✨The Most Subtle

All praise is due to Allah the Subtle, the All Aware. He spans all the worlds with His Subtle kindness and He singles out his faithful servants. There is not a creature that does not receive the subtle kindness of Allah Almighty by means of which He made his life good and relieves his distress and anguish. We praise Him, Glory be to Him, for He is deserving of all praise. And to Him will be returned all matters, open and hidden. And He is Able to do all things. Allah Almighty said:
Az Zukhruf (43) 84-85: (84) And it is He [i.e., Allah] who is [the only] deity in the heaven, and on the earth [the only] deity. And He is the Wise, the Knowing. (85) And blessed is He to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them and with whom is knowledge of the Hour and to whom you will be returned.

Whenever successive hardships and difficulties multiply and dangers and fear increase, there is no refuge but to Allah Almighty. And there is no recourse except to worship Him, Glory be to Him. And there is no consolation except in His Book. And in His Book is His Names, Attributes and Actions that the one who is dedicated to studying and understanding will have his heart filled with faith and certainty. So it increases him in reliance and he faces his fears with determination and steadfastness.

From Allah’s names is Al Latif (the Most Subtle). And among His attributes, glory be to Him, is His subtle kindness to His servants. And it is mentioned multiple times in the Quran so that its reciter may incline to Allah Most High and be reassured by His subtle kindness – No matter how great the affliction and adversity, and no matter how great the dangers and fears. That is because the believer’s knowledge of Allah’s subtle kindness helps him in all that.

And His Name Al Latif (the Most Subtle), Glory be to Him, revolves around two great meanings that the believer needs. First, that His knowledge is so precise and subtle that it encompasses the secrets, hidden and concealed. Second, that He delivers to His believing servants their interests and repels from them what worries them of dangers in ways they neither perceive nor expect. And how much consolation and steadfastness these two meanings contain for the hearts of the believers.

With regards to the first meaning there are many verses in the Quran that indicate the preciseness of His Knowledge:
Al Anam (6) 102-103: (102) That is Allah, your Lord; there is no deity except Him, the Creator of all things, so worship Him. And He is Disposer of all things. (103) Vision perceives Him not, but He perceives [all] vision; and He is the Subtle (perceptive of the most precise and unapparent matters and the intricacies of all affairs. Also, He who benefits His servants in indiscernible ways) the Aware

And in another verse:
Al Mulk (67) 13-14: (13) And conceal your speech or publicize it; indeed, He is Knowing of that within the breasts. (14) Does He who created not know, while He is the Subtle, the Aware?

And when the Almighty forbade the wives of the Prophet ﷺ to be soft in speech (to men) and to display themselves like at the times of ignorance, He concluded His words with:
Al Ahzab (33) 34: And remember what is recited in your houses of the verses of Allah and wisdom. Indeed, Allah is ever Subtle and Aware.

And when Luqman addressed his son:
Luqman (31) 16: [And Luqman said], “O my son, indeed if it [i.e., a wrong] should be the weight of a mustard seed and should be within a rock or [anywhere] in the heavens or in the earth, Allah will bring it forth. Indeed, Allah is Subtle and Aware.

One night the Prophet ﷺ gently left the bed of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) so as not to awaken her, to seek forgiveness for the inhabitants of the Baqee graveyard as commanded by Allah. However, Aisha awoke and followed him in disguise to see what he would do. Then when he turned back to return, she also did so. He hastened and she also hastened; he ran and she also ran. Aishah made it first back to the bed and pretended that she was sleeping. However she was short of breathe and was still breathing heavily. The Prophet asked her what was wrong with her. She did not say anything. He said: “Tell me, or the Subtle, the All-Aware will tell me.’ Then she told him the whole story. She said: ‘Whatever the people conceal, Allah knows.’ [Muslim 974b]

Regarding the second meaning for Al Latif and that it is that He takes care of the interests of His servants in a manner that they do not perceive or expect. It was embodied in the story of Yusuf. He was thrown in the well with the presumption of doom. He was then sold as a slave and with the presumption that he would continue like that. Then he was falsely accused and thrown in jail with the presumption that he would die in prison as the minister was powerful and well established.

And if Yusuf was saved from part of it, he was not saved completely. He was thrown in the well, then enslaved and then imprisoned. But the subtle kindness of Allah is beyond the perception of humans. He made the trials of Yusuf, peace be upon him, the ladder that took him to glory and eminence and empowerment in the land. From the abandoned well in the desert he was transported by the caravan to the city containing the palace of the king. And when he was sold as a slave it took him to the house of the noble man. And the trial with the wife of the house took him to jail which was the last step in reaching the king by way of interpreting his dream. And it is from this chain of hardships and trials that were all encompassed with the subtle kindness of Allah that Yusuf reached the high station. That he was put in charge of the nation’s stores. And then his parents and brothers came to him. When he told his father all that happened he concluded it with
Yusuf (12) 100: Indeed, my Lord is Subtle (perceptive of unapparent matters within which is benefit to His servants) in what He wills. Indeed, it is He who is the Knowing, the Wise.

Allah made Yusuf’s trials a means to elevate his station. This was through His subtleness that Yusuf himself did not perceive nor did his brothers who plotted against him.

And the subtleness of Allah Almighty is also manifested in the provisions of people. He the most High created them and provides for them. And He has provided for His servants with what they expect and what they do not expect.

And what they do not expect from the sustenance of Allah Almighty is from His subtlety. He decreed it to them without them perceiving.

Al Hajj (22) 63: Do you not see that Allah has sent down rain from the sky and the earth becomes green? Indeed, Allah is Subtle and Aware.

As-Shurah (42) 19: Allah is Subtle with His servants; He gives provision to whom He wills. And He is the Powerful, the Exalted in Might.

So His provision for His servants is out of His subtle kindness to them, and He also directs it to them with His subtle kindness.

If the veil was lifted from the subtleness and kindness of our Lord towards his servants in what they know and do not know their hearts would have melted in love of and longing for Him. And they would have fallen down in prostration in gratitude. But since the hearts were veiled from seeing that, they are perpetually in the world of vain desires and attachment to the means.

And when the believer reflects on Allah’s name Al Latif (The Most Subtle), he is certain of His precise knowledge that encompasses everything big or small. That invites him to be mindful of Allah the most exalted the most high and to be watchful of what he says and does.

And the subtlety of Allah includes all of a person’s affairs at all times, and helps him from every danger, and saves him from his fears. And if it were not for the subtle kindness of Allah the hearts would be full of fear, anxiety and distress and would not enjoy living at all.

And the subtle kindness of Allah Almighty is general and specific. The general includes all of His creation, the believers and the unbelievers, the righteous and the evil doer. He created them, sustains them, heals them and defends them; because he is their Lord, He is kind to them. He has a special subtle kindness for the people of faith that encompasses them. And nothing is decreed for them except what is good for them, even if they dislike it, for he knows what is good for them. He knows what benefits them. So if He gives them what they love, He bestows them with gratefulness so that their rewards are multiplied and blesses what He has given them. And if they are afflicted with what they dislike, He bestows them with patience and contentment, so that they will receive their reward without account
Az Zumar (39) 10: Indeed, the patient will be given their reward without account [i.e., limit].”

Oh Muslims. Whenever people’s provisions are reduced. And challenges, difficulties, worries and hardships surround them from all sides, and when distress magnifies, the believers should observe the subtlety of Allah in every event that happens.

From His subtlety is that all the worldly means go away except for His means. And all the ropes are cut excepts His rope. Consequently, there is no power or strength for His servants except in Him in addressing their afflictions. And facing their hardships head on. And this is a subtle way that the most subtle and most kind returns the people to their religion and increases them in their belief and worship.

And there is nothing for the believers but to turn to their Lord. And to return to their religion. And to renew their repentance. And to look for Allah’s subtle kindness in what is happening to them. And Allah will change their condition without them perceiving. And that is not a big thing for Allah.

We ask Allah Almighty to make us among those who dedicate themselves to studying and reflecting on His Most Beautiful Names and Lofty Attributes and invoke Allah through them. And that Al-Latif (Most Subtle) grants us steadfastness on the straight path and illuminates our lives with Iman (faith). Indeed Allah is All Hearing, Answering.

Ref: