Divine qualities of beneficence are many, of which four are basic. In their natural order, the first one is that which is described in Surah Fatihah as Rabb-ul-‘Alamin. This means that the Rububiyyat of God Almighty, that is to say, the creation and carrying to perfection of the universe, is in operation all the time. The world of heaven and earth, the world of bodies and souls, the world of animals, vegetables and minerals, and all other worlds, are being nurtured by His Rububiyyat. The worlds through which a human being passes before his taking shape as a sperm till his death, or his arrival in his second life, are all nourished from the fountain of Rububiyyat. Thus Divine Rububiyyat, because it comprehends all souls, bodies, animals, vegetables, and minerals etc. is named the most general grace, inasmuch as everything that exists is its recipient and comes into being through it. Although Divine Rububiyyat is the originator of everything that exists, and nourishes and sustains it, yet its greatest beneficiary is man because he derives benefit from the whole of creation. Therefore, man has been reminded that his God is Rabb-ul-‘Alamin so that he should be encouraged to believe that the power of God Almighty is vast and that for man's benefit He can bring into being all types of resources.
The second excellence of God Almighty, which is His beneficence in the next degree and which is called general grace, is Rahmaniyyat, by virtue of which God is named Rahman in Surah Fatihah. In the idiom of the Holy Qur’an, God Almighty is called Rahman because He bestowed upon every living thing, which includes man, its appropriate shape and qualities. That is to say, man was bestowed all faculties and powers and was given a shape and limbs which were needed by the type of life which had been designed for him and to which they were suited. Whatever was needed for his maintenance was provided. Birds, animals and man were all bestowed powers that were suited to them. Thousands of years before their coming into being, God Almighty by virtue of His attribute of Rahmaniyyat, created the heavenly and earthly bodies so that all living things might be safeguarded. No one's action has anything to do with the Rahmaniyyat of God Almighty. It is pure mercy which came into operation before the coming into being of living things. Man is the principal beneficiary of the Rahmaniyyat of God Almighty, inasmuch as everything is sacrificed for his success. Therefore, he is reminded that God is Rahman.
The third excellence of God Almighty, which is His beneficence in the third degree, is Rahimiyyat, by virtue of which God has been named Rahim in Surah Fatihah. In the idiom of the Holy Qur’an, God is called Rahim when accepting the prayers, supplications and righteous actions of people, He safeguards them against calamities, misfortunes and waste of effort. This beneficence is described as special grace and is confined to human beings. Other things have not been bestowed the faculty of prayer and supplication and righteous action, but man has been bestowed this faculty. Man is an articulate animal and can be the recipient of Divine grace through the exercise of his faculty of speech. Other things have not been bestowed this faculty. It is obvious, therefore, that supplication is a quality of humanness, which is inherent in man's nature.
Man derives grace from the Divine attribute of Rahimiyya as he derives from the attributes of Rububiyyat and Rahmaniyyat; the only difference is that Rububiyyat and Rahmaniyyat do not demand supplication as they are not confined to man and bestow their grace upon all living things, and indeed Rububiyyat comprises within itself beneficence towards animals, vegetables, minerals and heavenly and earthly bodies. Nothing is outside the operation of its grace. As a contrast, Rahimiyyat is a special robe of honour for man. If man does not derive benefit from this attribute, he reduces himself to the condition of animals, nay, even of minerals.
The operation of Rahimiyyat having been confined to man, and supplication being needed for bringing it into operation, it shows that there is a type of Divine grace which is conditioned upon supplication and cannot be achieved without supplication. This is the way of Allah and is a definite law the contravention of which is not permissible. That is why all Prophets [peace be on them] supplicated for their followers. The Torah reveals that on many occasions the children of Israel offended God Almighty and were about to be chastised, but the chastisement was averted by the prayers, supplications and prostrations of Moses [peace be on him] though time after time God announced that He would destroy Israel
All this shows that prayer is not in vain, nor is it a type of worship which does not procure any grace. This is the thinking of those who do not estimate God Almighty as He should be estimated, and who do not reflect deeply on God's words nor do they observe the law of nature. The truth is that grace does certainly descend in response to supplication and bestows salvation upon us. It is the grace of Rahimiyyat through which man makes progress. Through this grace, man arrives at the stage of Vilayat, and believes in God Almighty as if he was beholding Him. Intercession also depends upon the attribute of Rahimiyyat. It is Rahimiyyat of God Almighty that demands that good people should intercede for bad people.
The fourth beneficence of God Almighty, which might be named most special grace, is Malikiyyat of the Day of Judgement, by virtue of which He has been named Maliki- Yaum-id-Din in Surah Fatihah. The difference between this attribute and Rahimiyyat is that through prayer and worship Rahimiyyat operates to establish a person's worthiness and through Malikiyyat the reward is awarded. Through the operation of Rahimiyyat, a person deserves success in an affair like a student's passing an examination, but to be awarded the rank or other object for which the examination was undertaken and passed is by virtue of the attribute of Malikiyyat. These two attributes indicate that the beneficence of Rahimiyyat is achieved through God's mercy and the favour of Malikiyyat is achieved through the grace of Almighty God. Malikiyyat would manifest itself on a vast and perfect scale in the hereafter, but in accordance with the measure of this world, all these four attributes manifest themselves in this world as well.
[Ayyam-us-Sulah, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 14, pp. 247-251]
0 komentar:
Post a Comment