Al-Mu'izz · The Bestower of Honour

Al-Mu'izz is the One who honours. The Quran teaches a dua that says: You honour whom You will and You humble whom You will; in Your hand is all good (3:26). Honour here, 'izzah, means strength, dignity and a standing that cannot be trampled. The name is in the well-known list in Jami' al-Tirmidhi, and scholars mention it together with Al-Muzill, so that His full control over honour is described.

Honour belongs to Allah first, and He chooses to share it. Whoever wants honour should know that all honour belongs to Allah (35:10). He is Al-Aziz, the Mighty whom nothing can get past; Al-Mu'izz is that might given out to His servants. He gives it to His Messenger and to the believers (63:8), and in a general sense He has honoured every child of Adam (17:70).

Human honour is lent and can be recalled. A manager can promote you on Monday and dismiss you on Friday; a crowd can cheer and then forget. What Allah gives cannot be taken by anyone. And His honour begins inside: a believer who bows only to Him carries a dignity no room can give or remove.

Think of the lead-lined door of an X-ray room: the rays hit it and stop. That is the picture of 'izz, something nothing can get through. The believer clothed in honour from Allah is like that. Mockery and contempt hit the surface and do not reach the core.

The early Muslims in Makkah were poor, boycotted and beaten, and within years Allah honoured them beyond anything they had imagined. Periods of strength and weakness in history are both tests in His hand. A saying widely reported from Umar ibn al-Khattab captures it: Allah honoured us with Islam, and if we seek honour in anything else, Allah will humble us.

Yusuf was sold for a few coins as a slave, and the same Lord seated him over the storehouses of Egypt. Honour came to him not from the market that sold him, but from the One who owned his story.

When you feel small, when your faith is treated as backward, your accent mocked, your background looked down on, remember that the room does not hand out honour. Allah does. You can walk in with quiet dignity, because your worth was settled before you arrived.

Chasing honour through brands, contacts or bending your values ends in emptiness. The respect you buy that way has to be paid for again every day. Ask Al-Mu'izz for honour, obey Him, and let Him look after your reputation. Many people unknown on earth are well known in the heavens.

It is your first week in a new job, and you slip away from the lunch table to pray in the stairwell. Someone makes a joke as you leave. Your cheeks burn, but Al-Mu'izz sets your worth, not the joke. Pray slowly. While your forehead is on that floor, you are the most honoured person in the building.

Allah could have simply forgiven us and left us in the corner. Instead He dignifies: He calls the believer His servant, invites him into conversation five times a day, and promises him a place of honour. The heart loves the One who restores its dignity after the world has taken it.