Word 43: According to the mystic, a perfect human being enlightens the truths of Names. A philosopher says: A perfect philosopher is an Imam. Philosophy is the knowledge of the truths of things, and the things are the reality of Names. The Holy Quran says: “We teach Adam all the Names” (Al-Baqarah: 31) and “All things are gathered in the clear Imam” (Ya-Sin:12). So there is no separation between the Quran, mysticism, and philosophy.
In general, there are three schools of thought to know the truths of things. Some people try to know the truths of things by reasoning and proof. Some people try through inner purification, intuition, and inner perceptions to know the truths of things. Some people may try to know the truths of things by the Holy Quran and narrations from infalibles.
Some people believe there is a distinction between them; that is, philosophy says one thing, mysticism says another, and the Quran and hadiths say something else. As a result, we witness many Islamic scholars who oppose philosophy or mysticism, claiming that it is absolutely anti-Islam and anti-religion. Such individuals are typically those who have not studied philosophy or mysticism.
Allameh Hassanzadeh is a fervent believer that the Quran, mysticism, and philosophy all speak the same thing. Because, if the argument is true, we should get the same outcome as the Holy Quran says.
The Holy Prophet (S) has taken the truths in his complete intuition and revelation (the Holy Quran), and the philosopher will also reach the same if he proceeds through the right reasoning. And the mystic, in his revelations and intuitions, if he goes right, should reach the complete intuition of Prophet Muhammad (S); this is why the Quran and hadiths (those that coincide with the Quran) determine the validity of people’s intuitions and divine visions.
In mysticism, having a heavenly master who is on the right path for divine travelers is essential. The true master understands the difficulties and perils of the holy path since he has been on it for a long time. People must share their intuition, visions, or what they see in their dreams or while waking with the genuine master in order to determine whether their receiving is true or not. Did Satan interfere with my vision and discovery? Did my imagination create this by itself? Did my ego alter it after obtaining it?
One of the key topics in the Quran, philosophy, and mysticism is the discussion of the existence of the perfect human. The holy Quran says: “You have an excellent example in the Messenger of God; for anyone who seeks God and the Last Day” (Al-Ahzab:21).
But the most essential issue is: what attributes define a “perfect man”? What does he have that the others do not? I mean, what distinguishes it? We must get to know the perfect human. Allameh Hassanzadeh said: “Two clerics were sitting next to each other, talking to each other, and I could hear one saying to the other: The Holy Prophet was like you and me, with the difference that they said to him: Say this, and they did not say to you and me: Say this!!”. It is what most people, even some scholars, know about the perfect human.
The perfect human in mysticism is the one who defines the truths of God’s Name. Let’s discuss a little about the divine Names as it is one of the sweet topics in mysticism.
What are the Names of God? Determining or designation of God’s essence with an attribute of His attributes is called the Name. Or considering God’s essence with an attribute of His attributes. Or a manifestation of God’s essence with an attribute of His attributes.
When you consider God in terms of the attribute of “knowledge”, you say that God is “Knower”. When you consider God in terms of the attribute of “power”, you say that God is “Powerful”. When you consider God in terms of the attribute of “alive”, you say that God is “Living”, and so on for other God’s Names.
In other words, God’s name means a window through which we consider God and look at Him or pay attention. No matter how much we want to have a great attitude toward God, we are still looking through a window and considering Him. The name “Allah” is the name that contains all God’s Names.
God’s names are two types in one interpretation: 1- Truth and reality of Names, and 2- Verbal or textual names. Sometimes we mean the names we write or utter, such as “Allah”, “Rahman”, “Qadir”, and “Alim”. These are verbal or textual names. According to mystics, they are names of Names. But sometimes, we consider the truths and realities of the names. When we consider the truth of the names, the determination of the essence, or the manifestations of God’s essence, They will be called the real names. When we say the names of Allah, we mean the truth of names, not the names that we write on paper or speak.
When you write the sea, it is very different from the sea itself. The name that is spoken or written is a verbal or textual form of a truth. For example, we say, “In the name of Allah, the Merciful and the most merciful”. This statement that we write or convey is a written and verbal representation of the enormous truth from which all worlds were created. Names have different divisions: Essence Names, Attributes Names, Verbs Name, Beauty Names, Glory Names, Similitude Names, Purifying Names, and other different divisions that exist for Names that we do not want to go into.
Islamic mystic says: “The Imam is the one who shows the truths of God’s names”. Islamic mystics say, “The Imam is the one who shows the truths of God’s names”. He is connected to the facts of these Names. God’s Names (the truths) have manifested, and the world has come into being. In Kumail’s prayer, we have: “I swear by Your names that the pillars of all things are filled with them”.
Imam Sadiq (A) stated in his interpretation of the verse, “To God belong the Most Beautiful Names, so call Him by them, and disregard those who blaspheme His names” (Al-A’raf:180): “I swear to God, we are those good names; God does not accept action from his servants without identifying us”. Imam is connected to the source (the truth of names). Every being is a manifestation of a Name, except for human, who is a manifestation of all Names. Even angels are not a manifestation of all God’s Names.
Can the ear see? The ear does not understand what it means to see, The eye does not understand what it means to hear, and the hand does not understand what it means to smell because the eye is a manifestation of seeing; the ear is a manifestation of hearing. Angels are also like this: Those who are the manifestation of mercy do not understand what anger means, and angels who are the manifestation of wrath do not understand the meaning of mercy.
Each creature is a manifestation of a Name, and a Human is a manifestation of all the Names. The Quranic verse says, “And He taught Adam the names, all of them; then he presented them to the angels, and said, Tell Me the names of these, if you are sincere” (Al-Baqara:31). Therefore, whatever you are looking at, you are looking at the divine Names. “This carpet under me was even one of the things that Adam was taught”, Imam Sadiq (A) said.
The one who connects to those high principles and unites with the reality of all God’s Names will have the power to overcome the world because he is connected with the cause of the world. (Keep in mind that he is still a creation and fully on God’s will; basically, he is still God’s manifestation, not a separate entity).
Let’s discuss the Imam’s position in philosophy point of view. Philosopher is a Greek word from “Philosophia” (Love of Reason). These were in contrast to the Sophists. The Ancient Greek word Sophia is the abstract of Sophos, which translates to “wise, intelligent”. The term philosophia was primarily used after the time of Plato, following his teacher Socrates. Socrates declared himself a philosopher (lover of intellect) in opposition to people who called themselves sophists (wise).
From an Islamic perspective, philosophy refers to the pursuit of understanding and knowledge of the truths of all things. A complete philosopher is aware of these truths, and he is called the Imam. It is said in the narration: The sign of the Imam is that we cannot ask the Imam a question, and he says, I don’t know, and the Imam speaks in all languages, not only the language of humans, not only the language of animals, but he knows the requirements of all things. The Imam knows the talent of all objects; that is, he knows their inherent requirements. Therefore, the fact that He is knowledgeable and aware of all languages means that he knows the talent and essence of things and knows their capabilities.
The objects that we see are the names of Allah that have manifested. In one interpretation, God’s name is divided into two types: 1- The Beauty Name (Jamal), and 2- The Glory Name (Jalal). We have heaven and hell: heaven is the manifestation of beauty, and hell is the manifestation of wrath or glory name. Similarly, angels are manifestations of Beauty Names, and evils are manifestations of Glory Names. Believers are manifestations of Beauty Names, and unbelievers are manifestations of Glory Names. The Imam is the manifestation of all God’s Names. Other saints or guardians who are the manifestations of other Names are a subset of the Imam.
The Name Allah is the one which includes all the Names. The Allah number in Abjad equals 66. The number of Arabic words in the following verse is also 66. “And He taught Adam the names, all of them; then he presented them to the angels, and said, Tell Me the names of these, if you are sincere” (Al-Baqara:31). In surah Ya-Sin which is called the heart of Quran in verse 12, we have: “It is We who revive the dead, and We write down what they have forwarded, and their traces. We have tallied all things in an Imam Mubin” (Ya-Sin:12).
Abu Bakr and Umar got up from their positions and said: O Messenger of God, is the Imam the one who has everything in it is the Torah? Prophet (S) said: No. They said: So, is it the Bible? Prophet (S) said: No. They said: So is it the Quran? He said: No. At this time, Ali (A) entered, and the Messenger of God (S), while pointing to him with his hand, said: This is the clear Imam. Without a doubt, he is an Imam. God has enumerated the knowledge of everything in him.
The knowledge of all things is gathered in the Imam. Imam Sadiq said: “I swear to God that we are the beautiful names of God”. Or Amir al-Mu’minin said: “I am the great Name of God”. I am that supreme manifestation. The Imam is like the window through which God manifests Himself. The Imam is united with all the Names of God, and we call such a person Imam.
Sheikh Eshraq stated: “I saw Aristotle in a divine vision, and I gave him the names of several well-known philosophers of the time”. Do you consider these to be philosophers? I asked. No, he replied. When I brought up the names of several mystics, such as Bayazid Bastami and Sahl Tostari, he said, “These are among the true philosophers”.
Apparently, philosophy and mysticism were synonymous in antiquity, and hence, mystics were referred to as philosophers. True philosophers like Plato and Aristotle documented their divine intuitions and visions. Later, the spiritual and intuitive sides were gradually abandoned, and others just debated and reasoned, whereas the old philosophers possessed intuitions and divine insights.
So, the Quran, philosophy, and mysticism say the same thing for the deep thinkers.
Muhammad Mahdi Me’marian
All praise is to God to the extent that He deserves it.
