Reciting the 99 Names of God is a Sufi practice that goes back to the benefits accrued to the Prophet Muhammad when he originated this devotional practice. The number 99 is symbolic of an unlimited quantity and the Qur'an is the source for the definitions of the Names. Wali Ali Meyer was chosen by the other three authors to create this book, and he has done a masterful job blending their four voices together. This resource is also the result of a nine-year conversation about the names of God.
All the Names of God, according to the authors, are contained in Allah which is "presence, beyond all affirmation and negation." When we seek guidance, the other sacred Names of God provide healing wisdom. Here are some examples given in an abbreviated format:
• "Invocation of Ya Malik, Ya Malikal-Mulk is an antidote for all who feel abandoned and don't believe they belong anywhere."
• "Ya Mu'min is an antidote for hypocrisy. It is a remedy for those who only give lip service to their faith or who trust in Allah but lack fullness of heart."
• Ya 'Aziz is an important remedy for the common human experience of feeling undervalued and worthless."
• "Ya Shakur is an antidote for dissatisfaction with the falseness or incompleteness of the world."
Wali Ali Meyer and company also provide some substantive commentary on the Names of God, putting them in groups:
• Love's Mysteries
• Allah's Opposite Qualities
• The Family of Divine Forgiveness
• Modalities of Omnipotence
• Awakening to Infinite Presence
• The Matrix of Divine Protection
• The Secret of Ecstasy
• The Arc of Ascent and Descent
• God the Creator
• Temporal and Eternal Aspects of the Divine Nature
• The Names of Gratitude and the Gifts of God
• The Treasure House of Divine Generosity.
• The Family of Divine Abundance
• In Quest of Wisdom
• The Names of Guidance
Other sections cover the seven levels of the nafs or ego, dying to the false self, the quest for truth, and insights for the student on the path.
This bountiful Sufi work contains not only a rich and substantive stew of insights into the Names of God but also a smorgasbord of reflections and suggestions on self-growth and spiritual maturation. It is tailor-made for physicians of the heart who yearn to help others draw out the divine qualities within themselves. As Wali Ali Meyer and his co-writers put it:
"Every human being is born with many of these divine qualities intact, and everyone has the potential to develop the qualities that have not been realized. It is our God-given birthright of perfection."
