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 shahāda). In Shi’i and Ismaili esotericism, the concept is linked to the act of creation by various thinkers such as the Ismaili Abū Yaʿqūb al-Sijistānī (d. after 971), the Twelver Mullā Ṣadrā (d. 1640) and the Sufi Ibn ʿArabī (d. 638/1240).
