Lit. ‘word.’ Used in the Qur’an with several meanings, chief among which is the ‘Divine Word’. It also refers to the formula for the declaration of faith amongst Muslims (also shahda). In Shi’i and Ismaili esotericism, the concept is linked to the act of creation by various thinkers such as the Ismaili Ab贖 Ya尪q贖b al-Sijistn蘋 (d. after 971), the Twelver Mull 廜糎dr (d. 1640) and the Sufi Ibn 尪Arab蘋 (d. 638/1240).
