Al-Malik

﷽

The third name we will be discussing and learning about is ‘Al-Malik’, The King, The Ruler.

Al-Malik is the One who is king of all beings. The One who is the owner and ruler of this world; the One who has supreme authority, and who is relied upon by everyone; the One who has all ruling power over all beings, and is ruled by none.

Allah calls Himself Al-Malik on 5 occasions in the Quran. The word ‘Malik’ comes from the root ‘maa-laa-kaa’, which points to three main meanings.

The first meaning is to have possession and ownership
The second is to have power and ability
The third main meaning is to control and have authority.

So, how can we live by this name?

1) Stay within the limits of Al-Malik.
Keep reminding yourself throughout the day, to remain within the bounds set by Allah, al-Malik, your King, and imagine both His punishment and reward. Allah has told us what is and isn’t allowed, He is the one who created us and we need to strive for righteousness, follow His rules and obey Him.

2) Be patient and be a king in the Hereafter.
In this world, we have to to strive for self-control. Don’t be a slave of money, fashion, or desire, enjoy them in moderation but not to the point where you worship and are a slave to them. We are in this world to worship Al-Malik, not worldly creations. ‘Say, O Allah, Possessor of sovereignty, You give kingdom to whom You will and take it away from whom You will. In Your hand is [all] good. Indeed, You are over all things competent.’ [Quran, 3:26] We need to constantly remind ourselves of our purpose in this world and be humble, we are not here to stay. Be patient in times of hardship and in striving to stay away from what is disapproved by Al-Malik and He will give you an eternal kingdom in the Hereafter in shaa Allah.

3) Ask Al-Malik.
Whenever you feel disheartened remind yourself Allah ﷻ‬ is your Malik and you are part of His Kingdom. ‘He does whatever He wants’ [Quran 36:82] and when something goes wrong, know this is from His wisdom and that no matter how impossible your situation or ambitions seem, you can always ask Him only for a way out. Nothing is impossible for Al-Malik. He is Al-Malik and He will always do what is best for you and there will always be khayr in what He does, we may not see it in the moment but upon retrospection you will understand He was always looking out for you and doing what is best. Place your faith in Him and ask Him to help you through any trials you face in life, He will always make a way out for you.

4) Be just.
Everything belongs to Al-Malik, but you are responsible for whatever He has given you rights or authority over, and you will be held accountable for it on the day of judgement. Allah will ask you how you treated His creation. So be just and kind towards your children, spouses, siblings, parents and even pets, remind yourself that you will be dealt with by the King on the Day of Judgement. Be careful not to be unjust and harsh towards them, you will be asked for explanations and held accountable for every time you were unjust, so be fair and shower your family with kindness and mercy.

5) Humble yourself in heart and body.
Never be arrogant, and keep reminding yourself that you are an ‘abd of Al-Malik, no matter how rich or self-sufficient you might feel, without Allah and His mercy we are all nothing. Be humble in your heart but also in your speech and appearance. Using foul language, speaking poorly of others, or having an arrogant body language are not features of a believer who humbles themselves. Allah is always watching us and He sees whenever we display arrogance, remember- from Him we came and to Him we will return, there is no space for arrogance in the heart of a believer, we will all be buried in our graves someday, none of us are superior to another. Remain humble and be sure to thank Allah for all He has given you, Alhamdulillah, always.

6) Praise Al-Malik.
The Prophet ﷺ said, whoever says ‘la ilaha il Allahu waHadu, la shareeka lahu, lahul Mulk, wa lahul Hamdu, wa huwa ‘alaa kuli shayyin Qadeer’ – None has the right to be worshipped except Allah, alone, without partner, to Him belongs all sovereignty and praise, and He is over all things omnipotent – 100 times he will receive the reward of freeing ten slaves, one hundred hasanaat will be written for him and one hundred misdeeds will be washed away. He will be shielded from shaytaan until the evening. No one will be able to present anything better than this except for someone who recited more than this.’ [Al-Bukharee, Muslim] The messenger of Allah ﷺ also used to say immediately following the witr prayer ‘Subhaan al-Malik al-Quddoos (Glory is to the King, the Holy) three times, and raising and extending his voice on the third time and then saying: Rabbil-malaa’ikati warroohi (Lord of the angels and the soul)’ [An-Nasaa’i].

Call upon Allah, Al-Malik, using this name and He as the Just Ruler will help us in following His commands and in being righteous. May Al-Malik make us of those who are patient and just towards that which we have authority over and make us of those who are humble in all we do, may He remove any arrogance from our hearts and keep us attached to Him and constantly remind us of our purpose in this world. may He guide us in being just in all our daily affairs, and allow us and our loved ones to enter His kingdom of Jannah someday. Ameen.

May Allah shower His mercy upon you all, jazakAllah khayr for reading this – please share this with anyone who you think may benefit as well – and as mentioned in the previously, this Ramadan I’m raising funds for much-needed permanent homes in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, if possible please share and donate to the link below

Each home will have 2 Rooms, a Kitchen, bathroom, enough to house 6 people, clean drinking water, electricity and best of all, the residents will have free healthcare for life!

Our aim is to help everyone make the most of this blessed month. Maximising on uplifting our own soul and imaan, whilst lifting others out of hardship, in shaa Allah

With your support we can help improve the quality of healthcare that they receive.

Please click on the link to show your support by contributing to this cause. Zakat applicable

LaunchGood.com/RimshasHomeAppeal

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Jazak Allah Khair

References: information in this post was collated from understandquran.com and the beautiful names of Allah series on wahiduddin.net.