Knowing Allah through His Beautiful Names: As Samad
The name As-Samad has only been mentioned once in the Quran. Other names of Allah Almighty have been repeated as many as 20, 30 and even 50 times, but interestingly, As-Samad only appears once, in Surat al-Ikhlas, which is among the shortest surahs in the Quran. It begins:
قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ١
Say He is Allah the One and Only, the Eternal
ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ ٢
Allah—the Sustainer ˹needed by all˺. [112:1-2]
What does the name As-Samad mean?
From an Arabic point of view, there are multiple meanings. Linguistically, ‘Samada’ means to turn to, direct oneself or aim towards something. As-Samad can mean Al-Maqsood, and Al-Masmood – the One whom you seek, or go towards. Also the One whom you seek support from for your needs. As we know, the Quran pairs many names, such as Ghafoor ar-Raheem, the Forgiving, the Merciful; Sami un-Baseer, All-Hearing and All-Seeing. Here, Ahad is paired with As-Samad.
The Greatest Name
Once Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) entered the mosque where a man was praying. Towards the end of his salah, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) heard this man saying ‘O Allah, indeed I ask You by my testifying that You are Allah, there is none worthy to be worshipped except You. The One, the Eternal, the One who doesn’t beget, nor was begotten and there is none who is like Him,’ followed by his dua. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) commented that this man had appealed to Allah Almighty by His Greatest Name and that Allah always responds to that, so this man would surely be forgiven. We do not know who the man was, as he was not named, but the important point is not his name, but his supplication using Surat Ikhlas, which contains Allah’s Greatest Name.
Surat Ikhlas refers to Allah as Ahad, unique, and As-Samad, the One whom everybody needs whilst He needs no one. There have been plenty of discussions amongst scholars regarding which of Allah’s names is His Greatest Name, al ism al a’dham. There are over ten opinions, which were summarised by Imam An-Nawawi in his commentary on Sahih Muslim, the second most authentic collection of hadith after Imam al-Bukhari. In this he quoted a variety of narrations that said that the greatest name of Allah Almighty could be: As-Samad, Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem or Al Hayy ul-Qayyum.
When something was in line with the Quran and Sunnah, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would approve it. For instance, on one occasion a man stood up from his ruku’ saying ‘sami Allahu liman hamida‘, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) approved it. If supplications were not in line with the Shariah, he would correct them. Here, the Prophet (peace be upon him) endorsed this man’s supplicating to dua after reciting Surat Ikhlas. Using the words of Allah Almighty to supplicate Allah Almighty is beautiful. Moreover the Prophet (peace be upon him) commented that it contained Allah’s Greatest Name. Scholars have tried to work out which of the names is the Greatest Name. Based on various narrations, they suggested it could be As-Samad, or Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem, or Al-Ghafoor. However when you compare the different narrations, the common name in all of them is in fact the name Allah itself.
In the story of Sulayman (peace be upon him) when he wanted to bring the throne of Bilqis and asked who would do this for him, a giant jinn stood up and said he could bring it before their meeting finished, but another person stood up and said he could bring it to Sulayman in the blink of an eye. The commentators of tafseer said this man brought the throne from far away in an instant because he called on Allah by His Greatest Name. This gives a flavour of the power of calling on Allah by His Greatest Name. When you have the right intention, the right heart, the right supplication, the right etiquettes, and the right action then Allah Almighty will surely respond to you.
Allah
Allah is a unique name. Allah meaning God, is composed of the letters Alif, Laam, Laam, Ha. Interestingly, if you delete the first letter of Allah, it becomes lillaah, which means ‘to Him’. If you delete the second letter of this name, it will be lahoo ‘for Him’. And delete the third letter of the name it will be ‘hoo’, or He. So every single letter in this very unique name it refers to Allah Almighty. Even if you deleted all the letters, leaving only one letter, which is the haa with the damma on it, it will be ‘hoo’ which means He, in other words, Allah Almighty.
The Eternal
Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned that As-Samad is the Eternal and Everlasting, therefore everything other than Allah Almighty will vanish, except Him – the dunya and everything in the dunya will vanish, and the Only One who continues to last is Allah Almighty. The earth, the sky, the heavens, the stars, the planets, the galaxies, everything will vanish. So we should cling and connect ourselves to something that will never vanish. If we connect ourselves to Allah Almighty and the akhirah, this is the best investment. It will produce fruit inshallah and make us winners.
Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) commented beautifully on the name As-Samad. He was the cousin of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), as he was the son of the Prophet’s uncle Al Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him). Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was very fond of him and made a special du’a for him, saying, ‘O Allah give him the deep understanding of the deen, and interpretation of the Quran’ and Ibn Abbas went on to be known as The Interpreter of the Quran. As Ibn Kathir mentioned in his tafseer, Ibn Abbas commented on the name As-Samad, saying:
He is the Master, who is perfect in His sovereignty; the most Noble, who is perfect in His nobility; the most Magnificent, who is perfect in His magnificence; the most Forbearing, who is perfect in His forbearance; the All Knowing, who is perfect in His knowledge; and the most Wise, who is perfect in His wisdom. He is the One who is perfect in all aspects of nobility and authority. He is Allah Almighty, glory be to Him. These attributes are not befitting anyone other than Him. He has no co-equal, and nothing is like Him. Glory be to Allah Almighty, the One and Only.
Limitless supplication
When you have a need, you go to As-Samad because He is the One who you direct yourself towards Him in your need. In Arabic as-sayyid al-masmood means the master to whom the community refers their needs, and who is the ultimate authority. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught ibn Abbas when he was young,
عَنْ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ كُنْتُ خَلْفَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَوْمًا فَقَالَ يَا غُلَامُ إِنِّي أُعَلِّمُكَ كَلِمَاتٍ احْفَظْ اللَّهَ يَحْفَظْكَ احْفَظْ اللَّهَ تَجِدْهُ تُجَاهَكَ إِذَا سَأَلْتَ فَاسْأَلْ اللَّهَ وَإِذَا اسْتَعَنْتَ فَاسْتَعِنْ بِاللَّهِ وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْأُمَّةَ لَوْ اجْتَمَعَتْ عَلَى أَنْ يَنْفَعُوكَ بِشَيْءٍ لَمْ يَنْفَعُوكَ إِلَّا بِشَيْءٍ قَدْ كَتَبَهُ اللَّهُ لَكَ وَلَوْ اجْتَمَعُوا عَلَى أَنْ يَضُرُّوكَ بِشَيْءٍ لَمْ يَضُرُّوكَ إِلَّا بِشَيْءٍ قَدْ كَتَبَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكَ رُفِعَتْ الْأَقْلَامُ وَجَفَّتْ الصُّحُفُ
Ibn Abbas reported: I was riding behind the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, when he said to me, “Young man, I will teach you some words. Be mindful of Allah and He will protect you. Be mindful of Allah and you will find Him before you. If you ask, ask from Allah. If you seek help, seek help from Allah. [Tirmidhi]
Whenever we need anything, we can go to Allah. There is no limit to how much we can ask from Him, or how many times, or difficult our ask is. In fact, we repeat Surat al-Fatiha, which is like the summary of the whole Quran, a minimum 17 times a day in our salah, asking Allah for His help: iyyaka na’budu wa iyyaka nasta’een, ‘You alone we worship and from You alone we seek help’. As long as you are asking for something permissible, there is no limit to what you ask for. So, don’t limit your requests to Allah Almighty. Don’t think you are asking too much, or that your ask is too insignificant. You limit your dua by your own imagination.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said,
“Call upon Allah with certainty that he will answer you. Know that Allah will not answer the supplication of a heart that is negligent and distracted.” [Tirmidhi]
Seek help from Allah Almighty for anything you need, anything you want. He is the first call for you. When Maryam was scared to see Jibril in her place of seclusion, she did not cry ‘Help!’ as most people would do seeing a stranger in their room, rather she cried out to Allah,
قَالَتْ إِنِّىٓ أَعُوذُ بِٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ مِنكَ إِن كُنتَ تَقِيًّۭا ١٨
She appealed, “I truly seek refuge in the Most Compassionate from you! ˹So leave me alone˺ if you are God-fearing.” (19:18)
Blockages to dua
We also should go directly to Him for everything, big or small. Some people say, ‘I feel I cannot supplicate Allah Almighty’, or ‘I feel shy because I have too many sins and mistakes and so on’, however, this is exactly why you need to call upon Allah Almighty because He is the One who will forgive you your sins and shortcomings and give you a new start. If you feel there is a blockage in supplicating, then you have a problem in your heart. You need to do some istighfar – a lot of istighfar to cleanse it and open the way for supplication. Otherwise you will stay like that and the Shaytan will be so happy about it. Therefore, ask Allah Almighty and be sure that He is responding and He is listening to you.
Living by the name As-Samad
How can you reflect on the name As-Samad in your life? Firstly, know that Allah Almighty is your first port of call when you need anything. Develop this connection, then maintain and improve it.
Secondly, improve the connection between you and Allah Almighty, because when you keep asking Allah Almighty, mentioning Allah Almighty, it creates a bondship between you and Him and this increases your love for Him. In Arabic, we say if you love something you keep mentioning it. People of dunya keep mentioning the dunya, people of business and money keep talking about money, but people of the akhirah keep talking about Allah Almighty. They love to hear Him mentioned.
Thirdly, we get a true picture of the dunya when we appreciate that Allah Almighty is As-Samad, Eternal. Nothing else is eternal. We are mortal, so we will die. The dunya will vanish. So cling to what will last – Allah. Though we live and work in the dunya, it is not the final abode. It’s just a bridge to the akhirah. So don’t build castles on the bridge, just as you would not expect a sandcastle last, or think that you will be on the dunya train forever, because one day, the doors will open and you will arrive at your final destination. The dunya is only a place of test and will vanish.
Fourthly, rely on Allah Almighty after you have done your bit. Do your homework and then put your trust in Allah Almighty and ask Allah Almighty, Ya Allah make it easy. Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to Fatimah,
عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ قَالَ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِفَاطِمَةَ أُوصِيكِ أَنْ تَقُولِي إِذَا أَصْبَحْتِ وَإِذَا أَمْسَيْتِ يَا حَيُّ يَا قَيُّومُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغِيثُ أَصْلِحْ لِي شَأْنِي كُلَّهُ وَلَا تَكِلْنِي إِلَى نَفْسِي طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ
“I instruct you to say in the morning and evening: O Living, O Sustainer, by Your mercy I seek deliverance. Take care of all my affairs and do not leave me to the care of myself even for the blink of an eye.” (An Nasai)
Thus we want to stay connected to Allah and relying on Him at all times. Calling upon Allah Almighty helps us to become closer to Him. He says in the Quran,
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ٱدْعُونِىٓ أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِى سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ ٦٠
Your Lord has proclaimed, “Call upon Me, I will respond to you. Surely those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell, fully humbled.” (40:60)
In another ayah He says,
هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡخَٰلِقُ ٱلۡبَارِئُ ٱلۡمُصَوِّرُۖ لَهُ ٱلۡأَسۡمَآءُ ٱلۡحُسۡنَىٰۚ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُۥ مَا فِي ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِۖ وَهُوَ ٱلۡعَزِيزُ ٱلۡحَكِيمُ
He is Allah, the Creator, the Inventor, the Fashioner; to Him belong the best names. Whatever is in the heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. (59:24)
Serving the community
Scholars, like Imam Al-Ghazali and others, mentioned that if you’ve been appointed as a leader in the community, or you are in the community even without being appointed, be the point of call. If someone needs be the one they come to. Ask Allah Almighty to enable you to serve His creation and His servants in the way that pleases Him, without arrogance that people refer to you and you are the leader of the community. Say Alhamdulillah Allah Almighty has appointed me here to serve this community or this mosque or this hospital etc. If someone knocks on your door and wants something, remember the name As-Samad. As your yourself supporting others, remember this is the reflection of the name As-Samad – so keep purifying your intention and act in the way that pleases Allah Almighty – with good etiquettes and adab and kindness. Allah Almighty says:
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُبْطِلُوا صَدَقَاتِكُم بِالْمَنِّ وَالْأَذَىٰ كَالَّذِي يُنفِقُ مَالَهُ رِئَاءَ النَّاسِ وَلَا يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ ۖ فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ صَفْوَانٍ عَلَيْهِ تُرَابٌ فَأَصَابَهُ وَابِلٌ فَتَرَكَهُ صَلْدًا ۖ لَّا يَقْدِرُونَ عَلَىٰ شَيْءٍ مِّمَّا كَسَبُوا ۗ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْكَافِرِينَ﴾
O you who have believed, do not invalidate your charities with reminders or injury as does one who spends his wealth [only] to be seen by the people and does not believe in Allah and the Last Day. His example is like that of a [large] smooth stone upon which is dust and is hit by a downpour that leaves it bare. They are unable [to keep] anything of what they have earned. And Allah does not guide the disbelieving people. (2:264)
Don’t spill the bucket
Do not ruin your charity by reminding people about it, ‘Do you remember what I did for you?’ Your actions will become void of reward. Sometimes someone needs some encouragement to boost their morale and give them confidence. If you did this, don’t rub it in their face that you helped them. Often people complain, saying they can’t wait to leave this hospital, or school, or job, but it might be the place for you, because Allah Almighty put you there to serve others. If you can do this, without hurting people, consider it a service to the community and expect your reward from Allah Almighty. Don’t complain. Be grateful that Allah Almighty did appoint you in this place. He wants you to do something good to increase your reward, increase your goodness. If you feel ‘I’m trapped here; I’m fed up’, change your lens and look at it as an extra reward that Allah Almighty has sent to deal with these people and you serve their needs. People will make dua for you and you will cash this in your special account in the akhirah. You will find your account is full of reward you never expected. Where did it come from? You will remember the time you helped someone and they made a lot of dua for you.
Help others in the right way – with kindness and in the prophetic manner. Otherwise the goodness is wasted. In Arabic, we say ‘you milked the cow and then kicked over the bucket,’ meaning you spent an hour milking the cow, only to knock over all the milk. Be careful and ask Allah Almighty to enable you to reflect upon His beautiful names.
Shaykh Haytham Tamim 23 January 2024
Transcribed by S Jawaid
Knowing Allah through His Beautiful Names – Al Jabbar
Knowing Allah through His Beautiful Names – Al Muizz and Al Mudhill
Knowing Allah through His Beautiful Names – Al Khafid and Ar Rafi’ – Utrujj
Knowing Allah through His beautiful Names – Al Qabid and Al Basit – Utrujj
Knowing Allah through His Beautiful Names – Al Jameel, Al Jaleel, Al Kareem – Utrujj
Knowing Allah through His Beautiful Names – Al Hafidh – Utrujj
Major Principles in Islam 11 Knowing Allah through His names Al Hakam Al Adl – Utrujj
Major Principles in Islam 8: Ar-Razzaaq and Al-Wahhab – Utrujj
Major Principles in Islam 7: Knowing Allah through His names Ad Dhahir and Al Batin – Utrujj
Major Principles in Islam 6: How to reflect Allah’s name Al Haqq in your life – Utrujj
Major Principles of Islam 4 – Al Ghani, Al Noor, Al Haadi, Al Wahab, Al Kareem – Utrujj
Major Principles of Islam 3 – Loving Allah, Al Wadud – Utrujj
Shaykh Haytham Tamim
Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.
Recommended Posts
Inspirational women in Islam
May 01, 2024
The forces of Allah and the fate of the falsifiers
April 26, 2024
How Allah strengthens the hearts of believers
April 19, 2024