The Bestower - Al-Wahhāb
Al-Wahhāb, The Giver
Think of the last time someone gave you a gift—how did you feel? A feeling of joy, love, of being special to the person from whom you received the gift, and sometimes a bit of shame if you feel you didn’t deserve it. Because, in essence, a gift isn’t given in return of anything. One of God's Beautiful Names is Al-Wahhab. The root of this word is hiba, which means a gift. And because God Almighty is Al-Wahhab, it means that He not only gives gifts once or twice, but He constantly does so. Hiba is a gift that was not conditioned upon your efforts. When you get a phone call from someone you love, that you felt you missed—that is hiba. When without planning, you are fortunate enough to be able to go on `umrah (the minor pilgrimage), that is hiba. When God Almighty brings an amazing person into your life and you are able to improve because of them, that is hiba. And who do you give gifts to? In general, you give gifts to someone you are thinking about and someone that you love. Sometimes we give gifts to endear people to us. So think about what that means when God Almighty gives you a gift.