In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

A Benefit from Shaikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, Shared After Work by My Salafi Brother, Friend, Confidant, and Colleague, Ustadh Abu Tasneem Mushaf Al-Banghali, may Allah preserve him and his family Amin

Shaikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy upon him, stated:

وقد يكون الرجل من أذكياء الناس وأحدهم نظرا ويعميه عن أظهر الأشياء، وقد يكون من أبلد الناس وأضعفهم نظرا ويهديه لما اختلف فيه من الحق بإذنه، فلا حول ولا قوة إلا به

And indeed, a man may be from the intelligent people and the most acute in perception, (however) He (Allah) blinds him to most obvious (clearest) things. And he may be among the dullest and weakest in perception, (however), He (Allah) – by His permission – guides him to the truth in which (people) differ, and there is neither Hawl nor Quwwah except through Him. (1) [Refer to Footnote a]

Then furthermore- in the same section – Shaikh Al-Islam quotes one of the supplications of the night prayer as follows:

 اللّهُـمَّ رَبَّ جِـبْرائيل ، وَميكـائيل ، وَإِسْـرافيل، فاطِـرَ السَّمواتِ وَالأَرْض ، عالـِمَ الغَيْـبِ وَالشَّهـادَةِ أَنْـتَ تَحْـكمُ بَيْـنَ عِبـادِكَ فيـما كانوا فيهِ يَخْتَلِفـون. اهدِنـي لِمـا اخْتُـلِفَ فيـهِ مِنَ الْحَـقِّ بِإِذْنِك ، إِنَّـكَ تَهْـدي مَنْ تَشـاءُ إِلى صِراطٍ مُسْتَقـيم

O Allah! Lord of Jibraa’eel, Meekaa’eel, and Israafeel, Creator of the heavens and the Earth, The Knower of the seen and the unseen. You judge between Your slaves regarding which they differ. Guide me to the truth regarding that in which there is differing, by Your Will. Verily, You guide whomever you will to the straight path. [Sahih Muslim 770][Refer to Footnote b]

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Footnote a: Abu Musa Al-Ash’aree, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to me, “O Abdullah Bin Qais! Shall I tell you a word which is one of the treasures of Paradise? It is

لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللهِ

“There is neither might nor power (to alternate from one state to another nor move from one thing to another) except by Allaah’s Will” . [Al-Bukhari 6384 & Muslim 2704]

“One of the treasures of paradise”. Meaning, its reward is great and that is paradise; and Paradise is the greatest thing sought after. This shows the virtue of the statement Laa “Hawla Walaa Quwwata illaa Billah”. why does it carry this reward? This is because it necessitates surrendering all of one’s affairs to Allah, manifesting one’s inability and poverty in the presence of Allah, and that indeed Allah is The One Perfect in Strength and The One Fully Able to do all things. It is a great statement, easy to utter and repeat on the tongue. (1)

Shaikh Al-Islam Al-Harawee, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said that Abu Haytham, may Allah have mercy upon him, said, “Al-Hawl [i.e. might] is Al-Haraka [movement], meaning, there is no movement nor ability except by the Will of Allah”. And it is said, “There is no might to repel evil nor any power to reach good except by the Will of Allaah”. (2)

Footnote b: 

 اللّهُـمَّ رَبَّ جِـبْرائيل ، وَميكـائيل ، وَإِسْـرافيل، فاطِـرَ السَّمواتِ وَالأَرْض ، عالـِمَ الغَيْـبِ وَالشَّهـادَةِ أَنْـتَ تَحْـكمُ بَيْـنَ عِبـادِكَ فيـما كانوا فيهِ يَخْتَلِفـون. اهدِنـي لِمـا اخْتُـلِفَ فيـهِ مِنَ الْحَـقِّ بِإِذْنِك ، إِنَّـكَ تَهْـدي مَنْ تَشـاءُ إِلى صِراطٍ مُسْتَقـيم

O Allah! Lord of Jibraa’eel, Meekaa’eel, and Israafeel, Creator of the heavens and the Earth, The Knower of the seen and the unseen. You judge between Your slaves regarding which they differ. Guide me to the truth regarding that in which there is differing, by Your Will. Verily, You guide whomever you will to the straight path. [Sahih Muslim 770]

The scholars say that these creations [i.e. Jibraa’eel, Meekaa’eel, Israafeel, the heavens, and the earth] have been specifically mentioned, even though Allah is the Creator of all the creation, just as has been established in the Qur’an and authentic Sunnah with regards to the specific mention of every created thing that has a great and mighty status as one of Allah’s creation, such as the statement, “Lord of the Heavens and the Earth”, “Lord of the Supreme Throne”, “Lord of the Angels and Jibreel”, “The Lord of the two Easts (places of sunrise during early summer and early winter) and the Lord of the two Wests (places of sunset during early summer and early winter)”, “The Lord of Humankind”, “The King of Humankind”, “The Only True God of Humankind”, “The Lord of all Created Things”, “The Lord of the Prophets”, “The Creator of the Heavens and the Earth”, “The Originator of the Heavens and the Earth” etc.  All these things and what is similar to them show Allah’s Greatness, All-encompassing Power, and absolute Sovereignty. (4)

In this supplication, one employs the means of seeking Allah’s (love, aid, pleasure, assistance, etc) through belief and affirmation that He is the Lord – in general and specific – of these three Angels, who have been given a means of giving life. Jibra’eel is given the responsibility to convey the revelation (to the Prophets) by way of which the hearts and souls are given that type of life that necessitates the presence of sound belief in the heart that leads to all righteous deeds. Meekaa’eel is given the responsibility to bring the rain by way of which the earth, the vegetation, and animals are given life, and Israafeel is given the responsibility to blow the trumpet by way of which the creation is resurrected after their death.

Also employing the means of seeking Allah’s (love, aid, assistance, pleasure, etc) through belief and affirmation that Allah alone is the Originator of the heavens and earth, meaning, He is their Creator and the one who brought them into existence prior to their non-existence, and that He is the knower of the unseen and the seen- meaning, the hidden and apparent, and because He alone is the One Who judges between the servants in that which they differ, so that He guides you to the truth in that which they differ. As for guidance, it is knowledge of the truth together with having the intent to follow the truth and preferring it over other things. The guided person acts upon the truth and desires it, and it is the Greatest blessing of Allah bestowed on the servants. We ask Allah to guide us all to the straight path and grant us every good. (5) [End of quotes]

NB: Some ask, “Why do you mention the name of the one who shared the Faa’idah with you?!”

The answer:

“We live in an era in which some seek to rewrite history, portray themselves as ones who have achieved everything by themselves and begin to patronise -either through actions or words- those who benefitted them in the past. This despicable behaviour is a disease we fear for ourselves in this era in which access to knowledge is easy but behaviour has deteriorated. Even if a child or the most ignorant person benefits us with a Faa’idah, we’ll attribute it to them insha’Allah. We ask Allah:

اللهمَّ كما حسَّنتَ خَلقي فحسِّنْ خُلُقي

(1) Dar Ta’aarud Al-Aql Wan Naql 9/34. Paraphrased

(2) An Excerpt from Tasheel Al il’haami Bi-Fiqh Al-Ahadith Min Bulugh Al-Maram 6/335 by Mufti, Al-Allamah Salih al-Fawzan, may Allah preserve him.

(3) Sharh Saheeh Muslim 4/87

(4) Sharh Saheeh Muslim 5/50

(5) An Excerpt from Fiqh Al-Ad’iyah Wal Ad’kaar 3/139-140 by Shaikh Abdur Razzaq Al-Badr, may Allah preserve him.