You can download it here: first is an updated explanation in text, and the one below it is a brief one-page summary + a Quranic Architecture chart for illustration:
This is a shortened version of the original that may help assimilate the idea (which can get very complex the more details you include). Photo of Al-Fatiha’s structure is below.
The paired names of the Basmalah represent how Allah relates to us: with His power/authority (Al-Rahman) and mercy (Al-Raheem). These two names contain 6 letters each for a total of 12 letters, and the number 12 is associated with 12 months, suggesting “in time.” The first 7 letters are the words “bism Allah” or “in the name of Allah.” The number 7 symbolizes 3 basic things: a test of what we value or “evaluation;” balancing “opposites;” and marriage or significant pairing (where the pairing involves a change in status, usually raising up in some way). Marriage can refer in Arabic to any pair somehow joined together: the body with the soul, the day and night as a dynamic duo, Allah and His messengers, the Almighty, All-Merciful, life and death as a cycle rather than a timeline, this world and the Hereafter, and our souls – if we choose the upright path seeking Allah – with the Almighty All-Merciful.
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The name Al-Raheem – The All-Merciful – is commonly counted and “combined” with the adjective raheem – merciful, without the al- prefix. But considering the two separately has yielded interesting results. The name Al-Raheem “The All-Merciful” is mentioned 34 times, whereas the adjective raheem “merciful” is mentioned 81 times, or 3⁴, and thus these two different ways of mentioning raheem are themselves “paired” as a {3,4} set. A unique characteristic of both expressions of Allah’s mercy is that they are almost always paired: the name Al-Raheem is always paired with another name, and the adjective raheem is usually paired with another adjective – plus in the case of raheem, this pair (or simply raheem in a few cases) is almost always preceded by either the name Allah, Lord, “I,” or Him (referring to Allah or Lord), the one exception being in 9:128 referring to prophet Mohammad as “kind, merciful” to the believers. This shows that kindness/caring is the form of mercy we are encouraged and indeed enabled to exemplify. And these unique stylistic traits teach us about what mercy itself means, in our relationship to Allah, each other, and to all life.
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Here we shall examine the placements of this exalted name in the Quran using the architectural “nautilus” chart, the possible meanings inherent in these placements, as well as some fascinating patterns. This also gives a sense of how the “nautilus chart” can indicate possible interpretations to increase our understanding of the Quran. Previously we examined the significance of the name Al-Rahman, as well as the name’s stunning relationship to perfect numbers. Here we show a surprising connection between this name and the sacred months, elucidating their sacred nature.
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Note re featured image above: When you plot the sun’s position at the same time of day once a week throughout the year you get this figure of eight, or infinity symbol, called Analemma. April and September are at the crossover point in precisely the same position.
Muslims know that Allah’s justice is perfect – one of His significant names is Al-‘Adl, the Just. In fact, justice of the highest order is required of all Muslims, for “indeed Allah loves those who act justly.” (5:42, 49:9, 60:8) But certain theological dogmas in Christianity and other faiths involve beliefs which at their heart represent God/Allah to be unjust. Which is itself unjust to Allah/God. It’s not the only one we’ll explore here, but the doctrine of original sin is a prime example. Is it just or fair to hold a person guilty for an act they did not themselves commit? Clearly not. The Quran tells us, contrary to church doctrine, that God/Allah forgave Adam/Eve and even gave them words to properly express their feelings.
Continue readingThen Adam received some words from his Lord, and He accepted his repentance. Indeed it is He who is the Acceptor of Repentance, the Merciful. (2:37) – (close to the beginning of the whole Quran)
This is a revelation of amazing correlations between the sura:ayat numbers where the name Al-Rahman occurs, and “perfect numbers,” explained below. The name Al-Rahman, when interpreted as the Almighty, forms a clear Yang/Yin relationship with the name Al-Raheem, the All-Merciful with which it is paired in the Basmalah, the invocation that begins all suras except one. A previous post describes the significance of the name Al-Rahman. Here we get even closer to the heart of the miracle regarding this powerful name. Studying the sura and aya numbers for all references for a word or phrase in the Quran can often seem like an exercise in futility, especially considering the earliest known manuscripts of the Quran do not contain such numbers. But with the name Al-Rahman, the results are two perfect numbers (explained below) multiplied by 100 whose sum is equally spectacular, and closely intertwined with other significant Quranic numbers to form a whole only the Almighty Al-Rahman Himself could have made.
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The name Al-Rahman as explained here is most meaningful when interpreted as the Almighty, forming a clear Yang/Yin relationship with the name Al-Raheem, the All-Merciful. It is mentioned 57 times in Quran, in 56 ayat (because one aya contains 2 mentions) in 18 suras. This subject is so vast it needs multiple posts, but here I will try to convey the Quranic significance of the name to begin with.
Everything in the Basmalah is important, far more than most of those who analyze Quranic structure think. But the name Al-Rahman is particularly so, and also not well-understood, or at least the translations and a number of presumptions do not take into account all the indicators of its depth of meaning. Here we list some important indicators of that meaning.
Continue readingThis short 30-second video tells us much about what Islam is and Who Allah Is. The Arabs had 14 different words for love, one of which is arguably a name for Allah. And which is more loving, to sacrifice an innocent human being in order to enable forgiveness for a supposed “original sin” that God Himself is unfairly accused of refusing to forgive? Or to have forgiven Adam/Eve on the spot after they repented, and only punish people for sins they personally committed and not for some inherited sin? Allah is the same God of Psalms 136:1-3, 5, and elsewhere, “and His mercy endures forever.” “Indeed, your Lord is vast in forgiveness.” (Quran 53:32)
This is a very real possibility, which I began to examine while thinking that possibly all numbers somehow relate to or are reflective of Allah’s name. That seems way beyond my limited mathematical abilities – yet after studying the Quran in details, I ran into a simple pattern expressed in two ayat, 4:3 (itself a {3,4} set) and 35:1, as “two and three and four,” essentially a {2,3,4} set, which in turn reflects the {3,4} set, as expressed in Allah’s name. I’ve discussed this {3,4} set previously as well as how Allah “wrote mercy upon Himself” (6:12 and 6:54). Here finally is a post that covers this topic.
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As the 7th and 8th words in the Quran, and arguably the 4th name of Allah in Al-Fatiha, the name Rabb Al-‘Alameen is significant and appears in the Quran 42 times in 42 verses in 21 suras. Thus it is not repeated in any verse, but is frequently repeated among the suras. Of these 42 ayat/verses, 7 are ayat of praise like the second verse of Al-Fatiha 1:2. As both 42 (6×7) and 21 (3×7) are multiples of 7, this is an interesting correlation. Much interpretation has been given by scholars to this name over time, most interpreting the word al-alameen to refer to all that exists except Allah, or in the words of Ibn Abbas, “all the heavens and what they contain, all the earths and what they contain, and all that is between them, be it known or unknown.” Or, as Ibn ‘Arabi put it, “all through which God can be known.” He also thought of the term rabb as referring to the level where existence and the Divine are related. But for me, I think of Rabb in itself as simply the relationship name for Allah, because unlike other names of Allah, it easily and unequivocally accepts possessive usage, such as “my Lord” (using “lord” as the English expression for rabb), “their Lord,” “your Lord,” etc. Adding the expression al’alameen signifies that this name only can possibly refer to Allah the Exalted.
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A previous post speaks in details about how with every heartbeat there is a death — when dead (de-oxygenated) blood enters the right atrium (yin receptive chamber) to be pumped at low pressure (an essential yinmercy) into the lungs (by the right balanced yin/yang ventricle/pump) — and resurrection — oxygenation in the lungs, the organ that recycles the element of air (O2 in, CO2 out) — received by the left atrium (receiving chamber), to be pumped by the powerful left ventricle (the power yang pump) at high pressure (full might/power) alive into the whole body, which is thus resurrected. And how this relates to Allah’s name.
THIS HAPPENS WITH EVERY HEARTBEAT. And this heartbeat is dhikr Allah!
Despite the Basmalah (pictured above) being the first aya of Surat Al-Fatiha in most printed copies of the Quran including those printed in Saudi Arabia (a copy of the Quran in writing being called a mus’haf not a Quran), there are Muslims, especially of the Hanafi and Hanbali schools of the Sunnis, who believe the first numbered verse of Al-Fatiha to be not the Basmalah but instead what is aya 2 in its most commonly printed text meaning “Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all worlds!” (Pictured below.) We shall discuss the differences of opinion and examine the implications of each.
The meaning of some of Allah’s great names are not that obvious, and no word in English can do justice to them. Al-Latif is one such name. Often translated ”The Subtle,” this doesn’t really convey the meaning and no single English word can, because it is so much more than that. This article from the Yaqeen Institute delves into the meaning both beautifully and with clarity.
The name Al-Samad is mentioned only once in the entire Quran, in Surat Al-Ikhlas (Sincerity) 112. Below is the link to a beautiful and very thorough explanation of its meaning, significance, roots in the Arabic language, application in our lives, and more, including an answer to the question “why is this name mentioned only once in the Quran?” To which I would also add: its placement in the Quran is also expressive of its meaning, right in the center or “heart” of the Quran. (Article below by Sheikh Mohammad Elshinawy on the Yaqeen Institute website.)
When I try to explain to other Muslims that the name Al-Rahman in Arabic is better translated as the Almighty as explained here in another post, most recoil from the idea, as if I am suggesting the removal of compassion from Allah’s primary attributes, even from the most important first aya of the Quran, the Basmalah. Most, if not all, major Islamic sites and organizations translate the name Al-Rahman as some variation of mercy such as The Most Merciful, The Compassionate, The Beneficent, and The Mercy-giver. This last name always struck me as the closest to the truth, although in a deeper sense, Al-Rahman is essentially a name, not simply an attribute. They say the name derives from the root word rahma, which means “mercy,” or possibly rahim, which means “womb.” But which came first, Al-Rahman, The Creator, or the “womb” which is part of creation?
When non-Muslims pray or use the word “prayer,” usually what they mean is du’a or supplication. This is different from Salat or salah (both transliterations are used), the Islamic prayer which involves the body language of bowing and prostration and the physical perimeters of time (daily prayer times) and space (direction to pray towards Mecca), required of all Muslims. Thikr Allah — translated “remembering” or “mentioning” Allah and sometimes transliterated dhikr — is not specified as obligatory, although the Quran emphasizes it. But salat is required to be established on a daily basis. So why then do we read in Surat Al-Ankabut 29:45 (below) that thikr Allah is greater than salat?
Continue readingاتْلُ مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ ۖ إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ تَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ ۗ وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ
Recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish salat. Indeed, salat prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and thikr Allah (the remembrance of Allah) is greater. And Allah knows that which you do.
At the very beginning of the Quran, in Surat Al-Fatiha “The Opening”, we are introduced to three great Names for God/ Allah in the Bismallah or Invocation which states “In the Name of Allah, Al-Rahman, Al-Raheem”. The meaning and significance of these two Divine names Al-Rahman — The Almighty — and Al-Raheem — The All-Merciful, reflect the polarity of Yang (might and majesty) and Yin (receptivity and mercy), dynamically interrelated in the context of the One who alone encompasses these names altogether in one Singularity, Indivisible and Eternal, Allah the Exalted.
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One might imagine that God would choose for Himself a significant and meaningful name, but most names for God in various languages don’t have particularly meaningful qualities. But the name “Allah” in Arabic does. Written using 3 unique letters to form a 4-letter Name, that number 4 by design matches the number of chambers in the human heart. We shall show how these letters combine visual, sonic, and functional connections to the human heart, while also exemplifying Yang/Yin attributes whose perfection is categorically unique to Allah the Exalted.
Continue readingAn ancient method of literary writing that has (relatively) recently been re-discovered in t ancient and religious texts is Ring Composition, a form of mirror writing called chiasmus, described by the anthropologist and scholar Mary Douglas in her book Thinking in Circles: An Essay on Ring Composition (Yale University Press, 2010) as essentially “a framing device” wherein the first section of a text corresponds in some clearly evident way with the last section, and the middle sections form a mirror pattern around a middle section which is also the central idea or turning point for the entire text. The mirror pattern can be described as ABCBA, expandable to more or fewer (at minimum 3) sections as needed with a center section “C”. This website gives an excellent example from the Quran, analyzing Surat Al-Baqara (the Cow) as well as significant subsections of it, including the famous Ayat al-Kursi (2:255). But for this post I will analyze Surat Al-Fatiha in Ring Composition, which provides evidence of two things: that the first numbered aya must be the Bismallah, which precedes all other Surahs except the 9th (“Repentance”) without being numbered; and that the two great attribute names for Allah the Exalted, Al-Rahman (The Almighty), Al-Raheem (The All-Merciful) express the two polarities of Power/ Yang and Mercy/ Receptivity/ Yin. Below is a graphic of this analysis:
lā ilāha illā Allāh
This statement of tawheed or “oneness” of Allah (monotheism) is the heart of Islam, a complete system of values, laws for their implementation, and worship/ devotion (faith) that does not claim to be a separate “religion” that came with the prophet Mohammad, but rather the very same such system (with some changes in the details but not the basic principles) sent to “al-aalameen,” “the worlds,” all people with minds, free will, and language since such people began to exist.
Jews and Christians can recognize in it the First Commandment, the basis for sacred law and faith. Other seemingly more divergent but major such systems, for example Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, also reveal common ground if viewed more closely and in greater depth.
The statement is simple:
لا أله إلا الله
lā ilāha illā allāh
“There is no god (one to be worshipped/ higher authority) but God.”
Simple, but profound. And in the original Arabic, full of signs and wonders for those who care to see…and hear.
114 Chambers 
