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Al-Kabīr (The Great)

At the doorstep..

Your Lord is the Owner of might and dominion, the Great, the Exalted. Place your needs at His door and stand in humble submission before Him. He will fulfill your needs, remove your illness, repay your debt, relieve your distress, and put a smile on your face.

He is Allah, the Great, Exalted be He.

With your Lord, the Great, your wishes will turn into realities.

And your aspirations, no matter how great they may be, are too easy.

And your desires will be fulfilled, along with everything you long for.

He is the Great Lord, to Whom everyone in fear or distress turns. He is Allah, the Great, {[He is] Knower of the unseen and the seen, the Great, the Exalted.} [Surat ar-Ra‘d: 9]

Our Lord is the Great and the Exalted. None and nothing whatsoever is greater or more magnificent than He is. {They have not appraised Allah with true appraisal, while the earth entirely will be [within] His grip on the Day of Judgment, and the heavens will be folded in His right hand...} [Surat az-Zumar: 67]

Our Lord, Exalted be He, is great in His attributes, which comprise all perfection, majesty, and magnificence. None is like, similar, or equal to Him in terms of His perfect attributes.

Our Lord is also great in His actions. His magnificent creation attests to His magnificent actions, {The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the creation of mankind; yet, most people do not know.} [Surat Ghāfir: 57]

Our Lord is the Great and Majestic God, the Owner of Pride, beside Whose majesty and greatness everything great becomes so insignificant.

Our Lord is Great and far Exalted above all deficiencies, imperfections, and defects.

Moreover, He is Exalted above any evil or injustice. {...The Great, the Exalted.} [Surat ar-Ra‘d: 9] {...So the judgment is with Allah, the High, the Great.} [Surat Ghāfir: 12]

All praise belongs to You and all blessings and the dominion belong to You, our Lord.

None is ever more glorious than You.

Glory be to the One Who is not appraised properly by His servants,

the One and Only God, established above the Throne.

The minds are falling short in this regard.

Allah Almighty is greater than everything and too great to be encompassed in our knowledge. {...But they do not encompass it in knowledge.} [Surat Taha: 110]

Allah Almighty is so great that we cannot know the nature of His essence and attributes. That is why we are forbidden from contemplating Allah, as we cannot grasp Him with our small and limited minds. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Think about the blessings of Allah, but do not think about Allah Almighty.” [Narrated by Al-Tabarāni; Sahīh (authentic)] The true measure of His majesty is only known to Him and unknown to all else, including the close angels and prophets. He keeps this to Himself alone.

The most profound phrase..

Allah Almighty is greater than everything, in terms of His essence, status, might, and majesty. That is why it is said that the most profound phrase used by the Arabs for exaltation of the Almighty Lord is “Allāhu Akbar” (Allah is the Most Great). This is because it denotes a more perfect meaning than greatness. So, when we say: “Allāhu Akbar”, this comprises greatness and more.

It is for this reason that this phrase “Allāhu Akbar” (Allah is the Most Great) is used in prayer and Adhān. Indeed, it is more profound than “Allāhu A‘zham”. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Allah Almighty said: ‘Pride is My robe, and majesty is My lower garment. If anyone disputes with Me over any of them, I will throw him in Hellfire.’” [Narrated by Abu Dāwūd; Sahīh (authentic)]

Imam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: “He likens His majesty to the lower garment and His pride to the robe, and it is known that the robe is higher in rank. So, this denotes that pride is more profound than majesty.”

The key to approaching the King:

Hence, this phrase was prescribed for commencing prayer. In prayer, a Muslim is like a slave who enters upon the king. So, he is instructed to use the best phrase, namely “Allāhu Akbar”. It is as if he is saying: Allah is the Most Great; thereby, I enter the place of my Lord, Creator, and Provider, and Allah is greater than all the worldly preoccupations. If a person says this phrase sincerely from his heart, bearing its meaning in mind, he will develop a sense of exaltation for his Lord and a feeling of modesty and submission towards Him, which will prevent him from getting preoccupied with anything apart from the Almighty Lord. Given the significance of this phrase, it is present in numerous acts of worship, aiming at winning Allah’s approval. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: “{...And approval from Allah is greater...} [Surat at-Tawbah: 72]. Indeed, Allah’s approval towards a servant is greater than Paradise and all that it contains, since approval is an attribute of Allah, whereas Paradise is His creation.”

The honorable is the one who takes refuge in the Great Lord ..

When “Allāhu Akbar” fills a believer’s heart, he takes pride in it and trusts and relies upon his Lord, and everything becomes so small in his eyes compared to the pride and majesty of Allah.

Biographers said: “After Al-Hajjāj had offered two Rak‘ahs behind the Maqām, a poor man from Yemen came and performed Tawāf around the Ka‘bah. During his Tawāf, a harpoon got stuck to his clothing and then fell on Al-Hajjāj’s body, causing him to panic. He said: ‘Hold him!’ The soldiers held the poor Yemeni. He said: ‘Bring him near.’

Al-Hajjāj then said: ‘Do you know me?’ He replied: ‘I do not know you.’ Al-Hajjāj said: ‘Who is your governor in Yemen?’ He said: ‘Muhammad ibn Yūsuf - the brother of Al-Hajjāj - who is unjust like him, or even worse.’ He said: ‘Do you not know that I am his brother?’ The man wondered: ‘Are you Al-Hajjāj?’ He replied in the affirmative. Thereupon, the poor man said: ‘How evil you are! And how evil your brother is!’ He asked: ‘How did you leave my brother in Yemen?’ He replied: ‘I left him full and fat.’ Al-Hajjāj said: ‘I am not asking you about his health, but about his justice.’ The man said: ‘I left him oppressive and unjust.’ Thereupon, he said: ‘Do you not know that he is my brother?’ He said: ‘Do you think, O Hajjāj, that your brother derives more power from you than the power I derive from the One and Only God?’” Tāwūs - the narrator - said: “By Allah, this made my hair stand on end! Then, Al-Hajjāj set this man free, and he began to perform Tawāf around the Ka‘bah, fearing none but Allah.”

There are people whose shrouds are dyed with the blood of sacrifice.

From the spring of “Allāhu Akbar” they drank.

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No grave matter, hardship, or great distress could ever be hard for Allah, the Great.

So, the Great is Allah Almighty, and any other great one you have seen or heard about is nothing but a slave to Allah, Who is the Most Great. Hence, no distress can escape the power and will of Allah, the Owner of honor, pride, and majesty.

Allah, the Great Lord, is the One Who will turn your problems into solutions, your pains into wellbeing, your dreams into realities, and your tears into smiles.

So, hold onto the rope of Allah,

for He is the real support for you, while others will fail you.

O Allah, we implore You by Your name “Al-Kabīr” to bestow upon us the favor of entering Paradise and being saved from Hellfire.