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The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is authentically reported to have said: “Once Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd (Solomon) (peace be upon him and his father) said: ‘Tonight I will have sexual intercourse with one hundred (or ninety-nine) women each of whom will give birth to a knight who will fight in the cause of Allah.’ His companion said: ‘Allah willing.’ But he did not say: ‘Allah willing.’ Therefore, only one of those women conceived and gave birth to half a man.
By the One in Whose hand Muhammad’s soul is, if he had said ‘Allah willing’, all of them would have been knights striving in the cause of Allah.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
One cannot reach his objective or fulfill his needs except through Allah Almighty, Who is:
{...The Creator, the Initiator, the Fashioner; to Him belong the most beautiful names. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.}
[Surat al-Hashr: 24]
O Allah, praise be to You! You have bestowed Your favor upon us as You have brought us into existence after we were nothing. {Has there come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing worth mentioning?} [Surat al-Insān: 1]
Allah Almighty praises Himself as the Initiator as He says: {He is Allah, the Creator, the Initiator, the Fashioner...} [Surat al-Hashr: 24]
“Bāri’” is derived from “bar’”, which has two meanings. The first is creating.
The second meaning is being away and free from something.
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So, our Lord is the Initiator, the Maker, and the Inventor, Who brought things into existence after they had been nothing. He preferred some of His creation over others and made every race distinct from others and fashioned each in a way that fits the purpose behind its creation. So, He creates something out of nothing and gives it the traits that make it distinct from other creatures.
He created the creation free from discrepancy and disharmony. {Who created seven heavens in layers. You do not see in the creation of the Most Compassionate any inconsistency. So return [your] vision [to the sky]; do you see any flaws?} [Surat al-Mulk: 3]
Moreover, our Lord, Al-Bāri’, is free from any deficiency or defect in His essence, attributes, and actions.
His name “Al-Bāri’” is witnessed in all of His creation,
and His subtle and kind acts keep descending.
Glory be to the One to Whom all creatures
prostrate themselves and proclaim His greatness and Oneness!
Allah Almighty says: {He is Allah, the Creator, the Initiator, the Fashioner...} [Surat al-Hashr: 24]
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When Allah Almighty wants to create something, He first predestines it according to His knowledge and wisdom, then He initiates its existence from nothingness according to His predestination and in the form He wills, Exalted be He.
A wise man was once asked: “How did you know Allah?” He said: “By reading the signs of His power that are manifest in the creatures.”
{Who perfected everything which He created...}
[Surat as-Sajdah: 7]
{We did not create them both except for a true purpose...}
[Surat ad-Dukhān: 39]
Consider the plants on earth, with all its different kinds, and have a close look at all the wonderful creatures in the world,
which clearly point to the One Creator, Who has no partner.
{Say: “Observe what is in the heavens and earth”...} [Surat Yūnus: 101] There is nothing but His work, superb creation, amazing power, and the traces of His wisdom. So, who is more entitled to be the God? Indeed, He Who creates is more worthy of being worshiped and praised as the One and Only God.
Indeed, most people know that they were created by Allah, but majority of them still associate partners with Him. {And most of them believe not in Allah except that they associate others with Him.} [Surat Yūsuf: 106] People fall under two categories:
The believers, who are the best among humankind.
The polytheists, who are the worst among humankind.
Let one consider his actions. If they are good, he should praise his Lord as He created him inclined to be good. Had he left his self to its own whims and vain desires and had not restrained it with fear from Allah, he would have been among the worst human beings.
Therefore, Mūsa (Moses) (peace be upon him) ordered his people to repent to Allah, the Initiator, after they had deviated from belief in Him and made an idol out of their jewelry in the form of a calf. {And [recall] when Moses said to his people: “O my people, indeed you have wronged yourselves by worshiping the calf. So, repent to your Initiator and kill yourselves. That is best for you in the sight of your Initiator.” Then He accepted your repentance; indeed, He is the Accepting of repentance, the Most Merciful.} [Surat al-Baqarah: 54]
Whenever the believer knows and learns one of the beautiful names of Allah, he becomes more honorable and elevated and will have greater longing and love for Him; and he seeks closeness to his Lord by knowing that name.
He will also know that Allah has power over all things.
O Allah, the Initiator, show kindness to us and let Your mercy descend upon us.