Al-Hafidh

The All-Preserver.

This Name of God encompasses the attributes of guarding, watching, protecting and preserving.

He is aware of, remembers and keeps in His memory all that you do, or say, or think at all times. He preserves all: nothing is lost. In His preservation, there is also protection. He does not disregard anything, as there is not an atom’s worth of anything lost from the gaze of His protection.

God is the One who remembers all that was and all that is, keeping in His divine protection all that will be.

He protects His creation from all harm and disharmony. This is how the heavenly bodies revolve and travel at speed, through infinite space, without colliding.

He has placed in each of His creations an instinct for survival.

As a blessing of ‘al-Hafidh’, God has sent His Prophets, His Books and His Teachers to teach wisdom, knowledge and the divine law to protect mankind from material and spiritual harm.

“In the Name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy.”

‘But God is the best guardian and the Most Merciful of merciful.’ (12:64)

‘But if you turn away, then I have conveyed the message with which I was sent to you, and my Lord will bring along another people in your place. You cannot do Him any harm: it is my Lord that protects everything.’ (11:57)

‘And he (Iblis) had no authority over them – except that We might test him who believes in the Hereafter from him who is in doubt about it. And your Lord is ‘Hafidh’, Watchful over everything.’ (34:21)

‘And as for those who take protectors other than Him, God is ‘Hafidh’, Watcher over them, and you (Oh Muhammad, peace & blessings upon him) are not a guardian over them.’ (42:6)

Benefits of this Name include:-

– Being conscious of God’s presence, through our belief that He is aware of all of our actions, and thus striving hard to be careful with our actions and what we say.

– Relying on God, for nothing can be protected except by Him.

– Extolling God, and worshipping none other than Him, for He alone is the Protector of the universe.

– Seeking God’s protection by obeying Him and avoiding what He has prohibited.

– Loving God, praising Him and showing gratitude for the protection He provides.

And God knows best.

Extracts from, ‘The Name and the Named’ by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak.