Hoo – The King of Invocations
(Sultan-ul-Azkaar)
Among the invocations, the most powerful and spiritually effective invocation is the invocation of Hoo. This invocation when granted by a perfect and accomplished spiritual guide blesses the seeker with ultimate Divine union and gnosis.
Four Stages of invocation of Ism e Allah
Invocation of Ism-e-Allah Zaat اَللّٰہُ has four stages, that is; AllaHoo (اَللّٰہُ), Lillah (لِلّٰہ), LaHoo (لَہُ) and Hoo (ھُو). It is because, the Divine name اَللّٰہُ has amazing quality that if its alphabets are separated one by one, even then it refers to Allah. Hence, it remains Ism-e-Zaat i.e. name of the Divine Essence in any case. If we separate first alphabet ا (A) of اَللّٰہُ (AllaHoo), it becomes لِلّٰہ (Lillah) which means ‘for Allah’. Certainly, it is the Ism-e-Zaat, as Allah says in Holy Quran:
لِلّٰہِ مَافِی السَّمٰوٰتِ وَمَافِی الْاَرْضِ
Meaning: Whatever is in the heavens and in the earth is ‘for Allah’.
Then, if we remove second alphabet i.e. ل (L) of لِلّٰہ (Lillah), it becomes لَہُ (LaHoo) which means ‘for Him’. It is also Ism-e-Zaat as Allah says in the Quran:
لَہُ الْمُلْکُ وَلَہُ الْحَمْدُ وَھُوَ عَلٰی کُلِّ شَیْئٍ قَدِیْر
Meaning: For Him is all the kingdom and glory and He has complete command over everything.
Finally, if third alphabet which is also ل (L) is removed, it becomes Hoo (ھُو). which is, in fact, a pronoun for Allah as is used many times in the Quran for Allah’s name.
ھُوَ اللّٰہُ الَّذِی لَآ اِلٰہَ اِلَّا ھُو
Meaning: He (ھُو) is Allah, no one is to be worshipped except Hoo (ھُو)
Among these four stages, invocation of Hoo (ھُو) is uniquely the king of invocations.
Teachings of Saints about king of invocations Hoo
Imam Razi says:
- No doubt! Hoo is Ism e Azam, the greatest name of Allah.
Shaikh al-Akbar Mohiyuddin ibn Arabi says;
- Hoo (ھُو) is the extreme and most elevated invocation of Mystics (Arifeen). (Al-Futuhat Al-Makkiyya)
Furthermore, Sultan ul Faqr Sultan Bahoo says;
ذاکراں را انتہا ھُو شد تمام
Meaning: Hoo (ھُو) is the final invocation of the true invokers. (Nur-ul-Huda)
- If you want to know the secrets of Hoo , eliminate everything from your heart except Allah. (Qurb-e-Deedar)
Effects of invocation of Sultan ul Azkaar
Sultan ul Arifeen Sultan Bahoo says:
- When, due to frequent invocation, Hoo dominates the being of invoker, then there remains nothing in him except Hoo.(Mehak-ul-Faqr Kalan)
- The invocation of Hoo affects its reciter in such a way that he starts loving Hoo extremely and is disgusted by everything other than Allah. (Ain-ul-Faqr)
- When a seeker invokes Ism-e-Hoo esoterically, he likes nothing except Allah. People think he is ignorant or insane but in fact he has found Divine presence in the court of Allah Almighty. (Mahak-ul-Faqr Kalan)
Who grants Sultan of invocation in present era?
Previously, the spiritual guides used to give invocation of Ism-e-Allah Zaat to disciples in above-mentioned four stages. That is; AllaHoo (اَللّٰہُ), Lillah (لِلّٰہ), LaHoo (لَہُ ) and Hoo (ھُو). They got Sultan of invocation (ھُو) eventually after passing all the basic stages. It was long process, hence required a lot of time and patience in order to attain Divine closeness. Usually, most of the disciples could not reach this highest level. Thus, only few chosen seekers would get the Ism e Azam. However, now by the grace of Allah, the perfect spiritual guide of Sarwari Qadri order Sultan ul Ashiqeen Sultan Mohammad Najib ur Rehman is granting the invocation of Sultan ul Azkaar Hoo (ھُو) on first day of allegiance, by virtue of his unmatched spiritual powers.