WEDNESDAY The ism recommended for Wednesday is AL_MUTA’AALI to be recited 551x after Salatul Fajr. It provides ease from difficulty and benevolence. The root word of "al-Muta`ali" is `uluww which means height, sublimity, loftiness. Al-Muta`ali is Exalted in His Greatness and Honours which nobody reaches besides Him. His Honour cannot be comprehended or measured in human terms. Al-Muta`ali is above deficiencies or shortcomings, or above being conceived by anyone's imagination. He does not need any of what He creates, He does not need the worship of those who worship Him; He makes His grace available to all those who strive to attain it. Everything on the earth evolves from health to sickness, from youth to old age. Allah is free from all defects and above them all. To apply Al-Muta’aali to one’s life is to raise oneself through taqwa for Allah in Suratul Hujurat , aya 13 says: “…Indeed the most honourable with Allah is the one with taqwa….” Taqwa is defined in most translations in English as 'piety' or 'God fearing'. The basis of taqwa is the obedience of Allah with Ikhlas (sincerity). In Nahjul Balagha, Sermon 203, Imam Ali (PBUH) says: Do not pretend to obey Allah; but obey him sincerely and faithfully. Let this desire of obedience be engraved in your mind and be deep rooted in your hearts. Let it rule over your words and deeds." Further in Sermon 195 Imam Ali (PBUH) describes taqwa as: "Do your duty towards mankind and towards your Creator before death and before serious illness makes it impossible to do so. Be prepared to face death with your good deeds. Be ready to depart before the order reaches you. Remember that the ultimate goal for a human being is the day of Qiyama and this fact is a lesson for a wise person and a warning for one who is unwise." Since taqwa is often defined as God fearing let’s look at the concept of fear. There are two types of fears. One is fear through ignorance and the other is fear through knowledge. e.g. When a child is afraid of going into a dark room alone his fear is through ignorance for it is his imagination which is False Evidence Appearing Real. When a toddler reaches out towards a snake slithering in front of him, and his mother rushes to save him for fear of him being bit, her fear is that of knowledge. Taqwa is fear of Allah through knowledge. The more we understand the Greatness of Allah and the more we observe and realise that there is none like Him; the greater the awe (respect, fear). It is only then that we will await adhan in the morning for salaa rather then the adhaan waking us up. However, this fear must be accompanied by hope. Hazrat Luqman, the wise told his son: "O my son! Have such fear of Allah, that when you come to Him with the good deeds of both the worlds, He would still punish you; and have such hope in Allah, that if you came to Him with the sins of both the worlds He would still have mercy for you." Imam Muhammad Baqir (pbuh) has said: "There is no mu'min who does not have two lights (beliefs) in his heart. The light of fear and the light of hope. Were one of these to be measured it would not exceed the other..." And Finally in Sermon 196 of Nahjul Balagha, Imam Ali (.PBUH) says: "..Lead your life as a muttaqi. Make taqwa a habit of your life. Wipe out your sins with its help. It will cure your moral diseases. Make it a means to provide for you His Grace and blessings. Take a lesson from those who have disregarded it and let not your life be a warning to those who want to understand how people without taqwa have fared in this world." So Taqwa in essence is to keep away from all the Muharramaat (that which is haram) and fulfil all the Waajibaat. The first is far more difficult. Two men came to Imam Ja’fer As-Sadiq (PBUH) and said that they would like to do Tawba (ask for forgiveness and put right) for their sins. The first man said that he had done a lot of small sins whilst the second said that he had committed two big sins. Imam told the first man to pick one small pebble for each small sin that he had committed. He told the second man to bring a large boulder for each of his big sins. After a while both men came back to Imam having brought what they were asked to bring. Imam now asked both of them to put back every stone in it’s place. The man with the two large boulders found it difficult to carry them back in their original place but eventually he managed. The man with the many small pebbles could not remember where he had picked all of them so he could not put them all back in their original place. It is very difficult to do Tawba for the sins which seem small because we forget and take them for granted. Imam Ali (PBUH) has said: “The biggest sin is that which the doer considers the smallest.”
WEDNESDAY The ism recommended for Wednesday is AL_MUTA’AALI to be recited 551x after Salatul Fajr. It provides ease from difficulty and benevolence. The root word of "al-Muta`ali" is `uluww which means height, sublimity, loftiness. Al-Muta`ali is Exalted in His Greatness and Honours which nobody reaches besides Him. His Honour cannot be comprehended or measured in human terms. Al-Muta`ali is above deficiencies or shortcomings, or above being conceived by anyone's imagination. He does not need any of what He creates, He does not need the worship of those who worship Him; He makes His grace available to all those who strive to attain it. Everything on the earth evolves from health to sickness, from youth to old age. Allah is free from all defects and above them all. To apply Al-Muta’aali to one’s life is to raise oneself through taqwa for Allah in Suratul Hujurat , aya 13 says: “…Indeed the most honourable with Allah is the one with taqwa….” Taqwa is defined in most translations in English as 'piety' or 'God fearing'. The basis of taqwa is the obedience of Allah with Ikhlas (sincerity). In Nahjul Balagha, Sermon 203, Imam Ali (PBUH) says: Do not pretend to obey Allah; but obey him sincerely and faithfully. Let this desire of obedience be engraved in your mind and be deep rooted in your hearts. Let it rule over your words and deeds." Further in Sermon 195 Imam Ali (PBUH) describes taqwa as: "Do your duty towards mankind and towards your Creator before death and before serious illness makes it impossible to do so. Be prepared to face death with your good deeds. Be ready to depart before the order reaches you. Remember that the ultimate goal for a human being is the day of Qiyama and this fact is a lesson for a wise person and a warning for one who is unwise." Since taqwa is often defined as God fearing let’s look at the concept of fear. There are two types of fears. One is fear through ignorance and the other is fear through knowledge. e.g. When a child is afraid of going into a dark room alone his fear is through ignorance for it is his imagination which is False Evidence Appearing Real. When a toddler reaches out towards a snake slithering in front of him, and his mother rushes to save him for fear of him being bit, her fear is that of knowledge. Taqwa is fear of Allah through knowledge. The more we understand the Greatness of Allah and the more we observe and realise that there is none like Him; the greater the awe (respect, fear). It is only then that we will await adhan in the morning for salaa rather then the adhaan waking us up. However, this fear must be accompanied by hope. Hazrat Luqman, the wise told his son: "O my son! Have such fear of Allah, that when you come to Him with the good deeds of both the worlds, He would still punish you; and have such hope in Allah, that if you came to Him with the sins of both the worlds He would still have mercy for you." Imam Muhammad Baqir (pbuh) has said: "There is no mu'min who does not have two lights (beliefs) in his heart. The light of fear and the light of hope. Were one of these to be measured it would not exceed the other..." And Finally in Sermon 196 of Nahjul Balagha, Imam Ali (.PBUH) says: "..Lead your life as a muttaqi. Make taqwa a habit of your life. Wipe out your sins with its help. It will cure your moral diseases. Make it a means to provide for you His Grace and blessings. Take a lesson from those who have disregarded it and let not your life be a warning to those who want to understand how people without taqwa have fared in this world." So Taqwa in essence is to keep away from all the Muharramaat (that which is haram) and fulfil all the Waajibaat. The first is far more difficult. Two men came to Imam Ja’fer As-Sadiq (PBUH) and said that they would like to do Tawba (ask for forgiveness and put right) for their sins. The first man said that he had done a lot of small sins whilst the second said that he had committed two big sins. Imam told the first man to pick one small pebble for each small sin that he had committed. He told the second man to bring a large boulder for each of his big sins. After a while both men came back to Imam having brought what they were asked to bring. Imam now asked both of them to put back every stone in it’s place. The man with the two large boulders found it difficult to carry them back in their original place but eventually he managed. The man with the many small pebbles could not remember where he had picked all of them so he could not put them all back in their original place. It is very difficult to do Tawba for the sins which seem small because we forget and take them for granted. Imam Ali (PBUH) has said: “The biggest sin is that which the doer considers the smallest.”
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