Al-Qahhar or Qahhar (Arabic: القهار; The Almighty[1]) is one of the names of God in Islam. The meaning has been variously translated as "The Conqueror," "The Vanquisher," or "The Subduer."[2]
Quran
يَوْمَ تُبَدَّلُ الْأَرْضُ غَيْرَ الْأَرْضِ وَالسَّمَاوَاتُ وَبَرَزُوا لِلَّهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّار
The day will come, when the earth shall be changed into another earth, and the heavens into other heavens; and men shall come forth from their graves to appear before the only, the mighty God
يَوْمَ هُمْ بَارِزُونَ لَا يَخْفَى عَلَى اللَّهِ مِنْهُمْ شَيْءٌ لِمَنِ الْمُلْكُ الْيَوْمَ لِلَّهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ
the Day when they come forth with naught concerning them hidden from God. Whose is the sovereignty this Day? It is God’s, the One, the Paramount.
Salafi perspective
Upon the Day the earth will be exchanged to other than the earth and the heavens (will be exchanged); and they will go forth to Allah, The One, The Superb Vanquisher. [5] Verse 48, Chapter 14, The Quran [ Dr. Ghali' Translation ]
The Day they are going forth. Not a thing of theirs is concealed from Allah. "Whose is the Kingdom today?" " (It belongs) to Allah, The One, The Superb Vanquisher." Verse 16, Chapter 40, The Quran [Dr. Ghali' Translation]
According to the Salafi scholar Abdul-Rahman al-Sa'di, this appellation signifies God's might and that everything that exists is under his subdue as he is the one before whom the entirety of creation has humbled itself.[2] Also, this name evidently shows that God is in control of all his creation. In the Islamic perspective, each creature is subdued by one above it, forming a hierarchical chain that culminates with God as the ultimate Subduer of all that exists.[6] Another important consequence of this divine name in Islam is its strong relation to monotheism since there has to be a singular ultimate subduer to all that exists, and that subduer is God.[7]
The Ultimate Subduer must be one; it is impossible that He has an associate or partner. Rather, subdual and singularity are perpetually conjoined. Thus, ultimate kingship, ability, power, and might exclusively belong to God—the Singular, the Subduer—while everything apart from Him is both created and subdued.
— Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Thunderbolts Sent On The Jahmiyyah And The Mu'atilah[7]
References
- ^ القهار Google Translate
- ^ a b Sa’di , A. A. al-R. N. (2008). In Explanation to the beautiful and perfect names of Allah (pp. 68). Daar Us-Sunnah.
- ^ Q14:48, 50+ translations, islamawakened.com
- ^ Lumbard, Joseph E.B. (April 2015). 17, The Night Journey, al-Isrāʾ The Study Quran. San Francisco: HarperOne.
- ^ Arabic script in Unicode symbol for a Quran verse, U+06DD, page 3, Proposal for additional Unicode characters
- ^ al-Sa'di, Abdur Rahman (2018). Tafseer As-Sadi. International Islamic Publishing House. ISBN 978-6035013598.
- ^ a b Al-Jawziyya, Ibn Qayyim (2010). Thunderbolts Sent On The Jahmiyyah And The Mu'atilah (2nd ed.). Dar Al-Asimah.