Let’s make a fresh start at explaining how the sound code works in Arabic and how we will apply it to our explorations of the divine Names. Words in Arabic, including the divine Names, grow from a root formed by three seed letters that together have a basic meaning. These seeds grow in each word into a more fully shaped reality, and the way they do that reveals forms that are much more specific in meaning. To see how this works, we will look at some examples.
The divine Name al-Basir has three seed letters: B-S-R. This root has the basic meaning: seeing inside or having insight into. The three seed letters can grow in several ways. If we put a long “aa”
sound after the first letter and a short “i” after the second letter, we get baasir, with a specific meaning of the one and only source of deep insight. But if we add a short “a” after the first letter, double the middle letter, and add a long “aa” after the middle letter we get bassaar, which would mean something like “the divine one who perceives everything all the time without interruption.”
And finally, if we add a short “a” sound after the first seed letter and a long “ee” sound after the second, we get baseer, which means “the one who perceives each and every thing everywhere without exception.” This last form is the form of the actual divine Name for seeing, al-Basir, that appears on the list of the 99 Names of Allah. Incorporating our understanding of what it means that al-Basir and other divine Names make up a particular class allows us to better uncover their full meaning.
Theoretically, any three seed letters can grow into any of the three forms we have just given and into more forms as well. Let’s take some further examples to see how this principle works for the 99 Names. Remember the form baasir. It emphasizes the first syllable of the word; it has a long “aa”
sound after the first seed letter, and a short “i” sound after the second seed letter. It would mean “the one and only one who perceives.” This general meaning of “the one and only one who…” holds true for every Name that is formed around any root of three seed letters using this same pattern. For example, the root B-S-T means expansion. The divine Name al-Basit, which has a long “aa” sound in the first syllable, will then mean “the one and only one who expands.”
Let’s take another example. As we have seen, when we took the three seed letters of the root B-S-R and constructed the form bassaar, it meant “the one who perceives all things everywhere, all at the same time.” Every divine Name that takes this particular form will have the general meaning “the one who continually…” The root W-H-B has a basic meaning of providing. The divine Name al-Wahhab will then mean “the one who continually provides without interruption.”
Returning to the seed letters B-S-R, we will take a final example. We saw that it can take the form baseer, with a short “a” after the first consonant, a long “ee” after the second consonant, and the emphasis on the second syllable. It means “to perceive all things without exception all the time, everywhere.” All the divine Names that are formed in this pattern have the meaning “the one who does something all the time everywhere, without exception.” The root K-R-M means generosity. The divine Name al-Kareem thus means “the one who is generous all the time everywhere without exception.”
The reader should be aware that we always take the sound code into our consideration when defining divine Names whether we specifically mention it analytically or not. Often in our discussion of a Name we will refer to an “earthy” meaning of the Name. Semitic languages have a very physical base. We found these meanings that we call earthy by surveying all the words of different forms the root of a given Name can take and finding the most physical images among them.
One final point, which we cannot emphasize too much, is the importance of the sound quality, the vibration of the Name when it is recited. While it is true that conceptually understanding a Name is important, it should always be understood that the inner quality of the divine Name can be perfectly received by a practitioner who is sincerely chanting and meditating on it without the benefit of complex linguistic explanations. Sound has effect apart from meaning.
What follows is a more formal presentation of the sound code. We will limit our discussion to only the forms that include divine Names. So as to not overburden our readers with too many very finely defined meanings, we will not try to cover all of the many subcategories of Form I. We are also omitting some of the groups with very few members. We will omit listing some of the Names that grammarians disagree about where to place and whose placement in a group is not obvious.
We are taking this simplified approach because we want every reader, not just those who love the structure of language, to be encouraged to understand and use the sound code. When each list below is read aloud, the similarity of sounds and stresses will help demonstrate its members’ shared quality.
To help with the process, we have included a phonetic spelling beside each Name listed to facilitate pronunciation. We have used the vocative form “Ya” in this list, which is the way you call out to God in prayerful invocation. For an explanation of how to use the phonetic system, please see the Pronunciation Guide.
Form I
In all the members of the first form, the meaning of a Name can be described by the key phrase(s):
“The only one who,” “the only source of all,” “the unique,” “the only actor who acts in the universe.”
Form I has many subcategories, but all the Names in Form I are constructed particularly to emphasize the quality of uniqueness.
Each subcategory of the first form shows a way that the special meaning of uniqueness is particularly intensified. These nuances of meaning will become quite important later in this book when the divine Names are applied as curatives for human problems and needs.