Qayyum
Qayyūm (Arabic: قَیُّوم) is a Divine name and attribute, which means everlasting and self-subsistent. Qayyum is an existential attribute, and the sustenance, protection, and training of all beings are in His hand. Qayyum is said to be the root of all other Divine attributes, and together with "Hayy" (ever-living), it counts as God's Greatest Name.
The Notion
Qayyum is a Divine name meaning everlasting, self-subsistent,[1] eternal, and lacking counterparts.[2] Qayyum refers to a being that stands on His own and on Whom other beings rely, or a being that protects, trains, and flourishes other beings.[3]
Divine Attribute
"Qayyum", and its cognate, "Qa'im", have been used in the Qur'an as Divine attributes. The word, "Qa'im", has been used twice in the Qur'an to mean the person who sustains justice and fairness,[4] and one who protects and dominates all lives.[5]
Qayyum is said to be the root of all divine attributes of act, such as Khaliq (Creator), Raziq (Provider), Hadi (Guide), and Ghafir (Forgiver). In other words, Qayyum expresses the full need of all beings to God.[6]
The word, "Qayyum", occurs three times in the Qur'an together with "Hayy" (Ever-Living). Their concomitance is said to imply that "Hayy" is the root of all Divine attributes of essence, and Qayyum is the root of all Divine attributes of act.[7] Thus, the two attributes, taken together, constitute God's Greatest Name.[8]
In collections of hadiths, there are hadiths in which "Qayyum" is delineated and effects of its recitation are mentioned, including the forgiveness of one's sins by God.[9]
Notes
- ↑ Muʿīn, Farhang-i Fārsī-i, under the word "Qayyum".
- ↑ Dihkhudā, Lughatnāma, under the word "Qayyum".
- ↑ Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, Mufradāt alfāẓ al-Qurʾān, under the word "Qayyum"; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 4, p. 201.
- ↑ Qur'an 3:18.
- ↑ Qur'an 13:23.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 331; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 2, p. 264.
- ↑ Qur'an 2:255; Qur'an 3:3; Qur'an 20:111.
- ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr, vol. 7, p. 6.
- ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 437-438, 521.
References
- Dihkhudā, ʿAlī Akbar. Lughatnāma. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Dānishgāh-i Tehrān, 1377 Sh.
- Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. al-ʿUmar al-. Al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1420 AH.
- Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1407 AH.
- Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
- Muʿīn, Muḥammad. Farhang-i Fārsī-i. Tehran: Amīr Kabīr, 1371 Sh.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1371 Sh.
- Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad al-. Mufradāt alfāẓ al-Qurʾān. Damascus: Dār al-ʿIlm, 1412 AH.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1390 AH.