68 & 69 - الْقَادِرُ الْمُقْتَدِرُ

[Bint e Aisha]

    الْقَادِرُ   الْمُقْتَدِرُ 

 

الْقَادِرُ and الْمُقْتَدِرُ will be discussed together. 

 

Translation

الْقَادِرُ is translated as The All Powerful, The Empowered and The Capable and الْمُقْتَدِرُ is translated as The Creator of All Power, The All-Determining and The Prevailing.

 

They both mean The One Who has power. مُقْتَدِر is a more emphatic form of قَادِر. 

 

This is a trait very much present in the Essence (Dhaat) of Allah ta’ala. He has power over every moment and He has the ability/potential to do whatever He wants.  كُنْ فَيَكُونُ – Be and it is. He just has to intend for something and it happens, good or bad. He does not have to even say, “كُنْ” as He just has to intend it and it happens and whatever He decides to do, no one can stop Him.

 

Power hungry People

Humans have power to some extent however it is temporary. It is from Allah ta’ala and it is a trust (Amaanah). The power of humans also has weakness and fault. It is not absolute. The Haqeeqee (True) power is Allah ta’ala’s alone with no weakness or fault. 

 

Yet people are power hungry and power is very corruptive. We see this historically where a person may start off good however on gaining a little power, they become corrupted and abuse the Amaanah given to them. Power intoxicates people and they begin to think they deserve it. 

 

Some people are nice to everyone however show their power over their children by being abusive. We should not abuse the Amaanah of power given to us over people i.e. in our family, people working under us, over students etc. It should be used in a constructive way for Tarbiyah and not to abuse. Knowing Allah ta’ala is  الْقَادِرُ and الْمُقْتَدِرُ will keep these negative traits in check. 

 

Hadith - Asking for position of Authority

It has been reported on the authority of ‘Abdul Rahman bin Samura RA who said, The Messenger of Allah sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam said to me: “Abdul Rahman, do not ask for a position of authority, for if you are granted this position as a result of your asking for it, you will be left alone (without God’s help to discharge the responsibilities attendant thereon), and if you are granted it without making any request for it, you will be helped (by God in the discharge of your duties).”

 

Hadith – Allah ta’ala has more Power over us

Abu Mas’ood al-Ansari reported, “When I was beating my servant, I heard a voice behind me (saying), ‘Abu Mas’ood, bear in mind Allah has more dominance over you than you have upon him. I turned and (found him) to be Allah’s Messenger sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam. I said, ‘Allah’s Messenger, I set him free for the sake of Allah.’ Thereupon he said, ‘Had you not done that, (the gates of) Hell would have opened for you, or the fire would have burnt you.’”

 

In the Qur’an

Allah ta’ala’s power is Wasee’ – comprehensive, unlimited and emphasized. 

It is mentioned 12 times in the Qur’an as الْقَادِرُ,
4 times as الْمُقْتَدِرُ
45 times as الْقَدِيرُ

When one views Allah ta’ala as الْقَادِرُ, one does not need others. It prevents a person from turning to others and will turn to Allah ta’ala at all times. Allah ta’ala’s power is such that it does not need tools or means. Just intention is enough. 

 

Major countries which are so advanced scientifically and in other ways are often left powerless by an occurrence of natural disasters or an illness like a virus. They cannot do anything about it and even fear it. Through occurrences like a tsunami or a volcano erupting with molten lava covering and destroying beautiful islands, Allah ta’ala is showing His power.

 

The commentary mentions that there is no such thing as a coincidence. Everything occurs with the power of Allah ta’ala. He often shows His power for our betterment especially when a person boasts about themselves and this can even be a pious person boasting about his piety. 

 

Story regarding Sa’eed bin Musayyab, an early Muslim
 

He was with some people and said for 40 years he has been in the Masjid before the Adhaan was called. Soon thereafter he ended up arriving at the Masjid as people were leaving.Allah ta’ala showed him that it was not through his own power that he had arrived early at the Masjid for 40 years. 

 

Counsel

To know Allah ta’ala is our Mawlaa/Master and is Qaadir over everything and does what He wants. With this realisation a person will not have hopes in people. His hopes will be in Allah ta’ala. Even when someone does something for them they realise it is through the power and Fadhl of Allah ta’ala. 

 

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