The Eternal Imām is the Supreme Name of God which comprises all the Divine Names and Attributes: the Living (al-ḥayy), the Self-Subsistent (al-qayyūm), the Knowing (al-‘ālim), the Perfect (al-tamm), the High (al-‘alī), the All-Merciful (al-raḥmān), the Eternal (al-qādim), the Creator (al-khāliq), the Sustainer (al-rabb), the Light (al-nūr), the One (al-wāhid), the Witness (al-shāhid), the Face of God (wajh Allāh), etc. Thus, the Eternal Imām is the greatest manifestation and the eternal “personification” of the transcendent Absolute in the form of Names and Attributes – the ‘Lord’ who is directly worshipped and adored by the creatures. But the Eternal Imām is not God Himself: the Absolute Reality (al-Ḥaqq), the Essence (al-dhat), the Originator (al-Mubdi‘) remains forever transcendent and inaccessible, exalted above all attributes and relationships.
Read at the source: ismailignosis.com – Ismā‘īlī Gnosis.
Earlier related: Ismā‘īlī Gnosis: What is Ismā‘īli Gnosis?
From Adam to Aga Khan: The Universal Imamat
Iqrā’ – ‘Read’ or ‘Remember’?
The Esoterics (Bāṭin) of Fasting
Laylat al-Qadr: Qur’ānic Revelation and Prophetic Inspiration
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