Why Knowing the Name of God Is Not Enough

To know the name of something is not necessarily to know what it is. We may repeat a name, revere it, and even build our lives around it, while remaining strangers to the reality the name is meant to reveal.

This is especially true of the name “God.” To explore the difference between knowing the Name and knowing what lies behind it, imagine God as a city—a city whose names, attributes, walls, and doors reveal different dimensions of a reality that cannot be contained by any one of them.

What Is the City?

When we hear the word “city,” we naturally picture a place with gates, streets, and houses. Yet the city we are speaking of here is not made of stone, nor is it ordinarily visible to the eye—although, in a sense, it can become perceptible. It is a city of meanings and perfect, ideal qualities, where every attribute points to something, and every name serves as a sign. Whenever creation turns toward these names and qualities, it is, in reality, turning toward the city itself.

This city is known as “Allah” “God”—a name that is very familiar to us. This well-known name belongs to that wondrous city whose citizens are the divine perfections embodied in the perfect attributes and Most Beautiful Names.

However, these citizens do not necessarily define or fully encompass their wondrous city. They strive to do so, especially through their collective effort and cooperation. Yet this wondrous city has a unique essence, distinct from these names and attributes. All of them, whether together or individually, even though they are complete and perfect, cannot comprehend this particular secret or the complete reality. This is because this essence has no counterpart among them.

Each of these names reveals one aspect of the city, but none of them encompasses the whole of it. Al-Rahman is not the whole reality, Al-Rahim is not the whole reality, and the Creator is not the whole reality. Yet the closer they come to the center of the city, the more they come together, efface one another, and ultimately efface themselves into the essence, until only “Allah” remains.

This divine city must have a wall that surrounds and protects it. And this wall, like every wall, has an inner and an outer side—an inner face and an outer face. The wall is part of the city. The citizens of the city become familiar with and interact with the inner side of the wall from its inner face, while those outside encounter its outer side. The inner face of the city wall is more beautiful than its outer face.

Entry into the city is permitted through a single opening in the wall that serves as the door. This door directly faces everyone who is outside. The door also has an outer and an inner side. Its inner side is part of the inner face of the wall surrounding the city, while its outer side is part of the outer face, which confronts those visitors standing at the door seeking entry. It is also part of the city itself.

The outer side of this door is “Al-Rahman,” and its inner side is “Al-Rahim.” In other words, the door represents divine mercy through different ways, means, and degrees, yet both belong to and point to the divine nature of mercy. In certain circumstances, the door appears outwardly as “Al-Wahid Al-Qahhar,” confronting any hostility that may come from some of those standing at the door seeking entry. Yet the inner side of “Al-Qahhar” always remains merciful.

This reminds us of the Holy Qur’an, where all the surahs of the Qur’an begin with “Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Rahim,” except for one: Surat Al-Tawbah, which was revealed concerning the hypocrites. At its beginning, the basmala is not written; rather, implicitly, it begins with “Bismillah Al-Wahid Al-Qahhar.” The Qur’an represents the divine city, “Allah,” in the form of a book.

And just as the city manifests itself in a holy book, it is possible—indeed, certain—that the city manifests itself in other forms and in different worlds, with its form differing from one world to another. Just as we speak of a divine city in heaven, so too is there one on earth. Allah, Glorified and Exalted, said in the Holy Qur’an:

﴾And He is the One who is [the only] deity in heaven and [the only] deity on earth, and He is the All-Wise, the All-Knowing.﴿ [Qur’an, Az-Zukhruf 43:84]

How, then, can we recognize the divine city on earth, as it is recognized in heaven? Allah, who sent the Qur’an down to us, has placed us in a logical dilemma so that we may reflect and reason. How can we recognize the divine perfections on earth? Just as they are created entities interacting in heaven, they must also be so on earth.

He has placed us in an even greater logical dilemma by commanding us to make the worship of Him the central purpose of our lives as human beings. Does this mean that we are to worship a God sitting on a throne in heaven? Most religious people do so, whether they acknowledge it or not. For them, the matter is formal and superficial, even tribal. In reality, they do not truly worship; and even if they do, they do not know what they are worshipping. Allah wants us to worship with knowledge, while these people worship through ignorance. The preceding verse from the Holy Qur’an places everyone in a predicament.

As created beings—as human beings—it is difficult for us to perceive what is beyond the reality of our own selves. The Creator is uncreated. Allah resolved this dilemma through what is known as manifestation—a divine method that has become hidden from humanity today, although it has always existed. It is right before their eyes, yet they are heedless of it.

He clearly states that just as He is a God in heaven, worshipped by the beings of heaven, He is also a God on earth. Therefore, just as Allah is a city in heaven that gathers the names and attributes, He is also a city on earth that gathers the names and attributes, according to the nature of this earthly world and its causes.

And just as the Holy Qur’an was an image of this city in the form of a holy book, the city, Allah, can likewise take the form of a human being—and this is a higher rank than the book.

Just as there is Al-Rahman Al-Rahim (the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful) in heaven, there is Al-Rahman Al-Rahim on earth, in an earthly form, as well as Al-Razzaq (the Sustainer), Ash-Shakur (the Grateful), As-Sabur (the Most Patient), Al-Karim (the Most Generous), Al-Alim (the All-Knowing), and so on. And just as the divine city in heaven has a door, a wall, and an essence, there must likewise be a form or manifestation of these on earth.

The manifestation or form that Allah chose as the highest representation of the city and its perfections was the human form.

“So God created the human being according to His image. According to the image of God He created him.”[Genesis 1:27]

How can human beings recognize God, His Most Beautiful Names, and His divine attributes in the human form, which is subject to the conditions, nature, and laws of the earthly world, so that He may be worshipped?  And before that, how can the names and attributes within the human form come to know themselves? And how can God, who gathers them all, know Himself in the form of earth?

How can human beings accept the manifestation of divinity and lordship within creation? It is an extremely sensitive matter—one that causes people to hold their breath and provokes campaigns of threats, accusations of disbelief, security persecution, religious persecution, fabricated charges in this world, and threats of eternal torment in the Fire in the Hereafter.

This is especially true when such opposition comes from those regarded as sacred, who appear before people in religious roles and titles such as jurists, scholars, and religious authorities. They promote and create doubts about these matters, claiming that they are heresy.

Despite the simplicity and clarity of the matter, and its complete harmony with reason, logic, and what is found in their own holy books, the reaction is nevertheless like this. It has a profound effect on people: it frightens them, prevents them from even considering the possibility of thinking for themselves, and can lead them, through their ignorance, to be used and mobilized against anyone who draws their attention to the truth.

These are the people who have taught them that God is worshipped through fear and ignorance, rather than through love and knowledge.

I advise everyone who has been disturbed by these words to relax, take a deep breath, continue reading, and then download the Book of Monotheism by Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan from our website and read it carefully in order to understand it.

For creation on earth to know God and the divine perfections, God wanted these perfections to manifest in them and in their lives. This divine will comes from God’s great love for us. Just as He created us through love and knows us, He wants us to know Him, love Him, and become like Him.

The manifestations of His names and attributes within us point us toward Him, bring us closer to Him, and enable us to know Him. And to the extent of our love for Him, we strive to become like Him.

No one can deny that every perfection we know, every good we perceive, and every mercy, knowledge, or wisdom whose effects we witness in our lives ultimately originates from God. Nevertheless, our understanding of these names and attributes remains limited.

We understand what mercy means, but we cannot encompass all of divine mercy. We know something about wisdom, but we cannot comprehend the perfection of divine wisdom—let alone understand and comprehend all the names and attributes together.

The Divine City on Earth

Understanding and recognizing these Names and attributes, or the Name of  God “Allah”, does not come through merely knowing the words. Rather, it comes through understanding how they are manifested in creation and within ourselves. Mercy, for example, can be seen in a mother caring for her child, in an animal protecting its young, or in a creature caring for one who is weak.

These forms do not represent divine mercy in its perfection; rather, they represent a manifestation of it. The mercy that appears in a creature is not independent of God. Rather, it is one of the effects of His mercy and a limited reflection of His attribute.

Likewise, knowledge appears in the human being, wisdom appears in some of his actions, beauty appears in nature, and strength appears in some creatures. All of this indicates that the attributes and Names of Allah can manifest in creation to different degrees.

The human being is the creature most capable of allowing these divine perfections to shine from his heart, so that they are reflected in his thoughts, words, and actions. This is on the condition that he purifies his heart of selfishness and ignorance, and submit to and obey one who is the most knowledgeable, so that he may acquire his knowledge and become like him. In this way, he becomes more prepared for his heart to radiate these attributes in a purer and more comprehensive manner, until they reach a level close to perfection.

The prophets and messengers, the Ulul-Azm messengers, the Imams, and the Mahdis, whom God described as His vicegerents on earth and as His veils through whom He faces creation and through whom He communicates and interacts with them, are examples of those who reached this spiritual elevation and sublimity on earth. Likewise, the true martyrs, the righteous, the saints, and their counterparts among the sincere Companions and Shi'a are the lookalikes of them.

The purest and most luminous among them, those who succeeded in reflecting an ideal image of God as a city that gathers all the divine attributes and perfections, are the Ahlul Bayt, whom God purified from every impurity, led by the Messenger Mohammed, the noblest of creation among them. Allah faced creation through them as His ideal image on earth, yet they themselves never departed from the station of perfect servitude to God. Who can deny this? Thus, the proposition concerning the ideal image of God on earth, or the optimal manifestation of God on earth, has become logically acceptable to us.

Mohammed was the perfect servant of God who reached the distance of two bow lengths or nearer, and thus effaced himself in the veil of His light and greatness. For he is His servant “Abdullah” and His messenger. The Messenger Mohammed was able to become the most knowledgeable of God, until he became God in creation. He became the manifestation of this ideal divine city on earth, and the Door was Ali, while the inner side of the Door was Fatimah.

Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan explained this in detail in the Book of Monotheism, which is in complete agreement with the hadith of the Messenger Mohammed when he said:

“I am the City of Knowledge, and Ali is its door; whoever seeks knowledge, let him come through the door.”Al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihayn, vol. 3, p. 126

The Wall of the City

We return to the Wall of the city that surrounds its boundaries—that great Wall erected to define its scope and separate it from what lies outside it. Everything within the city is part of it, and the Wall itself is part of it. It is the veil and boundary of the city; it protects it and separates its inhabitants from those who live outside it. And this Wall, as we have said, has an outer side and an inner side.

Whoever stands outside it does not see the city as the one who has entered it sees it. He sees the Wall first, and thus the Wall becomes, for him, the outward image of the city. As for the one who has entered it, he sees the inner side of the Wall, and through it he sees what those standing outside cannot see.

From within the city, the Wall is beautiful, decorated, and welcoming. Plants grow upon it, colors cover it, and it brings tranquility and security to its people. But from the outside, it appears severe and rough, fortified, with spears protruding from it to repel invaders. Thus, its outward side is torment for the one standing outside it in hostility, while its inner side is mercy for the one living safely within it. This means that the face that confronts those who are hostile is not the same face that confronts those who possess allegiance and faith.

Perhaps the clearest depiction of this meaning is found in this verse of the Qur'an:

﴾So a wall will be placed between them, having a gate; its interior contains mercy, while its exterior faces the torment.﴿[Qur'an, Al-Hadid 57:13]

This verse almost describes the Wall of the city itself: its inner side is mercy, while its outer side is torment. What is meant is not that mercy and torment are two contradictory things in the Wall. Rather, they are two manifestations of the One, appearing to each human being according to his position and station in relation to it.

This is what we see in the stories of the prophets. Moses was the Name that directly dealt with the Children of Israel and confronted Pharaoh. He was the Wall. His outward side, in confronting Pharaoh, was strength and torment; the one who stood before him in hostility saw nothing but the signs and punishments that descended upon Pharaoh and his people. As for the Children of Israel, who entered into obedience to him and established the commandments and the law, they saw the other face of the same self: they saw mercy, care, and salvation. He brought them out from Pharaoh, parted the sea for them, shaded them with the clouds, and provided them with manna.

Then came Jesus, and he was the Name and the Wall that faced creation. He performed miracles, spoke with wisdom, completed the Law, and called people to God through what appeared to them through him. Thus, he was a veil between them and what lay beyond him, and a sign pointing to the city into which they had not yet entered.

Then came Mohammed, and he was the Wall that surrounded the city of Medina. He came with the law and rulings, established the boundaries of religion, protected the city from its enemies, and repelled whoever sought to storm it or destroy it. Therefore, when Mohammed said, “I am the City of Knowledge,” the city is not only what lies behind the Wall; the Wall itself is part of it. Mohammed is the Name, and he is the Wall and the veil that faces the world and protects the city filled with knowledge, treasures, and secrets.

A person may accept the apparent aspect of what Moses brought, believe in what Jesus brought, and follow the law of Mohammed, yet within him there remains a thirst that the apparent aspect of religion alone cannot quench. He wants to know more. He wants to know Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed more deeply, and to know the God of Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed more deeply, and to move beyond the apparent aspect of the Name to the inner aspect and the Essence that surpass the perfections themselves.

Such people do not want to destroy the Wall or overcome it by force. Rather, they want to enter the center of the city. They want to know what lies beyond the outward, and to reach the inner side of the city and its secrets.

But the Wall cannot be crossed from just any place, and the city does not open its gates to everyone who stands at its boundaries. So who will take these people by the hand from the boundaries and bring them into the heart of the city? Who will lead them from the outward side of the Wall to its inner side, and from knowing the Name to knowing the Meaning?

The Door

The Door is what provides these people with the opportunity. As we indicated, the Door of the city is part of its Wall, through which those seeking entry enter the city. Its function is not to protect the inhabitants of the city from those entering it, but rather to provide safe passage for those whose intention is good.

Thus, the Door becomes the passage through which a person can move from being outside the city to becoming one of its inhabitants, and from being a person standing outside to becoming a citizen among the people of the city. It gives him the possibility of moving from seeing the outer side of the Wall to seeing its inner side, and from seeing the city from outside to entering it.

After submitting a request at the Door, people can reach the correct understanding of religion and attain a higher knowledge that takes them beyond the Sharia and its rulings. It takes them from the outward and leads them to the inward. It is a link between the outside and the inside, and between the outward and the inward. For what is intended by the Door is not a door to the Name, but rather a door to the Meaning.

In the time of the Messenger Mohammed, the Door was, at certain times, Ali ibn Abi Talib, and at other times it was Salman. Likewise, Simon Peter was, for a time, the Door to Jesus, and Joshua son of Nun was the Door to Moses.

The Meaning

The Meaning is the very Essence of the city from within. It is deeper than what we have come to know about the Name of the city, which is the Name “Allah.” This Essence has nothing like it and cannot be described, so it is referred to as “He, “Huwa”.  Yet it also manifests. Just as He is in heaven, He is also on earth. Not only Allah and the Most Beautiful Names. Rather, He manifests in a way that people can understand and reach.

The Meaning “Huwa” is the greatest manifestation of God “Allah” in creation that people can attain, but they cannot attain it directly. Rather, they must pass through “the Door.” Just as the Door takes a person from the outside to the inside, it also takes him from the Name to the Meaning.

And when this meaning manifests, it does not appear to people in the form of an abstract idea or written knowledge, but rather in the form of another human being.

He comes in the form of the most perfect disciple, the successor of the Name, the one who lived his entire life receiving all the teachings of the Messenger, both the apparent and the gnostic teachings, and absorbing them until those teachings were no longer merely words or rulings for him, but became something that flowed within his very existence. He absorbs the true meanings hidden behind the actions and teachings, and understands them all, until they manifest within him and he becomes these meanings. Here, he transforms from merely a follower of the message into the Essence of the message.

He does not need to spread the same message that the Veil, the Name, or the Wall spread. The apparent message has become accessible to everyone; everyone knows it, and it has become clear and defined. Rather, his role has become to enable people to reach what is higher: that which the “Wall” knew because he was part of the city—indeed, he was the city itself—but which he did not confront people with.

The Meaning in the Time of Moses

Moses was the one who conveyed the commandments and the law from Allah to the Children of Israel. His young companion was Joshua son of Nun, who remained with him at all times, overseeing his service, carrying out what he assigned to him, and learning from him. We must not forget that he also learned from Moses' teacher, Al-Khidr, the righteous servant. He was the ideal disciple and was a Door for Moses for some time after the death of Aaron.

However, he advanced through the degrees of manifestation from the Door to the Essence and the Meaning. Moses was the Wall, and he was the one who made the Children of Israel acquainted with the rulings and the law—that is, the apparent aspect of the message. Through this law and the apparent aspect of the message, generations of the Children of Israel in the wilderness were trained and refined. But Joshua son of Nun was charged with realizing the objective of Moses' apparent message: preparing and laying the groundwork, through power and knowledge, for the Kingdom of God with a qualified generation of the Children of Israel. He possessed the knowledge and secrets through which he was able to accomplish this. To lead the new generation of Israel from the wilderness to the Promised Land.

The Meaning in the Time of Jesus

In the time of Jesus, the Meaning was Simon Peter. Jesus used to say that he spoke in parables, and the apparent aspect of his words did not represent the entire message. There were hidden gems and meanings that he revealed only to those close to him. We have a few examples of this in the Gospel. Among them is the event of the Transfiguration, where Simon Peter was present, and he was acquainted with much of Jesus' esoteric knowledge. He learned from him many secrets and matters that the general public did not learn. Therefore, it is natural that the message of Simon Peter would be different from the message of Jesus.

Jesus is very famous throughout the world. He came with a particular message and conveyed it. As for Simon Peter, who came after him, very few people know much about him or followed his explanations and teachings. Even the sources that have reached us do not contain much about him; indeed, a large part of the New Testament of the Bible was not written by Simon Peter.

The Meaning in the Time of the Prophet Mohammed

In the time of the Prophet Mohammed, the Meaning was Ali. He was the Door at one point, but he advanced to become the Meaning. This was evident in the Pledge of Ghadir Khumm, when the Prophet Mohammed appointed Imam Ali as the “Wali”. The Wilayah is the Essence and inner aspect of the message of the Prophet Mohammed.

There was no need for Ali ibn Abi Talib to go out and repeat to the Muslim community everything that Mohammed had brought concerning the apparent aspect. Nor was his function to teach people that there was something called the Qur'an, or to teach them about ablution, prayer, fasting, zakat, charity, and pilgrimage. All these outward acts belonged to the external part of the Wall, that is, to the Name. That was the function and role of the Name.

As for what can be reached through Ali ibn Abi Talib, it is the inner meaning hidden behind these acts of worship, as well as other knowledge and secrets.

The Meaning in the Time of Imam Mohammed ibn Al-Hasan Al-Askari

This leads us to Mohammed and Ahmed. It is narrated from Imam Al-Baqir that he said:

“'Al-Qa'im' The Riser has two names: a name that is hidden and a name that is announced. As for the one that is hidden, it is Ahmed; and as for the one that is announced, it is Mohammed.” Kamal al-Din wa Tamam al-Ni'mah, vol. 2, p. 653.

They are the manifestation of God in two ranks through two separate persons, working together as one system. One of them carries the message. Therefore, when people think of Imam Al-Mahdi, they think of Mohammed ibn Al-Hasan Al-Askari, while only a few know Ahmed Al-Hassan. He is the successor and the Yamani, that is, the one who is on the right of the Proof. At one point in time, he was the Door to Imam al-Mahdi.

He appeared in the year 1999 and said that he was a messenger from Mohammed ibn Al-Hasan to the Muslims, a messenger from Jesus to the Christians, and a messenger from Elijah to the Jews.

Thus, Mohammed ibn Al-Hasan in this time is like the Messenger of Allah Mohammed, and like Jesus, representing the Wall and the Name. That very famous Name which all creation knows.

Then there is the other element: the hidden element, but at the same time, the essence of the message of Mohammed ibn Al-Hasan Al-Askari.

When people mention Mohammed ibn Al-Hasan Al-Askari, that figure of the Mahdi who establishes justice and equity on earth after it has been filled with injustice and oppression, they do not know how he will be able to accomplish this. They do not know his cause in its meanings. They do not know the meaning of justice or the meaning of oppression. They do not know the supremacy of God. They do not know the meaning of the Rise or the meaning of the Divine Justice State. They do not know the enemy and the friend, the truth and falsehood, good and evil in this cause.

These meanings were not known, nor did a qualitative shift occur in people's consciousness regarding this divine project, which ultimately culminates in people understanding how to worship God on earth as He is worshipped by the higher entities in heaven, and how the divine city was established on earth as it is in heaven, except through what Ahmed Al-Hassan presented of meanings.

We were astray and did not know what the Book was until the Yamani, Ahmed Al-Hassan appeared. He is the Meaning. He is the hidden, inner manifestation and the Meaning of Mohammed ibn al-Hasan, his call, his rise, and his project.

Thus, those who wanted to perceive and understand what Mohammed ibn Al-Hasan Al-Askari represents, despite his Name having been known for more than twelve hundred years, did not understand or know this except through Ahmed Al-Hassan.

Through the preceding examples, we are now able to understand the difference between the Name and the Meaning.

The Name is what people know and speak about, while the Meaning is what lies behind that Name, and what a person cannot reach unless he enters deeper into the message.

Also, the Meaning cannot be loved except by one who truly believes, because those who are truly able to reach it are those who enter into faith and are not content with standing at the apparent aspect of the message, but rather strive toward that further step. Indeed, they are prepared to enter the Fire of purification and emerge pure like gold for its sake.

The Trinity System

Thus, manifestation in the human vessel is the presence of God in creation in three ranks that work together as one system.

The first is the apparent Name, which faces people and reaches them.

The second is the Essence and Meaning hidden behind this apparent aspect.

The third is the link between them, which takes the believer from the apparent to the inner, and from the manifest to the hidden: the Door.

These roles are not necessarily fixed in one person at all times. A person may perform more than one role at different times, and this does not affect the system in any way. What changes are the roles and the persons, while the system remains as it is. All of them are from one light that divides itself to perform specific assignments, each serving the other and guiding people to the knowledge and the purpose of their creation: that they become like God, so that they may not be slaves, but rather free.

Whoever knows the Name has begun the journey. Whoever enters through the Door has gone beyond the apparent. And whoever reaches the Meaning has known the truth.