Feeling Safe In A Broken World | Allah's Names | Dr. Omar Suleiman | Ep. 12

The Reality of Fear and Safety

So many of our du'as are not about wanting something. They're about wanting something or someone to go away because we're afraid. And the absence of safety robs us of any type of serenity even when we have a full slate of blessings.

Allah wants you to feel safe and he wants you to feel assured that your du'a has been heard and that your du'a will be upheld. And that while fear may be temporary, his protection is permanent. Allah says, "By my might and my majesty, I will not combine upon my servant two fears or two securities.

If he feared me in this world, then I will make him feel safe on the day of judgment. And if he felt safe for me in this world, then I will make him afraid on the day of judgment." So two feelings of fear and two feelings of safety cannot live in the same heart.

If you tremble here, you will be sheltered there. And if you feel invincible here, then you'll finally learn fear there. If you live here mindful of him, cautious not to displease him, he grants you safety there.

But if you live heedless of him, careless with his limits, then those consequences await you when no veil can hide you. And with that balance, the first door of protection opens up to us. The grantor of faith and security.

Al-Mu'min: The Grantor of Faith and Security

Because amn, safety, and iman, faith, are actually both born of the same root word. And they also work beautifully in tandem. He secures your outside from harm and your inside from doubt.

He gives aman to the frightened and iman to the faithful. And Imam al-Ghazali rahimahullah said, Al-mu'min provides security and safety to a mu'min by blocking the paths of danger, while also assuring his creatures that they will not be dealt with unjustly.

He who fed them when they were hungry and made them safe from fear.

The same one who put food in their stomachs, put tranquility in their hearts. Because you don't only need provision, but also peace. So he secures your heart from the inside, as he secures your body from the outside.

Think of Hajar, stranded in the desert in the middle of nowhere with a dying child. And then she looks up to al-mu'min. Before she was given this divine well of zamzam with unlimited water that became a means of provision and protection for her, he put in her heart the divine spring of faith that gave her assurance that Allah was never going to lose her.

That he was going to grant her safety through some sort of miraculous outward means. She just didn't know how yet. But her inward reality manifested before her outward reality.

And then look at how Allah describes who he sends tranquility to. He is the one who sent down peace into the hearts of the mu'mineen.

Allah makes firm the hearts of those who believe. The human mu'min, being the faithful believer, has full faith in al-mu'min, the grantor of safety and faith.

And with that come serene hearts and steadfast feet. And that inner peace is a promise that when you protect his limits, he protects your soul. When you stand for truth, he solidifies it inside of you.

He makes you believe in him and then proves to you that your belief was never in vain. He also comforts you in that fear of losing what you love. But the storms outside of you are still going to rage.

Al-Muhaymin: The Overseeing Protector

And you still need a watcher from above, which opens up the next door, المهيمن, the overseeing protector. The root word haymin means to supervise, to watch, to protect. Al-Muhaymin only comes in the Quran once, and it's right after al-mu'min.

It takes you from inner safety to surrounding protection. So think of it this way. If al-mu'min secures the inside, al-muhaymin protects the horizon.

It's not like Allah set the playing field, put faith in your hearts, and then just let the match go. He owns the field itself, and he's always watching and observing. His throne reigns just as supreme here as it does on the Day of Judgment.

The only difference is that here it's unseen. His omnipotence is met by his omnipresence. So he observes you to catch you when you fall and to care for you when you fall apart.

His watchfulness is not just surveillance, but security. When you feel unseen, you are most seen by him. When you're about to walk into harm's way, he sets an obstacle to redirect you.

While when your enemy overcomes you, he sets for them a sudden trap. When you have a hole in your strategy, he fills the gap. And if there is a temporary victory for them over you, he guarantees the final score.

Think of it this way. Al-mu'min settles the heart deep inside, al-muhaymin surrounds you from all directions. And look at how his names al-mu'min and al-muhaymin work together in the battlefield of Badr.

Before Badr, Allah sent rain for the believers to physically purify themselves. Then after that, he sent angels in the thousands from the skies to spiritually fortify them. Then Allah mentions, "So that he can make your heart steady."

And he can make your feet firm. All of this, by the way, is before the battle even started from al-mu'min. Then think of al-muhaymin using those same angels to smack the enemy left and right and send them on their way, foiling all of their plots.

So both external protection and internal peace come down together with al-mu'min studying their hearts and al-muhaymin commanding the sky. And this name al-muhaymin is especially for those who feel vulnerable because maybe they're mistake prone or they have powerful people that seem to dictate every aspect of their lives and rob their peace of mind. So when you say, "I don't know what's coming," al-muhaymin says, "but I do."

Al-Hafiz: The Preserver

Because you are always in Allah's hifz, his preservation, which opens another door. Allah is al-Hafiz, the preserver. Think of this as the third wall of the fortress.

Al-Hafiz is the one who guards his promise and he keeps you in his possession. And when the plan supposedly fails, he brings it all back to what it was always meant to be. It is he who preserves the heavens and the earth from collapse and the hearts and the souls from despair.

And then the glorious Quran from corruption. It's when you sleep وَدُمْتَ فِي حِفْظِ اللَّهِ and you remain under the protection of Allah. From unseen harms and harms you'd otherwise see if you were awake, from the spiritual and the physical.

So hifz is not just a shield from harm, it's the continuity of his care. The Prophet ﷺ said to Abdullah ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما,

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2516)

Be mindful of Allah and he will preserve you. Be mindful of Allah and he will find him ahead of you.

And in one narration the Prophet ﷺ said تَجِدْهُ أَمَامَكَ, you will find him in front of you.

يَحْفَظْكَ here means he will protect you from harm. "In front of you" means he will grant you his presence. And that's when protection and comfort come together.

And from the means by which Allah protects you are the good deeds that you do for his sake. So your sadaqah protects you, your fasting protects you, your Quran protects you. And that's why Imam Hassan al-Basri rahimahu Allah when he heard someone say فُلَان يَحْفَظُ الْقُرْآنَ so and so preserves the Quran meaning he memorizes it.

And he responded and he said بَلِ الْقُرْآنُ يَحْفَظُهُ rather the Quran preserves him. It's Allah's word protecting you, not you protecting it. And Allah's hifz is what you resort to when you feel all has been lost.

It's why Ya'qub عليه السلام could say after losing one child in Yusuf and about to lose another in Binyameen Allah is the best preserver and he is the most merciful of the merciful.

So we often forget that Allah wasn't only preserving Yusuf, he was preserving Ya'qub عليه السلام for two decades. How? His heart, his mind, his faith, his sincerity because this was also a trial for him.

And just like Hajar عليها السلام Ya'qub عليه السلام knew that Allah never lost anyone or anything even when other people told him to give up hope of his son ever returning to him. Al-Hafiz even guards the story itself. He preserved Yusuf عليه السلام and preserved his dream even in the midst of his nightmare recording every single one of his moments for us to still read today.

Nuh عليه السلام and his story of struggle were recorded even in the midst of his rejection. In fact, think of the people of Gaza and the stories that lay beneath the rubble.

Al-Wakeel: The Ultimate Trustee

So Al-Mu'min gives you the faith and security inside. Al-Muhaymin gives you an encompassing fortress that he oversees. Al-Hafiz preserves you even when there appears to be a breach and that's when you open the final door of Al-Wakeel the ultimate trustee and disposer of your affairs.

This is now when you actively delegate to him because you're well aware of all the attributes we just mentioned.

Al-Mu'min gave you faith. Al-Muhaymin guarded you. Al-Hafiz preserved you.

Now Al-Wakeel invites you to hand it all over to him with complete trust and confidence. Put your trust in Allah and sufficient is Allah as your trustee.

Now trusting Allah doesn't mean removing yourself from the equation. It means recognizing that he's the part of the equation that actually brings about the results. It's your heart being settled with him while your hands keep working not some sort of superficial stamp on your plans. He's your first option not just your last resort.

حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ means Allah is sufficient for me whether I'm alone or whether I'm surrounded by many. نِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ means Allah is the best disposer of my affairs even over myself.

And you already feel that because you didn't just learn to turn to him in hardship but you turn towards him in worship before the hardship even hit.

And that's why Ibn Al-Qayyim rahimahu Allah says half of the religion is Inaba constantly turning to Allah and the other half is Tawakkul constantly relying upon Allah. That doesn't mean you don't do your part. It means that while you take the necessary actions you fully trust in Allah's plan and ultimate control over all outcomes.

Examples of Trust in Allah

Ibrahim عليه السلام said it while he was flying through the air into the fire. And when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and his companions were in the ditch surrounded by a genocidal army and told that "the people have gathered against you فَاخْشَوْهُمْ So fear them," their faith only increased. And they too said,

Aisha رضي الله تعالى عنها said it when she was being slandered and the walls in her home seemed to be closing in on her as people kept running their mouth about her honor.

And Imam Malik rahimahu Allah had a ring that had those very words engraved on it. حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ And he was asked, why did you choose these words for your ring?

He said because the very next ayah shows that no one says these words except that deliverance comes right after. So they returned with favor from Allah and His bounty. No harm touched them and they continued to pursue His pleasure.

No harm touched them meaning the protection was assured. And they remained in pursuit of His pleasure rather than being paralyzed by fear.

See when you trust Allah like they did, you become free of every fear except for losing His pleasure. حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ To say it is to choose His plan over your own. To live it is to feel peace even when the plan remains hidden.

The Four Doors of Protection

Al-Mu'min gives you inner safety when the world feels unstable. Al-Muhaymin surrounds you when dangers close in. Al-Hafiz preserves you when you fear you'll lose even yourself.

And Al-Wakeel takes over when you've done all you can and can't see a way forward. But He always sees that way and He always sees you trying to find it.

Du'a to the Four Names

Ya Mu'min grant me faith that no fear can shake. Secure my heart in your promise and guard my soul from every whisper that breeds doubt. Let my trust in you be heavier than any worry that visits me.

Ya Muhaymin the watchful one who never sleeps. Watch over me in the moments that no one else can. Protect me from what I can and cannot see. And be my shield from even what I see but cannot change.

Ya Hafiz preserve my faith through trial and time. Guard my loved ones when they are far away from me. Keep safe the blessings I forgot to thank you for. And protect me for without you I cannot protect myself.

Ya Wakeel I entrust to you my every matter. What I seemingly can handle and that which is obviously beyond my control. Take charge of what confuses me and carry what I cannot hold. And make your plan more beloved to me than even my own. For you are enough for me no matter what else I own.