Al-Mu’izz Al-Mudhill

 

He is the One who gives power, and victory, and strength to whomever he wishes; and He takes it away from whomever He wishes.  Only ask for strength from Him by acts of obedience, and in abstaining form His prohibitions.  Be humble with Him, and do not turn to other than Him.

 

From: The Children Around the Table of Allah by Shaykh Muhammad Sa’id al-Jamal ar-Rifa’i Head of the Higher Sufi Council in Jerusalem and the Holy Land Teacher at the Dome of the Rock (al-Aqsa)

 

AL-MU’IZZ AL-MUDHILL

 

He is the one who honors and the one who humiliates.  In raising and lowering there is the implication of honor and humiliation.  Whoever is honored has received a state of pride and dignity (‘izzah).  But the state of pride and dignity obtained from Allah the Honorer is very different form the pride that people imagine they deserve (kibr).  The pride and dignity of those who are honored by Allah is not pride in themselves, but respect paid to the honor given them, and to the One who gives honor.

 

Indeed, the honored ones are still human beings.   They need to eat and drink and they do that lawfully and in good measure.  For Allah, as part of the honor He bestows upon them, gives them the wisdom and joy of obtaining the necessities and enjoyments of this world with His good pleasure.  Such servants of Allah will not stray from Allah’s permission and pleasure even if it means death for them, because within the gift of the Honorer to the honored is a safeguard against the disgrace of the divine gift.

 

However the honor that we attribute to ourselves or that is attributed to us by other creatures of Allah is a curse that distorts our reality, making us imagine that we occupy a state other than our own.  Knowledge of oneself leads one to one’s Lord.  But imagining oneself to be other than one is the cause of his expulsion from Allah’s presence.  That expulsion was the first act of Allah in His manifestation as the Humiliator.

 

Then there are those who have neither the dignity and honor awarded by Allah nor the false pride that people make up themselves but are undignified, shameless, and disgraceful.  Then hearts are on fire with the ambition of this world.  No good comes from them to anything or anyone because they are selfish and stingy.  There is no limit to the degree to which they will humiliate themselves to beg for the goods of this world.  They are guilty of shirk, attributing equals to Allah, because they take the temporal hands that throw bones to them as gods.

 

A person who asks and hopes from Allah alone knows that all honor is His and can come only from Him.  Those who think they are the fashioners of their own destinies and can get what they want by themselves, who seek the praise of creatures and are arrogant, these are the followers of the Devil.  They will receive the punishment of the Devil, and will be expelled from the presence and care of Allah.  Those who lower themselves and worship creatures, hoping to receive good from them, will be further humiliated by Allah, and tyrannized by the very creatures whom they take for their temporal gods.

 

‘Abd al-Mu’izz is the faithful person whose lot from Allah suffices, and who does not ask for more from the others.  He is given the strength to defend himself against his evil-commanding ego.  Honored with the friendship of Allah, he rises to the highest summit of honor and fortune, and appears in that state to the whole creation.

 

If someone who feels rich without having riches, who is strong without guns and muscles, and is able to keep his ego at bay in his attempt to help others, should encounter strong enemies and suffer tyranny, he may recite ya Mu’izz after the night prayers on Sundays and Thursdays.  He will then be fearless and appear invincible to his enemies.

 

‘Abd al-Mudhill is dissatisfied with what he has and is envious of others.  He is the slave of his ego and has lost all sense of measure, and is made an example of degradation to others.  Often Allah manifests His attribute of Abaser in His enemies.

 

If a person is tyrannized by someone who depends on his position of power, his wealth, and is stooges to oppress him, the oppressed one may recite ya Mudhill 40 times on Friday nights, and after taking ritual ablution recite it 75 times more, then go to prostration and pray, saying, “O Lord, save me from the tyranny of so and so …”    Allah may make him appear strong to his enemies and protect him from the tyrant’s power.

 

From: The Name & the Named by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti