He guards that which he has created…

Al-Hafeeth is The Protector and The Guardian. Allah SWT is The Protector in many ways.

He is the One whose power preserves the heavens and the earth and the worlds. Who holds the sky up? Who protects the beautiful landscapes we have been blessed with? Allah is not just Al-Khaliq, who creates, but he is also Al-Hafeeth. He guards that which he has created.

He is the One who is vigilantly guarding every detail of all that has been created. Every second of every day Allah is protecting us from something, even if we don’t know it.

He is the One who remembers and preserves all that has ever been and all that is, while keeping under Divine protection the knowledge of all that shall be. Allah SWT preserves all of this until the Day of Judgement, when He will lay this all in front of us and judge us for our actions.

Another meaning of Al-Hafeeth is also that Allah SWT has guarded and preserved the Qur’an. This is one of the biggest miracles of our deen and one that we do not see in any other religion. Allah (swt) says:

“Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur’an and indeed, We will be its guardian.” (Qur’an, 15:9)

So, what can we learn from this beautiful name? We can try to preserve the Quran and protect it in our own way: by learning it. You become a haafith—in essence, a preserver or a guardian of the Qur’an—with your memory. May Allah (swt) make us of them!

We can try to embody this name in our day-to-day actions – how can we do this? By becoming protectors for the vulnerable, advocating for the innocent and ensuring we stand up for justice in our communities.

This name teaches us to have complete trust in Allah (swt) – He is THE Protector. None other can protect us in the way that Allah (swt) can. This should give us a feeling of safety, security and ease that we are always under His protection. And if we ever feel vulnerable, Al-Hafeeth has provided us with the means to protect ourselves:

1. Morning and evening athkar to protect us from evil
2. Zakat to protect our wealth
3. Special duas to make before we travel or leave the house to protect us from harm.

May Al-Hafeeth protect us from all evil in this dunya and from the punishment of the akhirah. Ameen.