He brings things together that no other can…

Linguistically, jam` (the root of al-Jaami`) means to bring something together, as opposed to dividing or taking something apart: yajma`uh (he brings it together), jam`an (a congregation), jamma`ah (he collected them together) and so on. So Friday, for example, is youm al-jumu`ah: the day that brings people together or the day that people come together on. When we talk about scholarly consensus in Islam, the word for that is i’jmaa`.

So in what ways can we see that Allah is al-Jaami`?

Al-Ghazali stated that one of the meanings of al-Jaami` is the One “who combines similar things, dissimilar things, and opposites.”

He is the only one who can bring things together that no other can. For example, the way in which the human body is brought together to create a functioning person. Bones, flesh, blood, water, organs and more are all brought together in a way that no human could ever bring things together.

In addition to this, Allah brings together people on the Day of Judgment: He also says: “Allah – there is no deity except Him. He will surely assemble [layajma`annakum] you for [account on] the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt. And who is more truthful than Allah in statement.” [4:87]

He also brings together the hearts.

“And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together [jamee`an] and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you – when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided.” [3:103]

Allah (swt) tells us in another verse:“And brought together their hearts. If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not have brought their hearts together; but Allah brought them together. Indeed, He is Exalted in Might and Wise.” [8:63]

Allah reminds us, if it weren’t for His will, the hearts of the people would not be brought together and united. From this name, we can learn to try to bring people together rather than cause disunity, especially at a time when the Muslim ummah is very often at odds rather than on the same page.