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The Name and The Named
Shayk Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti
Foreword by William C. Chittick
Including Al-Ghazali's "The Noblest Aims in the Explanation of God's Fairest Names"
Fons Vitae 2000
293 pp.
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A contemporary presentation of the 99 divine attributes or names of God according
to the Islamic Sufi tradition. In this volume, Tosun Bayrak explains how to use these
Names for the transformation of the soul into its original and primordial nature.
In the Islamic Sufi tradition, it is said, "Qualify yourself with the qualities of God."
Compiled from classical Arabic and Turkish texts of Al-Ghazali, Ibn Arabi, Djili, and
Abdul Qadir Jilaiu, among others, these are the divine attributes by which God manifests
Himself in the world and by which He completes the spiritual life of man.
In this volume, Tosun Bayrak, a sheikh of the Jerrahi order based in Istanbul, explains
how to use these Names for the transformation of the soul — "to see that the human
being is the microcosm of the macrocosm where God 's attributes are reflected." Sheikh
Tosun describes the barrier, "they know the Name, but not the Named ." How can one
come to love God — without knowing Him? The Sheikh answers that we do so
through knowing His Divine Qualities in our own selves. 'To assume the angelic
character which is innate but hidden in the human being, we have to choose from
Divine Attributes as we can, and try to live our daily lives according to them . Then,
God willing, this effort will help our imitation become real."
The Name and the Named presents these attributes which combine in various proportions
to create the universe we see before us, but these names are all contained in the
Name, or word Allah. Therefore, when one repeats this Name, one participates in
stating the entire manifested creation. Also included are the 201 traditional names or
qualities of the Prophet Muhammad.
Other interpreted and com piled works by Sheikh Tosun Bayrak include The Way of The
Sufi Chivalry (Kitab al-Futtuzvah by Ibn al-Husayn al-Sulami), Inner Traditions International;
The Most Beautiful Names and Inspirations on the Path of Blame by Sheikh Badruddin of
Simawna, Threshold Books; The Secret of Secrets: Hadrat Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, The
Islamic Texts Society; Divine Governance of the Human Kingdom (Ai-Tadbirat al-ilahiyyah
fiislah al-mamlakat al-insaniyyah by Ibn 'Arabi) and The Shape of Light (Hayakal Al-Nur by
Suhrazvardi), both published by Fons Vitae.
WILLIAM C. CHITTICK is Professor of Comparative Studies at State University of New
York, Stony Brook. He has published numerous books, among them, Imaginal Worlds:
Ibn al-Arabi and the Problem of Religious Diversity, Faith and Practice of Islam: Three
Thirteenth Century Sufi Texts; The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al-'Arabi's me
Imagination; The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi; and A Shi'ite Anthology,
all published by SUNY Press.
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MsSVig