86 - الْجَامِعُ

[Bint e Aisha]

الْجَامِعُ

 

Translation

الْجَامِعُ is translated as The Gatherer and The Uniter. It comes from جمع meaning to gather. It is also translated as The One Who Combines similar and dissimilar things. 

 

Definition

The One Who will gather together the souls and the bodies of His creation after separating them and The One Who will gather all the people together again on the Day of Judgment. 

 

Another meaning is The One Who gathers the merits / good deeds of a person and protects the deeds and character of a person. These are abstract things but Allah ta’ala is collecting / gathering / recording them in our book of deeds. In Surah Aali ‘Imraan Allah ta’ala says, 

 

رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ جَامِعُ النَّاسِ لِيَوْمٍ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُخْلِفُ الْمِيعَادَ
 

Our Rabb, You will surely gather all mankind before You on the Day about which there is no doubt; surly Allah does not break His promise." [Surah Aali ‘Imraan: 9]

 

Therefore there is the concept of Allah ta’ala being جَامِع gathering either individually i.e. a person’s soul and body put together again or gathering all the people and the Jinn together on the Day of Judgment. 

 

Allah ta’ala refers to those who deny the Day of Judgment in Surah Nisa’ saying,

 

إِنَّ اللَّهَ جَامِعُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ فِي جَهَنَّمَ جَمِيعًا
 

Lo! Allah will gather hypocrites and disbelievers, all together, into hell; [Surah Nisa’:140]

 

All the different people who lived in different time periods in the history of humanity, who did different things and who either believed or denied Allah ta’ala in different ways will be gathered on the Day of Judgment by Allah ta’ala. The word جَامِع  is generally understood in the context of resurrection on the Day of Judgment. 

 

In Arabic جَامِع  can also be used for comprehensiveness i.e. “Jaami’ kalaam” – comprehensive speech.

“Gathering” in context of our desires reaching realization
 

Another way to understand it is Allah ta’ala unites our desires and wishes to our goals. If we study self-help and how to be productive, effective people, we see that a person should keep his desires / wishes / intentions, good. Therefore as Muslims we should have good, pious desires and aspirations and have hope in Allah ta’ala for them to reach success. To have good thoughts regarding Allah ta’ala is mentioned in Hadith where the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam said that Allah said,

“I am as my slave expects Me to be.”

 

When we have good thoughts regarding Allah ta’ala and have hope in Him then He will unite that hope and good thought to help us reach the goal. In this way Allah ta’ala unites our hopes/desires/wishes with realization. Therefore Allah ta’ala not just gathers on the Day of Judgment but also on a more abstract, emotional level when the thoughts and intentions in our minds and hearts are connected to the ultimate outcome or reality. Therefore Allah ta’ala unites the beginning to the ending i.e. the idea to the realization.

 

In Du’a for something that is lost or stolen
 

It is mentioned in Dhurr Manthoor by Allama ibn ‘Aabideen (Rahimahullah) that the verse of Surah Aali ‘Imraan mentioned above can be used in Du’a in the following way:

 

The following prayer can be said 25 times every day for something that has been lost or stolen until it is found,
 

رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ جَامِعُ النَّاسِ لِيَوْمٍ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ ...... اللهُمَّ يَا جَامِعَ النَّاسِ لِيَوْمٍ لَّا رَيْبَ فيه ...... إِجْمَعْ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ مَالِي إِنَّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِير .

 

Translation: "O our Lord! You will indeed gather people for a Day about which there is no doubt. O Allah! O Gatherer of people for that Day about which there is no doubt, bring together me and my wealth, indeed You are capable of all things."

 

Following from: https://www.tafseer-raheemi.com/when-something-is-lost/

 

يا جامع الناس ليوم لا ريب فيه  
اجمع بيني وبين مالي إنك على كل شيء قدير.

Allaahuma yaa jaami’ an-naas li yawmin laa rayba feeh ijma’ baynee wa bayna maali. Innaka ‘alaa shai-in qadeer

“O Allah, Gatherer of mankind on the day in which there is no doubt. Connect me with my lost item (Possession) Verily You have power over all things.”
(Fathul qadeer)

 

Counsel

 

(1) The servant's share of this blessed name is to prepare for the Day when no friend or relative will be of any help, and everyone will wish that someone else could bear their sins.

 

(2) When something is lost, make an effort to recite the verse and prayer given at the end of this blessed name.

 

Uniting the inner & outer dimensions

Imam Ghazali (Rahimahullaah) writes on a more spiritual level saying, if a person is جَامِع in himself i.e. in harmony with himself, he is the one who integrates the external behaviour of the body (using the limbs, tongues, eyes, etc.) with the inner realities of the heart.

 

This is a very beautiful state to be in however we are all struggling to reach this level. A person who is united in their inner and outer dimensions becomes an integrated, comprehensive human being and this is what we should try to achieve.

 

Imam Ghazali (Rahimahullah) says a part of this is uniting steadfastness (being consistent and having Taqwa), with the concept of insight (Having intellect / understanding).

 

The point he is trying to make is that people usually have one or the other. A person may have insight and may be a preacher of Deen with ways of reaching out to people and yet in their personal life they are struggling to attain Taqwa and steadfastness. They are struggling to stay away from Haraam and on being consistent on doing good deeds. For another person it may be the other way round so Imam Ghazali (Rahimahullah) says some people who are insightful and have intellectual power and a deep level of understanding do not have steadfastness and some who are steadfast in their deeds and piety do not have that deep understanding regarding Deen or insight or spiritual wisdom. He says a person who is جَامِع  is able to unite these two aspects.

 

Sometimes a person who has one aspect thinks it is enough. He may be steadfast in Deen and ‘Ibaadah however he does not ponder and reflect or go into the depth of things.

 

Therefore this is something we can make our objective as the Asmaa-ul-Husnaa classes are not just for intellectual understanding but to enact on the knowledge we gain and harmonize our internal and external dimensions.

 

*A very good book written by Imam Ghazali (Rahimahullah) was mentioned: “Inner Dimension of Islamic Worship”.

 

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