Here we continue Ismail Haqqi Bursawi’s commentary on the Divine Name al-Mu’min, found in verse 59:23.

He says,

قال الامام الغزالى رحمه الله المؤمن المطلق هو الذى لايتصور امن وامان الا ويكون مستفادا من جهته

Al-Imam al-Ghazali, may Allah have mercy on him, said: al-Mu’min is the Absolute, so that all imagineable safety or security must come from Him.

وهو الله تعالى وليس يخفى ان الاعمى يخاف أن يناله هلاك من حيث لايرى فعينه البصيرة تفيد امنا منه والأقطع يخاف آفة لاتندفع الا باليد واليد السليمة أمان منها وهكذا جميع الحواس والاطراف ولمؤمن خالقها ومصورها ومقومها ولو قدرنا انسانا وحده مطلوبا من جهة اعدآئه وهو ملقى فى مضيق لاتتحرك عليه اعضاؤه لضعفه وان تحركت فلا سلاح معه وان كان معه سلاح لم يقاوم اعدآءه وحده وان كانت له جنود لم يأمن ان تنكسر جنوده ولا يجد حصنا يأوى اليه فجاء من عالج ضعفه فقواه وامده بجنود واسلحة وبنى حوله حصنا فقد افاده امنا وامانا فبالحرى أن يسمى مؤمنا فى حقه والعبد ضعيف فى اصل فطرته وهو عرضة الامراض والجوع والعطش من باطنه وعرضة الآفات المحرقة والمغرقة والجارحة والكاسرة من ظاهره ولم يؤمنه من هذه المخاوف الا الذى اعد الادوية دافعة لامراضه والاطعمة مزيلة لجوعه والأشربة مميطة لعطشه والاعضاء دافعة عن بدنه والحواس جواسيس منذرة بما يقرب من مهلكاته ثم خوفه الأعظم من هلاك الآخرة ولايحصنه منها الا كلمة التوحيد والله هاديه اليها ومرغبه فيها حيث قال لااله الا الله حصنى فمن دخله أمن من عذابى فلا امن فى العالم الا وهومستفاد من اسباب هو منفرد بخلقها والهداية الى استعمالها

And that [Absolute] is Allah Most High. It is clear that the blind man is scared of dying from something that he does not see, from which a seeing eye would give him safety; And the man whose arm has been cut off fears a harm that could only be protected from with an arm, and from which the arm gives safety; and so it is with all senses and limbs, and the Mu’min is the One who created them, fashioned them, and makes them work. And if we were to imagine a man alone, sought by his enemies, lying in a narrow straight, so weak that his limbs cannot move, and even if they could move, he has no weapon, and even if he had a weapon then he could not fight his enemies by himself, and even if he had soldiers he did not have the assurance (amn) that his army will not be defeated, and there is no fortress in which to seek refuge…. So then came someone who healed his weakness and gave him strength, gave him soldiers and weapons, and built around him a fortress, then he has given him amn and aman (safety and reassurance), then he should be called a mu’min (a source of amn) in his right.

And the servant [of Allah] is naturally weak, and is vulnerable to illness, hunger, and thirst from within, and to dangers that can cause drowning, burning, injury, and defeat from the outside. And only he gives him security from these fears who prepares for him medicine for his illnesses, foods that remove his hunger and drinks to quench his thirst, and bodily organs to keep away harm from his body, as well as the senses which act as spies, informing him of the mortal dangers that approach him. Then there is his greatest fear, that of doom in the Next World, from which only the statement of Tawhid shall protect him- and Allah is He who guides him to it, and makes him want to utter it, as He said [in the Hadith Qudsi], “La Ilaaha Illa Allah is My fortress, and he who enters it is safe from My punishment”. And so there is no safety in the world except that it has causes, and He alone creates these causes and guides to their use.
وعبد المؤمن هو الذى آمنه الله من العقاب وآمنه الناس على ذواتهم وأموالهم واعراضهم من المصطلحات فحظ العبد من هذا الوصف أن يأمن الخلق كلهم جانبه بل يرجو كل خائف الاعتضاد به فى دفع الهلاك عن نفسه فى دينه ودنياه كما قال عليه السلام ” من كان يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر فليؤمن جاره بوائقه

And the Abd al-Mu’min (the Servant of al-Mu’min) is he whom Allah has given safety from punishment; and he with whom people feel safe (and may entrust to them) their selves, their money, and their honor. And the servant’s share of this attribute is that all creation fear nothing from him, but instead, that all those who have fears wish to find in him refuge to protect them from any danger to their religious and worldly affairs, as he said, peace be upon him, “He who believes (yu’min) in Allah and the Last Day, let his neighbor be safe (yu’min) from him.”

واحق العباد بأسم المومن من كان سببا لأمن الحق من عذاب الله بالهداية الى طريق الله والارشاد الى سبيل النجاة وهذه حرفة الانبياء والعلماء ولذلك قال عليه السلام انكم تتهافتون فى النار تهافت الفراش وانا آخذ بحجزكم

And the most worthy of Allah’s servants of the name al-mu’min he who is a cause of the safety of creation from Allah’s punishment through guidance to the path of Allah and leading toward the way of salvation, and this is the craft of the Prophets and the Scholars, and that is why he said, peace be upon him, “You throw yourselves toward the Fire as do butterflies but I take you by the forelock (toward safety)”.

لعلك تقول الخوف من الله على الحقيقة فلا مخوف الا هو فهو الذى خوف عباده وهو الذى خلق اسباب الخوف فكيف ينسب اليه الأمن فجوابك ان الخوف منه والأمن منه وهو خالق سبب الأمن والخوف جميعا وكونه مخوفا لايمنع كونه مؤمنا كما ان كونه مذلا لم يمنع كونه معزا بل هو المعز والمذل وكونه خافضا لم يمنع كونه رافعا بل هو الرافع الخافض فكذلك هو المؤمن المخيف لكن المؤمن ورد التوقيف به خاصة دون المخوف

You might say that fear is in truth from Allah and that no one truly causes fear except Him, for He is the one who frightens his servants and He is the one who creates the things that cause their fears, so how can amn (safety from fear) be attributed to Him? Your answer is that fear is from Him and safety is from Him, and He is the creator of the causes of both safety and fear; and His being a frightener does not keep Him from being a mu’min, just as his being a Dishonorer (Mudhill) does not keep him from being an Honorer (Mu’izz), but He is the Honorer and the Dishonorer; and His being a Humbler/Lowerer (Khafid) does not keep him from being an Exalter/Raiser (Rafi’), but He is the Exalter and the Humbler. And so is He the Mu’min and the frightener, except that al-Mu’min has been chosen [by Allah] as a Name, but not “the frightener”.

وخاصية هذا الاسم وجود التأمين وحصول الصدق والتصديق وقوة الايمان فى العموم لذاكره ومن ذلك أن يذكره الخائف ستا وثلاثين مرة فانه يأمن على نفسه وماله ويزاد فى ذلك بحسب القوة والضعف

And the unique benefit of this Name is to have safety, honesty, to be believed and seen as trustworthy by others, and strength of iman (faith) in general to the one who remembers, or repeats, this name. And from this uniqueness is that he who has fear should repeat it thirty six times, for he will feel safe about himself and his possessions, and it is increased to that according to one’s power or weakness.