His Eminence, Prof. Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, explained that “Al-Latif” (the Subtle One, the Most Graceful) is one of the most beautiful names of Allah. Its meaning revolves around subtlety, as it refers to the hidden things that the eyes cannot see, such as the atom and the minute bodies in science, which are called subtle bodies. He indicated that this description also applies to abstract meanings, such as thoughts, feelings, love, hate, as well as reprehensible attributes, as evidenced by their effects. Thus, many subtle things exist, but we cannot see them.

 

 

 

 

His Eminence added, during the sixth episode of his daily TV program in the holy month of Ramadan, “Imam Al-Tayyeb Talk,” that material things are not the only things that exist, explaining that this is the difference between divine philosophy and sensual materialistic philosophy, under which many schools and doctrines fall. He expressed his deep regret at the dominance and prevalence of the sensual doctrine or the scientific empirical philosophy that deals with physical matter, to the point that it has come to govern the thinking and intellectual production of scientists and writers. Some of them even say: “What is on my mind but not felt by my senses is a lie." He stressed that they use such a statement to justify their deviation from the right path of Allah Almighty to atheism.

 

His Eminence explained that the name, “Al-Latif,” revolves entirely between subtlety and gracefulness, explaining that scholars approached the name from two angles: the Divine Being, and the Divine actions. Al-Latif is a name for an entity when it refers to the Divine Being, as it belongs to the Creator, in the sense that it has not existed after being non-existent. But when it denotes dealings between the creature and the Creator, in which Allah’s subtle kindness towards his servants occur in complete accordance with Divine knowledge, we refer to it as an attribute of action, that is, the interaction of divine knowledge with the action of the servant. Such Divine knowledge is characterized by subtlety, and such subtlety of the Divine action that is related to a servant is characterized by kindness and gracefulness. Before the Divine action occurs, it is related to the attribute of knowledge, and when it occurs, it is related to the attribute of power, and action.

 

The Grand Imam stressed that we are required to adopt the necessary means in life, despite believing that it does not necessarily lead to the desired cause, as the one who brings about effects is Allah. He gave an example by the fire and its ability to burn, explaining that what causes burning after meeting any object is Allah Almighty who gave the fire its ability to burn. This is evidenced by the fact that Prophet Abraham (pbuh) was not burned when his people cast him into the fire. 

Moreover, fire is has no will of its own, and if we believe that fire is acting at its own volition, then we recognize a causer other than Allah Almighty.

 He explained that humans often make very precise calculations and take precautions, yet the results come contrary to what they desire, or even better than what they have thought and estimated. This indicates that there is a hidden actor, who is Allah.

 His Eminence pointed out that materialists mock such belief and, unfortunately, many of the youth have begun to abandon it, even though it is what made the early Muslims believe in Allah and trust in His power. Allah Almighty says, "So if there are a hundred steadfast among you, they will overcome two hundred. And if there be one thousand, they will overcome two thousand" (8:65). According to human calculations, it cannot happen, but they were victorious, because they were armed with a very subtle and graceful power.