Analyzing and Examining the Way to Get Names: from Repeating Action to Acquiring a Divine Name
On the path of self-improvement and personal spiritual journey, we all face questions and challenges that occupy both our minds and hearts. One of the most important concerns for many of us is discovering the way to get names—how we can more quickly and easily reach the stage where we can embody one of the divine names.
We have often experienced that we are more passionate toward some acts of worship, while performing others seem heavy and burdensome. This difference in feeling and enthusiasm for acts of worship makes us doubt whether we are on the right path, or if we should seek a cure for this situation? At times, we even feel anxiety as to why, despite our efforts and perseverance, we do not feel the result we expected from our worship?
In the meantime, many of us wonder about the way to get names and how we can acquire divine names. When we refer to religious teachings and the words of the Fourteen Infallibles (Peace be upon them), we realize that many of these spiritual questions and concerns have existed in the path of human conduct. Great religious figures have faced similar challenges. The Infallibles (Peace be upon them) have provided clear guidance in their teachings and have set a clear path before us. We need and have always needed a clear and illuminated path in our spiritual journey, a path not just pursued only through compulsion and repetition, but rather by choice, interest, and perseverance.
In fact, we must accept that each of us needs to find, among the various ways of connecting with God the act of worship that most closely aligns with our soul and personality, so that we can ultimately acquire spiritual wealth (the acquisition of divine names).
In the following, we will attempt, relying on religious sources and practical experiences of spiritual wayfarers, to shed light on the way to get names and the secrets of this path.
From Perseverance in Worship to Acquiring a Name
After raising the initial concerns and questions, we now want enter the main path step by step and examine the way to get names in practical terms.
The reality is that each of us connects more deeply with certain types of worship that align with our personal character and temperament. Some of us find peace in night prayers or supplications; others feel closeness to God through serving people, while some are more passionate about reciting the Quran. This choice is exactly where the process of learning the way to get names starts.
When we choose worship based on interest and passion and continue it consistently and wholeheartedly, a deep bond is formed between us and that act. Repetition accompanied by desire gradually causes that act of worship to transform from a state of external behavior into a part of our very identity and character. This is where the way to get names shifts from a theory into a lived experience; that is, the chosen act of worship, when practiced with perseverance and passion, paves the way for acquiring one of the divine names within us.
The important point is that the way to get names is not a formula of mere compulsion or imitation. We must find a path and a form of worship that we truly feel genuine intimacy and closeness with, and then implement it in our lives with persistence and love. Experience proves that even if there is a greater or nobler act or practice, our persistence in the practice that we are interested in is still more effective and can open the door to divine names within us.
This is why spiritual masters recommend that when choosing a form of worship everyone should follow the path that brings peace to the heart, and this personal path is the way to get names for each of us humans.
On the steep path of self-improvement, we have come to realize that there is no single fixed formula for everyone, but the important principle that is in front of us is the way to get names; that is, finding the act of worship or practice that harmonizes most with our soul and passion, and in the next step, loving continuity and persistence in performing the act is important.
When we honor our choice and continue the act of worship that we love consistently and enthusiastically, that act of worship slowly transforms from a mere external activity into a permanent and inner characteristic. At this stage, the path to acquire divine names is paved for us, leading us to what Islamic philosophy calls acquiring an asset.
Thus, if we are seeking profound growth and transformation in our spiritual path, we should consciously and lovingly apply the way to get names in our lives, and remain determined in choosing and continuing the path of our chosen acts of worship. Without a doubt, passionate perseverance in the chosen act of worship is the surest path to acquire true spiritual asset and connection with divine names.