"He it is Who sendeth down clear revelations unto His slave, that He may bring you forth from darkness unto light; and lo! for you, Allah is Full of Pity, Merciful."
— Holy Qur'an 57:9
Preparation for Golden Noorani and Golden Jubilee Didars :: Spiritual and Luminous Nazrana Sparks ::
Spark No. 12 :: The Power of Ism-i Azam (Supreme Name)
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
Ya Ali Madad! Idd-e-Milad un Nabi Mubarak! In preparation for the celebration of the birthday commemoration of our Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s.), I would like to draw upon three of his great spiritual and luminous experiences:
The silence in his heart;
The expansion of his heart; and
His experience of monoreality.
Ya Ali Madad! We have already learned about the silence of the heart of our Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s) [spark no.7], the expansion of his heart [spark no.10], and his experience of monoreality [spark no.11]. How was our Holy Prophet able to do all this? The answer is through the practice of Ism-i Azam (Bol). Let us study this topic in more detail:
The First Miracle of Hazrat Musa (a.s.)
"A miracle of a Prophet of God happens in the sense that he may vanquish his adversaries. Thus, the first miracle of Hazrat Musa (a.s.) was the staff (2:60; 7:107, 117, 160; 20:18; 26:32, 45, 63; 27:10; 28:31). The tawil (wisdom) of the staff is the ism-i azam, the Supreme Name, and its living miracle, namely the luminous Divine remembrance, which due to its being the most sublime and supreme, is the fountainhead of cosmic power. Indeed, it is the ism-i azam, in whose position the light of Prophethood and the light of Imamat does everything. Another ta'wil of it is the demonstration of Intellect. Thus, at the place of the Soul, the ism-i azam, and at the place of the Intellect, the light of knowledge, work as the staff of Hazrat Musa and a dragon, by which all the powers of evil and opposition are destroyed." [Source: Coolness of the Eye, pages 81-82]
Dhikr of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s.)
"From the numerous Qur'anic verses it is an established fact that the Prophet had spiritual relation and the luminous connection with the blessed ism-i azam (Supreme Name) of his Lord. The Prophet used to remember the ism-i azam and its accompanying great names (asma 'uzzam) of God before and after attaining the status of prophethood, and God had made him the treasurer of the spiritualism, luminousness, knowledge and wisdom of all His great names." [Source: Divine Remembrance, page 17]
The achievement of Salman-i Farsi
"According to a Prophetic Tradition Salman-i Farsi had the honour of being included among the pure Ahl-i bayt. This is such a practical reality that in it there cannot be any doubt. Thus the sun of light also rose in the pure personality of Salman-i Farsi and in this shining example, there is good news for mu'mins with high ambition. For this spiritual ascension and elevation is not limited only to Salman-i Farsi, but it is that all embracing favour which every mu'min can attain after effacing and annihilating himself in the light of guidance. The verse (15:21) of the Holy Qur'an describes the treasury of God as follows: "And there is not a thing but its (sources and) treasures (inexhaustible) are with Us; but We only send down thereof in due and ascertainable measures." Therefore, if one makes an effort, then can there be any bounty in the Divine treasures from which one remains deprived?" [Source: Coolness of the Eye, page 43]
Ism-i Azam as a Person and Ism-i Azam as a Word
"The supreme name of God is called ism-i azam, which is in a human form, not in a verbal form. However, it can also become verbal only if the living name of God (the Imam of the time) makes it his representative. That is, when the true Imam, who is the ism-i azam of God in the form of a person, grants a verbal name of God to a fortunate mu'min, by permission of God which lies in the ulu'l-amr (i.e., the Imam of the time), it also becomes a verbal ism-i azam and begins to do its miraculous work. Thus when the mu'min-i salik in his spiritual journey reaches the confluence of the two oceans, there the fish of dhikr revives and enters the ocean of spirituality and at this place there is Hazrat Khidr also. The word khidr stems from khadira (to be green) by which is meant ruhu'l-hayat (the spirit with true life), namely, the Imam of the time, who is the spiritual teacher." [Source: Rubies and Pearls, pages 105-106]
Tawil of the word 'Zaraba' (he struck (an example))
"It is said in verse (14:24): "Have you not seen how Allah has set forth a parable? A pure word is like a pure tree, whose root is firmly fixed and whose branch is in heaven." The pure word is the ism-i a'zam, which a pious murid receives from the Imam of the time, and the pure tree is the blessed personality of the Imam of the time himself. Among these, one ism-i a'zam is in the form of a personality and the other is in the form of a word. But the very great miracle of God is that in the personal world both become one. That is, the word becomes the blessed light of the Imam." [Source: Tawil 527: A Thousand Wisdoms] (Pages 280-281)
In his message to students in Bombay, NOOR Mowlana Shah Sultan Muhammad Shah Al-Husayni (a.s.) explained about the fundamental principle of our Holy faith:
" ... While the material conditions of life change, the spiritual conditions which are not only limited to this life but go beyond, are based on one fundamental principle, namely search for enlightenment by the right spiritual contact with the light of your holy faith."[Source: Precious Pearls. No. 43]
The ism-i azam (bol) is in its potential form when it is bestowed to a murid by the Holy Imam. When the murid follows all the practices of the faith and practices bandagi, i.e., the luminious prayer with a luminous word at a luminous time in the small watches of the night, the ism-i azam becomes actualized. The enlightened murid witnesses that the ism-i azam (bol) has become the light of Holy Imam in his/her forehead. A murid who achieves this loft status becomes a real spiritual and luminous child of the Holy Imam! Al-Hamdulillah, all this is possible because it is in the treasury of our Holy Imam, Noor Mowlana Shah Karim Al-Hussaini Hazar Imam (a.s.)!
Golden Noorani and Golden Jubilee Didar Preparations:
In preparation for Golden Noorani and Golden Jubilee Didars, let us practise our faith with conviction by attending Jamat Khana regularly, submitting dasond, saying three Duas on time, practising bandagi because it is a luminous prayer, reciting angelic salwats, performing abundant dhikr, performing volunteer service, balancing din and duniya, and accumulating material, spiritual and luminous nazranas in our personal worlds. Educational resources for these activities are listed under the knowledge bank link in left side menu.
Dhikr Tasbis for Each Day of the Week:
Please follow these links for dhikr tasbis for each day. These pages contain the text, meaning and mp3 sound tracks. Dhikr tasbis are a magnificient way to reach the stage of constant remembrance and prepare for a spiritual and luminious nazrana in our personal worlds.
Global Prayer:
Ya Ali, Ya NOOR Mowlana Shah Karim Al-Hussaini Hazar Imam, grant us, our families, our Jamats, the worldwide Jamat, the Muslim Ummah, and humanity at large, luminous (noorani) and spiritual (ruhani) tayid (help) to advance materially, spiritually and intellectually.
O Mowla make us One global Jamat with One Sound Heart (Qalb-i Salim), bless us with the Golden Noorani and the Golden Jubilee Didars, and empower us to present Material, Spiritual and Luminous Nazranas. Ameen.
Haizinda — Qayampaya (Our Present Imam is Living and His NOOR is Eternal)
Peace, Light, Barakat, Tayid and a 'Golden Noorani Didar',
Noorallah Juma
SalmanSpiritual.com
Monday, April 9, 2007