In Koranic tradition, there are ninety-nine principal Divine Names which refer to the single Source of the universe. These are not tentative or speculative human terms for Allah, but are the beautiful Divine Names themselves, which were revealed by Allah through His Arabic Koran and which attest to the mysterious diversity of attributes within the one Essence.
The Arabic form and sound of these names bear the sacramental power of Divine Presence--healing, protecting, and illuminating the person who invokes them. But names of Allah have been revealed through other prophetic dispensations which are equally to be respected.
Through these mystical names, our conscious being comes into direct contact with the essential energy of the One. This one Reality is not the subject of philosophy but is the Living One who revealed itself to the Prophet Moses from the flames of the burning bush: "The highest truth is that I alone am." (20:9-39)
So when we speak with humility and awe of Allah Most High, we are not referring to some deity, abiding in some heaven, circumscribed by some theology. We are invoking the only I Am, the only Consciousness, who composes whatever exists, and who is infinitely more comprehensive even than existence itself.
We therefore cannot hold any theological or philosophical concepts about Allah, much less can we engage in any poetic descriptions of Allah or limit Him in any way, such as confining Him to one particular revelation.
However, Allah takes the initiative to reveal Himself to humanity--adequately and fully--through the prophets and the precious books of revelation which He has transmitted throughout the history of humanity.
In fact, the process of revelation is constant and extends far beyond the messages borne by the prophets, for creation itself is known as the cosmic Koran. The human mind cannot confine, systemize, or claim as its own any dimension of this awesome revelation, which is all-inclusive and all-transcending.
When we sincerely invoke any one of the Divine Names of Allah Most High through the guidance of His prophetic tradition, we enter into an unspeakably direct relationship, an existential union, with the only Reality.
"Those who invoke Allah Most Merciful with intense prayer feel immediately the unmistakable Presence of the Living Truth, whereas those who worship various elemental forces or etheric beings do not experience the same flood of encompassing Holy Presence." (13:12-15)
The mystical names of Allah release a flood of spiritual experience, the intense awareness of holy presence, which has been granted to humanity through all revealed traditions. The Divine Names are not words in a dictionary, nor are they separate from the One who is named.
There can be no distance between us and the one Reality because apart from the one Reality, nothing exists. This nearness to Allah, which is, in Koranic terms, nearer than nearness, is an expression of the Divine Mercy.
"No being can actually move the slightest distance from the Ever-Present Source of Being. The utterly merciful Will of Allah is beyond any comprehension." (14:24-27)
The longing of the mystical lover or the thirst of the mystical knower for the Essence of Allah finds its Koranic base and confirmation in the account of the Prophet Abraham's experience of enlightenment.
"His adoration of the Divine Attributes disappeared entirely, and he awakened mystically into the Divine Essence alone." (6:74-83)
This supreme realization does not imply, however, that the Mercy, Justice, Majesty, and Beauty of Allah Most High disappear, or that His Creation disappears. After undergoing this experience of mystic union, the Prophet Abraham returns to his people and takes up the burden of his prophetic role.
Awakening into Essence means to realize completely--not through our own limited efforts but as the supremely gracious gift of the All-Merciful One--that Allah Most High alone exists.
No imagined gap remains between His Essence and His blessed expression of that Essence. The illusion of duality, or separation, is all that disappears, leaving the full spectrum of the creation shining, in Koranic terms, as light within Light. Now the conscious education of our souls can truly begin.
"The Single Source behind all beings and events projects this vast drama of life and death as an education for souls, who learn to express the Beautiful Attributes of Allah through contemplation and action within the realm of temporality." (67:1-4)
This exalted level of mystic experience, the conscious union with Essence, is not confined to the Prophet Abraham or to a few rare souls in the contemplative Orders of the great religious traditions.
Direct and intimate friendship with the Divine Essence is the characteristic of all authentic prophecy and is shared to some degree by every devout soul who receives the permission of Allah to see through the eyes of the holy prophets. Allah Most High does not reveal Himself partially but fully, for He is fullness itself, which can never be divided in any way.
The Holy Koran counsels not just the prophets, but every human being without exception to have recourse directly to the ultimate Reality, without intermediary or hierarchy, without hesitation or self-depreciation of any kind.
"Never resort to magic or cosmic forces you instinctively know to be secondary, but rely for spiritual strength on the Original Source alone." (2:21-25)
Every soul under the care of the Koranic revelation consciously enters the Divine Essence, Allah Most High, with the powerful words revealed precisely for that purpose by the Essence itself:
"I take refuge in Allah alone, the mysterious King of humanity. I take refuge in Allah alone, the True Source of humanity." (114:1-6)
The Arabic form and sound of these names bear the sacramental power of Divine Presence--healing, protecting, and illuminating the person who invokes them. But names of Allah have been revealed through other prophetic dispensations which are equally to be respected.
Through these mystical names, our conscious being comes into direct contact with the essential energy of the One. This one Reality is not the subject of philosophy but is the Living One who revealed itself to the Prophet Moses from the flames of the burning bush: "The highest truth is that I alone am." (20:9-39)
So when we speak with humility and awe of Allah Most High, we are not referring to some deity, abiding in some heaven, circumscribed by some theology. We are invoking the only I Am, the only Consciousness, who composes whatever exists, and who is infinitely more comprehensive even than existence itself.
We therefore cannot hold any theological or philosophical concepts about Allah, much less can we engage in any poetic descriptions of Allah or limit Him in any way, such as confining Him to one particular revelation.
However, Allah takes the initiative to reveal Himself to humanity--adequately and fully--through the prophets and the precious books of revelation which He has transmitted throughout the history of humanity.
In fact, the process of revelation is constant and extends far beyond the messages borne by the prophets, for creation itself is known as the cosmic Koran. The human mind cannot confine, systemize, or claim as its own any dimension of this awesome revelation, which is all-inclusive and all-transcending.
When we sincerely invoke any one of the Divine Names of Allah Most High through the guidance of His prophetic tradition, we enter into an unspeakably direct relationship, an existential union, with the only Reality.
"Those who invoke Allah Most Merciful with intense prayer feel immediately the unmistakable Presence of the Living Truth, whereas those who worship various elemental forces or etheric beings do not experience the same flood of encompassing Holy Presence." (13:12-15)
The mystical names of Allah release a flood of spiritual experience, the intense awareness of holy presence, which has been granted to humanity through all revealed traditions. The Divine Names are not words in a dictionary, nor are they separate from the One who is named.
There can be no distance between us and the one Reality because apart from the one Reality, nothing exists. This nearness to Allah, which is, in Koranic terms, nearer than nearness, is an expression of the Divine Mercy.
"No being can actually move the slightest distance from the Ever-Present Source of Being. The utterly merciful Will of Allah is beyond any comprehension." (14:24-27)
The longing of the mystical lover or the thirst of the mystical knower for the Essence of Allah finds its Koranic base and confirmation in the account of the Prophet Abraham's experience of enlightenment.
"His adoration of the Divine Attributes disappeared entirely, and he awakened mystically into the Divine Essence alone." (6:74-83)
This supreme realization does not imply, however, that the Mercy, Justice, Majesty, and Beauty of Allah Most High disappear, or that His Creation disappears. After undergoing this experience of mystic union, the Prophet Abraham returns to his people and takes up the burden of his prophetic role.
Awakening into Essence means to realize completely--not through our own limited efforts but as the supremely gracious gift of the All-Merciful One--that Allah Most High alone exists.
No imagined gap remains between His Essence and His blessed expression of that Essence. The illusion of duality, or separation, is all that disappears, leaving the full spectrum of the creation shining, in Koranic terms, as light within Light. Now the conscious education of our souls can truly begin.
"The Single Source behind all beings and events projects this vast drama of life and death as an education for souls, who learn to express the Beautiful Attributes of Allah through contemplation and action within the realm of temporality." (67:1-4)
This exalted level of mystic experience, the conscious union with Essence, is not confined to the Prophet Abraham or to a few rare souls in the contemplative Orders of the great religious traditions.
Direct and intimate friendship with the Divine Essence is the characteristic of all authentic prophecy and is shared to some degree by every devout soul who receives the permission of Allah to see through the eyes of the holy prophets. Allah Most High does not reveal Himself partially but fully, for He is fullness itself, which can never be divided in any way.
The Holy Koran counsels not just the prophets, but every human being without exception to have recourse directly to the ultimate Reality, without intermediary or hierarchy, without hesitation or self-depreciation of any kind.
"Never resort to magic or cosmic forces you instinctively know to be secondary, but rely for spiritual strength on the Original Source alone." (2:21-25)
Every soul under the care of the Koranic revelation consciously enters the Divine Essence, Allah Most High, with the powerful words revealed precisely for that purpose by the Essence itself:
"I take refuge in Allah alone, the mysterious King of humanity. I take refuge in Allah alone, the True Source of humanity." (114:1-6)
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