Chapter On The Meanings of the Names of Allah and their Derivatives

“I asked Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) about the interpretation of ‘In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Especially Merciful.’ (Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim) He (the Imam (as)) replied, “B is Baha ’Ullah (the beauty of Allah); and S is Sana ’Ullah (the radiance of Allah); and M is Majdullah (the grandeur of Allah), or according to some other narrators, M is Mulkullah (the kingdom of Allah); and Allah means the god of all things. (He is) al-Rahman (merciful) to all of His creatures, and (He is) Al-Rahim (merciful) to the believers in particular.”

he asked abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.), about the names of Allah and their derivations and roots. “What is the root from which the word Allah is derived?” The Imam replied, “O Hisham, the word Allah is derived from ’ilah, that is, the One Who is worshipped and the One who is worshipped is supposed to be worth worshipping. The name of Allah is different from His Own self. Whoever worships the name not the meaning has disbelieved and has, in fact, worshipped nothing. Whoever worships the name and its meaning jointly, he becomes a polytheist because of worshipping two gods. Whoever worships the meaning of the word Allah only he, in reality, has worshipped the One Allah (God). O Hisham, did you grasp it?” Hisham requested, “Kindly enlighten me more.” The Imam added, “Allah has ninety-nine names. If each name had a separate meaning then each meaning would have been a god. Allah is One only and all His names stand for just One reality and all these names are other than Allah Himself. O Hisham, bread is the name of something to eat. Water is the name of something to drink. Dress is the name of something to wear on. Fire is the name of something that burns. O Hisham, did you fully grasp the point so you can defend your belief and contest successfully against our opponents, who, along with Allah, the Exalted, the Great, except things other than Him?” Hisham replied, “Yes, I did understand.” The Imam said, “O Hisham, may Allah benefit you thereby and grant you steadfastness.” Hisham (the narrator) says, “I swear by Allah, no one has ever defeated me on the issue of Tawhid until now.”

“He (Allah) dominates all things small or big.”

“I asked Imam al-Rida (a.s.), about the words of Allah, ‘Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth’” (24:35). The Imam replied, “Allah is the Guide for all that is in the heavens and the Guide for all that is on the earth.” According to another Hadith narrated by al-Barqi,(the Imam said), “Allah has guided everyone in the heavens and every one on the earth.”

“I asked abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.), about the words of Allah, The Mighty and Glorious, ‘He (Allah) is the first and the last.’ (57:3) As for him being the first, we have understood that, but explain for us the meaning of Him being the last.” He (the Imam) said, “Nothing exists except that it is subject to annihilation, alteration, change, decay, transition from one color to another, from one shape to another and from one quality to another, from increase to decrease, and from decrease to increase, except for the Lord of the worlds. He alone is always existed and will always exist in one state. He is the first, before every thing, and the last, eternally. His attributes and names do not change as they do in the case of others, such as man , who at one time is dust, at another time flesh and blood, at another time decaying bones and finally becomes dust. A piece of date at one time is raw, at another time ripe, mature and then it dries up. With every change, the names and attributes also change. Allah, the Mighty and Glorious is different from all such things.”

“I heard abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) saying to a question about Allah being the first and the last.” The Imam replied, “His being the first means there was no first before Him and no beginning preceded Him at all. His being the last means that He has no end because it is an attribute of the created and He is eternal, the first and the last. He has always been and He will always be without any beginning and any end. Nothing new happens to Him and does not change from one state to another. He is the Creator of all things.”

“I was in the company of abu Ja’far al-Thani (the 2nd) (a.s.), when a person asked him, “Inform me about the Lord, Blessed and High. He has Names and Attributes in His Book, and His Names and His Attributes, are they He Himself?” Abu Ja’far (a.s.) replied, “This saying has two aspects. If you say that they are He Himself, meaning that He has plurality and multiplicity, then Allah is far exalted from that. If you mean that these names and attributes always existed, then ‘always existed’ also has two meanings. If you say that these names and attributes have eternally been in the knowledge of Allah and He eternally deserved them, then yes (this is correct). But if you mean that their images, their spellings and their syllables always existed, then we seek refuge in Allah from something else being there with him. Rather, Allah was when there was no creation. Then He created these as a means between Him and His creation, being desperately (dependent) upon Him, and they are worshipping Him, and these are His Mention. And Allah was when there was no Mention. The Mentioned One by Mention is Allah the eternal, who will be there eternally. The Names and Attributes are creations, and the Meaning Meant by these, He is Allah with Whom neither befits the variances nor the combinations, and rather (that) variates and combines, (which is) fragmented.
It cannot be said that Allah is combined, or that He is little or much. Rather His Own-self is eternal, because whatever is besides The Only One is divisible, and Allah is The Only One, not divisible. And He cannot be imagined as little or much. Everything that is divisible or imagined as little or much is created, which proves there is a Creator for it.
So, your saying ‘Allah is Powerful’ informs you that He is not frustrated by anything. Thus, you negate the frustration by the speech and make frustration to be other than Him. The same for your saying ‘(He is) All-Knowing’. You have negated the ignorance by the speech and made ignorance to be other than Him. When Allah will destroy all things, he will destroy the image, the spelling and the syllables, and He does not cease to be, the One who will not cease to be All-Knowing.”
So, the man then said, “So how come we call our Lord All-Hearing?” He (the Imam) said, “Because it is not hidden upon Him whatever is being comprehended by hearing, and we do not ascribe to Him the hearing ability that exists in the head. In the same way, we call Him All-Seeing, because it is not hidden upon him whatever can be seen, like colors or individuals or anything similar, and we do not ascribe to him the vision of the movement of the eye. In the same way, we call Him Subtle, because of His knowledge of subtle things, like the mosquito and things that are even subtler than that.
And the subject of the growth is from these, and intelligence, and desires for reproduction, and compassion for their offspring, and their guarding of each other, and their carrying of food and drink to their offspring in the mountains, wilderness, valleys and desolate places. Thus, we know that their Creator is Subtle, but without a ‘how’. Rather the ‘how’ is for the creation, the one subject to ‘how’.
In the same way, we call our Lord Strong, not because of the violent strength known in creatures. If his strength was the violent strength known in creatures, there would be a similarity, and an increase would be tolerated. And whatever tolerates an increase, would tolerate a decrease; and whatever is deficient would not eternal; and whatever is not eternital would be frustrated.
So our Lord, the Most Holy and Most High, there is neither a resemblance for Him, nor an opposite, nor a match, nor a ‘how’, nor an end-point, nor can He be envisaged by visions. And it is prohibited unto the hearts to conceive something that resembles Him, and upon the imaginations to limit Him, and upon the consciences to form Him. Majestic and Mighty is He from the instruments of His creatures, and the features of His Created beings; and Exalted is He from that, Loftier, Greater.”

“A man said, 'Allahu Akbar' (Allah is the Greatest) in his presence.” He (the Imam) asked, “Allah is Greater than which thing?” The man replied, “Greater than everything.” Abu 'Abdallah (a.s.) said, “You have limited Him.” The man asked, “Then, how should I say it?” He replied, “Say, Allah is Greater than what can be described.”

“Imam abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) asked, ‘What is Allah Greater than?” I replied, “Allah is Greater of all things.” He (the Imam) further asked, “Were there other things so Allah would be considered the greatest of them?” I then asked, “What then is the meaning thereof?”’ He (the Imam) replied, “Allah is far greater than all descriptions.”

“I asked abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) about the words 'Glorious is Allah.'” He replied, “(It means) Respect of Allah.”

“I asked abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) about the meaning of the words of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: 'Glory be to Allah', what is the meaning of it?’ He said: ‘His Transcendence’.”

“I asked abu Ja‘far al-Thani (the 2nd) (a.s.), “What is the meaning of the One?” He replied, “It means the unanimity of all tongues in speaking of Allah’s Oneness, as can be found in His saying, the Most High: 'If you ask them who created them, they will certainly say, “Allah!”' (43:87)