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اَلْعَلِيم
al-ʿAlīm
The All-Knowing
Whose knowledge embraces all things, manifest and secret.
The tongue
A faʿīl (فَعِيل) form of ʿ-l-m: to know with certainty. Al-Kāfījī notes: His knowledge is not acquired, it is essential — He knows by Himself.
The reason
His knowledge has neither before nor after: He knows the past without memory, the future without foresight, the present without observation.
The Sufi meaning
To live under the gaze of al-ʿAlīm is to cease playing a role. There is no use in seeming: He sees even beneath the veil you lay over yourself.
The servant's portion
Seek true knowledge — not the erudition that puffs up, but the knowing that transforms.