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 shah膩da). In Shi’i and Ismaili esotericism, the concept is linked to the act of creation by various thinkers such as the Ismaili Ab奴 Ya士q奴b al-Sijist膩n墨 (d. after 971), the Twelver Mull膩 峁dr膩 (d. 1640) and the Sufi Ibn 士Arab墨 (d. 638/1240).
