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The term huwa (“He”) constitutes one of the divine names. When God describes Himself in the Qurʾān, the particle huwa frequently appears, particularly in the Chapter of al-Hashr:
«هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِي لَآ إِلَٰهَإِلَّا هُوَ ٱلۡمَلِكُ ٱلۡقُدُّوسُ»
[He is God, than Whom there is no other god, the Sovereign, the Holy]
A distinctive feature of the utterance huwa is that its locus is the heart. When articulated, the word does not issue from the tongue by means of the lips, which is the ordinary manner of speech; conversely, it proceeds directly from the breast.
The letter hāʾ is the first of the interior luminous letters, while wāw is the last of the exterior letters. Consequently, the hāʾ emanates and emerges directly from the heart, whereas the wāw can be produced solely through the lips. Pronounced in isolation, the hāʾ remains abstract, attached to nothing and signifying nothing; when joined to the wāw, however, it becomes a demonstrative pronoun. Hence why the interior can be recognized exclusively by the means of the exterior, and the exterior exists only by virtue of the interior. This is the import of the following verse:
«هُوَ ٱلْأَوَّلُ وَٱلْـَٔاخِرُ وَٱلظَّـٰهِرُ وَٱلْبَاطِنُ»
[He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden]
Both the hāʾ and the wāw function as third-person masculine singular pronouns of absence; together they point to the absent singular masculine referent.
Huwa, therefore, is the utmost esoteric name of God – incomprehensible, unknowable, and beyond the reach of theoretical knowledge – for it pertains to the pre-eternal unseen. Its exoteric correspondent is the name Allāh, by which the Divine becomes manifest in existence and is recognized.
Hence the interior name is huwa and the exterior name is Allāh, yielding the formula; Huwa Allāh as in:
«هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْمَلِكُ»
[He is Allāh – there is no God except Him]
In the science of letters (ʿilm al-hurūf), the numerical value of hāʾ according to the abjad gematric system is five. Both the letter hāʾ and the number five are represented by a circle. The defining property of the circle is that a point lies at its centre, connected to every point on the circumference; this central point is the principle of the circle’s unity.
That point is the point beneath the bāʾ of the basmala
«بِسْمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيْمِ»
[In the name of God; The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful]
The basmala encompasses the entirety of contingent existence and contains the name al-Rahmān, Who is established upon the Throne and encompasses it. All existence originates from and descends from the Throne, as the Qurʾān states:
«الرَّحْمَٰنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَىٰ»
[The Most Merciful is established on the Throne]
The point gathers the whole of the basmala. particular A tradition attributed to the Commander of the Faithful (from Him does Light emanate) comes to mind in which he declares:
“All the secrets of the heavenly scriptures are contained in the Qurʾān; all that is in the Qurʾān is in the Opening (al-Fātiha); all that is in the Opening is in the basmala; all that is in the basmala is in the bāʾ of the basmala; and all that is in the bāʾ of the basmala is in the point that lies beneath the bāʾ.”
The circle thus represents the totality of existence, while the point is its pole, encompassing it from every direction. It constitutes the boundary between the pre-eternal Essence and the created, sanctified essence. This is expressed in the saying of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):
“By the bāʾ existence became manifest, and by the point the worshipper is distinguished from the Worshipped.”
The point is the Commander of the Faithful (from Him does Light emanate), whether in the scriptural (tadwīnī) order of existence that is the Qurʾān or in the ontological (takwīnī) order. He himself stated:
“I am the point that lies beneath the bāʾ.”
The point is connected to every part of the circle by means of the line, as the Commander of the Faithful further affirmed:
“I am the point, I am the line; I am the line, I am the point; I am both the point and the line.”
This point – the pole and axis of existence, joined to it in every direction – is the intermediary of divine effusion. It is the outpouring upon all existence, its effusion proceeding directly from the Divine Essence, for it is “touched” by the pre-eternal Essence. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said:
“Do not revile ʿAlī, for he is touched by the Essence of God.”
The word huwa consists of the two letters hāʾ (numerical value 5) and wāw (numerical value 6); their sum is 11.
Among the divine names is al-ʿAlī. In the abjad calculation the name ʿAlī yields 110 (ʿayn = 70, lām = 30, yāʾ = 10).
When huwa (11) is brought down the descending arc by the addition of a zero, it becomes 110, i.e., ʿAlī, corresponding to the verse
«وَإِنَّهُ فِي أُمِّ الْكِتَابِ لَدَيْنَا لَعَلِيٌّ حَكِيمٌ»
[And indeed it is, in the Mother of the Book with Us, exalted and full of wisdom]
Conversely, when the name ʿAlī is raised upon the ascending arc, it becomes 11, i.e., huwa, corresponding to
«قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ»
[Say he is God, the One]
Thus in ascent it is huwa and in descent it is ʿAlī.
In the higher luminary states, therefore, the term Huwa refers to God – the name by which the Most High brought existence into being and by which He is known. In the lower states it refers to ʿAlī, who is the Face of God toward which one turns and by which the Most High is worshipped.
Consequently, the meaning of ʿAlī in the Qurʾān, when considered in the station of elevation, is huwa; and the meaning of huwa, when considered in the station of descent, is ʿAlī.
This correspondence appears in the Throne Verse:
«وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ»
[And He is the Most High, the Most Great]
And in verse 30 of the Chapter of Luqmān:
«وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْعَلِ»
[And that is Allāh, the High]
Thus the Commander of the Faithful (from Him does Light emanate) is, in the heavens, the Name of the Most High, and upon the earth His Face.
In the visitation formula addressed to him one reads:
“Peace be upon the pleasing Name of God and His luminous Face.”
The end of this Door,
Peace be Upon the Reader
«هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِي لَآ إِلَٰهَإِلَّا هُوَ ٱلۡمَلِكُ ٱلۡقُدُّوسُ»
[He is God, than Whom there is no other god, the Sovereign, the Holy]
A distinctive feature of the utterance huwa is that its locus is the heart. When articulated, the word does not issue from the tongue by means of the lips, which is the ordinary manner of speech; conversely, it proceeds directly from the breast.
The letter hāʾ is the first of the interior luminous letters, while wāw is the last of the exterior letters. Consequently, the hāʾ emanates and emerges directly from the heart, whereas the wāw can be produced solely through the lips. Pronounced in isolation, the hāʾ remains abstract, attached to nothing and signifying nothing; when joined to the wāw, however, it becomes a demonstrative pronoun. Hence why the interior can be recognized exclusively by the means of the exterior, and the exterior exists only by virtue of the interior. This is the import of the following verse:
«هُوَ ٱلْأَوَّلُ وَٱلْـَٔاخِرُ وَٱلظَّـٰهِرُ وَٱلْبَاطِنُ»
[He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden]
Both the hāʾ and the wāw function as third-person masculine singular pronouns of absence; together they point to the absent singular masculine referent.
Huwa, therefore, is the utmost esoteric name of God – incomprehensible, unknowable, and beyond the reach of theoretical knowledge – for it pertains to the pre-eternal unseen. Its exoteric correspondent is the name Allāh, by which the Divine becomes manifest in existence and is recognized.
Hence the interior name is huwa and the exterior name is Allāh, yielding the formula; Huwa Allāh as in:
«هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْمَلِكُ»
[He is Allāh – there is no God except Him]
In the science of letters (ʿilm al-hurūf), the numerical value of hāʾ according to the abjad gematric system is five. Both the letter hāʾ and the number five are represented by a circle. The defining property of the circle is that a point lies at its centre, connected to every point on the circumference; this central point is the principle of the circle’s unity.
That point is the point beneath the bāʾ of the basmala
«بِسْمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيْمِ»
[In the name of God; The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful]
The basmala encompasses the entirety of contingent existence and contains the name al-Rahmān, Who is established upon the Throne and encompasses it. All existence originates from and descends from the Throne, as the Qurʾān states:
«الرَّحْمَٰنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَىٰ»
[The Most Merciful is established on the Throne]
The point gathers the whole of the basmala. particular A tradition attributed to the Commander of the Faithful (from Him does Light emanate) comes to mind in which he declares:
“All the secrets of the heavenly scriptures are contained in the Qurʾān; all that is in the Qurʾān is in the Opening (al-Fātiha); all that is in the Opening is in the basmala; all that is in the basmala is in the bāʾ of the basmala; and all that is in the bāʾ of the basmala is in the point that lies beneath the bāʾ.”
The circle thus represents the totality of existence, while the point is its pole, encompassing it from every direction. It constitutes the boundary between the pre-eternal Essence and the created, sanctified essence. This is expressed in the saying of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):
“By the bāʾ existence became manifest, and by the point the worshipper is distinguished from the Worshipped.”
The point is the Commander of the Faithful (from Him does Light emanate), whether in the scriptural (tadwīnī) order of existence that is the Qurʾān or in the ontological (takwīnī) order. He himself stated:
“I am the point that lies beneath the bāʾ.”
The point is connected to every part of the circle by means of the line, as the Commander of the Faithful further affirmed:
“I am the point, I am the line; I am the line, I am the point; I am both the point and the line.”
This point – the pole and axis of existence, joined to it in every direction – is the intermediary of divine effusion. It is the outpouring upon all existence, its effusion proceeding directly from the Divine Essence, for it is “touched” by the pre-eternal Essence. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said:
“Do not revile ʿAlī, for he is touched by the Essence of God.”
The word huwa consists of the two letters hāʾ (numerical value 5) and wāw (numerical value 6); their sum is 11.
Among the divine names is al-ʿAlī. In the abjad calculation the name ʿAlī yields 110 (ʿayn = 70, lām = 30, yāʾ = 10).
When huwa (11) is brought down the descending arc by the addition of a zero, it becomes 110, i.e., ʿAlī, corresponding to the verse
«وَإِنَّهُ فِي أُمِّ الْكِتَابِ لَدَيْنَا لَعَلِيٌّ حَكِيمٌ»
[And indeed it is, in the Mother of the Book with Us, exalted and full of wisdom]
Conversely, when the name ʿAlī is raised upon the ascending arc, it becomes 11, i.e., huwa, corresponding to
«قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ»
[Say he is God, the One]
Thus in ascent it is huwa and in descent it is ʿAlī.
In the higher luminary states, therefore, the term Huwa refers to God – the name by which the Most High brought existence into being and by which He is known. In the lower states it refers to ʿAlī, who is the Face of God toward which one turns and by which the Most High is worshipped.
Consequently, the meaning of ʿAlī in the Qurʾān, when considered in the station of elevation, is huwa; and the meaning of huwa, when considered in the station of descent, is ʿAlī.
This correspondence appears in the Throne Verse:
«وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ»
[And He is the Most High, the Most Great]
And in verse 30 of the Chapter of Luqmān:
«وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْعَلِ»
[And that is Allāh, the High]
Thus the Commander of the Faithful (from Him does Light emanate) is, in the heavens, the Name of the Most High, and upon the earth His Face.
In the visitation formula addressed to him one reads:
“Peace be upon the pleasing Name of God and His luminous Face.”
The end of this Door,
Peace be Upon the Reader