According to Dr Sharib:
*Az-Zahir is the One Who is so manifest, that any person endowed with
understanding and wisdom cannot feel any doubt in His existence. He is
the One Whose signs and symbols are so clear and manifest that there
is no scope for not being grateful to Him."
To emulate the name we are advised to show or disclose our good work
and deeds to the people so that they may be inspired to imitate us in
this, and to feel the urge to do good. To inspire people thus is an act of
kindness, and to encourage them to do good is to seek the pleasure of
Allah.
Appropriate recitation fills the heart with the light of faith.
see 'The 99 Most Beautiful Names of Allah' by Dr Zahurul Hassan Sharib
Some other references:
He is the First
And the Last,
The Evident
And the Hidden,
And He has full knowledge
Of all things.
Al-Ghazali considers this name along with Al-Batin (The Hidden). He
points out that things are manifest or hidden only in relation to
perception. Thus God is hidden when sought by sensory perception or
the imagination, but is manifest when sought by inference and reason.
The wonders of created things - planets, animals plants, and man
himself, are the manifest evidence to man's reason of God's
organisation.
He points out that God is hidden in His manifestations due to the intense
way in which He manifests.
(Al-Ghazali - The Ninety-nine Beautiful Names of God. Trans. Burrel/Daher: ITS: 1992.)
As well as the external manifestations of God through His evident Signs
in creation, the sincere sufi seeker has manifestations of God in the
various states and stations that descend on his heart as a result of the
cleaning of the 'mirror of the heart' by the spiritual guide. Some of the
states have external manifestations which are evident to others - such as
the state of hal in the Sema in which the devotee is spun round, or in the
ecstatic utterances. In these cases these external manifestations are, so
to say, the completion or evidence of the inward state (see the
comments on Al-Akhir).
The sincere Sufi seeks the non-existence of his own qualities or to
submerge them so that the Qualities of God become manifest.
JMZ
*Az-Zahir is the One Who is so manifest, that any person endowed with
understanding and wisdom cannot feel any doubt in His existence. He is
the One Whose signs and symbols are so clear and manifest that there
is no scope for not being grateful to Him."
To emulate the name we are advised to show or disclose our good work
and deeds to the people so that they may be inspired to imitate us in
this, and to feel the urge to do good. To inspire people thus is an act of
kindness, and to encourage them to do good is to seek the pleasure of
Allah.
Appropriate recitation fills the heart with the light of faith.
see 'The 99 Most Beautiful Names of Allah' by Dr Zahurul Hassan Sharib
Some other references:
He is the First
And the Last,
The Evident
And the Hidden,
And He has full knowledge
Of all things.
Al-Ghazali considers this name along with Al-Batin (The Hidden). He
points out that things are manifest or hidden only in relation to
perception. Thus God is hidden when sought by sensory perception or
the imagination, but is manifest when sought by inference and reason.
The wonders of created things - planets, animals plants, and man
himself, are the manifest evidence to man's reason of God's
organisation.
He points out that God is hidden in His manifestations due to the intense
way in which He manifests.
(Al-Ghazali - The Ninety-nine Beautiful Names of God. Trans. Burrel/Daher: ITS: 1992.)
As well as the external manifestations of God through His evident Signs
in creation, the sincere sufi seeker has manifestations of God in the
various states and stations that descend on his heart as a result of the
cleaning of the 'mirror of the heart' by the spiritual guide. Some of the
states have external manifestations which are evident to others - such as
the state of hal in the Sema in which the devotee is spun round, or in the
ecstatic utterances. In these cases these external manifestations are, so
to say, the completion or evidence of the inward state (see the
comments on Al-Akhir).
The sincere Sufi seeks the non-existence of his own qualities or to
submerge them so that the Qualities of God become manifest.
JMZ
| Bismillah ir Rehman ir Rahim |
| The Manifest The Outer, The Outwardly Manifest, The Clear |
| Az-Zahir (Az-Zaahir) Qur'an 57:3 |
Huwal -'Awwalu wal -
'Aakhiru waz-Zaahiru
wal-Baatin: wa Huwa
bi-kulli-shay-'in 'Aliim.'
(Qur'an 57:3 trans. Y. Ali)
'Aakhiru waz-Zaahiru
wal-Baatin: wa Huwa
bi-kulli-shay-'in 'Aliim.'
(Qur'an 57:3 trans. Y. Ali)