ism/tesmiya: An ism (name) is something that is not other than the musammā (the named entity); that is, the name is identical with the entity that is named by it.
Tesmiya (naming) is an indicator of the musammā (that which is named). (Hujwīrī, 468)
An ism, in the moment in which it is present, is the divine name that dominates the servant's ḥāl (spiritual state). (Iṣṭilāḥ, 536)
What is the meaning of an ism? The answer is as follows: An ism is an affair (amr) that either emerges from an effect (athar) or from which an effect emerges. (It is also true that an ism) is itself the ism-i aʿẓam (the Greatest Name).
Or, as in sinden, it is that from which the effect arises, or, when the musammā is not intended by it, that which arises from the effect.
If the musammā is intended by the ism, then its meaning is that the musammā is composed either of a spiritual or sensory combination, or, again, without being subject to any linguistic derivation, as in the case of the word Raḥīm (the Merciful), which means 'possessor of mercy.' In this ḥāl (state), the musammā that is the subject of this naming is the very nisba (relation) that unites mercy and the essence. Thus, because of this nisba (relation), the active name is given to it. If the naming is jāmiʿd (a name not subject to any linguistic derivation), then it does not arise from a spiritual combination. In this case, nothing other than that essence is understood from the naming. In terms of the meaning it carries, this essence is unique.
Sometimes, as in the case of the word kalima (word), it can be a sensory compound (a derived name). Under this name, there is both a sensory and a spiritual combination (for example, 'human' is a derived name). According to some of our companions, name and form are two attributes that, with respect to the eternal, operate according to the ruling of that which is pre-eternal. (Futūḥāt, II, 117)
What is meant by 'name' according to the terminology of the Sufis is not the uttered word, but the entity to which the name indicates. This understanding is due to the fact that the name is an existent attribute. For example, ʿAlīm (the All-Knowing) and Qadīr (the All-Powerful). It is also so in the case of a non-existent attribute, such as Quddūs (the Most Pure) and Salām (the Source of Peace). (Kāshānī, 28; Jāmiʿ, 76) For Quddūs means pure, flawless, and free from imperfection. (Jāmiʿ, 76)