Reflection by J Yousef (@J_Yousef)

Al-A'raaf (7 ) 180
َٰٓ ‫ﺳ‬ َ ‫ﺤﺪو ن ﻓ‬ َ
َ ‫ﻤﻠ ُﻮ‬
(180) ‫ن‬ َ ْ‫ﻳ َﻌ‬ ‫ﻣﺎ ﻛ َﺎﻧ ُﻮا‬
َ ‫ن‬
َ ْ‫ﺠَﺰو‬
ْ ُ ‫ﺳﻴ‬
َ ِ‫ﻤﺌ ِﻪ‬ ْ ‫ﻰأ‬ ْ َ ‫ﻟﺬ ِﻳ‬
ٓ ِ َ ُ ِ ‫ﻦ ﻳ ُﻠ‬ ‫ﻰ ﻓَ د ْﻋ ُﻮه ُ ﺑ ِﻬَﺎ وَذ َُروا‬
ٰ َ ‫ﺴﻨ‬ ُ ْ ‫ﻤﺎ ٓءُ ﻟ‬
ْ ‫ﺤ‬ ْ ‫وَﻟ ِﻠﻪِ ْﻷ‬
َ ‫ﺳ‬

Allah has the Most Beautiful Names. So call upon Him by them, and keep away from those who abuse His Names. They will be
punished for what they used to do. (180)

Saad (38 ) 9
َ
ِ ‫ﻟ ْﻌَﺰِﻳﺰِ ﻟ ْﻮَﻫﺎ‬
(9) ‫ب‬ َ ‫ﻤﺔِ َرﺑ‬
‫ﻚ‬ َ ‫ﺣ‬
ْ ‫ﻦ َر‬
ُ ِ ‫ﺧَﺰآﺋ‬
َ ‫ﻢ‬
ْ ُ‫ﻋﻨﺪ َﻫ‬
ِ ‫م‬
ْ ‫أ‬

Or ˹is it because˺ they possess the treasuries of the mercy of your Lord—the Almighty, the Giver ˹of all bounties˺. (9)

Ibrahim (14 ) 7

َ َ ‫ﻢ إ ِن ﻋ َﺬ َاﺑ ِﻰ ﻟ‬ َ ُ ‫ﺷﻜ َﺮﺗ‬ َ

(7) ٌ ‫ﺸﺪ ِﻳﺪ‬ ْ ُ ‫ﻢ وَﻟ َﺌ ِﻦ ﻛ ََﻔْﺮﺗ‬ ْ ْ َ ‫ﻢ ﻟ َﺌ ِﻦ‬
ْ ُ ‫ﻢ ﻷزِﻳﺪ َﻧﻜ‬ ْ ُ ‫ن َرﺑﻜ‬
َ ‫وَإ ِذ ْ ﺗ َﺄذ‬

And ˹remember˺ when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will certainly give you more. But if you are ungrateful, surely My
punishment is severe.’” (7)

Reflection

Al-Wahhab: The Giver of Gifts

Sometimes things happen to us in our lives, and we do not know how to read events. We may suddenly lose all our money,
and the first thing that we think of is, “What did I do to deserve this? I was a good Muslim, I tried so hard, why did Allah
punish me?” Or perhaps something amazing happens to us, and our reactions range from “Alhamdulilah!” (all praise is to
God) to “I just got lucky.”

Our reactions say a lot about us and about our knowledge of and relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is
He). If our best friend does something, because we know them, we know how to read their actions and their dealings with
us. Unfortunately, we do not know nearly as much about Allah (swt), even though He is closer to us than our jugular vein,
and even though He invites us to call Him by His Names:

“‫”وﻟﻠﻪ اﻷﺳﻤﺎء اﻟﺤﺴﻨﻰ ﻓﺎدﻋﻮه ُ ﺑﻬﺎ‬

“And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them.” (Qur’an, 7:180)

How can we call Him by His Names if we do not know them and if we do not understand them? And what is the purpose of
Allah (swt) revealing to us 99 of His Names and His Attributes? It is in order for us to know Him, and through knowing Him,

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we are able to worship Him better and understand the nature of this world. One of the scholars mentioned a saying:

“If one knows the commander, the commands are easy to follow.”

Al-Wahhab: The Constant Bestower of Gifts

Think of the last time someone gave you a gift—how did you feel? A feeling of joy, love, of being special to the person from
whom you received the gift, and sometimes a bit of shame if you feel you didn’t deserve it. Because, in essence, a gift isn’t
given in return of anything.

One of Allah’s Beautiful Names is al-Wahhab. The root of this word is hiba, which means a gift. And because Allah (swt) is
al-Wahhab, it means that He not only gives gifts once or twice, but He constantly does so. Allah (swt) tells us in the Qur’an:

َ
ِ ‫ﻚ اﻟ ْﻌَﺰِﻳﺰِ اﻟ ْﻮَﻫﺎ‬
“‫ب‬ َ ‫ﻤﺔِ َرﺑ‬
َ ‫ﺣ‬
ْ ‫ﻦ َر‬
ُ ِ ‫ﺧَﺰاﺋ‬
َ ‫ﻢ‬
ْ ُ‫ﻋﻨ ْﺪ َﻫ‬ ْ ‫”أ‬
ِ ‫م‬

“Or do they have the depositories of the mercy of your Lord, the Exalted in Might, the Bestower?” (Qur’an, 38:9)

So how do we know when Allah (swt) has given us a gift? Rizq (sustenance) is written for us, but we have to work for it. So if
in the course of our efforts, we earn $1 million, that is rizq that Allah (swt) had ordained for us. Hiba, on the other hand, is
just that—a gift that was not conditioned upon your efforts. When you get a phone call from someone you love, that you felt
you missed—that is hiba. When without planning, you are fortunate enough to be able to go on `umrah (the minor
pilgrimage), that is hiba. When Allah (swt) brings an amazing person into your life and you are able to improve because of
them, that is hiba.

The Connection Between Gifts and Love

“‫ ﻓﺈن اﻟﻘﻠﻮب ﺟﺒﻠﺖ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺣﺐ ﻣﻦ أﺣﺴﻦ إﻟﻴﻬﺎ وﺑﻐﺾ ﻣﻦ أﺳﺎء إﻟﻴﻬﺎ‬،‫”ﻳﺎ داود ذﻛﺮ ﻋﺒﺎدي ﺑﺈﺣﺴﺎﻧﻲ‬

[ ‫] و ر د ﻓ ﻲ ا ﻷﺛ ﺮ‬

It is stated in the traditions:

“O Dawud [David], remind people of my favors upon them, because the hearts are inclined to love those that do good to it
and detest those that do bad to it.”

Who do you give gifts to? In general, you give gifts to someone you are thinking about and someone that you love.
Sometimes we give gifts to endear people to us. So think about what that means when Allah (swt) gives you a gift.

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Some of us may be thinking, “But I am so far from Allah. Why would He give me gifts out of love?” Subhan Allah (Glory to
God)—our Lord is greater than we imagine. He gives us gifts so that we know that we have a God who does not forget
about His creation—even when they fall astray. He gives us gifts as a reminder so that we can come close to Him.

Do you want to be a recipient of al-Wahhab?

We are all recipients of the many gifts of Allah (swt). Out of the 6 billion people in this world, He chose you to be of the
ummah (community) of His Prophet (peace be upon him). That in itself is a gift that we cannot thank Him enough for. If we
all reflect on the many personal blessings in our lives, we cannot help but feel special to Allah (swt). Every little gift and
every huge blessing was because al-Wahhab wanted to give you, and you specifically, something.

If you want to be a companion of al-Wahhab, then remember to acknowledge His gifts, even if they seem to be minute, and
to thank Him.

Allah (swt) says, “If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe,”
(Qur’an, 14:7). The more we are conscious of Allah’s gifts to us, the more we are able to increase our love for Him, and
recognize how blessed we are.

Moreover, we should use His gifts in His way and in His cause. No one likes for their gifts to be cheapened. If Allah (swt)
has given you a gift, do not use it for what He dislikes. If we do that, the gift in question becomes a test that we will be held
accountable for.

Finally, be a gift giver yourself. The Prophet said, “Give gifts, for this will increase your mutual love,” (Muslim).

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