Say: He Is the One God: God the Eternal, the Uncaused Cause of all being

B. Al-Asmâ’u’l-Husnâ

In actual fact, it is Al-Asmâ’u’l-Husnâ (the Most Beautiful Names of ALLÂH (SWT)) that determine what should come to one’s mind when one says ALLÂH. Each of the Names that are used for ALLÂH (SWT), which act as adjectives to qualify the Sublime Word ALLÂH, at the same time, indicate an Attribute. For instance, Al-Wadûd denotes the Loving One (SWT) and the Loved One (SWT). Adding the definiteness affix to the beginning of the noun shows that the Owner of this Love Is Absolute, Supreme, Sublime and Perfect from every aspect and that His Love is the highest form of love. We know what love is and try to understand the Name Al-Wadûd of ALLÂH (SWT) on the basis of the characteristics of the love that we know. That way of understanding cannot come true on the basis of His Absolute and Sublime Love that no eyes can see, no ears can hear, no mind can attain, no love can compete with. It can become a reality only when we begin with the limited and restricted love of people. Actually, He (SWT) Is the One Who Has Created the love that man knows and is able to recognise. On the basis of the limited love that we are granted with we attempt to understand the Absolute Love of the One (SWT) Who Has Granted that love. Because a human being can acquire knowledge only in regard to the things which he perceives by his senses. ALLÂH (SWT), Who Is Beyond and Above the senses, Has Made His Personal-Self Known through the concepts of the world of senses.

Therefore, in order to know, recognise and understand ALLÂH (SWT) to begin asking questions about ALLÂH (SWT) is beginning from a wrong place. Human mind is restricted and limited. It cannot follow and perceive a straight direction coming from the Absolute One (SWT), from the Sublime to the limited, from the Divine to the human. The limited structure of the mind is not suitable for that. If the mind pursues the direction from the limited towards the Sublime, it turns out to have found the true direction. This is Sirat al-Mustaqeem for the mind. The opposite is going astray and ignorance. The presumptuous mind does not know its limit and transgresses it. Anything that transgresses the limit becomes rebellious to the opposite.

The mind that that has transgressed the limit begins asking questions from the Highest. This is a consequence of the mind’s forgetting that it is limited. A human being is in that situation when he makes the mistake of asking questions from ALLÂH (SWT), after there are no questions left about the things seen and touched and all questions concerning every category in creation have been exhausted. This mistake is compound ignorance. This is not a case of ordinary ignorance, but that of being in ignorance of one’s own ignorance, even that of supposing that one knows what one does not know in fact. This is the very type of soil in which the oleander of the denial grows. It is for this reason that the denial is the snare that traps anybody whose mind is presumptuous and transgresses the limit. It falls to the wise person to admit at the very outset one’s incapability to know, recognise and understand ALLÂH (SWT) as is needed. ALLÂH’s Messenger (SAWS), who has set an excellent example of attitude to every matter, said the following on this subject: “I can never succeed in offering sufficient praises for You; You Are as You Praise Yourself”. *10

In this case, Al-Asmâ in Al-Asmâ’u’l-Husnâ, whose original meaning consists of two poles, indicates both that no perception can compass, no comprehension can reach, no mind can grasp the Sublime and Supreme One (SWT) and that one can only perceive, know, think about Him (SWT) by means of His Names and Attributes. The definiteness affix in Al-Asmâ express both the perfection of quality and the perfection of quantity. The Most Beautiful Attributes and all Perfection are peculiar to Him (SWT), yet they are not only “absolute” and “sublime”, but they also contain “all types of those Attributes” and are “complete”. Each of the Most Beautiful Names (Al-Asmâ) is a means of recognising and understanding His Sublime Personal-Self. The whole universe together with its contents is of the same importance as raising one’s index finger while reciting Ash-Shahadah. The creation has been created so that it be a witness, not an owner.

Husnâ considered as a superlative means “the Most Beautiful”, and if regarded as a positive adjective means “Beautiful”. *11 The former one is more appropriate. Since it qualifies a plural noun, it has adopted the form Husnâ instead of ahsan. The form of superlative expresses the highest degree of the qualities denoted by the word. Along with the definiteness affix added to the beginning of the word, this form of superlative indicates the Absolute and Comprehensive Beauty that embraces all derivative senses it has.

Husnâ here signifies much more the Beauty that is Absolute and Beyond than “beautiful” in its aesthetic sense. One can do nothing about the fact that Husnâ is usually regarded as “beautiful”. Because there is no single word in Turkish that could be fully equivalent to Husnâ, including the word “güzel”. Actually, the Turkish word “güzel” is much more connected with the beings that address themselves to the eyes or with the situations which direct attention to the eyes. The eyes (Turkish: göz) and the verb seeing (Turkish: görmek) have priority in determining what is beautiful (Turkish: güzel). The origin the Turkish word “güzel” (göz-el) derives from is the expression “göze el vermek”, whose English equivalent is “to lend a hand”. Yet, the Beauty of the Names of ALLÂH (SWT) is the Eternal Beauty that includes in itself the Absolute Good, the Absolute Well-being, Truth and Right. It expresses the Sublime Beauty that cannot be described in words, imagined, comprehended not only as an Attribute, but also as the Personal-Self of ALLÂH (SWT).

Al-Husnâ that represent all the Names of ALLÂH (SWT) indirectly indicates that it is not because of the Names that they are Beautiful but because of the One (SWT), Whom those Names refer to. In other words, He (SWT) Has Described His Personal-Self with those Names because He (SWT) Is the Absolute and Sublime Source of Beauty, and it would be incorrect to say that His Beauty has appeared as a result of describing His Personal-Self by those Names. And, of course, He (SWT) Has Declared His Names to the world of the beings who are conscious of these Names. Therefore, each of the Names that He (SWT) Has Declared for His Personal-Self expresses the most beautiful, the best, the rightest, the truest, the highest, the most permanent, the most beneficial quality of its meaning. In a word it is called “perfection” and the Most Beautiful Names and Attributes of ALLÂH (SWT) include all forms of perfection. It is for this very reason that the letter lâm, which is used for assignment (LAHU/LILLÂHI), is found in every place where this phrase occurs in the Noble Qur’ân. All perfection that exists belongs to ALLÂH (SWT). One can ascribe perfection to none besides ALLÂH (SWT). None can surpass His Beauty and His Perfection. Considering that those Names at the same time can act as adjectives indicating an attribute, “the Most Beautiful Names” could also be called “the Most Beautiful Attributes”. Thus, it turns out that, together with the letter lâm used for (tahsis) assignment, the meaning “all the Most Perfect Attributes are due to ALLÂH (SWT)” is achieved.

To speak about the Perfect One (SWT) is to speak about the One Whom a person cannot reach and surpass. A human being can speak about perfection but he is unable to comprehend it. For he is not perfect himself. The world of creatures surrounding which is subject to the law of existence and decay (formation and destruction) is in constant change, moving from one state to another. Consequently, to speak about one perfect element from among the creatures of this mortal world is contrary to the law of creation. In order to become a human being, first of all a creature should have developed to a state of perfection that is required to be shown the Guidance of His Lord (SWT). The journey that this creature is on necessitates it doing so. Being created is being a wayfarer. The Owner of the Path Is the Eternal One (SWT) and the Path is without end. One cannot talk about the perfection of the wayfarer who has not discovered the end of the Path. As regards the human being, he can never reach the end of Path, for he, like all other mortal beings, lives a life that has end. This Path is such that one cannot reach it by walking, but those having reached it are the walking ones. It is just like the following statement of a wise man: “One cannot find it by seeking, but those having found it are the seeking ones.”

The phrase Al-Asmâ’u’l-Husnâ is used in four places in the Noble Qur’ân: Verse 8 of Sûrah Tâ-Hâ, Verse 110 of Sûrah Al-Isrâ’, Verse 180 of Sûrah Al-A’râf, Verse 24 of Sûrah Al-Hashr. The last three Verses of the Sûrah Al-Hashr, which ends with this Verse (i.e. the phrase Al-Asmâ’u’l-Husnâ), contain exactly 15 of the Most Beautiful Names of ALLÂH (SWT). Just as in the Verse 8 of the Sûrah Tâ-Hâ where this phrase occurs for the first time, is found in a context connected with the Divine Revelation.

The Divine Revelation is the expression of the Compassion and Mercy of ALLÂH (SWT) to mankind. His Names are also a part of the Divine Revelation. In this case, His Introducing His Personal-Self to His servants through the Divine Revelation is a sign of His Compassion and Mercy to them. The fact that the Divine Revelation includes the Most Beautiful Names of ALLÂH (SWT) is a Favour in a Favour, a Gift in a Gift. He (SWT) first Sent Down man onto the earth, after that He (SWT) Sent Down the thinking heart to man, thereafter He (SWT) Sent Down the Divine Revelation to the thinking heart, and inside the Divine Revelation He (SWT) Sent Down the knowledge about His Personal-Self. He (SWT) Has Called the Names that bear the knowledge about His Personal-Self Al-Asmâ’u’l-Husnâ.



C. Al-Asmâ’u’l-Husnâ Are A Means Of

Coming Nearer To Allâh (Swt)

Al-Asmâ’u’l-Husnâ are like a Divine Helping Hand for the person who enters on the search for an opportunity for coming near to ALLÂH (SWT). The Noble Qur’ân deems it illegal to make any visible or invisible creatures “a means” of coming near to ALLÂH (SWT). The narrated statement of idolaters of Makkah: “…We worship them for no other reason than that they bring us nearer to God…” (39:3) bears witness to the fact that they bogged down in a morass of polytheism as a result of that kind of search.

Besides Al-Asmâ’u’l-Husnâ, the faith and righteous good deeds of the servant of ALLÂH (SWT) are also esteemed to be a legal means of coming near to ALLÂH (SWT), as indicated by the Divine Revelation in the Noble Qur’ân. The former has a direction which is from ALLÂH (SWT) to human, and the direction of the two latter ones is from human to ALLÂH (SWT). From among these three legal means, Al-Asmâ’u’l-Husnâ represent a helping hand of compassion coming from ALLÂH (SWT) to mankind. The servant’s praying to ALLÂH (SWT) is a response to that helping hand that comes from ALLÂH (SWT). Of both hands raised in supplication while praying, one represents the faith and another one the righteous good deeds of the servant. These are also the means of coming near to ALLÂH (SWT), which are in the servant’s hands. If a servant, who is steadfast in his faith and righteous good deeds, makes a plea for being granted the means of coming near to ALLÂH (SWT), ALLÂH (SWT) Will Make His Names become that means in reply to His servant’s request. ALLÂH (SWT) always Responds to the plea of the person who has faith and does righteous good deeds for coming near to Him (SWT) by means of His Most Beautiful Names.

To seek other means of coming near to ALLÂH (SWT) besides His Names is to fail to recognise that Al-Asmâ’u’l-Husnâ are due to ALLÂH (SWT). However all Verses in the Noble Qur’ân dealing with Al-Asmâ’u’l-Husnâ occur in a combination with the definiteness affix ‘al’ so as to show that “all the Most Perfect Attributes are peculiar to Him (SWT)”. The Most Beautiful Names are a “strong rope” (hablu’l matin) that has been sent down from ALLÂH (SWT) to the servant, and the servant’s faith and righteous good deeds are the two hands that cling to that rope for the spirit’s ascension. As a matter of fact, the word “sabab” (“cause”), which is also a concept originating from the Noble Qur’ân, denotes “a stout rope hanging down from the high date-palm treetops that one takes in the hands for climbing up and functioning as a ladder”. The Most Beautiful Names are each a Divine Cause, figuratively a Divine Ladder hanging from heavens down onto the earth. The servant should cling to this rope holding on very tightly to it with both hands which are the servant’s faith and righteous good deeds. The Descent is represented by what is sent down from above and the Ascension is represented by holding on tightly to it so as to go up. The cause (“sabab”) that is sent down from above is the Divine Love, Mercy, Compassion and Help, and taking hold of it and clinging to it is represented by human faith, servitude, worship, effort and deeds. The former is “what is given” and the latter “what is gained”.

The reason why Basmala begins not by saying “BILLÂHI: with ALLÂH (SWT)”, but by saying “BISMILLÂH: by the Name of ALLÂH (SWT)”, can be explained by the fact that each of the Most Beautiful Names are a means of the servant’s ascension, which has been sent down by ALLÂH (SWT). It is also necessary to add here some of the Verses of the Noble Qur’ân like “Extol the Limitless Glory of thy Sustainer’s Name: [the glory of] the Al-Highest” (87:1), “Extol, then, the Limitless Glory of thy Sustainer’s Mighty Name!” (56:96).

D. Allâh (Swt) Is Known By His Names,

Not By His Personal-Self

Saying “Glorify your Lord’s Name” instead of “Glorify your Lord” has also another meaning; it shows that one can comprehend ALLÂH (SWT) not by His Personal-Self, but by His Attributes. This allows us to understand that a human being can remember ALLÂH (SWT) only with the help of His Names. Because a human, being a restricted creature, can only remember and glorify the Sublime Lord (SWT) only by His Names. The Truth of the Lordship of ALLÂH (SWT) is also so High that a human could never reach it. A human being can only move towards His Names, but not towards the Truth of His Lordship, and the Truth of His Lordship Remains Absolute and Independent.

Essentially, in all of those Orders it is required to remember not “the Name of your Lord (SWT)”, but your Lord Himself (SWT), it is required to glorify your Lord Himself (SWT) rather than the Name of your Lord. It is for that very reason that ALLÂH’s Messenger (SAWS) formulated the Order to remember the Name of your Lord not in the expression “Glorified be the Name of my Lord, the Most High” but in the expression “Glorified be my Lord, the Most High”, which he (SAWS) taught us to recite and said: “Practise this in the Ruku (bowing) position of your prayers”, “Practise this in the Sujud (prostration) position of your prayers”. *12

As stated by Ghazzali, the Names have formed a “screen” for Him (SWT). This statement of Ghazzali should be interpreted as meaning that the Names of ALLÂH (SWT) have formed a barrier between His Sublime Existence and the mankind’s restricted existence. Here the “screen” in question that is the screen that is manifested in ALLÂH Himself (SWT) and which has been revealed to human perception. Just as ALLÂH (SWT) Conveyed His Word to Prophet Musa by this screen of a “tree”, so He (SWT) Has Conveyed the knowledge about His Personal-Self by the screen of the Names. This screen, so to speak, has played the role of a mirror showing the Divine Names and Attributes. The Divine Attributes have been reflected from that mirror in the human being’s limited mind, as if the Absolute had come down onto the dependent.

This coming down reminds of the Descent of the Divine Revelation that originates from the Absolute and Sublime Source when it is wrapped up in letters, words and sentences for the human mind. The Elevated and Sublime Attributes of ALLÂH (SWT) have been made known to the human consciousness by means Al-Asmâ’u’l-Husnâ, that is to say they have been reflected in the human consciousness from the mirror of the Names of ALLÂH (SWT) just as lofty meanings of the Divine Revelation, which represent the spirit, have turned into speech and writing, which represent the body and soul. The restricted and limited human mind cannot know, comprehend and understand ALLÂH (SWT) without that mirror. The following statement of Ghazzali is a laconic expression of this truth: “The inhabitants of the earth and the heavens know ALLÂH (SWT) only by means of His Names and Attributes.”

This knowledge is certainly indirect and limited. Naturally, it cannot be called knowing ALLÂH (SWT). Actually, only ALLÂH (SWT) Knows ALLÂH (SWT) in due manner. If we accept this truth, we should also recognise the Supreme Truth expressed in the first sentence of Sûrah Al-Fatihah: “Al-Hamdu Lillâhi Rabbi’l-Âlamin - To ALLÂH Alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds belongs all due Praise of His Personal-Self.” As it is the case with every sentence of the Noble Qur’ân, this sentence of Noble Qur’ân imparts a multi-layer world of meanings that varies according to the reader’s learning and culture. In the light of the Most Beautiful Names this is the loftiest meaning of that sentence of the Noble Qur’ân.

It is not the Personal-Self of ALLÂH (SWT), but the Names of ALLÂH (SWT) that have descended to the perception of mankind. “…There is nothing like unto Him (SWT)…” (42:11). And human being can only reach the unknown on the basis of the known things. However limited and conditional the way is, in which a human being knows the indications of those Names, when they refer to ALLÂH (SWT), that human surely knows the following: ALLÂH (SWT) Is Al-‘Âlim. He (SWT) Knows. But the Knowing of ALLÂH (SWT) is not the knowing the human perception understands, it is the Absolute and Sublime Knowing. ALLÂH (SWT) Is Al-Basîr. He (SWT) Sees everything. But that Seeing is not of the type of the dependent and restricted seeing that is possible by using such an organ like eye and needing such a means as light, which man knows. As a matter of fact, when saying “I saw”, we, people, in fact say “I limited” or “I restricted” simultaneously. A human should first set limits in order to see. The eyes first limit, then encompass. And ALLÂH (SWT) Encompasses everything that is seen together with the eyes and the hearts that see. For, His Seeing is Sublime, Absolute and Unconditional. It is for this very reason that the Noble Qur’ân says: “And God’s [lone] are the Attributes of Perfection; invoke Him, then, by these…” (7:180).

E. In The Name Of Allâh (Swt),