victory, protecting them, raising their status among their people. He honours one who obeys
Him even if poverty is his lot, and He raises the status of a pious servant of His even if he
were an Abyssinian slave. Allah, God, The Truth, Praised and Glorified is His Name, is
referred to as such in various verses of His Book, the Holy Qura'n. Among such references
are the following:
Do not let their speech grieve you; surely might is wholly Allah's; He is the Hearing, the
Knowing. (10:65) Glory to your Lord, the Lord of Honour, above what they describe.
(37:180) To Allah belongs the might, and to His Prophet, and the believers, but the hypocrites
do not know. (63:8)
Imam Ali ibn al-Husain Zayn al-abidin is quoted saying, "If one desires to be honoured even
though his tribe is not distinguished, or to be held in high esteem even though he has no
authority, or to be a man whose wealth does not diminish, he should get out of the humiliation
of disobedience and enter into the honour of obeying his Lord."
Essentially, the way how God honours His servants is by making them feel satisfied,
contented, for humiliation lies in one being greedy. Had it not been for false hopes, no free
man would have ever been enslaved by anything which, in all truth, is insignificant. The
Almighty places one who persists in praising His Name in the center of honour, instilling love
and respect for him in people's hearts. A servant of Allah who aspires to earn a good share of
personifying this Glorified Name has to honour the Messenger of Allah and those who are
knowledgeable among his own contemporaries, showing respect and humility to them.
- "Al-Muthill"
The Almighty has said, "Those who oppose Allah and His Prophet shall be (herded) among
the most abased" (Qura'n, 58:20). "Al-Muthill" is one of the Attributes of Allah derived from
the noun thull, whatever results from subduing, vanquishing, overcoming, conquering,
someone. The Almighty says, "... walk in the ways of your Lord submissively," (Qura'n,
16:69), that is, freely. He has also said, "... its fruits shall be made accessible (to them),
always easy to reach" (Qura'n, 76:14). Al-Muthill is the One Who abases or humiliates
whomsoever He pleases, depriving them of all prestige. He is the One Who justly abases His
foes when they disobey Him and rebel against His commandments. He insults them and
dismisses them, causing them to be hurled into the abode of His chastisement, the inferno of
hell. Al-Muthill is the One Who abases His foes by depriving them of knowing Him, enabling
them to have their way and to go against His injunctions. He will then have them transported
to the abode of His chastisement, insulting them by dismissing and cursing them.
Al-Muthill is the One Who abases the unbelievers through the power of the truth, Who
subdues whomsoever He pleases. Allah has not honoured any servant of His more than He
has to one who abases his own evil-insinuating self, his nafs, and He has not abased any