Clarifying the Space for Issuing Narratives about The ‎Great Name of God Based on the Hisory of Ideas from ‎the Revelation of the Qur'an to the Time of ‎Establishing the Belief

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 PHD student in Quran and Hadith Studies, Gorgan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran.

2 Associate Professor in Islamic Theology, Gorgan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran.

3 Assistant Professor in Quran and Hadith Studies, Gorgan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran.

4 Assistant Professor in Quran and Hadith Studies, Gorgan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran

Abstract

In the Prophetic Hadiths, the narrations of the great religions, prayers, myths, theological, interpretive and moral theories, and the popular beliefs of the Islamic world many references can be found to the name of God. It is often referred to as the "Great Name" (Al-Ism Al-A'zam). Muslims believe that knowing this name or having it with oneself can make a big difference in the world. Believing in the possibility of such a change in the world by mentioning the name of God - or at least believing that some letters have strange properties - has an ancient history in the pre-Islamic era. However, there is no explicit reference in the Qur'an to a Great Name or any special name with different properties for God. The time and manner of the gradual emergence of this idea in the Islamic world and the factors affecting its cultural diffusion are completely unknown, and despite the popularity of this name and the range of beliefs about its properties, less explanation can be found of the history of the idea of the Great Name of God and its development over time. The present study is an attempt in this direction. In this study, an attempt will be made to review the evidence of the emergence and development of the idea of the Great Name in Islamic culture until its final establishment. We follow this review based on reports of an era in which the Great Name was not yet accepted by the Muslim majority, and theories explaining its relationship to other Islamic doctorins and various ideological systems were of limited popularity among some minorities. As we will see, this period lasted until the middle of the 2nd century AH and Imam Baqir (AS) played an important role in adjusting attitudes towards the Great Name and creating the ground for public acceptance of its original form in the Islamic world.

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Quran and Hadith Studies‎
Volume 16, Issue 1 - Serial Number 31
September 2022
Pages 61-90

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