Allahoumma barik is an expression from the Islamic vocabulary used by Muslims in various circumstances. What does Allahouma barik really mean in Islam and how to pronounce it properly? When is it appropriate to formulate this invocation in Arabic? These are the questions this article will answer, by the permission of Allah.
Translation and meaning of allahoumma barik
Allahoumma barik can be translated as « may Allah place His Blessings » or « may Allah bless (such and such a thing mentioned) ». It is another way of saying barak Allaho fik or Barakallahu alaik, all of which translate the request for Allah's blessings.
Very often, invocations begin with this formula « Allahoumma » which means O Allah or O Lord (followed by a verb). Here the appropriate translation would therefore be O Allah, bless…
Thus Muslims call Allah's blessings upon themselves and upon their brothers and sisters every day and on various occasions that we are going to see.
When to say Allahoumma barik?
To ask Allah to grant us His blessings by saying Allahoumma barik, or another similar formula, is to ask Him to bring stability and constancy to what we wish to see touched by the divine Blessings. To have time without blessings is time that flows away without our having drawn benefit from it, without our having made good use of it, for example. It is time that passes too quickly without our being able to do anything profitable with it. The Muslim therefore asks for Allah's Blessings so that all his loved ones, all his time, his money and what he possesses or what touches him of good may bathe in constancy and good.
When one understands the meaning of blessings, it becomes more than necessary to ask Allah to bless:
- Our health because if we are in good shape today, that may not be the case for very long. Now, good health today that does not last (because deprived of blessings) will not allow us to continue over time the efforts on the path of God that we make each day. We thus ask Allah to bless our health so that we may worship Him throughout our life
- Our knowledge because useful knowledge but devoid of blessings can quickly be forgotten or wrongly used
- Our human relationships so that they are preserved from bad intention and endure over time
- Our union so that our couple is sheltered from all evil and that the sacred bonds that unite us cross through time and trials.
Etc
The Muslim can therefore call Allah's Blessings upon his family, his friends, his loved ones, his material possessions etc., but he must also call them upon others. In particular, the believer who fears Allah says allahouma barik (« fi », or « ala », or « li » according to the circumstances) when he:
- Sees something he likes in his brother or his sister, and this, in order not to cause him harm through an envious glance. When he asks for Allah's Blessings for another Muslim, or any other human being, he protects him from his eye and wishes him as much good as he wishes for himself, as the hadiths mention. « The believer will not attain piety until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself ».
- Saying Allahouma barik is also an invocation that one says at a wedding, an expression of joy in the face of a couple experiencing happiness, as one would say machallah, but the legislated invocation to wish them is rather this one: barak Allaho laka, wa barak alayka wa jama'a baynakoumma fil kheir » which translates as this hadith cites: « According to Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): When the Prophet (may the prayer of Allah and His peace be upon him) invoked for a person who was getting married he said: « May Allah bless you, may He place the blessing upon you and may He gather you both in good ». Reported by Tirmidhi.
Other spellings and translations of allahouma barek
Other ways of wishing Allah's blessings upon someone exist, such as the following:
Allah ibarek fik: May Allah bless you! This invocation is especially used as a reply to an Allahoumma barek in various regions of the world.
Allah ibarek lak (laka for a man or laki for a woman) means may Allah bless you as well, a phrase one says to protect someone from his ayn (or evil eye) if one has seen something good in him or her.
Allahumma barik in the Quran
This idea of constancy, of a benefit that endures, is found in the Word of Allah, which joins blessings with His Mercy in several Quranic verses. Conversely, when Allah refuses His Blessings to a people, the Lord of the Worlds says He grants a fleeting enjoyment on Earth, as in this verse:
When our Lord Allah azza wa jal speaks of the Blessings He grants to the prophet Ibrahim, in verse 73 of Surah Hud, He adds His Mercy to them. And to the prophet Nuh (Noah), for his part, He tells him to disembark with security and blessings in Surah Hud again in verse 48:
Another verse also cites Allah's blessings of the heaven and the Earth:
"If the inhabitants of the cities had believed and had been pious, We would certainly have granted them blessings from the heaven and the earth. But they denied and We therefore seized them, for what they had earned.
وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ ٱلْقُرَىٰٓ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَٱتَّقَوْا۟ لَفَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِم بَرَكَٰتٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَٰكِن كَذَّبُوا۟ فَأَخَذْنَٰهُم بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْسِبُونَ " (verse 96 in surah 7 THE HEIGHTS / AL-ARAF)
Allahoumma barik in prayer
This expression is also part of the formula of tashahud (final salutations) that the servant pronounces at the end of prayers, during which he asks for Allah's blessings upon the prophet Muhammad and his family as he asks them upon the prophet Ibrahim and his family, peace and blessings be upon them.
Allahumma Salli ala Muhammadin wa ala aali Muhammadin, kama sallayta ala Ibrahima wa ala aali Ibrahima wa Allahumma barik ala Muhammadin wa ala aali Muhammadin kama barakta ala Ibrahima wa ala aali Ibrahima innaka Hamidum-Majid.
O Allah, send Your prayers upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You have blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. And bless, O Allah, Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You have blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. You are truly the Praiseworthy, the Glorious.
May Allah bless all His Servants, men and women, and may He have Mercy on us.