3 - الْمَلِكُ

[ummtaalib]

الْمَلِكُ

 

Translation

  الْمَلِكُ is translated as The Absolute Ruler and means The True King.

 

Definition

Imam Ghazali (رحمه الله) says it is The One Who in His Dhaat (Essence) and Sifat (Attribute) has no need of any existing thing while every existing thing needs Him.

 

Therefore everything is dependent on Allah ta’ala and Allah ta’ala is dependent on no-one. We cannot dispense with Him and we cannot live without His Being so  الْمَلِكُ means One Who is Indispensible.

 

Everything other than Himself is subject to Him so He is The King of Kings.

 

The kingship of a king among humans is temporary and limited. It is not absolute. He still needs his subjects i.e. their loyalty, tax etc. while Allah ta’ala is that King Who truly does not need anyone. He is truly independent of His creation.

 

He has given us human beings power and authority to some extent and to own land, money, homes etc. however we are not the true owners. Sooner or later it will leave us or if we have it now, then when we die it will belong to our inheritors. Therefore Allah ta’ala is the true Owner and true King and in Surah Faatihah -  مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ  - we say Allah ta’ala is the Owner of the Day of Judgement.

 

In the Qur’an

In Surah Mu’min Allah ta’ala says, 

 

يَوْمَ هُمْ بَارِزُونَ ۖ لَا يَخْفَىٰ عَلَى اللَّهِ مِنْهُمْ شَيْءٌ ۚ لِمَنِ الْمُلْكُ الْيَوْمَ ۖ لِلَّهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ

The Day when they all shall come forth from their graves with nothing hidden from Allah. It will be asked: "Whose is the Kingdom today?" No one shall dare to speak, and Allah Himself will say: “It is Allah's, the One, the Irresistible.” [Qur’an 40:16]

 

Allah ta’ala will ask this question after the blowing of the trumpet the first time after which the world will be destroyed. Therefore on the Day of Judgement there will be no king or authority except Allah ta’ala.

 

This is a Sifat in which we can share to the extent that we are kings of what we have i.e. our lives, homes etc. however in reality Allah ta’ala is the True King.

 

Though this Sifat of Allah ta’ala is present in the Dunya it will be manifested and in full recognition in the Aakhirah. Allah ta’ala mentions in Surah Faatihah that He is the Owner of the Day of Judgement because in the Dunya He has given us a share in being kings/owners/having authority etc. however on the Day of Judgement only Allah ta’ala will have it and the semblance of kingship and authority Allah ta’ala allowed humanity, will end. 

 

In Hadith

It is narrated that the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam said:

“Allah will seize the earth on the Day of Resurrection and will roll up the heavens in His Right Hand, then He will say: ‘I am the King, where are the kings of the earth?” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

 

According to ‘Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood RA, a Jewish scholar came to the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam and said,

“O Muhammad! verily, Allah, the Exalted and Glorious would carry the Heavens on the Day of Judgment upon one finger and earths upon one finger and the mountains and trees upon one finger and the ocean and moist earth upon one finger, and in fact the whole of the creation upon one finger, and then He would stir them and say: ‘I am your Lord, I am your Lord’.

Thereupon Allah’s Messenger sallallaahu ‘alayhiw asallam smiled testifying what that scholar had said. He then recited this verse: “And they honour not Allah with the honour due to Him; and the whole earth will be in His grip on the Day of Resurrection and the heaven rolled up in His right hand. Glory be to Him I and highly Exalted is He above what they associate (with Him)” (Az-Zumar:67) [Al-Bukhari]

 

Therefore Allah ta’ala is the Haqeeqee (true) King and all other kingships will end.

 

 

Everything belongs to Allah ta'ala 

Mothers should teach their children that Allah ta’ala is the true Owner of everything and not us. There are stories related regarding Scholars of the past who rebuked their children for saying words like “The maalik of the home is not in” instead of saying “The person of the house is not in.”

 

Shaykhul Hadith Zakariyyah Khandlawi (رحمه الله) who has authored many books said he was rebuked by his father for saying “My pillow” and as a child he was very hurt but later realised his father had taught him a very important lesson. Parents of the past noticed these things and did Tarbiyat of their children. Therefore we should teach children not to say “My” this or that, as today we have the “me, me” culture but in actuality nothing belongs to us. Everything belongs to Allah ta’ala and we only have what we say is “mine” temporarily. We know this in our Aqeedah but the Haqeeqat (reality) of it is absent. If we had this reality, it could actually protect us from the love of the Dunya. It will become a protective mechanism against a lot of negative emotions.  When a person knows that it is Allah ta’ala Who owns everything then giving money to charity is not going to be a big deal and we will be saved from greed and miserliness and jealousy i.e. why does this person have such and such and I do not.

 

 

Counsel

Advice of Imam Ghazali (رحمه الله) regarding the name الْمَلِكُ

 

• To remind ourselves that Allah ta’ala is the Maalike Haqeeqee of everything and this is especially helpful when you lose something i.e. wealth, employment, power, position/rank and other things of the Dunya. In the case of losing authority or power, one will realise that Allah ta’ala is the True Sovereign and He allowed me this authority in a small way. This will help us deal with the situation better.
• The person who regards Allah ta’ala as the True King and Absolute authority will definitely be protected from Shirk and will increase in Imaan
• When a person has the reality of this name in the heart he will be have more Sukoon and contentment. His grief will be temporary and in both grief and happiness he will praise Allah ta’ala and ask for His refuge as he knows that He is the True King and Authority and He is the only One Who can protect.
• Kings have subjects whom he rules and he has people in high positions i.e. ministers,  who help him rule the Kingdom. Similarly we are the kings and we have body parts and emotions who are the subjects. Imam Ghazali (رحمه الله) writes that the person rules his body parts and emotions and they do not rule over him. If they (Body parts and emotions) obey him and he does not obey them then the person will attain the level of a king in this world. He says if we wish to be true kings in this world then we should control the five and half feet bodies we have i.e. we should control our eyes, ears, tongues etc. and we should think, feel and say according to the wishes of Allah ta’ala.

Imam Ghazali (رحمه الله) mentions the story of a Wali of Allah ta’ala who was told by a Prince to ask him for his needs. The Wali of Allah ta’ala replied, “Is that the way to speak to me when I have two servants who are your masters?” The Prince asked who were his masters and the Wali of Allah ta’ala replied that they were greed and desires. He said, “I have conquered them but they have conquered you. I rule over them and they rule over you.”

Therefore if we conquer these two bad traits of greed and desires then we are masters over them. People may be kings and have authority but if they are ruled by greed and desires then they are servants to these two traits.

The person will also have certainty that my life, wealth and time is an Amaanah and Allah ta’ala is the True Owner of not just the wealth I have but He owns my life and time. He realises that it’s not just me but I have to do things for other people for the sake of Allah ta’ala and he then will give time for Allah ta’ala.

 

*~~*~~*