This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Abdullah Nasir Rahmani's Explanation of Kitab al-Tawheed from Sahih Bukhari.
[2] باب: قول الله تبارك وتعالى:[قُلِ ادْعُوا اللَّهَ أَوِ ادْعُوا الرَّحْمَنَ أَيًّا مَا تَدْعُوا فَلَهُ الأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى]
Reference: (Al-Isra:110)
Reference: 7376:
حدثنا محمد، أخبرنا أبو معاوية، عن الأعمش، عن زيد بن وهب وأبي ظبيان، عن جرير بن عبد الله قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: لا يرحم الله من لا يرحم الناس.Our master Jarir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: He who does not show mercy to people, Allah will not show mercy to him.
Reason for Revelation:
Some reasons for the verse in this chapter have been mentioned.
◈ One objection and doubt from the polytheists of Makkah: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was calling upon Allah at one occasion. (یا اللہ، یا رحمن) The polytheists overheard and said: You tell us not to worship anyone except Allah, yet you are worshipping Ar-Rahman. (The polytheists thought these were two different entities, one being Allah and the other Ar-Rahman).
Reference: (Tafsir al-Tabari, Tafsir al-Qurtubi, Tafsir Ibn Kathir under Surah Al-Isra:110)
◈ And this was also heard by the Jews, and they said: In the Torah, the attribute Ar-Rahman is used more frequently for Allah, and you use the name Allah more often. (In the Quran, the name Allah is mentioned more, and Ar-Rahman less).
Reference: (Tafsir al-Qurtubi, Surah Al-Isra:110)
So Allah Almighty revealed this verse.
And all those names belong to the same Being.
◈ Imam Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, intended to clarify this issue in the light of the reason for revelation.
◈ And secondly, the affirmation of two names of Allah Almighty, and our faith in them: [the word اللہ عَلَمُ الأَعْلَامِ].
This cannot be the name of any other creation; it is exclusive to Allah, and Ar-Rahman is also a name of Allah Almighty that is specific to Allah.
[There are two types of names of Allah Almighty].
① Those names which are exclusive to Allah Almighty, the specific names that no one else can have. (For example) Ar-Rahman, As-Samad, Knower of the unseen.
② Those names which are shared: they can also be applied to creation or have been applied. (For example) Allah Almighty الحی (is alive). And life is also with creation. But this is a verbal sharing, not a sharing in meaning.
◈ Allah Almighty الحی is: without any defect, He was alive from eternity and will remain so forever. With perfection.
◈ And the creation is such الحی that it was nonexistent before, then when it came into existence, it was for a fixed period. And life is also with different conditions. Then after that, death.
For Allah Almighty, the meaning will be what is befitting to the Majesty of Allah and the meaning of perfection.
And for the creation, the meaning will be what is befitting to the status of the creation.
__ARABIC_7They do not believe in the Most Merciful.
ARABIC_8__ They believe in the Most Merciful but declare Him devoid of mercy.
This ترجمۃ الباب is the rejection of the Jahmiyyah, and in the Hadith, it is the rejection of the Mu'tazilah.
Every attribute of Allah Almighty is free from comparison. [لَیۡسَ کَمِثۡلِہٖ شَیۡءٌ ۚ وَ ہُوَ السَّمِیۡعُ الۡبَصِیۡرُ]
Reference: (Surah Ash-Shura:11)
اشاعرہ اور ماتریدیہ: They believe in the Most Merciful but do not accept the meaning; they interpret it. These two (meaning, intention or favor, or kindness) — this interpretation is false. This meaning is equivalent to distorting the reality of the attribute.
Question: Why do they interpret it this way, they say?
Answer: They say there are two difficulties in it.
[1] The feeling of mercy is also present within the creation. (So comparison becomes necessary).
The attribute of mercy requires change: if you show mercy to someone, your emotions will change.
Based on these two matters, they interpret the attribute of mercy as intention or reward. This is equivalent to damaging the reality of the attribute. Although the mercy of the Most Merciful is a right, the attribute of mercy is established as His right. We have faith in this.
How He shows mercy is unknown: (as befits His majesty. His mercy is not like the mercy of creation: Why? [لَیۡسَ کَمِثۡلِہٖ شَیۡءٌ]
Analogy is necessary only when we say that His mercy is like the mercy of creation.
We accept [الرحمن] as the true name of Allah Almighty, and this name indicates the attribute of mercy, therefore we accept the attribute of mercy as befitting the majesty of Allah Almighty without any interpretation.
