The true Greatest Name (ism-i-a'zam) symbol

165 

In the Name of the Godhead the Compassionate, the Merciful!

Praised be the Godhead the Lord of all the Worlds, the Master of the Greatest Name, the God of all gods, the Light of all lights, the Light of the Heavens, the Light of the earth, the Light of what is in between them indeed the Light of all the Worlds! Glorified, the Holy, Lord of the Angels and the Spirit; the Lord of the Seen, the Lord of the Unseen, the Lord of all the Worlds! And the Splendor of the Godhead be upon the First Unity and salutations and blessings be upon the true Messenger Prophets and the Providential Guides in every moment, before every moment and after every moment! Amen!

In 2008 the wikipedia contingency of the Baha'i Internet Agency successfully lobbied to have one of the articles I had submitted removed from wikipedia. This was an article on the Hebreo-Islamic graphic symbol of the Greatest Name of God (ism allah al-a'zam), also known as the Seal of Solomon (khitam sulayman): a symbol which from quite early on plays a major part in the history of Islamic esotericism, especially in magic and the occult. In one sense this symbol represents to the Shi'ite gnostic ('irfani) or Sufi what the Tetragrammaton represents to the Jewish mystic and Kabbalist. Since one of the contentions of the Baha'i faith is that it, and it alone, is the bearer of the Greatest Name (which they claim is the word baha', i.e. splendor), it is understandable why they should seek to have the wikipedia article removed, since it sheds a different light on matters and largely contradicts their  present narrative on the question. It should be noted, however, that to his credit,  Iranian Baha'i scholar and Hand of the Cause,  Fazel Mazandarani, did in fact recognize this present symbol as the original Greatest Name symbol (see, Asrar al-Ayat) as do Baha'i academics Todd Lawson and Stephan Lambden. Thanks to Will Johnson and his Royal Web, the article deleted from wikipedia can now be found in its final version here.

Although a version of the symbol is known within the Jewish Hekhalot (seven palaces) or Merkavah (throne chariot) mystical literature of the immediate pre-Islamic era (to which it is, inter alia, known as Solomon's Seals and attributed to the Archangel Metatron or Yahoel, i.e. the Lesser YHWH; see also Aryeh Kaplan Meditation and Kabbalah, 1989), in its present Islamicized form it derives from a poem attributed to the first Shi'ite Imam 'Ali (as). The poem in translation runs as follows:

Three sticks in a row after a seal; above them the semblance of a straightened lance.

Then a blind ‘mîm’ without a tail, then a ladder unto all that is hoped for, but which is not a ladder.

Four things like fingers in a row pointing to good deeds, but without a wrist.

And a ‘hâ’ that has been split, then an inverted `wâw’ like the syphon of a phlebotomist, but not a blood-letting cup.

This is the name whose worth is magnified; if you were ignorant of it before, know it now.

O bearer of the great name, take sufficiency in it – you shall be preserved from misfortunes and shall be kept safe.

It is the [secret] name of God, may His glory be glorified, unto all men, be they Arab or non-Arab!

In early 2008 I composed an esoteric commentary of my own on the meaning of this Greatest Name symbol, a commentary which can be found here.

Although I had decided to leave this forum for good given the panoply of nefarious forces running this site, since I left others have pressed on me incessantly to return here in order that the Baha'i contingency not have an exclusive information monopoly on the issues. Since most wars are fought and won on the level of symbolism, and since my struggle against Haifan Bahaism is very much a war against a symbolic manifestation of evil, I hereby mark my return to this forum with this piece on the true symbol of the Greatest Name of God (ism allah al-a'zam).

No power and no strength is there save in the Godhead, the High, the Mighty, and the Living, the Protector, the Peerless!

Wahid Azal

13th of Hayy, day of Wajh, Year 4 N.U.R.