المعنى الاصطلاحي

The One Who undertakes the affairs of the creation, the manager of the matters of the universe in all its conditions, the guardian of all things, the giver of that by which they become sound, the permanent One Who neither ends nor changes.

الشرح المختصر

“Al-Qā’im” (the Maintainer/the Self-Subsisting) is the One Who undertakes the management of the affairs of the creation in terms of originating them and giving them sustenance, as well as His knowledge of their places and all of their conditions. He is the maintainer of every soul, knowing what it has earned, the One Who undertakes to protect every thing; give it sustenance and manage and direct it however He wills and likes, either by change, alteration, increase, or decrease. “Al-Qā’im” is also the permanent One Who never ceases to exist. He can in no way be exterminated, and His perfection cannot be diminished. Rather, He has been and will always be permanent, eternal, without a beginning, and described by the attributes of perfection without decrease, change, corruption, transformation, or the like. “Qayyoomiyyah” (self-subsistence) is an attribute related to Allah's essence in one respect and to His actions in another. Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, is Self-Subsisting, and He is the Sustainer of all others, Exalted is He. He is the maintainer of His creation in terms of their life terms, their deeds, and their provision. He is the One Who is Self-Subsisting and is not in need of anyone, this being an aspect of the absoluteness of His independence of anyone else; yet the existence of everything other than Him depends completely upon Him, this being an aspect of the absoluteness of His power and might. So all the existence depends upon Allah, the Exalted, by way of origination, sustenance, and preparation. Among those to cite the name “Al-Qayyoom” (the Self-Subsisting) are: Ibn Mandah, Al-Asbahāni, Ibn al-‘Arabi, Ibn Hajar, and others.

التعريف اللغوي المختصر

“Qā’im”: derived from “qāma” (to exist, be established, stand). It refers to the one who undertakes the mending of affairs, maintaining them, and taking care of them. “Qāma”: undertaking something and being in charge of it. It is also used to refer to what is permanent and does not cease to exist.

التعريف

One of God’s fine names. All glory belongs to him who stands independent of all, has all the unique and great attributes, and who is in no need of any of his creation. The earth and the heavens stand firm at his behest, as do all the creation they contain. He stands over every soul and knows all that it does. He sustains all creation, giving them their provisions and whatever they need to exist and survive.