Ad-Darr An-Nafi’
Ad-Darr An-Nafi’ is the Withholder of Benefit. He is the Assessor of harm to whomever He desires as He desires, and He is the One who destines goodness to whomever He desires as He desires. All this is from what has been determined in His Wisdom of His detaining. So let us be patient during the times of his strengthening and His withholding because in this there is benefit for us; and let us praise and thank Him during the times of His goodness.
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)
AN-NAFI’
Allah is the creator of good. Allah has created the human being as the best of His creatures and has bestowed upon us gifts which render us unique and superior and to the rest of creation. The highest of the gifts He has given to humanity are intellect, conscience, and faith. These are the means by which He has taught us to discriminate, to choose for ourselves what is best. The human being is also unique in having a will – the only one in the universe, with the exception of Allah. Our small will can only be checked by the greater will of Allah. This limitation means that we are not free and left on our own.
Allah has given us freedom only so that we may find out for ourselves whether we will submit to the will of Allah, govern in His name, be the best of creation, and have the best of creation, or whether we will revolt, cause our own downfall, and be rejected from Allah’s mercy, as was the Devil. Our ability to choose between good and evil is not a test for Allah to see how His servant will behave. Allah created our fates before He created us: therefore He already knows what we will do. Only the person who believes in fate may be saved from it!
Allah’s mercy is sent down upon us continually, as is all the good He has created. Our will cannot bring anything to us that is due to someone else, nor can it prevent anything from coming to us that is our destiny. Neither are we able to choose what we would prefer, for often what we choose slips from our hand, while what we never wanted seeks us out. And even if we have what we choose, it would have come to us in any case.
When we look at the universe, what we see is Allah’s will, what we see with is Allah’s will, what we understand of what we see is Allah’s will, what we seem to have chosen is Allah’s will. Our small will consists of being able to open our eyes to receive all the good that Allah has willed for us, or to close our eyes and receive nothing. It is as if the treasures of Allah are pouring continuously like a blessed rain. We have to be present to receive it. If we are not there, it will go to waste. To be present, we have to open our eyes, our minds, our hearts, and our hands. We have to be aware, awake, conscious. That is how we see and receive the good that Allah has created.
‘Abd an-Nafi’ is the one who sees and receives the good Allah has created and is charged with distributing the blessings of Allah, the greatest of which are knowledge and faith, to the ones worthy to receive. He is like Khidr, the ever-present materialized spirit who helps believers in need, and follows his path and example.
Recitation of this Name relieves sadness, depression, and stress. A person who remembers to recite this Name silently during intercourse will find his or her partner more responsive.
From: The Name & the Named by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti