Hawzah News Agency- Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father, from al-Nadr ibn Suwayd, from Hisham ibn al-Hakam who asked Imam Sadiq (pbuh) about the names of Allah and about the root or derivative forms of those names:
الله مِمَّا هُوَ مُشْتَقٌّ؟
قَالَ فَقَالَ لِي يَا هِشَامُ الله مُشْتَقٌّ مِنْ إِلَهٍ وَالالَهُ يَقْتَضِي مَأْلُوهاً وَالاسْمُ غَيْرُ الْمُسَمَّى فَمَنْ عَبَدَ الاسْمَ دُونَ الْمَعْنَى فَقَدْ كَفَرَ وَلَمْ يَعْبُدْ شَيْئاً وَمَنْ عَبَدَ الاسْمَ وَالْمَعْنَى فَقَدْ كَفَرَ وَعَبَدَ اثْنَيْنِ وَمَنْ عَبَدَ الْمَعْنَى دُونَ الاسْمِ فَذَاكَ التَّوْحِيدُ أَ فَهِمْتَ يَا هِشَامُ
“What is the root word for Allah?”
“He (Imam, pbuh) said to me: O Hishām, the word Allah is derived from ilāh; and al-ilāh necessarily implies the One who is worshipped (ma’lūh). Note that names are something other than whatever to which they apply. O Hisham, whoever, worships the name without the fact for which the name stands he has denied the existence of Allah and has not worshiped anything. Whoever worships the name and the meaning for which the name stands, he has worshiped two things. Whoever worships the meaning [the Fact] without the name he is a monotheist. Did you understand it, O Hisham?”
-قَالَ فَقُلْتُ زِدْنِي
قَالَ إِنَّ لله تِسْعَةً وَتِسْعِينَ اسْماً فَلَوْ كَانَ الاسْمُ هُوَ الْمُسَمَّى لَكَانَ كُلُّ اسْمٍ مِنْهَا إِلَهاً وَلَكِنَّ الله مَعْنًى يُدَلُّ عَلَيْهِ بِهَذِهِ الاسْمَاءِ وَكُلُّهَا غَيْرُهُ
يَا هِشَامُ الْخُبْزُ اسْمٌ لِلْمَأْكُولِ وَالْمَاءُ اسْمٌ لِلْمَشْرُوبِ وَالثَّوْبُ اسْمٌ لِلْمَلْبُوسِ وَالنَّارُ اسْمٌ لِلْمُحْرِقِ أَ فَهِمْتَ يَا هِشَامُ فَهْماً تَدْفَعُ بِهِ وَتُنَاضِلُ بِهِ أَعْدَاءَنَا وَالْمُتَّخِذِينَ مَعَ الله جَلَّ وَعَزَّ غَيْرَهُ
- قُلْتُ نَعَمْ
قَالَ فَقَالَ نَفَعَكَ الله بِهِ وَثَبَّتَكَ يَا هِشَامُ
-قَالَ هِشَامٌ فَوَ الله مَا قَهَرَنِي أَحَدٌ فِي التَّوْحِيدِ حَتَّى قُمْتُ مَقَامِي هَذَا.
- Hisham then asked, “Please explain further.”
The Imam then said, “Allah has ninety nine names. If names would have been the same thing for which they stand, every one of them would have been a Lord. However, Allah is a meaning for which these names stand and they all are something other than Him(1).
O Hisham, "Bread" is the name for the thing that you eat, and "Water" is the name for what you drink, and "Shirt" is the name for a certain kind of garment, and "Fire" is the name for a thing that burns. Did you understand, O Hisham, in a form of understanding that would help you to defend our cause against our enemies and those who worship things other than Allah?”
- I said, “Yes, [I did receive such understanding.]”
The Imam then said, “May Allah grant you success in it and keep you steadfast (in your belief).
- Hisham said: “I swear by Allah that since then no one has been able to defeat me in an argumentation on the issue of the Oneness of Allah [Tawhid] and that has made me reach this position that I hold.”
(1) Meaning that each name of Allah represents one aspect and attribute of him and does not include all His Identity.
Al-Kāfi,Volume 1,Book 3,Chapter 5
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