Divine names: recognition, praise, and the life we lead

When My Name, the All-Merciful, heard a word from My loved ones contrary to My good-pleasure, He returned to His place sorrowful and grief-stricken. And My Name, the Concealer, whenever He beheld someone engaged in exposing another's faults, returned to the Most Holy Court in utmost sadness, lamenting and bewailing. And My Name, the All-Forgiving, when He witnessed any transgression from My friends, cried out and fell unconscious to the earth. The angels of the Divine Command bore Him to the Supreme Horizon.

He who worshippeth the name without the reality hath indeed disbelieved and worshipped naught. He who worshippeth both the name and the reality hath indeed committed polytheism and worshipped two. But he who worshippeth the reality without the name - this is true unity. … Were the name identical with the named, each name would be a god. But God [...] these names, and they are all other than He. O Hisham! 'Bread' is the name for that which is eaten, 'water' is the name for that which is drunk, 'garment' is the name for that which is worn, and 'fire' is the name for that which burns.

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The truth in all stations is as Ali, peace be upon him, hath said: "The name is the mark of a thing," and it hath ranks. Among them is the name in realities, which in all its ranks is like a living being, such as man, indicating the named one. Among them are mirrors which indicate what is reflected in them through them. Among them are verbal names, inscribed names, angelic names, horizonal names, and names of the self, and among them is everything upon which the name of a name falls.

As for those who describe Him by the attributes of their own selves, and those who remember Him by the names of His Essence -- these are but returned unto themselves. He is too exalted to be known by His creatures, or to be described by His servants. Nay rather, He created names and attributes that all beings might worship Him through them, and might sanctify Him above them -- for they are created attributes and originated names, brought into being by God to cleanse hearts and imaginations.

His Essence is an inaccessible mystery beyond all description and name. He created those names and attributes so that whomsoever He willeth might know Him through them. This is the meaning of Husayn's words: "My God, Thou didst command me to return to the traces, so return me to them clothed in the lights of guidance and support, that I may return to Thee from them as I came unto Thee from them, my inner secret preserved from gazing upon them, my aspiration raised above dependence upon them."

And in another sense it is applied to the Most Beautiful Names, whereby each Name of God, exalted be He, becometh a sun shining upon the horizons. For instance, observe the Name of God "the All-Knowing" - it is a sun that hath risen from the horizon of the will of thy Lord, the Most Merciful, and its lights, effects and splendors shine upon the temples of knowledge.

As to the attributes and perfections such as will, knowledge, power and other ancient attributes that we ascribe to that Divine Reality, these are the signs that reflect the existence of beings in the visible plane and not the absolute perfections of the Divine Essence that cannot be comprehended.

But no soul has ever fathomed the reality of the Essence of the Divinity so as to be able to intimate, describe, praise or glorify it. Thus all that the human reality knows, discovers and understands of the names, attributes and perfections of God refers to these holy Manifestations and leads nowhere else: "The way is cut off, and all seeking rejected."

Yet we ascribe certain names and attributes to the reality of the Divinity and praise Him for His sight, His hearing, His power, His life and knowledge. We affirm these names and attributes not to affirm the perfections of God but to deny that He has any imperfections.

When we observe the contingent world we see that ignorance is imperfection and knowledge is perfection, and thus we say that the sanctified Essence of the Divinity is all-knowing.

The bounties of God are continuous. The effulgences of God are never-ending. The lights of the virtues and attributes of God are ever shining. Man can comprehend these. Man can comprehend qualities such as the mercy and the power of God. But the reality of divinity is beyond human comprehension.

And to continue: To him who looks at these lines and understands these indications, it is well known with respect to the request of that traveller upon the paths of guidance, that bondsman of the King of Divine Authority, that seeker of the hidden Divine secrets, that knower of the secret Heavenly signs, that lover of the household and family of his holiness Mustafa [i.e. Muhammad], the favoured friend of the wayfarers and he who has clung to the Firmest Handle of God [urwatu'llah al-wuthqa] and to the Strongest Rope, 'Ali Shawkat Pasha son of the late Agha Husayn Pasha (may God designate for him whatever He wishes), that he has wished this wayfarer upon the Path to write a brief explanation and a short beneficial commentary upon the Holy Tradition [hadith-i qudsi]: "I was a Hidden Treasure and loved to be known. Therefore I created the Creation that I might be known."

In the pearl of each word of this divine song and this heavenly melody, there undoubtedly lie hid unnumbered pearls of hidden knowledge and in the existence of every letter of it, limitless oceans of meaning are concealed. But a sprinkling from that ocean of waves and a drop from that sea may be disseminated on account of the request of friends. And I hope that the explanation of these holy words and heavenly signs may contain the hidden confirmations of the Lord of Might and that His Assistance and unseen Mercy may be made manifest; verily He is the King, the Helper. In the hidden treasures and store-houses of these Heavenly words, the secrets of created things, the cause of the creation of existing things and the raising up of Contingent Being lie concealed. Know, O bird of the flower-garden of Divine Unity and nightingale of the garden of detachment, that in order to comprehend this Tradition: "I was a Hidden Treasure and loved to be known. Therefore I created the Creation that I might be known", it is necessary to understand four stations. This Tradition is upon the tongues of all people, be they of the generality or of special rank, and is written in all the books and treatises. As for understanding these four stations, the first is "the Hidden Treasure"; the second is the stages and stations of "Love"; the third is the station of "Creation" and similar matters; and the fourth is the station of "Knowledge".

A. KANZ-I MAKHFI (THE HIDDEN TREASURE)

Know thou that in Sufi exegesis it is affirmed, with respect to the Unseen Esence [ghayb-i huwiyyat] in the station of Primal Oneness, that all names are far from the shore of Its Sanctity and It is known without Name or Attribute. For the Names of the Absolute are the reflections of [Its] Attributes and the Attributes of the Absolute in that station of Primal Oneness are the same as its Essence without a trace of difference or distinction -- it is even as that King of the Court of Knowledge and Wisdom and that Monarch of the Kingdom of Divine Guidance, His Holiness 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (unto him be greetings and praise) has stated: "Perfect belief in Divine Unity consists in the denial of all His Attributes." Indeed the Essential and Eternal Names and Attributes are in no way to be separated form the Essence of the Absolute but rather, in that station, Names and Attributes are inseparable from one another, nor are they to be distinguished from that causeless Essence. And the realities of the Divine States are not differentiated either conceptually or substantially from one another nor from that undifferentiated [unmanifested] Essence.

For example, there is no [existential] differentiation between the Name "the All-Knowing" and the [Names] "the All-Seeing", "the All-Hearing", and the other Names; nor between these Essential Attributes and the Essence itself; nor between the Realities and Forms, which are potential and passive, and these names and attributes. Indeed the Forms and Realities and Quiddities of [all] things are, in this mighty station of Primary Oneness, but stages in that Essence without a trace of deviation [ghayriyyat] from perfect oneness and annihilation.

And that essence of Primal Oneness, in that most great station in which it is said: "There was God and there was naught else besides Him", is called by the names: the Hidden Treasure, the Hidden Ipseity [Huwiyyat], the Absolute Unity, Pure Essence [dhat], Absolute Non-specificity, the Hidden of the Hidden, the Primal Mystery, the Absolute Unknown, the Indescribable One, the Undiscoverable One and other Names. To mention what is intended and described in each of these expressions would unduly lengthen these words.

However, we will mention an example concerning this station so that it becomes clear and evident, although the reality of this station is such that no likeness can be made to that Essence of Primal Oneness for It is above all reasoning and understanding and is greater than anything which may be likened or compared to it.

In contemplating His Essence where is the capacity

So that any similarity can be contained in the imagination

And thus has it been said: "Naught is there like unto Him." And there are many proofs and evidences thereof. But haply a breeze from the winds of the Sanctity of Primary Oneness and a zephyr from the Paradise of wisdom and understanding may be inhaled by the wayfarers on the path of guidance and the seekers of the mysteries of Reality and perchance the birds of reason and understanding may ascend from the nests of perplexity and bewilderment. For the life-giving wine of the mysteries of reality and understanding can be drunk from the illumined chalice of similes and the delicate goblet of metaphor by those who are athirst in the wilderness of confusion.

For example, consider the dot (or point); how letters and words are folded up and hidden within the essence (huwiyyat , ipseity) and reality of a dot with perfect effacement and annihilation so that no trace can be discerned of the existence of these letters and words nor is there any differentiation between them. Rather they are completely obliterated and utterly annihilated and have no existence except in the essence (dhat) of the point. In the same way the Names and Attributes of God and the Essential Dispositions [shu'unat dhatiyya] are completely and utterly annihilated in the station of Primary Oneness so that not a whiff can be inhaled from them of substantial or intellectual existence. This original point is the "Hidden Treasure" of these letters and words and they were incorporated and immersed within it and from it they appeared. As that Moon of the heavens of knowledge and understanding and that Point at the centre of the wheel of Divine Guidance, the all-conquering Lion of God, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, unto him be greetings and praise, has asserted: "All that is in the Torah and the Evangels and the Psalms is in the Qur'an and all that is in the Qur'an is in the Fatiha [the first sura of the Qur'an]; and all that is in the Fatiha is in the Bismi'llah [the opening phrase of the Fatiha]; and all that is in the Bismi'llah is in the Ba [the first letter of Bismi'llah]; and all that is in the Ba is in the Point [the dot beneath the ba]; and I am the Point."

And similarly consider the Unitary Concept [ahad]; how all the numbers appear from it and it is in no number since it is the point of origin of all numbers. And the first to be specified and to appear from it is the number "one" [wahid] and from "one" all other numbers come into being. So all these numbers are contained in the unitary concept in the most perfect simplicity and oneness. And so it is the "Hidden Treasure" of all numbers and from it do they appear.

Therefore observe that although all letters and words appear from the point and all numbers from the unitary concept, neither does the primal point descend from its high station nor does the unitary concept come down from its abode of sanctity. Such is the station of the Hidden Treasure well-known and sung out by the Birds that dwell in the Rose-garden of Oneness and trilled by the Nightingales of the Flowering-fields of Detachment [tajrid].

Within the Hidden Essence, the stirrings of love and the inner yearnings [mayi-i dhati] necessitated Perfect Burnishing and Clarification (- and the phrase "Perfect Burnishing" among some of the mystic knowers is the manifesting of the Absolute to Itself in the archetypal forms [a'yan] and the word "Clarification" is the gazing by the Unconditioned Beauty upon the effulgences of Its own Beauty in the mirrors of Realities and Forms). Therefore the Essential Dispositions have, through the Divine Outpouring, manifested themselves out of the station of Essence into the station of Divine Knowledge [hadrat-i 'ilm]. This is the first manifestation of the Absolute from the Hidden Treasure in the Divine Knowledge. And from this manifestation the Eternal Archetypes came into intellectual being. And each one, according to its inherent capacity, is distinguished from the others in the mirrors of the Divine Knowledge.

And this secondary station is set up along the lines of the first stage, the stage of the Mystery of Primary Oneness. And this [second] stage is known as the Secondary Unknown, Manifested Oneness and the Eternal Archetypes. And the Eternal Archetypes are the Forms of the Divine intellect, which have not inhaled the breezes of existence but have come into being as intellectual existences [within the Divine Consciousness]. And they have become distinct from each other.

And now We shall rein in Our steed in the field of exposition and begin with an explanation of the meaning of the Name, saying that the divine names are derived from attributes which are perfections of the reality of the Essence. These names, in the station of the oneness of the Essence, have no outward manifestation or determination, no mark, no indication, and no signification. Rather, they are conditions of the Essence in the mode of simplicity and original unity. Then, in the station of Unity, they have manifestation, determination, realization, confirmation and existence, effusing and emanating from the All-Merciful Reality upon the spiritual realities and heavenly entities in the presence of the fixed archetypes.

Thus, the attributes are specifications that exist in the essence but are not distinguished from it. They are seen and unseen.

Thy attributes can never resemble the attributes of Thy creatures, and Thy names can never be confused with the names of Thy creation. For Thou hast ever been All-Knowing, and the knowledge of all else before Thee is as nothing, and if mentioned, it is created by Thy knowledge.

All attributes of the Essence are for sweeping clean the people of glory, such as Life, for as He was Ever-Living without the existence of anything, likewise He was All-Knowing without the mention of anything, and All-Powerful without the existence of anything. There is no "how" to this, for it is beyond the geometry of origination and the "how" of the essence of invention, and is identified through the mention of creation and exemplified through the examples of bringing into being.

But in the world of contingence when the lights of Its perfections and qualities shine these lights reflect in the mirrors of names and attributes but all names and attributes are in relation to that Essence in the same station. "Whatever Name ye may call Him He is the possessor of All Beautiful Names" [Q17:110], whether Manifest or the Manifester, whether the Seer or the Seen One, whether the name the Unseen whether the Present One.

All the names thou seest or examples thou witnesseth are signs that God hath created for the exaltation of the Manifestation of His Self and the inaccessibility of the Dawning-Place of His Being.

… Say: The sea of names is two seas wherein ye traverse, seeing naught but God. Say: The names are like mirrors - do ye see aught but the Sun therein? Say: Glory be to God! Naught is seen therein save God. All call upon God, their Lord, by His names.

In this station, He was and ever shall be sanctified beyond all mentions and names, and exalted above the understanding of all created things. The way is barred and the quest forbidden. Therefore, whatever wondrous mentions and exalted descriptions flow from the tongue and pen refer to the Most Great Word, the Supreme Pen, the Primal Point, the true Home, and the Dawning-Place of the All-Merciful Revelation. He is the Source of unity and the Manifestation of the light of oneness and detachment.

Say: Lordship is My Name, whereof I have created manifestations in the world of being, while We Ourself remain sanctified above them, would ye but ponder this truth. And Godhead is My Name, whereof We have created exponents whose power shall encompass the people of the earth and make them true worshippers of God, could ye but recognize it. Thus should ye regard all Our Names, if ye be endued with insight.

These Tabernacles of holiness, these primal Mirrors which reflect the light of unfading glory, are but expressions of Him Who is the Invisible of the Invisibles. By the revelation of these gems of divine virtue all the names and attributes of God, such as knowledge and power, sovereignty and dominion, mercy and wisdom, glory, bounty and grace, are made manifest.

… Therefore, these illuminated Souls, these beauteous Countenances have, each and every one of them, been endowed with all the attributes of God, such as sovereignty, dominion, and the like, even though to outward seeming they be shorn of all earthly majesty.

Praise be befitting unto the Lord of existence Who brought creation into being for the sake of the Dawning-Place of His signs and the Dayspring of His evidences. The blessed word which shone forth from the Dayspring of utterance, the Desired One of all worlds, in the Dispensation of the Furqan bears witness to this, for He saith, glorified and exalted be He: "But for thee, I would not have created the heavens." Absolute existence came into being through Him and was adorned with the ornament of names and attributes. The ocean of knowledge and the luminary of proof dawned and surged through Him.

The Point in Its Primal station of Firstness hath ever been, and will continue forever to be. He is more true and befitting to be praised by all Names, than the praise of any Name for Itself. … For He is the First at the time that He is the Last, and He is the Hidden at the time that He is the Manifest, and He is the One Who is praised by all the Names, at the very time that He is glorified above the praise by any Name.

I have written a gem in His remembrance, which is that He cannot be indicated by My indication nor by what was mentioned in the Bayan. Yea, by His glory, that Word with God is greater than the worship of all on earth, for the essence of all worship leadeth unto that. Therefore, as thou hast known God, know Him Whom God shall make manifest, for He is more glorious and more exalted than to be known without Him or to be indicated by the indication of His creation. Verily, I am the first servant who hath believed in Him and in His verses, and I have taken from the virgin gardens of the Paradise of His knowledge the gardens of His words.

Yea, by His glory, He is the Truth, there is no God but Him, all are upstanding by His command. How then shall I mention Him when all that is indicated is the mention of His creation? How then shall I describe Him when all description is the description of His servants and the mark of His friends? Know then to the extent possible in creation, for exalted and sublime is His remembrance, and forbidden and elevated is His power, and high and most high is His praise, and holy and most glorious are the manifestations of His majesty that cannot be mentioned by any mention. If I say He is One, that is a name among His names. If I say He is All-Glorious, the manifestation of that name is a name among His names. If I say He is All-Holy, He is the One Who is manifested by that name and its like. If I say He is Mighty, every mighty one boweth down before the sublimity of His might. If I say He is the Beloved, every beloved one is consumed in the love of knowing Him and the majesty of His might. If I say He is the Supreme, He is the One by Whose proof one findeth proof on the day of His manifestation. God hath made Him supreme over all things by His command. If I say He is the Self-Subsisting, that is the manifestation of one among those who stand before the throne of His oneness.

All names are but attributes of His Will, and all attributes are but descriptions of His Purpose, that the servants might know their Creator and describe Him according to what He hath revealed unto them through them, that "there is no God but Him" - the Single, the One, the Eternal. Nothing comprehendeth Him and nothing is associated with Him.

And regarding proof for the temporal eternity of contingent beings in this transient world - briefly, divine sovereignty is eternal, and the existence of beings is from the eternal effulgences of the Sun of Reality. One cannot imagine the sun without rays. All divine names and attributes are eternal, and their requirements are also eternal.

We have already explained that the very names and attributes of Divinity require the existence of created things. Although a detailed explanation of this matter was already provided, a brief mention will again be made here. Know that a lord without vassals cannot be imagined; a sovereign without subjects cannot be; a teacher without pupils cannot be designated; a creator without a creation is impossible; a provider without those provided for is inconceiveable--since all the divine names and attributes call for the existence of created things.

Furthermore, the reality of Divinity is characterized by certain names and attributes. Among these names are Creator, Resuscitator, Provider, the All-Present, Almighty, Omniscient and Giver. These names and attributes of Divinity are eternal and not accidental. This is a very subtle point which demands close attention. Their existence is proved and necessitated by the appearance of phenomena.

Therefore, all the names and attributes of God require the existence of objects or creatures upon which they have been bestowed and in which they have become manifest. If there was a time when no creation existed, when there was none to provide for, it would imply a time when there was no existent One, no Trainer, and the attributes and qualities of God would have been meaningless and without significance.

If you hear one is a king, who has neither subjects nor territory, how can it be proved that he is a king? He must have the preparation and other necessaries before he can rightly be called a king. Thus the attributes of God proved the necessity of creation. Some may say the attributes of God were preexistent, but god did not use them. This would be like the generous without generosity; the merciful without mercy. The attributes of God could not be delayed.

In every age different names are given to the same essence.

In the time of Moses It was variously interpreted as Jehovah, the burning bush and the Interlocutor; in the Messianic Dispensation It was known by the titles of the Father, the son and the Holy Ghost and in the time of Mohamad It was designated as the Lord (Allah), the Friend of God and the Gabriel.

O thou who hast truly believed in the Ancient Beauty! The King of eternal glory, the sovereign Lord, hath been established upon the throne of grandeur and hath shed abroad the splendour of all His names and attributes. He, verily, hath seated Himself upon the Seat of Divinity and sent forth His universal summons.

As to what thou didst write concerning the unveiling of the names and attributes - by God! We have rent asunder the veils and torn away the shrouds on the Day when We manifested Ourselves with all names unto all things. Blessed are they that behold! Blessed are they that know!

Tear ye asunder the veils of names and cleave ye their kingdom. By My Beauty! He Who is the Monarch of all names is come, He at Whose bidding every single name hath, from the beginning that hath no beginning, been created, He Who shall continue to create them as He pleaseth. He, verily, is the All-Powerful, the All-Wise.

Glorified be He Who created the names and made them the means whereby His servants might attain unto the realms of eternity, that they may come to know that which was concealed from them in the Kingdom of Creation. There is none other God but Him, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Supreme, the Self-Subsisting. He hath ordained for every name an influence and sovereignty over the seen and the unseen, and hath made the effect of all names dependent upon His Most Great Name, which hath indeed been made manifest through truth, yet most people have turned away from it....

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The heaven of might and grandeur, and the firmament of power and justice, has encompassed all atoms and essences through the encompassing power of the names and attributes. … And He caused the mighty sphere of ancient and wondrous attributes to flow and circulate upon the sea of eternity through the blessing of one of the holy names.

Thine are the Most Beautiful Names in their essence and the Most Exalted Examples in their abstraction. … I testify, and all Thy creation testifieth, that unto Thee belong all the Most Beautiful Names - their first and their last, their manifest and their hidden - and the Most Exalted Examples in their essence, their pristine nature, their simplicity and their abstraction.

He hath brought forth the principles of names and attributes through the manifestation of His Will, and hath created the conditions of creation through the revelation of His Purpose, ascribing them unto Himself to manifest His transcendence and grandeur. He hath commanded all servants to call upon Him by these names and attributes, that the contingent may attain the ultimate bounty of His effulgence and the needy may reach the furthermost limit of their right.

Glory be to Thee, O Lord my God! I implore Thee by Thy Name, through which Thou didst lift up the ensigns of Thy guidance, and didst shed the radiance of Thy loving-kindness, and didst reveal the sovereignty of Thy Lordship; through which the lamp of Thy names hath appeared within the niche of Thine attributes, and He Who is the Tabernacle of Thy unity and the Manifestation of detachment hath shone forth; through which the ways of Thy guidance were made known, and the paths of Thy good pleasure were marked out; through which the foundations of error have been made to tremble, and the signs of wickedness have been abolished; through which the fountains of wisdom have burst forth, and the heavenly table hath been sent down; through which Thou didst preserve Thy servants and didst vouchsafe Thy healing; through which Thou didst show forth Thy tender mercies unto Thy servants and revealedst Thy forgiveness amidst Thy creatures -- I implore Thee to keep safe him who hath held fast and returned unto Thee, and clung to Thy mercy, and seized the hem of Thy loving providence.

… Thou art, verily, the Healer, the Preserver, the Helper, the Almighty, the Powerful, the All-Glorious, the All-Knowing.

Each of His names is a gateway to blessing, mercy, grace, bounty, protection and generosity, and the effects of each have been and continue to be the cause of order in the world and the preservation of nations. Through His name the Educator, He hath educated and continueth to educate the world, and in the Perspicuous Book He hath called Himself the Lord of all worlds. … Through His name the Quickener, the breath of life was breathed, and through His name the Powerful, other effects appeared...

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