In Islam the Sufis, during their lengthy periods of prayer, choose one of ‘ninety-nine most beautiful names’ for Allah and then repeat the divine name as they pray. I do not know many of ninety-nine names but of the few I do know the one that resonates deeply with me is that of ‘Al-Fattah’ – the opener. As one Sufi mystic wrote:
Al-Fattah is the Opener and the Solver, the Easer of all that is locked, tied and hardened. There are things that are closed to one. There are states and problems that are tied in a knot. These are hardened things that one cannot see through and pass through. Some are material things: professions, jobs, gains, possessions, places, friends that are unavailable to one. There are also hearts tied in a knot with sadness, minds tied up in doubts or questions they are unable to answer.
Allah al Fattah opens them all. There is nothing unavailable to the beloved servant of Allah, for whom al-Fattah opens all gates. No force can keep those doors locked. But if Allah does not open the doors. . . , no force can make those doors open. . .
As I have noted in earlier postings, I am a Christian (one who follows Christ). And when I spend time with the New Testament it becomes clear to me that Jesus exemplifies an opener. He clears the eyes of the blind: Then he touched their eyes. . .and their eyes were opened (Mt 9:29-30). He opens the ears of the deaf: He said to him, ‘Ephphatha,’ that is, ‘Be Opened.’ And immediately [the deaf man’s] ears were opened (Mk 7:34-35). Jesus frees the hearts of seekers: The Lord opened [Lydia’s] heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul (Acts 16:14). Jesus also expands the minds of those who are confused: Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening scriptures to us? (Lk 24:32).
It is easy for me to seek Jesus as Al-Fattah – the opener. And when I read what the Sufi mystic wrote I think of Jesus the Christ; I also think of Allah the Merciful. Am I willing to surrender to the Opener? Do I invite the Opener into my life?
Do I allow the knot(s) within me to be opened by the Opener? I am now thinking of Alexander the Great as he was faced with the Gordian Knot and his response – simply to cut through it rather than try to unravel it. Am I willing to allow the Opener to cut through the Gordian Knot that I have woven? Unlike Alexander who cut through the Gordian Knot in order to invade – he was not invited in; Al-Fattah will only come and cut the knot if invited – and I must extend the invitation.
As any of us who have woven Gordian Knots understand that this is no easy invitation to proffer – it requires faith, trust, vulnerability and courage (to name a few). If I wait for Al-Fattah to ‘invade’ me uninvited it will never happen. . . I have choice; this is the freedom I have been given as a human being. What will I choose today? Today, will I choose to invite Al-Fattah, the Opener, into my life? Today, will I add another piece to my inner ‘Gordian Knot’? What will I choose today?
Here is one representation of the Gordian Knot:
Searcher-Seeker 