Imams leading prayers on Friday will discuss the merits of glorifying Allah and praising His favours [Tasbeeh].
“Tasbeeh was part of the traditions of all the Prophets and the righteous ancestors.
“For instance, the Prophet Dawood (David) used to glorify Allah, the Almighty, and contemplate upon His blessings,” the imams will say.
“When Dawood recited his scripture and glorified Allah, the mountains joined him in praise and the birds rallied around him in different languages, adhering to the orders of their Magnificent Lord: ‘O mountains, repeat [our] praises with him, and the birds [as well]’, (Sabaa: 10). Our Master Mohammad also used to praise Allah frequently, saying, ‘Glory be to Allah and All Praise is due to Him.’ In this regard, it was narrated that Rabeia Ibn Kaab, may Allah be pleased with him, said: ‘I used to serve the Messenger of Allah until he established Isha prayer then I used to spend the night at his door. As he entered to his room, I used to hear him saying, ‘Glory be to Allah, Glory be Allah, Glory be to Allah and all praise is due to Him’.”
Thus, remembering Allah, the Most Exalted, and glorifying Him frequently is part of the guidance of the Messenger of Allah and we should follow his example.
Moreover, Allah, the Almighty, also ordered believers to remember and exalt Him much, the imams will say.
“For He says, ‘O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance. And exalt Him morning and afternoon’ (Al-Ahzab: 41-42)”.
That is to say, you should remember Allah and exalt Him in the day and in the night, in the sea and on land, in private and in public, and in all circumstances, the imams will tell worshippers. Glorifying Allah, the Almighty, has many great merits and holds a noble status, the imams will say.
“The words of Tasbeeh are the dearest to Allah, the Most Exalted. It was narrated in this regard, that Abu Dharr Al Ghifari, may Allah be pleased with him, said: ‘I asked the Messenger of Allah, ‘Which speech is most beloved to Allah [the Mighty and Sublime]?’
“He said: ‘That which Allah selected for His angels (to say): Glory be to Allah, and all praise is due to Him; Glory be to Allah, and all praise is due to Him. Recite them three times.”
Amongst the other virtues of Tasbeeh is that it increases one’s record of good deeds and wipes away bad ones. An illustration of this can be seen in the following Hadith.
“It was narrated that the Messenger of Allah said to those sitting with him: ‘Is any one amongst you incapable of attaining a thousand good deeds?’ So one of the people in the assembly asked: ‘How can one of us earn a thousand deeds?’
“The Prophet said: ‘Recite a hundred Tasbeeh. Whoever recites them, a thousand good deeds will be written for him and a thousand bad deeds will be wiped away from him’,” the imam will say.
newsdesk@thenational.ae
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)