As-Sayyid
The Master
He is the One with absolute mastery over His creation. He is their Owner and Lord, and they are His creation and servants.
This great name does not occur in the Qur’an, but it does occur in the Sunnah. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The Master is Allah.”[1]In light of this great name, I would say:
- When a person knows the glory and absolute perfection of Allah Almighty, he feels His glorification and love for Him and extends a lot of praise to Him.
- A person should realize that no matter what the mastery he may reach, it is still deficient and insignificant compared to the mastery of Allah, the Ever-Lasting Lord. This realization prompts him to be humble to Allah Almighty and to treat His creation in a proper manner.
- Whoever wants real mastery should seek it by obeying Allah, fearing Him, drawing close to Him and following His guidance. Hence, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said, “I am the master of the children of Adam, and I am not bragging.”[Narrated by Muslim and Al-Tirmidhi] A real master is a person established as such by Allah Almighty while He is pleased with him – not the one made a master by people while Allah is displeased with him. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Do not call the hypocrite ‘master.’”[2] The hypocrites and the enemies of Allah Almighty are not true masters even if people regard them as such.
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[1] Narrated by Ahmad
[2]Narrated by Abu Dāwūd
