47 - الْمَجِيدُ

[Bint e Aisha]

الْمَجِيدُ

 

Translation

الْمَجِيدُ is translated as The All-Glorious and The Majestic. It is similar to  الْجَلِيلُ. 

 

Definition

It comes from the root word مجد – the name Amjad means high rank/nobility (noble in terms of background and actions). It has the connotation of being distinguished. 

 

The name  الْمَجِيدُ is related in meaning but with differences in their nuances to three other names, الْجَلِيلُ (the Majestic),  الْكَرِيمُ (The Generous) and الْوَهَّابُ   (The Bestower).  

 

The distinguishing factor difference between الْمَجِيدُ and these three names is that  الْمَجِيدُ has the concept of being noble or notable and high ranking in terms of the Af’aal (Actions) of Allah ta’ala.

 

Another way to define it is That Being Who is deserving of all praise, high rank, miraculous actions and is full of wisdom. Due to the Af’aal, Allah ta’ala is regarded as الْمَجِيدُ and this is the differentiating factor between this and the other names. It’s about being glorious in terms of His actions and being esteemed in all His Sifaat with no one more glorious than Him. 

 

In the Qur’an

It is mentioned twice in the Qur’an with Allah and twice to describe the Qur’an. In Surah Hood (Verse 73) 

 

قَالُوا أَتَعْجَبِينَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ ۖ رَحْمَتُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ عَلَيْكُمْ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ ۚ إِنَّهُ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ 

They said: "Do you wonder at Allah's decree? May Allah's mercy and His blessings be upon you, O residents of the household; for He is indeed worthy of all praise, full of all glory." [Surah Hood: 73]

It is in context of an adjective and with “Hameed” to increase and emphasise of what is being said.

ذُو الْعَرْشِ الْمَجِيدُ   - the Owner of the Throne, the Glorious [Surah Burooj: 15]

Describing the Qur’an:

بَلْ هُوَ قُرْآنٌ مَجِيدٌ  - Surely this is a Glorious Qur’an [Surah Burooj: 21]

ق ۚ وَالْقُرْآنِ الْمَجِيدِ - Qaf. By the glorious Qur’an [Surah Qaaf: 1]

 

The Qur’an has the greatest status over all the Books sent down and it is praiseworthy and most honourable and glorious.

 

Asmaa ul Husnaa, a Vocabulary for us to Express ourselves 
 

This is one of the words of praise of Allah ta’ala. When we praise someone in the Dunya who we love or look up to, we are at a loss of words and sometimes cannot express what we want to say. In a way Allah ta’ala is giving us these Asmaa ul Husnaa (99 and many more) as a huge vocabulary describing Himself so that we can express our feelings towards Him and praise Him and this name has that connotation about it. Therefore if we do not understand the differences between them it does not matter. 

 

In English “Glorious” and “Majestic” are two words with the difference being that “Glorious” is like the sun rising and with “Majestic” we think of Royalty so in our minds we have different words to differentiate something.   

 

الْمَجِيدُ as Praise
 

Someone came to the famous Scholar from among the Taabi’een, Sufyaan bin Uyaynaa (Rahimahullah) and asked him why the Du’a-e-Karb (Difficulty) is so called when it is a praise and there is no mention of difficulty in it. He replied, “Do you not know the Hadith Qudsi where Allah ta’ala says, ‘Whoever is busy with My Dhikr and does not have any time left to make Du’a then I will give him something better than those who ask?’” 

 

This means that when one is busy with the Qur’an or other remembrance of Allah ta’ala, and not busy in the kitchen or on the net. The point from this story is that when a person is praising and glorifying Allah ta’ala through Tilaawat of the Qur’an and other ‘Ibaadaat that in itself is like Du’a so we need to praise Allah ta’ala for our own selves and we need to keep learning and finding out how to praise Allah ta’ala. We should say “Alhamdulillah” even when we don’t feel like it when we are having a bad day i.e.
 

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ and when we do that it will make us feel better. Praising Allah ta’ala has the power of Du’a and الْمَجِيدُ is one of those names of praise.

 

الْمَجِيدُ in Durood Ibraheem

Durood Ibraheem begins with اللَّهُمَّ and ends with مَجِيدُ .

 

اَللّٰھُمَّ صَلِّ عَلٰی مُحَمَّدٍ وَّعَلٰٓی اٰلِ مُحَمَّدٍ کَمَا صَلَّیْتَ عَلٰٓی اِبْرَاھِیْمَ وَعَلٰٓی اٰلِ اِبْرَاھِیْمَ اِنَّکَ حَمِیْدٌ مَّجِیْدٌ 
اَللّٰھُمَّ بَارِکْ عَلٰی مُحَمَّدٍ وَّعَلٰٓی اٰلِ مُحَمَّدٍ کَمَا بَارَکْتَ عَلٰٓی اِبْرَاھِیْمَ وَعَلٰٓی اٰلِ اِبْرَاھِیْمَ اِنَّکَ حَمِیْدٌ مَّجِیْدٌ

 

O Allah, let Your Blessings come upon Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and the family of Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious. Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious.

 

•    Secret of   اللَّهُمَّ 

Ibn Qayyim (Rahimahullah) said that starting with the name of Allah ta’ala actually includes all the names of Allah ta’ala. Therefore  اللَّهُمَّ equals to all the Asmaa ul Husnaa and we see that most Du’a begin with اللَّهُمَّ so we are making Du’a through the Asmaa ul Husnaa. 

 

•    Ending with مَجِيد

Ending with مَجِيد  is ending with a praise. الْمَجِيدُ is a Jamaali Sifat (His being Muhsin, Loving, Merciful etc.) and it is also a Jalaali Sifat ( it has power behind it). Therefore when we say إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ at the end in Durood Ibraheem it ends with two Sifaat of Allah ta’ala, one Jamaali and one Jalaali. 

 

We are therefore saying, “O Allah! Through all Your Sifaat, the Jamaali and the Jalaali, I send Durood to Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam.” 

 

In Durood Ibraheem we are sending Rahmat and Barakat on the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam and Ibraheem ‘alayhis Salam has been mentioned in it too. 

 

This is a meaningful connection where it begins with all the Asmaa ul Husnaa and ends with all the Jamaali and Jalaali Sifaat of Allah ta'ala. 

 

قَالُوا أَتَعْجَبِينَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ ۖ رَحْمَتُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ عَلَيْكُمْ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ ۚ إِنَّهُ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ 
 

They said: "Do you wonder at Allah's decree? May Allah's mercy and His blessings be upon you, O residents of the household; for He is indeed worthy of all praise, full of all glory."  Surah Hood (Verse 73)

 

Why we send Durood to our Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam?

Another point in the commentary is made regarding why we send Durood to our Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam and the Ambiyaa AS. 

 

1.    The Prophets were sent to all the communities and sending Salawaat is a gift. It is our belief in them and our love for them and a token of loyalty, humility and gratitude for them. They do not need our Durood like a king does not need a gift from a poor person. It is for us as one of the effects of it is that Allah ta’ala increases our Imaan and when we recite it with Ikhlaas, Allah ta’ala sends ten mercies upon us.

2.    It ends Shirk. The Prophets are the highest ranking among human beings but Allah ta’ala has made them also dependant and they are not beyond the need of Salawaat and Rahmat of Allah ta’ala. When we send Salawaat it shows they are also needy of Rahmat from Allah ta’ala. It prevents feelings of Shirk people can have towards Prophets like the Christians who elevated the rank of ‘Isaa AS and nowadays there are groups who elevate the rank of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam. 

 

Counsel

1.    We should act in our ‘Ibaadaat and following the Sunnah of Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam such that we hold Allah ta’ala as The Majestic. 

2.    We should fulfil the rights others have over us.

 

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