Bismillah, walhamdulillah

Al ‘Azeez - The All Mighty

The Name ‘Azeez is said to be from three verbal forms:

a) ‘azza, ya’izzu (with a kasrah): this form means nobility. When Allah is ‘Azeez in this form, it means One who is Noble, One who is Distinguished, there is none like Him (Laysa ka milthlihi shayy), He is so Dear, Respected because He is Al Malik and Al Maleek (The King and The Owner).

b)     ‘azza, ya’uzzu (with a dhummah): this form means to prevail, to be dominant. In this form, when Allah is Al ‘Azeez, it means He is Ghaalib (Dominant and Prevailing) and there is no one who could prevail over Him, no one who could dominate or defeat Him, He is unconquerable. The verb ‘azza appears in surah Saad ayah 23, when the two men came to Dawood alayhi salaam to judge between them, one man said: وَعَزَّنِي فِي الْخِطَابِ, he overpowered me in speech. Allah says in the Qur’an that there is no one to conquer Him.

c)      ‘azza, ya’azzu (with a fathah): this form means to be powerful, to be mighty. He is the One who is Most Powerful, Most Mighty. From this we learn He is Al Shadeed, Al Qawiyy, He is the One who is very Strong, very Firm. Also another meaning of ‘Azeez from this is He is Al Muntani’, (mana’ means to stop) He Stops, He Prevents meaning nothing can go against Him, none can fight Him and push Him back. Allah ta’ala says in Surah Faatir: وَمَا ذَ‌ٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ بِعَزِيزٍ: it is easy for Allah ta’ala to bring about a new creation.

To summarize these three meanings: One who is Distinguished, Respected, there is none like Him. He is unbeatable. He is Mighty. None can prevent Him from fulfilling what He wills.

Proof for this Name

This Name appears 92 times in the Qur’an. This repetition shows us that we must remember that Allah is Al ‘Azeez, He is the One who is Mighty, we can never go against His Will. Allah ta’ala is Mighty against those who disobey Him.

Combination with other Names in the Qur’an

a) Al ‘Azeezul Hakeem: This combination of Names appears 47 times together. What is the relation between Al Hakeem, The All Wise and Al ‘Azeez, The Mighty? When someone in ‘azeez, dominant, they may misuse their power, but when Allah ta’ala  is Al ‘Azeez, at the same time He is Al Hakeem with His Power. If He has shown us His power and might in some way, like the destruction of a people, He is Hakeem and He knows what to do, where to do it and when to do it.

b) Al ‘Azeezul ‘Aleem: This combination appears 6 times. Allah says in suratul Naml ayah 78 : إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَقْضِي بَيْنَهُم بِحُكْمِهِ ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْعَلِيمُ, Allah will decide between them with His judgment and He is the Mighty, the All Knowing. He is the Mighty, He is able to call them to account, and He is Knowledge of what they were doing.

c) Al ‘Azeezul Ghafoor: This appears twice in the Qur’an. Suratul Mulk ayah : وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ, “And He is The All Mighty and The Most Forgiving.” When we learn about tests, Allah has power over us, He can call us to account but at the same time He tells us He is Ghafoor because He can forgive our sins.

d) Al ‘Azeezur Raheem: This appears 12 times. In Surah Shu’ara, after each story of the nation that was destroyed, these Names appear. He is Mighty against those who disbelieve, and He is Raheem to the believers.

e) Some other combination include: Al ‘Azeezul Ghaffaar and Al ‘Azeezul Hameed.

What does it mean that Allah is Al ‘Azeez?

a)  Ibn Jareer says about the meaning of Ghaalib (one who overpowers): He is Shadeed (intense) when He takes revenge. In surah Burooj, Allah says, ”And they had no fault except that they believed in Allah, the All-Mighty, Worthy of all Praise!”, then He says in the next ayah, “they will have the torment of Hell, and they will have the punishment of the burning Fire.” It is not appropriate to make Allah angry. You cannot hide from Al ‘Azeez no matter who you are. Remember the story of Yunus alayhi salaam, when he left without the order of Allah he was stuck in the whale and Allah says in the Qur’an: if he had not been of the musabbiheen (those who glorify Allah), he would have stayed in the stomach of the fish until the day of Judgment. He was a prophet of Allah but he went against the command of Allah. No matter how pious you are, no matter who you are, Allah is Al ‘Azeez and you cannot hide from Him. This is the first lesson of this Name, we need to recognize that we are ‘ebaad (slaves), we are faqeer (needy), and we can never hide from His Presence.

b) We should remember when we are working in the Path of Allah that He is Al ‘Azeez, He is Victorious, Dominant so we should seek help from Him. We should be confident that Allah will give you the ability to work. So, the Name Al ‘Azeez increases our tawakkul in Allah ta’ala. It gives us hope that He can help us. When Musa alayhi salaam had the sea infront of him and Firawn behind him, he said: “with me is my Rabb, soon He will guide me.” Firawn tried to kill all the boys of Bani Isra’eel so Musa alayhi salaam would not come, but Allah is Al ‘Azeez and Musa came. Similarly, the brothers of Yusuf alayhi salaam tried to kill him but he became the minister of Egypt. Allah ta’ala says in surah Yusuf: “Allah is Ghaalib over His matters.” So when in the way of Allah, you should be hopeful of Allah’s Help and Assistance and hopeful that Allah will never leave you as long as you are on His way. The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam endured many hardships as well, but he prevailed and Allah ta’ala says this deen will prevail wa law karihal kaafiroon, “even if the disbelievers hate it.”

c) We should seek ‘izzah ( honor) from Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala alone. When Umar radi Allahu anhu was the khaleefah and they were opening the city of Jerusalem, Abu Ubaydah said to him, “why don’t you wear nicer clothes,” and he replied: ‘نحن قوم أعزنا الله بالإسلام فإن ابتغينا العزة في غيره أذلنا الله “We are a nation that Allah has honored by Islam, thus, if we sought honer in anything other that it, Allah will humiliate us.” ‘Izzah belongs only to Allah. Allah ta’ala says at the end of Suratus Saffaat: سُبْحَانَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ, “Glorified be your Lord, the Lord of Honor and Power!” (37:180)  He is the Rabb of ‘Izzah, Rabb of the Might, the Honor, the Prestige, the Respect. If you desire it, do something for Allah and He will give it to you. What can we do? Rasul Allah sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said: whoever lowers himself for Allah, Allah raises him. Similarly, the one who works  for Allah’s deen, Allah has promised that He will give them khilaafah (leadership) and power on the earth. Allah ta’ala also says in Suratul Munaafiqoon: وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ “But honor, power and glory belong to Allah, and to His Messenger and to the believers.” (63:8)  If you really want honor, Allah will give it to you, provided you are a mu’min.

Duaas with Al ‘Azeez

One of the meanings of ‘Azeez is Maani’, One who stops/restricts. The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam used to pray:

اللهم لا مَانِعَ لِمَا أَعْطَيْتَ، وَلا مُعْطِيَ لِمَا مَنَعْتَ، وَ لا يَنْفَعُ ذَا الْجَدِّ مِنْكَ الْجَدُّ

‘O Allah, none can prevent what You have willed to bestow and none can bestow what You have willed to prevent, and no wealth or majesty can benefit anyone, as from You is all wealth and majesty.’

With the consciousness in mind that Allah is Al ‘Azeez, make this duaa. The Name Al ‘Azeez should guide us throughout our lives, we should remember that whatever happens to us by Allah’s Command, we cannot go against Him, so accept it.

Allah azza wa jal knows best.