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.