AS-SAMEE’-The All-Hearing The All-Hearer
Benefits of belief in this name include the following:
The One whose hearing and attention comprehends everything. The One who pays attention to every supplication and invocation.
The One who listens to every voice. The One who hears and accepts every word, thought and secret.
The One who listens to everything, perfectly, eternally, without limitations.
From the root s-m-‘ which has the following classical Arabic connotations:
to hear, to listen
to accept, to receive, to be told
to pay attention to, pay regard to
to understand the meaning
This name is used in the Qur’ān. For example, see 17:1
Imam al-Ghazālī has said that in order to explore the depths of an attribute of Allah, one must venture far beyond the human expression of such a quality:
When you elevate the All-Hearing above changes which happen to Him when audible sounds occur, and exalt Him above hearing by ears, you will realize that His hearing is an attribute by which the perfection of the qualities of things heard is disclosed. Whoever does not not take care in considering this matter will inevitably fall into mere anthropomorphism. So, be wary, and be precise when you consider it.
The word samā’ (often written sema in Turkish), which literally means hearing or paying attention to, is commonly used to describe the musical gatherings of the Sufis, especially the great whirling dance of the dervishes.