Source Text
The Names exist as potentialities in the oneness of God. As hidden relationships within the divine field of being, they can best be understood in relationship with one another.
Names can be best understood in relational clusters. The Names exist as potentialities in the oneness of God. As hidden relationships within the divine field of being, they can best be understood in relationship with one another. The relational groupings we have emphasized are opposites, cognates (those that have the same root), those that are similar in meaning, and those that are similar in grammatical form. We have included one large chapter (Chapter 5) that offers a brief summary for each Name, and even here we found it important to cross-reference other divine Names. We have also included an alphabetical listing of the 99 Names for convenient reference (Appendix B). We refer to the 10 grammatical forms in the Arabic language as part of a “sound code” that gives a general meaning to every word. This is based on the word’s particular structure of stressed and unstressed vowels, doubled consonants, and the like. It is a fundamental element of Arabic grammar, and every Arabic dictionary is organized in this
Beginning in the Name of Allah
The words “Allah” and “God” refer to the ineffable reality, the essence of all things. Allah includes everything and depends upon nothing for existence. That absolute state is called dhat (often transliterated zat). That is the essence of all the Names. What we are looking into is a relationship between divine essence and divine attributes. The sifat, or attributes of Allah, the divine Names, have no independent existence of their own. They only exist as differentiated aspects of Allah. They are neither identical to nor distinct from the essence.
The word “Allah,” according to some scholars, comes from the root waliha, and this root combines the vast concepts of total love and being passionately beyond all the constraints of mind. Combining these, we get the meaning “to fall madly in love, to utterly dissolve in an insane yearning.”
The word “Allah,” according to some scholars, comes from the root waliha, and this root combines the vast concepts of total love and being passionately beyond all the constraints of mind. Combining these, we get the meaning “to fall madly in love, to utterly dissolve in an insane yearning.
All this leads us to the affirmation, “Nothing exists except Allah, whose
existence is pure ecstasy, and there is no ecstasy to be found except the unrestrained ecstasy of total yearning and love.”
existence is pure ecstasy, and there is no ecstasy to be found except the unrestrained ecstasy of total yearning and love.
sound “Allah” and the sounds of all the wonderful Names of Allah to evoke a direct experience of the essence that is the greatest Name. Another fascinating subject is the combination of sounds that is used in the word “Allah.” There are the two syllables: “Al” + “lah.” Al is affirmation. It is the definite article in Arabic. If we are referring to a person as “the spiritual pole,” for example, we say al-qutb, the qutb.
AI Summary
Physicians of the Heart by Wali Ali Meyer, Bilal Hyde presents key insights from the contemplative tradition. The 10 passages above capture the essential teachings.
Core Themes:
- [To be expanded]
Key Passages: Highlights 1, 3, and 10 are particularly representative.
This entry was generated from Readwise highlights. Expand with additional context as appropriate.