Posted by There is no benefit in recitation without contemplation;
there is no benefit in worship without comprehension.
Imam Ali
Prophet Muhammad frequently sought moments of contemplation by retreating to a cave on Mount Hira. In the year 610, during the month of Ramadan, he underwent a profound spiritual experience that included a vision and a voice. On this night the Prophet’s “heart and soul were permanently illuminated and effaced by the Holy Spirit and the Light of the Qur’an. Thus, the Prophet became the “speaking Qur’an” … and for the next twenty-three years, he expressed, rendered, and articulated the spiritual Light of the Qur’ān in the form of revealed discourse (tanzīl, qur’ān)” (Ismaili Gnosis).
The invocation of the Divine Name (ism ilahi) or Word (kalima; qawl) recurs in the story of several Prophets. In the Qur’anic story of the appointment of Prophet Adam, what gives Adam precedence over the angels is the fact that God taught him … the Divine Names – the Most Beautiful Names of God – by which Adam attained spiritual superiority over the angels:
“And He taught Adam all the Names. Then He said to the angels: ‘Inform me of the Names of these if you are truthful” (2:31).
In the story of Noah, the Ark of Noah which leads the believers to salvation in both worlds runs its course by means of the Name of God:
“And he (Noah) said: ‘Embark in it (the Ark). The Name of God is its course and its anchorage. Verily, my Lord is the Oft-Forgiving, the Merciful’” (11:41).
The Qur’an also relates that God tested the Prophet Abraham by means of certain “Words” (kalimat). These Words refer to the Divine Names by which Abraham ascended the ranks of spirituality until God appointed him as the Imam of the time:
“And remember when Abraham was tried by his Lord by certain Words and he fulfilled them. He said: ‘Verily, I appoint you Imam of humankind.’ He (Abraham) said: ‘And of my descendants?’ He (God) answered: ‘My covenant is not with the unjust’” (2:124).
The great Prophets of God attained their exalted status by means of the Name of God which was received by them in the form of a Word (kalimah; qawl) that embodies the Divine Spirit…. the Prophets had to undergo a process of spiritual training, initiation, and development by means of the Word or Name of God to actualize their souls’ perfection for the function of prophethood.
Abstracts from Ismaili Gnosis Iqra: Muhammad Meditated Upon the Name of God as the Qur’an was Revealed.
Ginans
Ginans are a vast collection comprising several hundred compositions which have been a central part of the religious life of the Nizari Ismaili community of the Indian subcontinent, now residing in many countries around the world. Derived from the Sanskrit jnana, meaning contemplative knowledge, ginans refer to the poetic compositions authored by Ismaili Pirs, who came to the subcontinent as early as the eleventh century to teach the message of Revelation to non-Arabic speaking people. Pirs integrated Ismaili thought within the Vaishnava framework without totally rejecting the conceptual and even social framework of the society, re-formulating the folklore with Ismaili perspectives. Ginans were composed in local Indic languages to convey their teachings.
(More on Vaishnava framework here).
Serving as literary vehicles for conveying Ismaili doctrines that focus on penetrating to the inner (batin) significance of the Qur’an, ginans comprise emotive enlightenment to transcend the material to connect to the Divine.
(See Satpanth Tradition)
(More on Ginans)
In his composition, Pir Satgur Nur instructs to recite the Word with a pure heart.
Click here to listen to the ginan.
More on ginans here.
Sources:
Azim A. Nanji, “The Prophet, the Revelation, and the Founding of Islam,” The Muslim Almanac, Gale Research Inc., Detroit, 1996
Mahmoud Ayub, “The Qur’an in Muslim Life and Practice,” The Muslim Almanac, Gale Research Inc., Detroit, 1996
Reza Shah-Kazemi, Spiritual Quest: Reflections on Qurʾānic Prayer According to the Teachings of Imam ʿAlī, I.B. Tauris, London, 2011
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