Al-Ismullaahu al-A'zham: the Greatest Name of Allaahu

Al-Ismullaahu al-A'zham: the Greatest Name of Allaahu

Bismi Hu, Rabbul Izzaati Ta'ala!

Allaahu, Allaahu, Allaahu Haqq!


Allaahu Ta'ala, Jalla wa Jalal, has taught us, through His Beloved Khatam an-Nabiyyin, Muhammad salla Allaahu 'alaihi wa sallam, Nuurin min Nuurillaah wa laa nabiyya ba'dahu, His 99 Names which He displays in the creation (manifestation (tajalli)), nourishment, and evolution of the phenomenal Universe which we inhabit. Al-Habib Rasul Allaahu salla Allaahu 'alaihi wa sallam said,

"Allaahu has 99 Names, that is, 100 minus 1, and whosoever "ahsaha" (enumerates them, realizes them, reflects on their essence, worships Allaahu by them and suppilcates by them, and acts by them according to one's degree of realization of them) shall enter the Garden (Jannah); and verily Allaahu is Witr (the "Odd", the Unique, the Singular, the Absolute) and loves the Witr (the odd numbers)." (Sahih Bukhari-Muslim: 8:419, narrated by Abu Huraira (radhi Allaahu anhu))

Know that the reason Allaahu loves the odd numbers is simply because He, Subhaan Hu wa Ta'ala, is He (Huwa Huwa) in the singular state known as al-Martabat al-Ahadiyya. In this state, He, Mighty and Exalted, does not share His Singularity, His Absoluteness, His Uniqueness, with anything particular (that which is not essentially He). There is only He, the Living, the Eternal, beyond origination, interdependence, and perception. His Oneness (Ahadiyya) is not a relative weight nor is it a mere cumulative point in a hieararchy (entanglement) of Names (States), but it is simply the Absolute Reality-Necessity (al-Haqiqah al-Haqaiq al-Mutlaq) of His Existence and this is the Estuary for all kinds of Divine Knowledge ('Ilm al-Hikmah). This way the odd numbers are His Hujjah (Proof) for His own Uniqueness. Allaahu Akbar!

Now there remains ONE NAME, which cannot be taught in words or by means of relative transmission but which must be discovered by ourselves by means of endless devotion and intense ijtihad. In other words, we must strive really hard by using the full potential of the qalb (heart) and the 'aql (intellect). To know this One Name, we must undertake very intense spiritual and intellectual suluk (journey) to the utmost limits, as there are oceans of secrets and incoherences to cross, until all forms of knowledge are united as one unique knowledge which shall descend upon the heart as Ma'rifat (direct all-encompassing Knowledge) in the form of the Light of the First Intellect, Nur Muhammad. This is described by Allaahu Ta'ala in the Qur'an Sharif in the verse: "The heart did not deny what it saw." (Surah an-Najm: 11.) If we possess this knowledge, nothing will be hidden from us. This is indeed one of the greatest blessings (ni'matullaah) in the Thariqat. Upon experiencing Kashf (Unveiling), this One Name will be revealed to us directly at the Station of Perfect Witnessing (al-Maqam al-Ihsan). This One Name is the one unique prayer bead that is "dettached" from all the others and submerged in the deepest Reality of the Perfect Beauty, Existential Majesty, and Absolute Uniqueness of Allaahu Subhaan Hu wa Ta'ala.

This Name is alluded in the following hadith of as- Sulthanul Anbiyya wa'l Mursalin, our Beloved Master, Muhammad salla Allaahu 'alaihi wa sallam,

"Yaa Allaah, I ask You of You by every Name which You have named Yourself or which You have revealed in Your book or which You have taught any of Your creation or which You have kept hidden in the Unseen Knowledge with Yourself." (Sahih Ahmad, accorded by al-Albani)

Again, this Hidden Name cannot simply be taught, instead we must discover it within ourselves as "Humanity is the Secret of His Secrets" ("al-Insaanu Sirru AsraaruHu"), in the depths of the silences of the self, where Allaahu Ta'ala communicates with us through the Reality of His own Essence, which is beyond words and conceptual constructs. That is why Sayyidina Rasul Allaahu salla Allaahu 'alaihi wa sallam said, "He who knows himself knows his Rabb." This is the Greatest Name of Allaahu 'Azza wa Jalla known as al-Ismullaahu al-A'zham. It is said in a hadith that, due to its immense barakaa, if you address Allaahu by that Name, every wish of yours will be granted and every danger, every ordeal, every misery will be removed from you. It is also said that this Name will be revealed to us at the end-time by the Mahdi 'alaihi salaam, may Allaahu hasten his appearance. However, the fundamental meaning behind this is that whoseover knows (comprehends) this Name, and is therefore dressed with the Reality of this Name, will be able to change the course of history for mankind. His presence will be a mercy unto the worlds (rahmatan lil 'alamiin). Indeed, the Knower of the Greatest Name of Allaahu Subhaan Hu wa Ta'ala is the inheritor of the station of the Holy Prophet Muhammad salla Allaahu 'alaihi wa sallam himself.

Allaahu a'lam.

Ishq wa Salaam,

{Dani}