
And the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is authentically reported to have said: “Come forward and be close to me and let those who come after you follow your lead. If people continue to fall behind, Allah puts them behind.” [Narrated by Muslim]
As for worldly advance and delay, it is not what matters in the sight of Allah Almighty, and so it has no benefit.
Furthermore, it is a sign of faith to advance those advanced by Allah Almighty and delay those delayed by Him. Thus, the criterion according to which we advance or delay, love or hate, and show loyalty or disavowal to anyone is the criterion established by our Lord, Exalted be He, Who says: {Do those who commit evil deeds think that We will make them equal to those who believe and do righteous deeds, in this life and after their death? How poorly they judge!} [Surat al-Jāthiyah: 21]
O Allah, the Advancer and the Delayer, we implore You to forgive us, admit us into Your Paradise, and save us from Your Hellfire.