 He started in the name of Allah Azza wa Jann. His name Allah that encompasses all of his names and attributes that any quality or any attribute or any trait that you can imagine to be a divine trait is indicated and signified in his name Allah. And so when we say Allah that we are recognizing Allah is merciful, Allah is the one who created, Allah is the one who gives life, Allah is the one who gives death. But his name Allah, the greatest name according to most of the ulama, most of the scholars consider this the greatest name of Allah. Why? Because this is the name that encompasses the entire, any meaning that can be indicated, any attribute that can be attributed to Allah Azza wa Jann, any perfection that is attributed to Allah Azza wa Jann and any negation, any negation of any defect that would be negated from him is all encompassed in the name of Allah. So we say Bismillah that we start in the name of that entity and then that entity emphasizes that he is ar-Rahman and ar-Raheem, that he is the most merciful, the universally merciful whose mercy encompasses both the mu'min and the kafir, the believer and the disbeliever that the greatest gift of faith, that gift of faith is for the believer. That Allah's mercy is not separate from the disbeliever, that Allah's mercy is not separate, is not de-attached from the ma-zahir, the manifestations of the things that Allah is not pleased with. His mercy is still contained within those things that we look at and our heart rejects. His mercy is contained in those and then ar-Raheem who is the particularly merciful, the one who gives this particular mercy to the believers, this is ar-Raheem and understanding the names and attributes of Allah Azza wa Jann, understanding who it is that we call on. When I say Ya Allah, Ya Allah, which entity am I speaking about? What is the significance of this entity? The one that created me, al-musawir, the one who fashioned me, al-bari, the one who created me from nothing, who is it that we're speaking about? The names of Allah Azza wa Jann play a significant portion in the believer's life. The names of Allah Azza wa Jann is the starting point of the journey from the believer for the believer from lowly attributes to high attributes. There's a common saying attributed to the process of the Sunnah al-Hadith according to Mos'alama. Take on the Lordly, Godly qualities and what does that mean? This is explained by the scholars that each name of Allah Azza wa Jann, we know the 99 names, right? And there's about 127 total. It's not just the 99 names. This is the famous 99 names. There's about 127 total that are narrated in the Sunnah. But those names are for us to understand the Lord that we speak about. And we need to have a reference point. If we talk about the merciful but have never seen any conception of mercy in our lives, do we understand what could the mercy of Allah be? Do we have anything for our minds to ground itself in the idea of mercy? The possessor of majesty and of generosity or of beauty. If we haven't seen majesty or beauty, is there anything for us to ground ourselves in the idea of majesty and beauty such that we imagine that whatever majesty and whatever beauty I've seen in my life that Allah Azza wa Jann is infinitely greater? The idea of having a ta'alliq, of having relation to the names and attributes of Allah is the beginning of the journey of the believer to Allah Azza wa Jann. That if one has no relation to the name Al-Ghaffar, the oft-pardoning, the one who forgives time and time again after the first forgiveness and the second forgiveness and the third forgiveness so on and so forth, ad infinitum, the one who will forgive forever. If we don't have a relation to that attribute of Allah, the one who forgives, we don't understand then some of the meaning of the mercy of Allah Azza wa Jann. And it's for this reason that the ta'alliq says that there's 10 steps on the path to Allah Azza wa Jann and it starts with understanding who your Lord is. That if we understand the realities of this world and we understand the ayat of the Qur'an at least linguistically, if you understand what أَلَمْتَرَا كَيْفَثَا عَلَى رَبْبُكَ بِأَصْحَابِ الْفِينْ means and the story behind As-Ha'ab al-Feeb, but we don't understand who was that Lord who sent those birds to the As-Ha'ab al-Feeb, then we're still a little bit distant from Allah. If we don't have an understanding of who our Allah is and we want to bypass understanding who our Lord is and jump to the things that perhaps our nafs finds a little bit more interesting, that we're a little bit more inclined to hear about the story of Musa al-Assalam, which we must know these things. These things, believers must know them. They must know the story of Musa al-Assalam and the story of Isa al-Assalam. They must know the stories that are contained in the Qur'an and the wisdoms that are contained in the Qur'an. But if we want to jump to these things before understanding who is the one that sent that Qur'an and who did he send it to, then there's still some distance between us and Allah Az-Zawajal. If we have not done تخلق بأخلاق الله, take on Lordly characteristics, we haven't been people who are خليفة الله في الأرض, the representatives of Allah on this earth. When Allah Az-Zawajal says, مما خلقت الجن والإنسى إلا ليعبدون that we haven't created man, we have not created jinn and man except to worship. Jinn and mankind were created to worship. And ابن عباس رضي الله عنه, the مفسر of the Sahaba, the one who explained the ayat of the Sahaba, رضي الله عنه. He said this ayat means مما خلقت الجن والإنسى إلا ليعبدون that I have not created jinn and mankind except to know me, to know who our Lord is. That our worship, the point of our worship is what? To know Allah Az-Zawajal. It's not just to fulfill some obligations and do some acts, stretch out your back and such that this is not what your worship is for. These forms have meanings behind them. And it starts with ليعبدون, to know me. These names that Allah Az-Zawajal has, the responsibility of the believer is to see how can I become the best manifestation of this name. And Allah says that He is الرحيم. How do I bring mercy into my life? How do I recognize mercy in myself, in others and on the horizons? When Allah Az-Zawajal says He's المحي, the one who brings life, how do I see that in myself, in others and on the horizons and the rest of creation? Such that I can recognize the insignificance of my mercy and recognize the significance of Allah Az-Zawajal's mercy. How do I become more merciful so that Allah Az-Zawajal shows me mercy? How do I become a person who is المتكبر? And this one, some of the ulama have discussion on it. Can the عبد have تخلق? Can the servant have, can he characterize himself with المتكبر, the one who is حاري, the one who has the right to irrigate himself over others? And if we don't understand what it means for us to be المتكبر in its proper place, such that irrigating oneself above something becomes a virtue, if we don't understand how to do that, then we do not understand how this is a perfection for Allah Az-Zawajal, that the believer when he is المتكبر, that he is above something, the believer is above sinning, the believer is above lowly things, the believer is above speaking ill of someone else, the believer is above thinking evil thoughts about somebody else, the believer is above judging somebody else where they don't have the right to judge. The believer is above speaking to somebody in a manner that's not befitting. This is not the quality of a believer. Then we want to understand this is المتكبر for the believer. Then what must المتكبر be for Allah Az-Zawajal? What is he transcendent above? How perfect is he Az-Zawajal? And then we recognize that each single name of Allah Az-Zawajal there's a slight difference even if the wording is similar. Imam Al-Ghazali, Rahim Allah, starts his المقصد الأسنة. It's his book explaining the 99 names of Allah, it's been translated, easily available. He starts speaking about how each single name of Allah Az-Zawajal contains a different meaning even if it seems similar. He's, for example, Al-Ghafir, Al-Ghufur, Al-Ghaffar. There's no synonyms in the names of Allah Az-Zawajal. There's no repetition. Each one has its own significance. Al-Ghafir, the one who forgives, the one who pardons. Al-Ghufur, the one who consistently pardons. And then Al-Ghaffar, the one who consistently pardons time and time again that after the mistake is done, then again, someone makes the mistake, he still Az-Zawajal forgives and pardons. To become people of more perfection, to become more perfect people, it takes all three. You start with forgiving people. You remove that ill feeling towards another. Sometimes you forgive but we don't forget. When Allah forgives, he doesn't just forgive the sin, he erases the sin. In our minds, can we erase the wrong that somebody has done to us? And then when they do it again, or there's many, many wrongs that they've done to us, can we still forgive them and pardon them? And then when it happens time and time again, can we become a manifestation of Al-Ghufur? Can we bring that part, that pardoning in our lives so that we recognize that, Ya Allah, I have forgiven this person, I've pardoned this person, and I don't even think about the wrong that they've done to me. Ya Allah, the way that I forgave this person, Ya Allah, can you perhaps forgive me on the day of judgment? Can we bring these characteristics into ourselves? Al-Mumit, the one who gives death. Can we give death to our egos? Can we give death to those thoughts that should die from us? Al-Muhi, can we put life into another person's heart and put happiness into another's heart? Allah is the one who gives life. How do we enact that in our lives? And the greatest representative, the greatest Khalifa of Allah Azza wa Jann is who is Sayyidina Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. Who best do we turn to to understand how can I implement this name of Allah Azza wa Jann? Who is the greatest hadee? Who is the greatest guide? After Allah Azza wa Jann, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, who is, where is guidance best manifest? Who best did da'wah? The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. So if you want to understand how to take on these characteristics of Allah Azza wa Jann, we have to know first Allah Azza wa Jann, his characteristics, and we have to know how they are manifest and the most perfect of his creation. Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. I say this word, wa staqfirullah ali walakum al-isair al-muslimin, yaqum istaghfiru, innahu wa l-ghafur al-rahi. Bismillah wa al-hamdulillah wa sallatu wa sallam We do not know who our Lord is, we do not know who our Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is. Then we can't find true love for them. Allah Azza wa Jann, we're called for the love of Allah Azza wa Jann in the Quran. Qul in kuntum tuhibbuna Allaha. Fattabi'u ni. Say that if you love Allah Azza wa Jann, then follow me. This is what the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is saying in the Quran. He's commanded to say this. If you love Allah Azza wa Jann, then follow me. And mahabba, love is the result of ma'rifah, of knowing. If we do not know Allah Azza wa Jann, we do not know His Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, we do not know the Sunnah, we do not know the Qur'an. If we're distant from this and then claim love, this is, it's just that, it's just a claim. And for us to find love of Allah Azza wa Jann, starts with knowing who He is. If we do not have ma'rifah, mahabba is just a claim. If we do not have knowledge of Allah Azza wa Jann, love is just a claim. And it has to be through the means that Allah Azza wa Jann demands. The lover does whatever the beloved asks. That's when Allah Azza wa Jann says, if you love Allah Azza wa Jann, qul in kuntum tuhibbun Allaha, then He tells the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam to tell everybody, fattabi'u ni, follow me. Outside of the Sunnah of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, there is no love for Allah. The only way to reach the love of Allah is through the Sunnah of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. Anything that is against his Sunnah, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, no matter how it makes us feel, is a distraction from the love of Allah Azza wa Jann. It's may Allah make his lovers of him, Azza wa Jann, may Allah make his lovers of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, may Allah make his lovers of his Sunnah of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, may Allah make his lovers of his book, Azza wa Jann. May Allah make the people who love the Quran and who love the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, who love the Adhan Bayt, who love the family of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, May Allah makes the people who are in service of His Deen. May Allah makes us the people who have knowledge of Him, Azawajan, and who have knowledge of His names. May Allah Azawajan make us people who are knowledgeable of how His name should be manifest in us. May Allah Azawajan make us knowledgeable about the Sunnah of the Habib Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. May Allah makes us the people who are consistently witnessing the names of Allah Azawajan in His creation. May Allah Azawajan see every single sign in creation as something that reminds us of the name of His Azawajan. May Allah makes us the people of Ma'rifah, May Allah makes us the people of Mahabba, May Allah makes us the people of knowledge, May Allah makes us the people of love, May Allah makes us the people of Rahma, of Mercy, May Allah makes us the people of Ufran, of pardoning, May Allah makes us the people of Ihiya, of putting life into others, and livening. May Allah makes us the people who best manifest His names and attributes. May Allah makes us the people who have to Kalluk, who have to Alluk, and who have to Hakkuk, who take on the characteristics of His Azawajan. May Allah makes the people who have a relation to those names and attributes. May Allah makes the people who actualize the names and attributes. May Allah makes the people who find no solace except through Him. So may Allah make us see Him as As-Salam. So we say, Allahumma, Anta As-Salam. Wa Minka As-Salam. Tabarak Tayyad An-Jalali Wal-Ikram. Hayyina Wa Adkhirna Dara As-Salam. Rabbana Aatina Fi Al-Dunya Hasnah. Wa Fi Al-Akhirat Al-Hasnah Wa Qinat Al-Azab Al-Nar. Rabbana Hablana Min Azwajina Wa Dhuriyatina. Qur Rata A'yuni Wa Ja'anna Lil Muttaqina Imama. May Allah Azza Wa Jalla make us the people who seek forgiveness for our teachers, particularly our first teachers, our parents. So we say, Rabbir Hamhuma, Kama Rabba Yaani Segeera. Rabbir Hamhuma, Kama Rabba Yaani Segeera. Rabbir Hamhuma, Kama Rabba Yaani Segeera. Rabbir Hamhuma, Kama Rabba Yaani Segeera. Rabbir Hamhuma, Kama Rabba Yaani Segeera. And may Allah Azza Wa Jalla allow us to recognize that Allah in His angels sends His prayers, send their prayers, and peace on His beloved, As-Salam. And then we are asked to do the same. Allahumma salli ala Sayyidina Muhammad, wa ala ala sayyidina Muhammad, wa ala aswaji Sayyidina Muhammad, wa ala ashabi Sayyidina Muhammad, wa ala atba'i Sayyidina Muhammad, wa ala ahbab Sayyidina Muhammad, wa ala urmati Sayyidina Muhammad. Wa barik ala Sayyidina Muhammad. Inna Allahi Amr ibn Adi wa al-Ihsani wa Ita ibn Qurba. Wa Yanhaa al-Infahshai wa al-Munkri wa al-Baghri. Ya'zikum la'allakum tiddakkarun. Uthkur Allah ya'zikurkum. Remember Allah to remember you. Remember Allah to remember you. Wa da'uhu yas tajibilakum. Call upon Him and He'll answer you. Wa nadhikur Allahi akbar. Wa Allaho ya'lum wa ma tasna'un. Wa atlimi al-Sana.