Grand Imam of Al-Azhar: 

The Palestinian people remained steadfast, proud, and clinging to their land. They returned like a flood, as if nothing had happened.

They promised us that this century is the century of peace, freedom and human rights, but the aggression on Gaza confirms that it is the century of slavery.

His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders, Prof.  Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, said: “Muslims’ supplication to Allah, using His beautiful names, to support their oppressed brothers in Gaza had a powerful impact in providing them with the support they need to confront their enemies.” He explained that the people of Gaza were being killed day and night throughout this period, including children, women, the elderly, and the sick, that homes, hospitals, mosques, and churches were being destroyed along with everyone inside, and that there was a systematic and brutal destruction that we have never seen before in the history of wars, in attacks that were enough, within a single month, to wipe out other peoples and completely destroy them. Nevertheless, they, in a divine miracle, thanks to the prayers of many of their brothers, remained steadfast in the face of the most modern tools of killing and genocide produced by Western factories.

During his talk in his Ramadan program “Imam Al-Tayyeb,” His Eminence explained that - despite everything that the Palestinian people have been subjected to throughout this period - we found them steadfast, proud, clinging to their land, and returning as if it were a flood, as if nothing had happened. It is certain that these people who have triumphed, despite the Zionists’ belief that the people of Gaza would not be able to bear all of this, and that after a month or two, Gaza would submit to them, burned and finished. Yet, this did not happen, despite the fact that this people had no weapons, and no support except the prayers of their brothers to remain steadfast and achieve victory.

The Grand Imam stressed that the steadfastness of the Palestinian people was full of pride and defiance, and there is no explanation for this except that Allah has answered the prayers of the weak day and night to stand with them. This is the effect of turning to Allah Almighty in such situations with supplication and prayer. He noted that our history has many similar situations, including the Almighty’s saying: “If there are twenty steadfast among you, they will overcome two hundred. And if there are one hundred of you, they will overcome one thousand of the disbelievers.” (Quran 8:65). This is not a matter of imagination, but rather it is confirmed by the Holy Quran. 

The Grand Imam pointed out that Muslims fight in defense of faith and truth, and history always supports the people of truth and grants them victory over the people of falsehood. We have seen with our own eyes the injustice and oppression the people of Gaza - the people of truth - suffered, and there were even moments when we couldn't bear to see the killing, dismemberment, and the scenes of terror we saw on screens that we couldn't imagine them happening in the twenty-first century. He added that we were promised that this century would be the century of democracy, peace, freedom, and human rights, but the aggression on Gaza confirmed that it is the century of brutal slavery.

His Eminence explained that it is not a condition for the servant of Allah to be aware of the meanings of the beautiful names of Allah in order to supplicate with them; rather, it is sufficient for them to simply repeat them in their supplication. This comes in accordance with the Almighty’s saying: “Allah has the Most Beautiful Names. So, call upon Him by them” (Quran 7:180). The call was not “Know them or understand them, then invoke Him with them.” So, it is sufficient to supplicate with them even without understanding their full meanings because that requires specialized study. He explained that the beautiful names of Allah have an effect when they are mentioned with their correct pronunciation, whether the one who says them understands them or not, as each name has a specific effect and has secrets as soon as it is uttered from a living, contemplative heart that remembers Allah and fears Him. It is mentioned in the prophetic tradition that the entire universe is a manifestation of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah.

His Eminence concluded that it is not imperative for supplication to include Allah's Most Beautiful Names. Rather, it is permissible to supplicate with words other than the Most Beautiful Names, in accordance with the Almighty’s saying: “Call upon your Lord humbly and secretly” (Quran 7:55). The Quran does not necessarily link supplication to the Most Beautiful Names of Allah. Also, many of the supplications of the Prophet (PBUH) did not include the Most Beautiful Names of Allah. Allah’s grace and bounty are vast for those who invoke Him, whether by supplicating with the Most Beautiful Names of Allah or not, provided that the supplicant believes that Allah is his only answerer.