Maalik – e – Yaumiddeen

Maalik can mean Master or the Lord or the King of the ‘Yaumiddeen’ the Day of Faith. The Day is the Day of the Final judgment but it is termed in the Qur’anic language as the Day of Faith.

Firstly, the word ‘Maalik’ meaning the Master or the Lord or the King, is used. He who sits at any judgment is commonly known and also called a judge and the Arabic word for it is ‘Qadhi’ but the word ‘Qadhi’ is not used, but the word used is ‘Maalik’. The subtle point to understand here is that a ‘Qadhi’ is not the Law-maker or the Law-giver but only an executor of the law, made and enforced by some other authority and as such the ‘Qadhi’ is bound to decide only in accordance with the law. But the Master, the Lord or the King is the law-making authority and can as well be the executor of His Own made Laws. A ‘Qadhi’ who sits to judge shall always be within the limits of the law given to him by some higher authority with powers only to strictly apply them in judging persons and matters. Whereas a master or a lord or a king may execute the law applying it in his dealing with the cases, with the unquestionable powers and the supreme authority of a law-maker to use his discretion in judging cases according to their individual merits and to his own personal satisfaction about the acceptability of the excuses given by those alleged to be guilt by the law. When an accused is proved guilty by law, the ‘Qadhi’ who is there only to judge can never grant him pardon or any remission of the award of the punishment due to the convict but if he who sits is the Master, the Lord or the King, at the Judgment, he can grant the Royal Mercy to any petitioner at his own independent and unquestionable discretion.

Addressing Allah as ‘Rab’ implies that He Who nourishes, cherishes and protects a creature of His Own must also necessarily be Beneficent and Merciful and when a Master, or a Lord or a King sits to judge his own created, nourished, cherished and protected ones, he would naturally be Just and at the same time Merciful. The justice done by such a Master even though with the strict application of law to recompense everyone according to one’s own earning, will naturally be tempered with the mercy of a Creator to his creature, of a Lord to his subservient and of a King to his poor subject. Only those who could not receive the benefit of the Benevolence of the Royal Mercy for any reason unpardonable will naturally receive the punishment. This aspect of the nature’ of the Master of the Day of the Final judgement has been revealed through the Holy Qur’an.

Name ‘Rab’ to keep man alert and careful against the strict justice, and at the same time’ keep him hopefully attached to his Nourisher, Cherisher, and the Protector Lord, expectant of the Divine Mercy. Islam invites mankind to flock to the All-Merciful Allah Whose Mercy is all-enveloping and is always ready to reach any one who seeks it. Islam bans terrorising Allah’s creatures and presenting Allah as a cruel, merciless despot. Islam wants first to reform and then to chastise.

It is with this Merciful Will of Allah that the Holy Prophet was sent into this world as the Mercy unto the worlds (al-Qur’an 21:107).

The method or means to call mankind to the right path which Qur’an prescribes, is love and goodly exhortation. (16 :125).

“Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation and have disputations with them in the best manner; surely thy Lord knoweth best those who go astray from His path, and He knoweth best those who follow the right path”.(16:12).