2. Based on the above, theNamesof Allah referenced throughout the book should not be understood as titles of ‘a God’, but rather as the intrinsic structural qualities of the Essence of existence from which the infinite modalities of the manifest world are derived.
3. Although Allah transcendentally surpasses any gender, the masculine pronoun ‘He’ is employed not only because using ‘It’ would be inappropriate and disrespectful, but also because ‘He’ is the closest realistic translation of the Arabic word ‘Hu’, which has no connotation of gender when used in reference to the Divine.
4. The Arabic word Rabb, though generally translated as Lord or Sustainer, is used in its original form, not only because no English counterpart adequately captures its meaning but also the intent, again, is to prevent all kinds of implications to a deity by avoiding excessively used words entailing popularized meanings that are far from the truth.
5. Rasulullah, orRasul is traditionally translated as the ‘Messenger of God’, practically assigning a postman’s position to Muhammad (saw), who apparently received messages from a physical God in the heavens to convey to humanity(!) Contrary to this primitive understanding, Ahmed Hulusi asserts that Rasulullah is the locus of Allah’s knowledge, that is, the focal point of the cosmos through which divine knowledge is expressed and disseminated, not a figure in history who walked around preaching to people. For this purpose, it was found more befitting to use the original word Rasulullah, or the name Muhammad, instead of the ‘Messenger of God’. (Rasulullah and Muhammad have been used synonymously.)
Twelve years ago, when I first encountered Ahmed Hulusi’s books, it never occurred to me that one day I would translate his masterful works into English. I feel privileged to have had this opportunity, and would feel gratified if it aids in a better understanding of the Observing One.
Aliya Atalay
Sydney, 2011