Asma Sifat: Commentary on Awarif wal Muarif of Shaikh Shihabuddin Suhrwardy (d 1191 CE) Part-1

 Asma Sifat: Commentary on Awarif wal Muarif of Shaikh Shihabuddin Suhrwardy (d 1191 CE)

By Mawlana Syed Moeenuddin Shah Qadri; Hyderabad, Deccan, India

Translated from Urdu and summarized by

Prof. Dr. Nazeer Ahmed

Part 1

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Vocabulary:

Asma’: Plural of Ism; the Names; the Names of Allah

Asma’ ul Husna: The Most Beautiful Names of Allah of which there are 99 in the Qur’an

A’rifeen: Plural of Arif; People of inner knowledge; Awliyah

Ayan e Thabita (Ilm e Ilahi, the knowledge of Allah)

Ayan e Mumkinat (the world of contingencies)

Baqa: Restoration; Recreation (antonym of fana)

Dhat (or Zat): Reality; Self

Fana: Destruction; annihilation (antonym of baqa)

Hayat: Life as opposed to Maut or death

Hasti: Being

Hijab: Curtain; Veil; a Partition; that which hides the Reality of Allah swt from human perception

Ijtemal: the dependency of one Sifet on another

Ishara: A Signal; A Sign; An allusion

Ijtemal: Conditionality; dependency

Ism(pronounced issm): Name; a Noun; a Name of Allah swt such as Al Wadud (the loving), al Rahman (the Compassionate), al Rahim (the Merciful), al Ghafoor (the Forgiving) and so on.

Jame’: Sum total

Jism e Anseri: Body made up of elements

Kashaf: Lifting of veil (that separate Asma e Husna from the human)

Saba’ Masani: The seven Ayahs of Surah al Fateha

Shamil: Included; contained

Shuhood: Witness; to be present; to see

Sifat: Plural of Sifet; attributes; an adjective

Sifat e Saba’ Dhatiya: The seven foundational Sifaat. These are Hayat (life), Ilm (knowledge), Qudrat (power), Irada (Intent), Sama (hearing), Basar(seeing) and Kalam (speech).

Tajaddud e Amthal: Renovation of appearances; The atomistic cycle of fana (destruction) and baqa (restoration); the unfolding of of Allah’s will from moment to moment

Ummahat e Asma (the root or basis of the Names). They are: Hayat (life), Ilm (knowledge), Qudrat (power), Iradah (intent), Sama (hearing), Basar (Seeing) and Kalam (speech).

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Summary

Asma ul Husna are the most beautiful Names of Allah. The 99 Asma ul Husna in the Qur’an capture the essence of all the names (Asma) in the universe..  

Ism (pronounced i-ss-m) is a word or description used to allude (ishara) towards Allah. The allusion (ishara) is towardsHis dhat (Reality) without reference to any attribute. Ism defines His Being while Sifaat describe His condition. Asma is the plural of Ism.

The Reality of Ism is the dhat.  Sifaat are attributes that point to the one who has the Sifaat (the Ism). Safaat define an Ism.

The Reality of Sifaat is Ilahiyet (attributes of the One who is worthy of worship). The Reality of Asma is Rububiyet (an attribute of Allah, the Sustainer).

The Dhat (Reality or Essence) of Asma wa Sifat is only Allah. Asma wa Sifat are pointers, signs, ishara. Whenever they are mentioned, they refer to Allah swt.

Asma wa Sifat are endless. They are condensed into 99 Asma ul Husna in the Qur’an. The Jame’ (compendium) of all the Asma wal Husna is the Name “Allah”.

Ummahat e Asma: There are seven Ummhat e Asma, namely, Hayat, Ilm, Irada, Qudrat, Sama, Basar and Kalam.

Ummahat e Sifat: They are called the Saba’ Masani. These are the seven Ayahs of Surah al Fateha. Every Ayah in Surah al Fateha is a deep ocean which has no shores. It is the Reality of the Qur’an. The Sifat are also Saba Sifat.

Ijtemal e Asma: The conditionality of Asma (Names). For instance, when there is Hayat, there is Ilm. When a man has no Hyat (when he is dead), where is the knowledge?

The Sifat of Allah are also given to the human except that our Ujub is not Dhati (our existence is not real). We are dependent on Allah for our existence.

The difference in the attributes of Allah and those of the human is that He is Khaliq, we are Makhluq. We are dependent on our senses for physical perception. We need our eyes to see, ears to hear and tongue to speak. Allah is beyond any need whatsoever.

Asma wa Sifat are hidden. They are the hijab (curtain) that hide the Reality of the Ism. When a human being progresses beyond the Asma wa Sifat, he catches a glimpse of the Light of Reality.

Continued