Al-Aleem, The All-Knowing

The calligraphy is courtesy of vecteezy.com

I guess when I think of omniscience, the image that springs to mind, willy-nilly, is a microscope.  But God is not peering down at us from the sky like some sort of cosmic scientist.  Instead, God just knows, intimately and in detail, all of Creation from the inside out.  The marvel is that God not only knows, but loves.  I have a song about that, written quite some time ago.

My desire with this blog, however, is not just to dredge up pertinent thoughts from the past, but to ponder anew what it means to call God omniscient.  

With many of the names, reading through the Quranic uses of the name is not terribly helpful.  The names are used just once and the verse does not shed much light on the meaning.  This name is different.  There are several usages, and I was struck by several things.  Some of the verses were about God being aware of good deeds.  

"You shall not attain righteousness until you spend out of what you love (in the way of Allah).  Allah knows whatever you spend." (Surah 3:92, Abul Ala Maududi)

"And if any one obeyeth his own impulse to good, – be sure that Allah is He Who recogniseth and knoweth." (Surah 2:158b, Yusuf Ali)

This is in contrast to the popular Christian idea of the all-knowing aspect of God being primarily something to be feared, as though God is a cosmic version of the "elf on the shelf", as in the song for little kids "Oh be careful little hands what you do...For the Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little hands what you do."  I suppose that song could be understood as meaning that we should do good things because God will see and recognize those good things.  But I've always heard it, despite the aspect of "looking down in love" as "Don't be naughty–God is watching."

The surah that I particularly enjoy in connection with this name is Surah 24:41.  In the Clear Quran it reads:

"Do you not realize that God is glorified by whatever is in the heavens and the earth, and even by the birds in formation?  Each knows its prayer and its manner of praise.  God knows well what they do."  

I love this picture of the birds praising God, and of God being fully aware of that praise, either of their formation, or as other translations have it of each wing being stretched out in praise.

It makes me think of Jesus saying that God knows every sparrow that falls and that the hairs on our head are numbered.  God is fully of all that goes on in this vast universe, a degree of omniscience that is beyond our ability to comprehend, but that is wonderful nonetheless.  I am reminded of one time when I saw myself from the perspective of the Infinite God as being like a little dust mote shuttling back and forth, and instantly heard in my heart, "beloved dust mote."  We are minute in the vast universe but that does not mean that we are not individually known and loved.

All-Knowing, All-Knower

 Lord, You know all things that can be known, 

For You set all things in motion.

Every feather on every sparrow's wing

Every wave upon the ocean.

Every hair on my brother's head.

Every act of deep devotion.

You see every good deed being done.

Every step about to falter

You see all the joy and hope expressed

By each couple at each altar

You hear every anguished cry of grief

From each soul that pleads to alter.

You know all our anger and our fear

Every grieving mother's sorrow

You know all our hidden shame and lies

Every desperate hope to borrow.

Lord You know all things that can be known.

You're the One who is all knowing.

You hold all our futures, all our pasts

All today and all tomorrow.

 

Al-Fattah, The Opener

Calligraphy and image from vecteezy.com

I selected this image because to me it suggests the richness of possibilities that are opened by God.

The Islamic understanding of this name is a bit puzzling to me.  It occurs only once in the Quran, 34:26, and in all of the translations I have seen, the name that in almost all of the lists of the name is translated "The Opener", is translated in this surah as the "Judge".  

Say, "Our Lord will bring us together; then He will judge between us in truth.  And He is the Knowing Judge." (Sahih International) 

Say, "Our Lord will bring us together; then He will judge between us equitably.  He is the All-Knowing  Judge." (ClearQuran) 

The best sense I can make of this is that the sense is that God will judge in this situation by opening up the truth of what is going on between the two groups that are in conflict.

In the book of Revelation, Jesus identifies himself in the vision given to John, "These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David.  What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open...See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. (Revelation 3:7-8 NIV).

What is it that God opens up for us?  Well, clearly for Christians, Jesus' death on the cross opens up the door to salvation.  The Muslim meditations on this name talk about God opening up understanding, opening up provisions, opening up truth.  

This is what I came up with as I pondered this name and God's role as the Opener in my life.

Opener

Open, open, what doors do You open?

What doors do You open for me?

Open the door to eternal life

So I can walk on the path of light.

Open my prison of sin and shame

So I can walk freely and feel no blame.

Open my ears to your Holy book

Open up the way with Your shepherd's crook. 

Open my heart, open up my mind

Open my eyes so I won't be blind.

Open my heart to my neighbor's need.

So that I can love both in word and deed.

Open Your throne room high above

So I can find mercy and know your love.

Open, open what doors have You opened?

What doors have You opened for me?

 

Ar Razzaq, The Provider

 

The Arabic calligraphy here is from vecteezy.com.  I liked it because of the playful colors, which speak to me of the many varied and surprising ways that God, the Provider, provides for us.

This name is (though not the sound of it) is comfortable for enjoyers of contemporary Christian music.  Jehovah Jireh, My Provider is for many of us a familiar song.  In fact, when I got to looking, I found several songs that focus on the Hebrew Jireh, meaning provider.

I have my own song along these lines, written long ago.  This tells the story of Abraham, at the time when he was called to sacrifice Isaac (or Ishmael according to Islamic teaching).  God stopped him from doing it at the last minute and provided a ram caught by his horns in a thicket for Abraham to sacrifice instead of his son.  There have been two occasions in my life when I felt like I had to hold something dear to my heart loosely, in case God would require me to lay it down, times when I felt I was identifying with Abraham.  The first time came when I was waiting for my husband-to-be to propose.  The second time came as I was considering going to seminary.  This song grew out of those times.

On the Mountain of the Lord

On the mountain of the Lord

It will be provided

All that You want me to give

On the mountain of the Lord

It will be provided

The strength and the courage to live.

I'll go walking up that mountain

With my hopes and my dreams in my hand.

I'll go walking up that mountain

Knowing You will allow me to stand.

Isaac was Abraham's deep delight, 

A hope that was too good to lose

And God spoke to Abraham in the night

Saying, "Come to the mountain I choose.

Will you lay down your son there?

Will you hand the child over to me?

Will you give up his life there,

As a sign that you're trusting in me?

Abraham left for the mountain that day

Leading his son by the hand.

I think tears filled his eyes as he tried to pray,

As he watched his dreams crumble to sand.

He took wood and he took fire,

And he carefully guarded the knife.

And he wondered how he'd do it.

Would you ask him to take his son's life?

Abraham knew that he had to do it –

Whatever You asked him to do.

And somehow he knew You would see him through it

And still make Your promises true.

He bound Isaac to the altar

He was ready to go all the way.

And then You sent an angel.

You provided the ram there that day.

Now by faith, we're the children of Abraham.

And sometimes we'll walk in his shoes.

I believe there are times

We will hear Your voice calling

To come to the mountain You choose

To lay down there what we cherish

Without knowing just what we'll get back.

We must trust that You are faithful

And that You will supply every lack.

On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided

All that You want me to give

On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided

The strength and the courage to live

I'll go walking up that mountain

with my hopes and my dreams in my hand

I'll go walking up that mountain

Knowing You will allow me to stand.

As I read about this name on the My Islam website,  I was struck by the distinction that they made between the action of God as the Giver, and the action of God as Provider.  They explained that while gifts are free, provision requires action on our part, whether the action of work for physical provisions, or prayer for spiritual provision.  I was reminded of God's provision of manna, and how the people had to gather it and prepare it and follow the rules (gather more the day before Sabbath).  

I was reminded of the words of a friend of mine, who in teaching gratitude, likes to say that the universe (or God) has always provided all that he truly needed (though not always all that he wanted).  He likes to say that he knows that because he is still here, he is still breathing.

I am disheartened this morning because of the political situation in the United States. Hard times are ahead.   I am reminded of several verses in the Bible.

 "Even in times of trouble we have a joyful confidence, knowing that our pressures will develop in us patient endurance.  And patient endurance will refine our character, and proven character leads us back to hope.  And this hope is not a disappointing fantasy, because we can now experience the endless love of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who lives in us." Romans 5:3-5 (TPT).

"My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can! For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up in you the power of endurance.  And then as your endurance grows even stronger, it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking." James 1:3-4 (TPT)›

Provider

You have always provided

All that I need

I know that because I am breathing.

Through sorrow and joy

You have cared for us all

Through winter and summer and springtime and fall.

You have been there.

You surround us with care

Through hardship and even disaster.

Through rich times and poor times

You hold out Your hand.

And through trials our faith will grow faster.

You have always provided

All that we need

We know that because we are breathing.

Through sorrow and joy

You have cared for us all

Through winter and summer and springtime and fall.

You have been there.

You surround us with care

Through hardship and even disaster.

Through rich times and poor times

You hold out Your hand

God, help us be true

And to fully trust You

And to know in our hearts

You're the Master.

Al-Wahhab, The Bestower, The Giver

This image is made from components taken from vecteezy.com.  I wanted to display the bounty of the concept of Al-Wahhab, the Giver

When people think of God as a giver, and think of actually praying for specific things, this is sometimes derided as reducing God to a heavenly vending machine.  You pop in prayer, and he pops out stuff, and if the stuff doesn't arrive, then maybe it's a stuck vending machine, or you didn't add enough faith or something like that.

We think of the old Janis Joplin song, "O God, won't you buy me a Mercedes-Benz?  My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.  O God, won't you buy me a Mercedes-Benz?"  And we are (rightfully, I think) scornful of the materialism derided in that song.   But it is not the case that the only good prayers are exclusively spiritual.  We are commanded to ask for our daily bread.  And Jesus expected tax money to be given to him, and provided miraculous catches of fish.  

When I started meditating on some of these scriptures, I was startled to find that the verse I was familiar with as "Every good and perfect gift is from above..." was actually about giving as well as gifts.  In time, that yielded a song.

"All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change.  By his sovereign plan he gave us birth through the message. of truth, that we would be a kind of first fruits of all creation." (James 1:17-8 NET)

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:9-11 NIV) 

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?  Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11-13 NIV)

All Good Gifts

All good gifts and all good giving

Come down from the Father of lights

All good gifts and all good giving

Come down from the Father of lights.

He gave us new birth by the word of his truth

So we could be first fruits of all creation

First fruits are his; they are given to God

He gave us as gifts to himself.

All good gifts and all good giving

Come down from the Father of lights

All good gifts and all good giving

Come down from the Father of lights.

If you who are evil know how to give 

Good gifts to the kids you adore.

How much more will your Heavenly Father

Give to his children so much more?

All good gifts and all good giving

Come down from the Father of lights

All good gifts and all good giving

Come down from the Father of lights.

If your child asks for bread, you won't give them a stone

If they ask you for fish you won't give a snake.

And those who ask God for the Holy Spirit

Will find He is given to them.

All good gifts and all good giving

Come down from the Father of lights

All good gifts and all good giving

Come down from the Father of lights.

Al-Qahhar, the Irresistible, the Prevailer, the Subduer

• This picture is taken straight from vecteezy.com but the austere gold and black seemed appropriate to the meanings of this word.

Grappling with this name has been a struggle that has taken months.  I set myself a goal of a new name each week, and now months have gone by since my last post.  That has not all been getting busy with other aspects of my life, but wrestling with what to do with this name in a Christian context.

The root of this word is ق ه ر and according to the myislam.com website, it has root meanings which include to subjugate, to overpower, to compel against one's wishes.  Two names al-Qaahhar and al-Qaahhir are based on this word, and of the two, al-Qaahhar is the most emphatic.  So this emphasizes the idea that God is completely overpowering.  Basically, that if you try to fight against God, you haven't got a chance.

Jacob did wrestle against God (or at least against the angel of God and "prevailed" and thereby won the approving name Israel.  Genesis 32:28 NIV "Then the man said, 'Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome."  Jacob calls the place where he fought, Peniel, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared." (Genesis 32:30).  

I think no one questions that God had the power to quash Jacob in this encounter.  He did dislocate his hip.  God allowed him to win, and blessed his endeavor.

Still, as Christians, we believe that God has said, "As surely as I live, every tongue will acknowledge God" (Romans 14:11 quoting Isaiah 45:23).  Isaiah 45:24 goes on to say that "Every tongue that has raged against him (clearly God in context) will come to him and be put to shame."  All of which makes it seem to me that there will be a time when God will compel assent to Himself.  We also have the similar statement in Philippians God gave Jesus "the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:8-11)

I must acknowledge that God is not always "a gentleman, who will not force me against my will" (as some popular sayings suggest that He is.)

Still, when will that day of God's forcefulness come?  In the book of 2 Peter, we read that, "in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.  They will say, 'Where is this 'coming' he promised.  Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation. (2 Peter 3:3-4 NIV).  The author goes on to say, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9 NIV). In other words, the day will when God will come as the Irresistible, the Prevailer, when God forces everyone to submit, whether they want to or not--but God is in no hurry to get there.  He would rather draw us patiently into submitting willingly to his rule.

As I considered this name, I was also strongly reminded about the story of Jesus calming the winds and waves of the storm. (Mark 4:35-41 and Luke 8:22-25).  In both tellings of the story, the disciples are amazed.  "Who is this, that even the winds and waves obey him?"  Why is this so amazing to them?  I think when people are healed or delivered there is always some lingering doubt that perhaps this is merely a psychological phenomenon.  Not that it is totally a placebo effect, but maybe when the human spirit is set right with God, then the body can heal itself.  But the winds and the waves?  No.  They are purely physical.  It takes someone special to control them.  And that someone was Jesus.

So where do I find myself in the midst of these considerations?  Right now, I am struggling with what I suppose I must acknowledge has become an addiction to computer games.  Challenged to lay them aside for a season, my own selfish desires are rising up like a storm of winds and waves in my soul.  I haven't yielded yet, but it's been an awfully near thing.  And I found myself singing, "O Subduer, come subdue me."  And perhaps I am getting a glimpse of what devout Muslims understand to be the "greater jihaad" the struggle against evil in ourselves.

Al-Qaahhar

I have no question, not a shred of doubt.

If we fight against You can take us all out.

Just a flick of Your finger, a puff of Your breath

We'd be flat on the floor at the gateway of death.

You've got the power, You've got the might.

You could wipe out our wills with a flash of Your light –

But You don't.

You wait

You are longing for folks to come in

To acknowledge your Kingship,

and turn from our sin.

To be rescued from death and be blessed with Your life

Still You patiently wait for us.

And I see in myself things that do not bow down 

Things that rise up and struggle against You

There are storms in my soul that I cannot control

Desires that I long to yield to

O Subduer, please come subdue me.

Great Subduer, come subdue me.

Al-Qaahhar, the Subduer

Come subdue me.

Al-Ghaffar, The One who Keeps on Forgiving

This word comes from the arabic root letterغ ف ر, ">which carries the meaning of covering something, concealing it, pardoning, forgiving, setting aright.  There are three related terms, al-Ghaffar, al-Ghaffur, and al-Ghaffir.  Of these three, al-Ghaffar implies the quantity and repetition of forgiveness.  Al-Ghaffur focuses on the magnitude  of what is forgiven.  I don't know about al-Ghaffir.  It just gets translated the forgiver.

In making the picture, I used the picture of a wave because waves keep coming.  I used red text, because red speaks of blood.  and for Christians, it is understood that Jesus died on the cross so that we might be forgiven.

In the gospels, there is a story that Peter came to Jesus, who was teaching the people to forgive each other, and asked "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" and Jesus answered "I do not say to you seven times but seventy-seven times (or seventy times seven)" (Matthew 18: 21-22).  God enjoins us to be freely and repeatedly forgiving.

One might wonder, if God keeps on forgiving us, do we make any progress at all?  It is true that sometimes we seem to make no progress, but I think if we keep seeking to improve, we find that God does give us victory but also shows us subtler sins.  At any rate, this song represents an aspect of my experience as I struggle to walk with God in integrity and faithfulness.

Over and Over

Over and over and over again

I find myself missing the mark.

Over and over and over again

I stumble and fall in the dark.

Sometimes I've tried and failed

And sometimes I've failed to try

Over and over and over again

I cry out for forgiveness from God on high.

Over and over and over again

You forgive me and help me to make a new start.

Over and over and over again

You clean up the mess in my heart.

And I stand here in wonder and awe that You

Would keep on forgiving a person who

In all of my blunders keeps coming to You

Over and over again.

Beginning Again

I started this blog back in 2011.  I had been teaching an introductory course in Great World Religions at Temple University as part of my Ph.D. studies at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.  I was working at giving students, many of whom started with a tendency to see Islam in a very negative light, some insight into the positive side of that religion.  I do not believe that all religions are equal.  I disagree with Islam in some very important ways.  But I do believe that the better we understand all of the people in the world, including their faith, the more equipped we are to love those people and to share with them the things that we believe are important.  As I was looking for ways to teach my students about positive aspects of Islam,  I found the 99 beautiful names of Allah, particularly in this Nasheed:

I have personally been captivated by the many ways that God describes God's self in the Bible.  I have many biblical self-descriptions of God painted on the walls of my house, and I love the verse that says "The name of the LORD is a strong tower.  The righteous run into it and is safe." (Proverbs 18:10 ESV).  In my understanding, to run into the name of the LORD is to run into the nature of God.  I thought that the above Nasheed was beautiful and it seemed to me that it would be an interesting and valuable devotional exercise for myself to spend time with each of these names of Allah, pondering them and understanding them better and seeing whether I could see them reflected in the Bible.  My goal was to understand how the words were understood by Arabic speakers, and by their usage in the Quran, and then to look at them from a Christian perspective.

As I began writing my Ph.D. dissertation, I felt that I had to cut back on activities that did not directly feed into that arduous process.  After a bunch of years, two different approved topics and a lot of fruitless effort, I decided to abandon my attempt to get a Ph.D. in historical theology, and proceed with my life as an A.B.D. (All but dissertation).  I had by this time completely forgotten about this blog.

Recently, I reconnected with a childhood friend, and she asked me whether I had any resources that would help her learn more about world religions.  Ha!  An assignment I would really enjoy!  As I began looking through what I had gathered over the years, I found not only the 99 names nasheed, but rediscovered this blog.  All of the links to pictures and songs were broken, but as I looked through the writing I had done back in 2011, I found that I still liked the work I had done.  Although I have recently taken on some new responsibilities, it seemed like the time has come to take this up again.

My new responsibilities are that I have been ordained and installed as a copastor at a small "dinner church".  

Who is my audience, and what is my purpose for doing this?  First and foremost, I am doing this for myself and for God.  That does not mean that I am not going to share it with people (I'm a pretty open person--if you know me, I am likely to share whatever is uppermost in my heart and mind at the time).  I would love it if the work I am doing here would come in time to bless other people.  But the first thing I am doing is coming before God to love and worship Him.

If it ministers to other Christians, I will rejoice.  If it allows me to share my faith with Muslims and other non-Christians, I will rejoice in that as well.  If these songs and thoughts and poems are valuable at some point for Arabic-speaking Christians that would also be great.  But my primary purpose in doing this is to worship God, and to grow in my own faith and love.

Over the past 3-4 weeks, as I have rewritten and re-recorded the songs that were on the blog, and fixed the broken links, I find that this work has given me a renewed appreciation for the awesomeness of God.  And so my plan at this point is to pick up the work where I left off, and to attempt to deal with one new name each week or so.