Al-Azhar Grand Imam, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, said that Al-Khāfiḍ (The Abaser/The Humiliator) and Ar-Rāfiˁ (The Exalter/The Raiser) are two of the Names of Allah Almighty, which describe Allah’s actions not His Divine Self, and their effect is related to the deeds of Allah’s servants. They are mentioned in the Noble Qur’an as verbal nouns not nouns. Allah Almighty says, “We raised him to a high station” (Qur’an, 19: 57), “Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge in ranks” (Qur’an 58:11).

During the twenty-fourth episode of his Ramadan program Grand Imam At-Tayyeb Talk, His Eminence explained that the effects of those two names appear in Allah’s creation, at tangible and intangible levels, in place and stature. His Eminence gave examples of that, showing that elevation in place is like Allah’s raising of the throne and the heavens and His lowering the earth. Raising Prophets (pbut) to heaven is included here. Allah Almighty says about Jesus (pbuh), “Rather, Allah raised him up to Himself” (Qur’an, 4: 158), and says about Idrīs (pbuh), “And We raised him to a high station” (Qur’an 19:57).

The Grand Imam clarified that everything other than Allah Almighty including heavens and earth are His creatures. The Prophets (pbut) are among His creatures whom He raised in place and stature. As for Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), he was raised in body during the Miˁrāj (trip to heaven) to the utmost boundary of the seventh heaven (Sidrat ul-Muntaha) where he (pbuh) heard Pens recording people’s fates. No one ever reached that place where Allah, Glory be to Him, talked to him directly without intermediary, and without the presence of an angel who can hear speech and then convey it, as in the revelation of the Qur’an by angel Gabriel (pbuh).

The Grand Imam replied to those who raise doubts about the Miˁrāj incident and asked them to say where Sidrat ul-Muntaha is and where the Garden of Refuge (Jannat ul-Maˀwā) is, if they think they are on earth! He added that science excluded the possibility of such an incident a century or two centuries ago, but now man can communicate with every corner of the earth with a mobile phone. In the future, we may be able to communicate with people on Mars. All this happens within the limited scope of human sciences. How about Allah’s infinite abilities! Why do those skeptics think the Miˁrāj is difficult for Allah Almighty? It seems as if a touch of atheism is behind their moves.

His Eminence wondered why they target the Holy Qur’an solely! They raise doubts about this revealed book in particular. He said, “Of course, it is prohibited to talk about the Torah and the Gospels? But why do not they attack them?” He said that such behavior does not deserve to be commented on because its causes and aims are known, and that there should be due respect for people’s faiths and the Holy Books.

The Grand Imam called on young people not to be exposed to programs that undermine the true Sharia and delve into people’s beliefs out of ignorance. He urged the youth to turn to other channels because the goal is to insult their beliefs, saying: “I refuse that people should watch a whole program insulting their faith then complain afterwards. They can simply stop watching such programs all at once. It is better not to watch those programs in the first place”.

The Grand Imam added that there are Western parties who finance such attacks against Islam because they also want to weaken the East, the Arab region and the Muslim nation. Not all parties are included in this generalization, but these parties know very well that the Holy Qur’an is a source of strength. There are political parties and programs dedicated to undermining the sources of strength for Muslims in the East. His Eminence also noted that whoever wants to know more about this can read a lot of translated books that come from the West. What is meant by all cases is to confuse people, distract and dissuade them from what benefits them. 

His Eminence concluded the episode by saying that many scholars summarize the meaning of Al-Khāfiḍ (the Humiliator) and Ar-Rāfiˁ (The Exalter) in that Allah humiliates the tyrants and the arrogant and exalts the righteous, the saints and the Prophets (pbut). Thus, for Muslim servants, they mean supporting the truth and the truthful, while disavowing the people of falsehood. A Muslim should also be loyal to the believers and the scholars who work in accordance with their knowledge, and be hostile to those who are hostile to Allah Almighty.