Name 92
النَّافِع
An-Nafi'
The Benefactor, who creates all benefit and good.
About
An-Nafi' comes from the root n-f-ʿ, meaning benefit, usefulness, and advantage. It forms a pair with Ad-Darr and is understood together with it: Allah alone creates both benefit and harm, and nothing can be of benefit without His permission.
When a piece of knowledge, a word, a friendship, or an effort does someone good, it happens, beyond all the visible causes, by His will. People take the means and put in the work, but they hope in Allah for the outcome to turn out well. This name also reminds us that people are called to be of benefit to one another.
An-Nafi' does not appear in this exact form in the Qur'an, but its meaning is expressed in Surah Al-An'am, verse 17: if Allah touches you with adversity, none can remove it but Him, and if He touches you with good, He is over all things competent. The Qur'an also points out in many places how pointless it is to turn, instead of Allah, to things that hold no power of harm or benefit.
From the Qur'an
And if Allah should touch you with adversity, there is no remover of it except Him. And if He touches you with good - then He is over all things competent.
Reflection
Try to notice the good that reaches you today: something you learned, help you received, a word that came at just the right moment. An-Nafi' points you to the real source of these benefits and turns you toward gratitude. At the same time, you can be a channel through which that good reaches others. You don't need great resources to be useful; sharing what you know or making someone's task a little easier is benefit too.
Today's practice
Teach someone who could use it a piece of knowledge or a skill that you think would help them.
- Dhikr
- 201times
- The abjad value of the Name
For these feelings
- Balanced · Vibrant
- Tired · Drained
One Name every day, with a reminder
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