Al-Kabîr: The Great

"He knows the Unseen and that which is open. He is the Great (Al-Kabîr)..." (13:9).

Greatness is an expression of the perfection of essence. The perfection of essence is traceable to two things. First of all, its perpetuity, both past and future. Every existent is deficient so that sooner or later it is interrupted by a period of non-existence. For this reason one says of a person who has lived a long life that he is great, that is to say, great of age. If, then, the being whose period of existence is lengthy, even though its actual duration is limited, is said to be great, then the one who always will be and always has been, the one in relation to whom non-existence is inconceivable, is more worthy of being called the Great. The second is that the existence from which all beings emanate is Allah's Being. If the one whose existence is complete in itself is Perfect and Great, then the one from whom the existence of all existing things originated is more worthy of being called perfect and great.