Spiritual Health Learning Community Center Exploring Life's Horizons   »   Streams Menu All the Revealed Books are contained in the Qur'an. And, the meaning of the Qur'an is contained within Surah Al-Fatiha. And, the meaning of Surah Al-Fatiha is contained in Bismillah ir Rahman ir Raheem (In or through the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful), and the meaning of Bismillah ir Rahman ir Raheem is contained in Bismillah, and the meaning of Bismillah is contained in the dot beneath bey (Arabic 'b'] - Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upn him) Bismillah Practitioners of the Sufi path preface what they intend to do with the term "Bismillah". This means: in the Name of God. Actually, from the Sufi perspective, the more precise rendering of the meaning of "Bismillah" is: in the Name of Allah. "Allah" - which translated literally is: 'the God' - is believed by the Sufi masters to be the all-inclusive Name of God. All-inclusiveness in this case has a very specific meaning for the Sufi masters. It refers to the way in which the various Names and Attributes of God are, in a sense, so many different kinds of principles of Divinity manifested through the prism of the reality of God's primary Name - that is: Allah. God signs Divine manifestations with many different kinds of ink and signatures, according to the Names and Attributes which underwrite such manifestations. However, the One writing the checks is always the same: the One who is invoked through the Name of Allah, irrespective of the particular inks and signatures being used in any given set of circumstances. All of the activities, manifestations and signatures come by authority of, and under the umbrella of, the all-inclusive Name of Allah. By way of a very rough illustrative example, to help provide a framework of sorts for the foregoing, consider the following. In the material world we each have different roles to play and serve a variety of functions. We are mothers and fathers. We are daughters and sons or sisters and brothers. We are neighbors or acquaintances. We are workers and/or students. We are wives or husbands. We play musical instruments and/or we are sports enthusiasts. We are collectors and consumers. We are citizens and foreigners. We are movie-goers and/or we are theater-goers. There are many different kinds of activities and interests in which we are engaged. We have a variety of talents and capabilities. Nonetheless, everything we do can be considered to be done under the authority of, and in the name of, the one who is known as Mary Smith or David Jones, and so on. As such, our names have a public and legal standing. Our names give expression to the reality which stands behind that name. Moreover, the mere mention of our names has the capacity to induce smiles, anger, sorrow, pride, ambivalence, anxiety, love and a host of other thoughts, emotions and actions. In a sense, names come to have a reality of their own, although we realize the capacity of the name to elicit responses is because of the context of relationships, experiences and interactions in which the bearer of that name is involved. Sometimes we have nicknames. Sometimes we have aliases or a.k.a.'s (also known as). Sometimes we undergo legal name changes. Sometimes people refer to us in formal or informal ways. Sometimes people call out to us through endearments or in intimate ways. In all these cases, the reality being referred to is the same. The differences in name or attribute being invoked are entirely a matter of the functional dimension or relationship being addressed. Somewhat analogously, to say: "Bismillah", is to proceed with the following understanding. One is calling on God in an all-inclusive manner involving all the countless ways in which God relates to a human being. Human beings are linked to God's Essence through the capacities, powers and principles that are the realities or meanings to which different Names and Attributes of God give expression. God is our creator. God is the One who nurtures us. God is our protector and strength. God is the provider of our sustenance, both physically and spiritually. God is the Comforter. God is the Friend. God is the endlessly rich One. God is the One to Whom we repent. God is the One Who forgives. God is the One Who nurtures us. God is the Generous One. God is the One Who arranges and harmonizes everything in an ordered fashion. God is the source of justice. God is the hearer and seer of all things. God is the giver and taker of life. God is the One Who bestows blessings independently of our deserving such gifts. God is the One Who embraces us with affection and love. God is the One Who guides us and the One who can permit us to be led into error. God is the One who raises us up in honor as well as the One who lowers us in humiliation. God is the One Who is powerful as well as gentle. God is the One Who is infinitely subtle. God is the One Who is both manifest as well as hidden. God is the One who destroys, and God is the One Who heals. God is the One Who is endlessly compassionate and merciful. God is the One Who is transcendent and beyond any likeness of which we can conceive. God is independent of us, and, yet, God is constantly solicitous of our welfare and well-being. God is our judge. God is our trustee. God is the source of all forms of light. The number of ways in which God relates to us is infinite. The Names and Attributes through which we call upon God and which give expression to the realities of God's various modalities of relating to human beings are similarly infinite. To invoke: "Bismillah", involves more than the understanding one is addressing God and asking God to bless whatever follows. For the practitioners of the Sufi path, the above invocation is the realization - the depth of which varies with the individual - that everything which occurs is a manifestation of one or more of the modalities of relationship linking God and human beings. There is nothing taking place within us or outside of us which does not give expression to the realities encompassed by the One to Whom the all-inclusive Name of Allah makes identifying reference. Furthermore, the invocation of "Bismillah" is undertaken with the intention - the sincerity of which varies with the individual - that everything we do should be done for the sake of the One through Whom everything is possible. In other words, to intend to act in the Name of God means the following: whatever we intend to do, should reflect the will of the One in Whose Name we are purporting to serve, remember and praise through our intended actions. | Return to Streams Menu | Copyright © 2004 Interrogative Imperative Institute. All Rights Reserved.