Understanding Salat — Page 61
Qiyam 61 Allah. In contrast, the emphasis in ‘blessed is Your name’ is on the attributes of Allah. The Being of Allah Almighty is far more vast than the names we know describe to us. We only know a finite num- ber of the names of Allah according to our finite capacities. For example, our eyes are capable of seeing only a limited number of colors in the spectrum of light. What exists out- side of that spectrum is beyond our capacity, so we do not need to name those colors. All of the words we have for dif- ferent colors only describe what exists within the very lim- ited spectrum of light that we are able to see. Similarly, the names of Allah that we are taught represent only the limited knowledge that we are capable of understanding. The Holy Prophet sas prayed, I ask of You by every name with which You have described Yourself, or which You have taught to any of Your creation, or which You have revealed in Your book, or which You have chosen to keep in the knowledge of the unseen with You, ( Musnad Ahmad, narrated by Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd, 3704) There are countless names of Allah that we are unaware of. The Being of Allah is not confined to the number of names our species is capable of understanding. The reality of Allah is infinitely more vast than the finite spectrum of Allah that we are capable of perceiving. When we say ‘blessed is Your