Al-A‘raf 180: Knowing Allah’s Beautiful Names and Praying

23 May 2021

When praying to Allah, do we truly think about whom we are calling upon and what we are asking for?

Question: Is prayer merely repeating words?

Verse 180 of Surah Al-A‘raf states that the most beautiful names belong to Allah and that we should call upon Him by these names.

At the heart of this call is reflecting on the meanings of Allah’s names, rather than merely memorizing them.

Knowing the Name, Reflecting on Its Meaning

Let us imagine continually calling a person by their name.

If we do not explain what we want to tell them, the meaning of our call may remain incomplete.

When mentioning Allah’s names, we also need to reflect on what these names express.

When we say Al-Khaliq, we remember that creation belongs to Allah.

When we say Ar-Razzaq, we think about the source of our provision.

When we say Al-Malik, we remember that rule and sovereignty belong to Allah.

Knowing the meanings of the names also changes our perception of daily life.

Question: When we say Allah is the Creator, how do we view the blessings He has created?

The food on our table, the functioning of our body, our family, and the environment in which we live offer us many examples to reflect upon.

Knowing the causes behind a blessing does not prevent us from being grateful for it.

On the contrary, it may also lead us to reflect on the causes.

Acknowledging Our Helplessness in Prayer

Prayer sometimes reminds people of their own limits.

We realize that we cannot control everything or solve every problem alone.

The expression in Prophet Adam’s prayer acknowledging that he had wronged himself prompts reflection on this aspect of repentance.

It is easy to blame someone else for one’s mistake. It is difficult to turn inward and say, “I did wrong.”

Question: Can we openly acknowledge our mistakes in our prayers?

Seeking forgiveness should not merely be repeating a phrase.

Recognizing our mistake and striving not to continue it are also part of this sincerity.

Seeking Allah’s help does not remove our own responsibility.

Asking for help while striving to act rightly reminds us to use our will more carefully.

The Connection Between Worship and Life

While performing an act of worship, we may act out of habit without thinking about what we say.

Our minds may be elsewhere during ritual prayer or supplication.

Reflecting on this helps us pay renewed attention to the meaning of worship.

Repeating our words with understanding makes it easier to connect them with life.

When beginning a new day in the morning, we can pray to act honestly.

In the evening, we can also evaluate the promises we made, the work we did, and our behavior throughout the day.

Verse 80 of Surah Al-Isra contains a prayer asking Allah for help with a truthful entrance and a truthful exit.

We can reflect on this prayer by looking at our work, relationships, and daily decisions.

Question: How much do we preserve in our behavior the uprightness for which we pray?

Honesty at work, compassion at home, and fairness in transactions are not separate matters.

For worship to guide our lives, we need to consider these areas together.

Using Our Will Rightly

We have choices in life. These choices also have consequences.

When buying a product, doing our work, or treating another person, we decide between options.

Some decisions may bring us immediate gain but cause harm in the long term.

If we look only at our short-term desires here, we may miss the broader consequences.

Question: When choosing, do we seek what is right, or merely what suits us?

When people constantly see themselves as right, recognizing their mistakes becomes harder.

Saying that one’s intentions are good is not enough on its own either.

Intention needs to be supported by behavior.

Praying to Allah can become an occasion to reassess ourselves at this point.

Reading the Qur’an as Though It Addresses Us

We do not have the Qur’an merely to read the stories of people who lived in the past.

We should reflect on how to bring its counsel into our lives today.

When reading Al-A‘raf 180, let us not see Allah’s beautiful names merely as a list of names.

Let us ask what these names remind us of regarding creation, blessings, responsibility, and helplessness.

No matter how successful people are in any field, they do not know everything and cannot do everything.

Prayer means learning to live without forgetting this truth.

By which name are we calling upon Allah today, and how much do we reflect on that name’s meaning in our lives?