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Qur'anic Minarets - Supreme Name – Secret of Secrets

Supreme Name – Secret of Secrets

Tags: Supreme Name, Beautiful Names of God, Salawat

  1. Allah's greatest and most blessed Name is called the Supreme Name (ism-i a`zam) or the Greatest Name (ism-i akbar) and in God's Godhead this is the name which stands for the Secret of secrets and the Treasure of treasures. It is both singular and plural. Thus, it is mentioned in verse (7:180): "And to Allah belong the beautiful Names; so call Him by them, and leave those who use profanity in His Names." The beautiful Names are basically mentioned in four places of the Qur'an, nonetheless, since Allah's purpose and command is to worship and to express servitude through these Names, why should the `arifs not be sure of the fact that the way the description of Divine remembrance, worship, knowledge and recognition is spread [throughout the Qur'an], is, in fact, the explanation of the Supreme Name.
  2. The Supreme Name is forever linked with the light of guidance [i.e., the True Guide or the manifest Imam] therefore, nobody can separate it from the True Guide and preserve it for themselves. Had it been possible, the people of the Book would have done so. Similarly, there is the concept of God's rope, which people can hold or give up, but its upper end cannot be broken off from God's hand. This means that all important things are gathered together in one place and that is the centre of guidance, i.e., the manifest Imam (36:12).
  3. It is mentioned in Kawkab-i Durri (p. 200) that Mawlana `Ali (May peace be through him) said: "I am the beautiful Names through which God has commanded to call Him (7:180)." The Supreme Name is not vocal, literal, verbal or written, it is rather personal, spiritual and luminous. That is, the Imam himself is the living, Supreme Name of God and indeed through him its pronunciation and remembrance become possible when a verbal name becomes representative of the luminous Name.
  4. When God's Spirit was breathed into Hazrat-i Adam (May peace be through him), that is, the light entered him, he became His luminous Supreme Name and then the wisdoms of all other names started to become clear to him. Thus, be certain that Divine teaching is granted automatically, whether it is for Hazrat-i Adam (May peace be through him) or the angels or anybody else. In any state spiritual teaching continues under one law and that is, under the Supreme Name.
  5. Although the entire Qur'an is full of explanations and elucidations of Allah's beautiful Names, nonetheless the first relationship of the word "husna" is with all those words which are coined from the root of ha'-sin-nun. It is because each word of the wise Qur'an stands for a book from the viewpoint of wisdom. Thus, God's most beautiful Name, the Supreme Name, is a speaking book of the beauty and elegance of the manifestations of attributes, intellect and insight. Perhaps a believer will be certain of this fact only when he starts to observe the universe of Allah's colour (2:138) in the illumination of the light of his personal and key Supreme Name (the Imam of the time), in which not only his batin (spiritual aspect) but all other things appear coloured by that luminosity. This is not at all the colour of this world, but the lights of different colours mentioned before. Thus, the first work of the beautiful Names is that through their dhikr and worship [performed] according to their principles, the door of spirituality and Allah's colour opens and everything becomes coloured by the light of worship.
  6. Since the Prophets in their respective time are in the position of God's majestic and beautiful Names, therefore there should be a comprehensive example of this fact in the mighty Qur'an, by observing which all others may be recognised. Indeed, there was one such Name and that was Hazrat-i Yusuf (May peace be through him). However, it is extremely important to know that Hazrat-i Yusuf (May peace be through him)'s elegance and beauty were in reality related to spirituality, knowledge, recognition and intellect because external and physical elegance and attraction can be found even among many ordinary human beings, which have neither special importance nor is it a sign of greatness. Thus, Hazrat-i Yusuf (May peace be through him)'s physical beauty was working as a veil for his spiritual beauty. He was the Imam of his time and the Supreme Name. Therefore, it was necessary for his spiritual face to be extremely beautiful and elegant as representing God's Face so that the moths of realities and recognitions could, circumambulating this fountainhead of light, merge in him.
  7. The holy Prophet was God's Everlasting beautiful Names, therefore obedience to him is God's obedience in Islam (4:80), and if the love of the Prophet is God's love (3:31), how is it possible to attain the Prophet's love without his remembrance? If it is accepted that the Prophet's remembrance is true (94:4), this is possible only in one way and that is to accept the holy Prophet as Allah's Supreme Name. Otherwise, there will be no unity in worship, rather there will be duality and duality is idolatry. It becomes evident from this proof that the holy Prophet and the Imam are those beautiful Names of God through which it is necessary to call Him because this is the only acceptable way to perform worship and attain God's pleasure.
  8. Another example of how the Prophet and the Imam have the position of Allah's beautiful Names and how to call Him through them: It is mentioned in verse (4:64): "And had they when they had done injustice to themselves, come to you and asked God's forgiveness; and the Messenger also had asked forgiveness from Allah for them, indeed they would have found God returning, merciful." This command is a universal command, that is, it is related to all and it is for every age, because the light of guidance is always living and present, so that people may call God through this Supreme Name.
  9. See the third proof of this fact in verse (9:99): "And of the Bedouins, there are those who believe in Allah and the last day and consider what they spend to be a means of approach to Allah and the blessings of His Messenger. …" Thus, calling God through the Supreme Name means the very prayer of the holy Prophet and the exalted Imam (7:180), and this is a very great favour of God that He has made His Supreme Name a means for acceptable prayers, which after the Prophethood is the chain of Imamat.
  10. The fourth proof is that God says in verse (9:103): "Take sadaqah (zakat) from their wealth; thereby purify them and make them grow and pray for them. Indeed, your prayer is a source of satisfaction for them." Further, in verse (9:104) He says: "Do they not know that Allah is He Who accepts repentance from His servants and takes the sadaqahs …" Here the first verse is the exegesis and explanation of the following one, from which the fact becomes as bright and radiant as the luminous sun that the Prophet and his vicegerent (i.e., the Imam) in their respective times are appointed by God to take the sadaqah (zakat, etc,) from the people of faith and purify them spiritually and intellectually. Further, they utter such a unique prayer for them, which miraculous prayer nobody other than them can say. This means that the Divine pleasure and acceptability which is kept in His living and speaking Supreme Name, is not in any other names. Yes, indeed when the recognition of Allah's beautiful Names is attained, other names also become illumined through their light.
  11. The fifth proof is in verse (33:56): "Verily, Allah and His angels send salawat on the Prophet. O you who believe! You also send salawat on him and submit to him with due submission." The exegesis and ta'wil of this verse is that Allah and His angels Pen and Tablet (who are His two great angels) and other angels send salawat on the Prophet of mercy. O the people of faith, you too praying to the Lord of the Throne for the same purpose say: "Allahumma salli `ala Muhammadin wa ali Muhammad" so that by this all-reaching and all-embracing salawat the world of Divinity (lahut), the world of Divine attributes (jabarut), the world of angelicity (malakut) and the world of humanity (nasut) may always echo and the rain of the light of mercy always pour [by it]. Here a very great question arises: What is this universal salawat which is sent by all, the Creator as well as the creatures in the sense of reverence and respect of the holy Prophet? Whose remembrance is it? Of God or that of the servants, or both? In reply, we have to say that, in reality, this is the remembrance of the Supreme Names, that is the remembrance of Hazrat-i Muhammad (May Allah send blessings and peace through him and his progeny) and his progeny and in reality, this is God's remembrance.
  12. Wherever the wise Qur'an refers to the Jews and Christians as 'the people of the Book' it means that there is everything in the Old Testament and the New Testament including all those verbal names, (i.e., beautiful names) of Allah are apparently there, which once upon a time used to work for them, but now they are not there, they have rather been transferred to Islam by the title of the straight path and the light of guidance. That is, the holy Prophet is Allah's Supreme Name, therefore if the people of the Book call God without the Prophet's name, they will not be heard or their calling will not be acceptable.
  13. Study the Divine command (8:24) with the inner eye: "O you who believe! Accept the special da`wat of Allah and His Messenger when he invites you to that which gives you life (that is, the Imamat of `Ali (May peace be through him) and the Supreme Name) and you have to know that Allah comes between man and his heart." That is, when you accept this da`wat, then being alive in the azali and abadi life you will recognise your own "Higher I" and God and then He will merge your "Lower I" with the "Higher I".
  14. It is among the teachings of Hazrat-i Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah (May peace be through him) that the believers were physically human beings and spiritually angels in the time of Hazrat-i Adam (May peace be through him) as well as in the time of Imam `Ali (May peace be through him). This indicates that according to the Divine sunnat, every Prophet and every Imam teaches certain believers the beautiful Names which, first of all, were taught to angels by Hazrat-i Adam (May peace be through him), so that the renewal of all miracles and manifestations of the light of guidance and the Supreme Name may continue forever and there may not be any change in Allah's sunnat.

14 Rabi` I 1401 AH/16th October, 1989 AD

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