A180
Surah: 007 - Ayah: 180
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7:180
Wisdom 39: On p. 212 of the above-mentioned book, it is written: There are two kinds of the names of God. One type are those names which are verbal and composed of letters, which a scribe writes and sometimes also erases. The other type are those which are living, speaking, rational and noble, such as Prophets, Legatees and Imams, who are the standard and sign of the Hereafter, the guides of tawhid and the means and intermediary between the worshipper and the worshipped.
What great treasures of countless blessings are these beautiful Names of God, the blessed, the exalted (7:180; 17:110; 20:8; 59:24)! What wonderful, soul-nourishing and faith-illumining lights there are in them! There is no doubt that the Imam of the time is His Supreme Name and the sacred and venerated Naqsh. Al-hamdu li'llah (Praise belongs to God).
In this preface I remember all those dear friends who sing Hazrat Shah-i wilayat’s praise and recite his manqabat. When the real Supreme Name (ism-i azam) is ever-living and is the Imam of the time, then the praise of the true Imam is in fact the praise of Almighty God, for as it is said in the Holy Qur'an: "And to Allah belong all beautiful names; so call on Him by them" (7:180). That is, when the door of spirituality opens and there are the manifestations of the light of Imam from the beginning to the end, then one will realize how inestimably beautiful the Imam of the time is and who is Allah's Supreme Name. In this verse there is a great invitation to love and ecstasy (junun).
God, the Prophet and the Exalted Imam, the master of command (sahib-i amr) have, not only their separate names, but also there are certain names, which are used in common for them in the Wise Qur'an, such as nur (light), hadi (guide), shahid (witness). There are many wisdoms hidden in such lofty names. One wisdom is that they provide the proof that there are living names of God, the Great, the Exalted, and they are the true Prophet and the pure Imam, mentioned above. It is known to all that the names of creatures are without intellect and soul, but the great names (al-asma' al-husna, the beautiful names, 7:180) of God, the Blessed, the Exalted, are living and the Holy Spirit, the sound intellect and the perfect light dwell in them. It is because of this that they are the most excellent and the most beautiful of names.
In verse (7:180) God says that it is necessary to call God by His beautiful names, the wisdom-filled description of which is mentioned in four places of the mighty Qur’an (7:180; 17:110; 20:8; 59:24). Thus, the prudent mu’min is the one who prays shedding tears in every sickness, every difficulty, every need and every trial and tribulation, so that Allah in His infinite mercy may accept his prayers. If there is any delay in acceptance, in that also there can certainly be Divine wisdom, therefore despondency is forbidden.
Supreme Names of God:
Argument 14: God says: “ And to God belong the beautiful names (al-asmaul-husna), so call on Him by them” (7:180). The beautiful names are also mentioned in the Quraan in verses (17:110; 20:8; 59:24). In Kawkab-I Durri (Chapter 3, manqabat 29), there is the blessed saying of Mawlana Ali (a.s.): “I am the beautiful names by which God has commanded people to call on Him.” For further information, refer to the Shii commentaries and other related works.
We want to explain here some subtle points in that the above-mentioned verse implies that the beautiful and great names of God be recognized. Thus the custodian of tawil, Mawlana Ali (a.s.) has explained that he is the Supreme Name of God. This means that first and foremost the Holy Prophet, then Mawlana Ali and the Imams from his progeny are the Supreme Name of God in their respective times. Thus considering them as the beautiful names of God, He shold be called on by them so that He may listen to and accept our supplications.
Tatma'innu (It/he finds peace, satisfaction)
Real satisfaction is that which the friends of God receive in the form of inner observation, Divine vision, recognition, knowledge and wisdom, as a result of the dhikr of ism-i aczam. This is because the real dhikr in which the ultimate level of satisfaction is hidden is none other than the dhikr of the asma'u'l-husna, the beautiful Names of Allah (7:180). We have already discussed this subject in our books.
Wisdom 15: One of the beautiful names of Almighty Allah is “an-Nur (light)”, which is mentioned in the Lamp Verse as “Allahu nuru’s samawati wa’l -ard (Allah is the light of the heaven and the earth)”. And the beautiful names of Allah are the Holy Prophet and the Holy Imams, for as Mawla ‘Ali says : “I am His beautiful names and His supreme similitudes and His great signs.” That is the beautiful names of God are living and speaking (7:180)and similarly , His supreme similitudes (30:27) and great signs (miracles) (53:18) are also living and speaking.
Symbolic Language I said : He said
I said: God has a hundred different attributive names, nay a thousand and according to another Tradition, He has many thousands of names.
He said: Listen carefully, for although apparently God has many names, in reality He has only one real name. For He is one, and unique. This real name is His Supreme name (ism-i aczam) which is both living and speaking in every time and age and by this is meant the Prophets and the Imams. As for the other verbal names, they are manifestations of knowledge as well as being veils. Had this not been so, the concept of the beautiful names of God would not have been mentioned in the Glorious Qur’an (7:180; 17:110; 20:8; 59:24).
Q133 Would you kindly shed some light on the importance of the best Names of God mentioned in verses (7:180; 17:110; 20:8 and 59:24)?
A133 The excellent answer to this question is given in the Qur’an itself in (7:180): “And to Allah belong the best [living] Names, so call on Him by them, and leave those who blaspheme His names. Soon they will be requited for what they do.”
Q290 Please tell us the ta’wil of verse (7:180), as explained by the Imams from the progeny of the holy Prophet. The verse is: “And to Allah belong the best names, so call Him by them, and leave alone those who use profanity in His names: soon shall they be requited for what they were doing”.
A290
- Hazrat Mawlana cAli(c) has said: “I am the best names by which God has commanded to call Him”.
- Hazrat Imam Jacfar as-sadiq(c) says: “By God! We are the best names of God”.
- Everything of God is living and speaking with the perfect Intellect and the perfect Soul, thus, according to this law the Imam of the time is the supreme Name and the best Name.
Part 79
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
In his self-introductory discourses, Mawla cAli says:
In verse (27:8) it is mentioned: “So when he (Moses) came to it, he was called saying: Blessed be whosoever is in the fire and whosoever is around it. Free from every attribute is Allah, the Lord of the personal worlds.” The word “blessed” (burika) is not used for God as such (dhat-i subhan). Thus, it was the light of Mawla cAli, as he has stated in his discourses quoted above.
Study the self-introductory discourses of Mawla cAli with ardent love, so that you may have a strong and firm foundation for the Imam’s recognition.
1. “And to God belong the beautiful names (al-asma’u’l-husna), so call on Him by them” (7:180).
2. Imam Jacfar as-Sadiq(c) has said: “We [the Imams] are the beautiful names of God and without our recognition no person’s deeds will be accepted”.
3. Here it becomes evident that God’s names are of two kinds: Verbal names and luminous names. God’s luminous names or His great names are the pure Imams through whom we are commanded to invoke Him.
4. In the light of the above-mentioned Qur’anic verse (7:180) remember that the supreme name of God whose recognition is essential with respect to the time and age is the Imam of the time.
The glorious Qur’an says: “And to Allah belong all the beautiful names (i.e., great names); so call Him by them” (7:180). According to a saying of Imam Jacfar as-Sadiq(c), the Imams are the beautiful names i.e., the great names of God. Thus the Imam of the time is the living supreme name of Allah and to call Allah through him is the most excellent worship.
This verse has been referred 19 times.