Al-Malik

The Ruler of all things, the Sovereign of the entire universe, the Owner of the seen and unseen worlds. Allah Almighty says: "So exalted is Allah, the Sovereign, the Truth; there is no deity except Him, Lord of the Noble Throne." (Al-Mu'minun, 116) The name Al-Malik belongs, in its true and complete sense, to Allah alone. This attribute necessitates the existence of all His other attributes of perfection. To be a king or an owner requires the ability to dispose of what one owns as one wishes. The whole universe is Allah's dominion, and Allah disposes of His dominion as He wills. Because the human being is a vicegerent on earth, he has been granted a relative authority of kingship over the earthly domain. Everyone has a certain sphere of disposal. But this authority is never absolute; it is limited, and within the sphere Allah has allotted it is merely a trust. When Allah Most High is called the Sovereign of mankind, what is meant is that He has absolute authority over them. Yet those who associate partners with Allah try to usurp His sovereignty, seeking authority over the earth and thus over people, and seeking to use the wealth of the earth — that is, the dominion — however they please. A reminder: It is inconceivable for a servant to be an absolute king, for he can never be said to be free of need. Even if he needed nothing besides Allah, he would still always be in need of Allah. The true king among the servants is the one who has no one besides Allah: he severs his attachment to everything other than Allah, and along with this he possesses a realm whose soldiers and people obey and submit to him. How so? His own realm is his heart and his body. His soldiers are his anger, his desire and his whims. His people are his tongue, his eyes, his hands and his other limbs. If he masters all of these and brings them into submission, he has risen to the rank of sovereignty within his own inner world. And if to this is added freedom from need of other people, then he has become a sovereign upon the earth.

Whoever persists in reciting the noble name Al-Malik after the dawn prayer, saying "Ya Malik, jalla jalaluhu", is kept safe from the ambition for leadership in this world and the next. He becomes respected and dignified in the eyes of the people. When someone visits a sick person to ask after him, if he says with the intention of healing, 112 times: "Allahumma anta'l-Maliku'l-Haqqu'lladhi la ilaha illa anta, ya Allah wa Salam, ya Kafi", and three times: "Ya Shifa'a'l-Qulub", that person's illness turns to health by Allah's leave. So that tyrannical enemies may be humbled and one's word may be heeded, it is recited 90 times as "Ya Malik, jalla jalaluhu". The heart of whoever recites it a hundred times every day at noon, saying "Ya Malik, jalla jalaluhu", becomes pure; and calamities are kept far from whoever recites it a hundred times before dawn. Whoever, for twelve days, with a pure heart and an inward being free of doubt, recites the noble name "Al-Malik" 25 times a day as "Ya Malik, jalla jalaluhu", performs righteous deeds, rises in rank and station, and his affairs always end in peace. He attains success in his material and spiritual life. Whoever recites the noble name Al-Malik 121 times at the time of dawn, saying "Ya Malik, jalla jalaluhu", Allah Most High out of His bounty and generosity grants him wealth, opens to him the doors of dominion and bestows upon him openings from Himself. Whoever recites the noble name Al-Malik 99 times a day, saying "Ya Malik, jalla jalaluhu", Allah Most High grants him knowledge and gnosis from His presence.