REVIEW:
Reviewed by Farida M. Said
http://www.dawn.com/weekly/books/books8.htm
Every once in a while a book comes along that combines both thought and research so completely, so intuitively, that it becomes a classic, offering the reader a wealth of information. The Names of Allah is such a book.
Author Parvez Dewan, an officer of the Indian Administrative Service, is the divisional commissioner of Kashmir and the executive head of the Jammu and Kashmir Haj Committee. In his first posting as the sub-divisional magistrate of Basohli he revived the Basohli School of Miniature Painting, which had vanished a century and a quarter before. Here, in this authoritative new book, he discusses in several aspects the complex subject of the Supreme Being’s sacred names.
The word Allah, Arabic for God, was known and used before the Holy Quran was revealed; for example, the name of the Prophet’s father was AbdAllah (Abdullah), or the ‘Servant of God’. Referred to as Al Ism Al Azam - the Greatest Name - and as the Ism uz Zaat - the essential, personal name - Allah is Allah’s name only. Nothing else can in any way assume this name nor share it. The proper name of the Creator, the name Allah is not confined to Islam alone; it is also the name by which Arabic-speaking Christians of the eastern churches (Copts, Maronites) call upon God.
In Islam, Allah is also known by ninety-nine other attributes collectively called “the most beautiful names.” (Al Asmaa ul Husnaa). These are divided into the names of the essence (Asma adh Dhat) and the names of the qualities (Asma as Sifaat). The divine names are also divided into names of majesty (Jalal) and awe, and the names of beauty (Jamal), or mercy.
The names of Allah that have been mentioned in the Holy Quran are called Taufiqi. In addition to the attributes of Allah found in the Holy Quran, there are those found in supplications and popular pious writings such as the Avraad and the Dua, Ganj ul Arsh. There are also a number of compound names such as Alim ul Ghaibi wa Shahadati (‘He Who Knows Everything Concealed or Obvious’), Ghafir uz Zambi wa Qabil ut Taubi (‘He Who Forgives Sins and Accepts Repentance’), Al Musabib ul Asbaab, (‘He Who Creates Solutions’), Raafi al Darajat (‘Possesor of Exalted Ranks’), Khayr al Warithin (‘The Best of Inheritors’), and others.
This copiously researched book contains the most popularly accepted ninety-nine names of Allah along with the several lesser-known attributes. These sacred names are given in Arabic and phonetic English, with English translations and explanatory notes.
Enhancing the appeal of The Names of Allah is a comprehensive introduction that deals with several canons, each of which differs slightly in the names included and the sequence followed. Of the traditional canons, all agree on forty-nine of the best-known names of Allah. Thus As Sabur is the last name in most of the canons while the name Ar Rahman, ‘The Merciful One’, a name of the essence, almost invariably the first. In all canons it comes second, after the name Allah. In the Holy Quran it appears almost as a synonym for Allah.
Over the centuries several popular lists of divine names have been circulating amongst Muslims. These traditional canons do not differ with each other along sectarian (Shia/Sunni) or national lines. Nor are there any major differences regarding the benefits of recitation, of how each name or attribute can be used as invocation to restore the soul to proper balance. For example, when one is sick, the appropriate attribute to call upon is ‘The Healer’ (Al Shaafi). When one is in a state of agitation, calling upon Allah as Ya Salaam-u (‘The Bestower of Peace’), will bring tranquillity and wholesomeness of heart.
Dhikr (or Zikr) Allah, or remembrance of God, refers to the invocation of the divine names. In Islam dhikr is an act of worship: “Remember Me; I [God] will remember you.” (2:152) and “Invoke the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him with utter devotion”(73:8). For the sufis, dhikr is a spiritual method of concentration, the invocation of a divine name or a sacred formula, under the direction of a spiritual master belonging to an authentic chain of transmission (silsilah). The dhikr, or invocation should, of course, be accompanied by the observance of all other fitting religious rituals and virtues. It cannot be practised without adhering to the religion that vehicles and surrounds the method and the doctrine.
Drawing upon the views of various scholars regarding the attributes of Allah, the categorization of these names, and, most importantly, the benefits of reciting them, Parvez Dewan has given us a thorough and accessible contemporary interpretation of the different aspects of the Supreme Being.
The Names of Allah
By Parvez Dewan
Penguin India
For more information log on to www.penguinbooksindia.com
ISBN 0-67-004956-5
186pp. Indian Rs295