One of the symbols of Islam is the phrase “Allahu akbar (الله أكبر).” Even many non-Muslims know it, unfortunately for some of the wrong reasons. It is often translated as “Allah is the greatest,” which although not technically wrong, obscures some of the phrase’s profundity. What it actually means is “Allah is greater than…,” and you are supposed to fill in the blank (thanks to Shaykh Abdul Nasir Jangda for highlighting this in his amazing class “Meaningful Prayer”). This means that we are meant to “personalize,” or “bring our subjectivities to bear,” or “relate to,” this particular form of remembering God. It is not meant to be said mindlessly – it is an active form of glorifying God. I cannot do it for you – we each must do it for ourselves!
Allah is greater than: my job.
Allah is greater than: my wife.
Allah is greater than: my parents.
Allah is greater than: my mind.
Allah is greater than: my body.
Allah is greater than: my desires.
Allah is greater than: my emotions.
Allah is greater than: my memories.
Allah is greater than: my subjectivity through which all of this has been written.
Allah is greater than: my eternal fate.
Allah is greater than: the United States of America.
Allah is greater than: this material world.
Allah is greater than: fantasies of space travel.
Allah is greater than: computers.
Allah is greater than: artificial intelligence.
Allah is greater than: Google.
Allah is greater than: WordPress.
Allah is greater than: Facebook.
Allah is greater than: Einstein.
Allah is greater than: Beethoven.
Allah is greater than: human history.
Allah is greater than: the universe.
Allah is greater than: Islamic Studies.
Allah is greater than: the media.
Allah is greater than: all contingent narrative.
Allah is greater than: A Mercy Case.
الله أكبر
A Mercy Case 
[…] and space within which the development of species unfolds. Science is a window into the truth that Allah is greater than anything we can possibly imagine, because the entire universe is just one aspect of Allah’s creative ability [al-Jannah and […]
[…] is greater). Some think it is a chant, or a type of rallying cry, but in actuality it is the most succinct and profound formula for the exalted reality of the Divine in the history of religious thought. Allāhu […]
[…] Allah is beyond all dialectics and dualities. The Reality of the Real (al-Haqq) is greater than any conception we can form of Reality. Allah is both intimately connected to and transcendentally disconnected from that which is not […]
[…] offer inadequate praise […]