Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god;- Who knows (all things) both secret and open; He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god;- the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace (and Perfection), the Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of Safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory to Allah! (High is He) above the partners they attribute to Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms (or Colours). To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names: whatever is in the heavens and on earth, doth declare His Praises and Glory: and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.
Quran 59:22-24
The Name or Attribute of Allah, As-Salaam, is used only one time in the Quran. Usage in the Quran In Surah Al-Hashr, where Allah mentions many of His names at the end of the chapter.
These three verses emphasize not only the sole Divinity and true Majesty, and Creator but embedded within is the Attribute As Salaam. He is Perfection – without any defect.
We are wise to surrender to God. In doing so, we purify and perfect ourselves. Surrendering to Him allows us to let go of our ego and embrace humility. By recognizing our limitations, we open ourselves up to growth and transformation. This act of surrendering can bring peace embedded in contentment and help us align with our true purpose in life.
When I speak or write about the human condition or our imperfections, the aim is not that we celebrate our imperfections and accept them. Instead, it is that we surrender to God and seek to be purified and perfected. This path is taken not out of hatred or judgment of oneself or our condition. If you are sick and go to a doctor and seek medical treatment, you do so out of love and reason. You want to live. Likewise, the nature of the world is such that we will get spiritually sick; hence, as we have an annual physical exam – and periodic exams when feeling unwell – we should turn and seek Allah to purify ourselves and perfect our nature.
“By the Soul, and the proportion and order given to it; And its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right;- Truly he succeeds that purifies it, And he fails that corrupts it!”
91:7-10
We understand that if we do not clean and care for our bodies, homes, and gardens, they will become defective, diseased, and so on. Similarly, if we do not purify our soul, it will become corrupted. Only by constantly recalibrating our soul to surrender to its Creator can it be purified and perfected. This is not a one-time occurrence.
As long as we live in this world, this is a never-ending process. We should not grow tired of it and hate it; instead, we should retrain our hearts to love purity and perfection. We are invited to join whatever is in the heavens and on earth in declaring His Praises and Glory, Allah, As Salaam, the Perfect.
To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. The more we praise Him and reflect on His Most Beautiful Names and Attributes, the more we train our hearts to love perfection and purity, and to actively seek it.
Fadwa Wazwaz | Fəd-wə Wəz-wəz
is a Palestinian-American born in Jerusalem, Palestine and raised in the US. She is an author of “God Intervenes Between A Person And Their Heart: Key Lessons From The Prophets” and “Love Is Deeper Than Words: Key Lessons From The Prophets.”