RE: The name of God thread.
June 24, 2018 at 9:08 pm
(This post was last modified: June 24, 2018 at 9:14 pm by Mystic.)
Chapter 2 - The Cow
This chapter is the longest chapter in Quran and it begins with something very important about God's Name with respect to God's book.
"By the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful, Alif, Lam, Meem. (1) That book there is no doubt in it a guidance for those who guard/fear (the pious). (2:1-2)"
Alif Lam Meem in this place according to a hadith attributed to one the Twelve Imams, means, "I am God the King". However the subtle way we can know this, I won't get into here.
What is clear with little reflection, is that, it's only when the book is coupled with God's Name that there is no doubt in it a guidance for those who guard/fear (the Mutaqeen). Whatever the guidance is and whatever the book is, and whatever the truth is, it must be approached with due diligence.
In fact, it's insane to think that a book from God if not approached with piety and guarding, can benefit us. This is because the book of God is meant to guide out the way of errors, which means we don't think correctly to start with. It's here to facilitate guidance and make us reflect properly. If it's approached playfully without any reverence, even if one is not sure it's from God, it will not benefit.
But why is that? The next verse shows why the name of God is essentially needed as well.
"Those who believe what which is hidden....".
The Arabs were well acquainted with hidden beings, magic, and spiritual realm, so it was not about believing in things beyond five senses, but rather, as one of the Imams (as) argues, that this verse refers to the proof which is told in another verse "Those who disbelieve say why not a sign/proof is brought down? Say: The hiding/hidden (ie. of the sign) is only for God, so wait, we too are of those who wait."
It refers to then those who believe the proof of God which to a degree is hidden and not manifest. Another verse says "Those who disbelieve say why not a sign/proof is brought down? Say: You are only a warner and for every people there is a guide."
This is the reality, the name of God is not a physical manifest thing, and he has hidden his name in a human. The perfect human is brought out (Moses) from the unseen river (Jaffar).
It's essential to believe in the hidden nature of proof and connection to God as God is manifestly hidden and hiddenly manifest, and although this seems paradoxical, it is not.
Through his signs and proofs he his manifest, but, all this requires reasoning, and reasoning is unseen and hidden, and the spiritual world, even if perceived 100%, takes vision of the 3rd eye which needs acceptance of that sense and what it sees.
As God's Name is hidden and manifest, a mystery and an obvious reality, guidance is essentially not possible without it's company. And this is again shows why God is needed for goodness or objectively morality. As morality is guidance and the guidance is unseen and the path is unseen, and the proof is hidden, goodness itself and the proof for it is a hidden reality.
The reality of goodness and what's it's true nature, per this verse, is "holding on to the name of God" and if a religion or holy book is to be approached, it needs God's Name to verify it and testify to it, and to be guided by it.
With the company of God's Name that book which is the manifestation of "I am God the King", becomes a guidance.
This expressed in Saheefa Sajjadiya: "The guided are only guided by the light of your face".
We will look how the Surah continues to flow with respect to this subject and elaborate it.
This chapter is the longest chapter in Quran and it begins with something very important about God's Name with respect to God's book.
"By the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful, Alif, Lam, Meem. (1) That book there is no doubt in it a guidance for those who guard/fear (the pious). (2:1-2)"
Alif Lam Meem in this place according to a hadith attributed to one the Twelve Imams, means, "I am God the King". However the subtle way we can know this, I won't get into here.
What is clear with little reflection, is that, it's only when the book is coupled with God's Name that there is no doubt in it a guidance for those who guard/fear (the Mutaqeen). Whatever the guidance is and whatever the book is, and whatever the truth is, it must be approached with due diligence.
In fact, it's insane to think that a book from God if not approached with piety and guarding, can benefit us. This is because the book of God is meant to guide out the way of errors, which means we don't think correctly to start with. It's here to facilitate guidance and make us reflect properly. If it's approached playfully without any reverence, even if one is not sure it's from God, it will not benefit.
But why is that? The next verse shows why the name of God is essentially needed as well.
"Those who believe what which is hidden....".
The Arabs were well acquainted with hidden beings, magic, and spiritual realm, so it was not about believing in things beyond five senses, but rather, as one of the Imams (as) argues, that this verse refers to the proof which is told in another verse "Those who disbelieve say why not a sign/proof is brought down? Say: The hiding/hidden (ie. of the sign) is only for God, so wait, we too are of those who wait."
It refers to then those who believe the proof of God which to a degree is hidden and not manifest. Another verse says "Those who disbelieve say why not a sign/proof is brought down? Say: You are only a warner and for every people there is a guide."
This is the reality, the name of God is not a physical manifest thing, and he has hidden his name in a human. The perfect human is brought out (Moses) from the unseen river (Jaffar).
It's essential to believe in the hidden nature of proof and connection to God as God is manifestly hidden and hiddenly manifest, and although this seems paradoxical, it is not.
Through his signs and proofs he his manifest, but, all this requires reasoning, and reasoning is unseen and hidden, and the spiritual world, even if perceived 100%, takes vision of the 3rd eye which needs acceptance of that sense and what it sees.
As God's Name is hidden and manifest, a mystery and an obvious reality, guidance is essentially not possible without it's company. And this is again shows why God is needed for goodness or objectively morality. As morality is guidance and the guidance is unseen and the path is unseen, and the proof is hidden, goodness itself and the proof for it is a hidden reality.
The reality of goodness and what's it's true nature, per this verse, is "holding on to the name of God" and if a religion or holy book is to be approached, it needs God's Name to verify it and testify to it, and to be guided by it.
With the company of God's Name that book which is the manifestation of "I am God the King", becomes a guidance.
This expressed in Saheefa Sajjadiya: "The guided are only guided by the light of your face".
We will look how the Surah continues to flow with respect to this subject and elaborate it.
