Subhan – The Praised One

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

One day Abu Sa’id Abi’l Khayr was recounting an anecdote about Nuri, a disciple of Junayd. Nuri
was talking about the different names or attributes of God, and how people invoke a name in
order to get what they want. The Sufis call Him by the name Al-Haqq, the Truth, whereas others
call Him by such names as Ar-Rahman, the All Merciful, or Ar-Rahim, the All Compassionate.

Those who want their daily food to be available to them call Him by the name Rahman, and
those who want to go to heaven after they die appeal to Him by the name Rahim. Those desiring
social status and power refer to Him as Al-Malik, the King. Whoever desires something calls upon
God with the aspect related to that thing.

Then Abu Sa’id said: “God is praised beyond description, whether verbally or mentally. He has
ninety-nine names, and the highest of them all is Subhan, the Praised One. This name is like the
knot at the base of the beads of a rosary. If one uses this name, it is like using all the names,
while if one uses all the other names without this one, it is as if they had used no name at all; as
in a rosary without an end-knot, the beads will fall off and scatter.

“One must work hard to praise God. Every being on earth praises Him; yet one does not hear.
The birds that sing a thousand songs praise Him, and yet one does not hear.”

Excerpt taken from Under the Sufi’s Cloak, by Ali Jamnia and Mojdeh Bayat, which is available on
Amazon.com.

Also see the previous post on Gratitiude.

Alhamdulillah! And none can praise God enough, except in gratitude for every moment of time
and in every movement through space. This is the life we are given.
Ya Haqq!