Worshipping God’s Name or His Essence?

The divine names are distinct from the Essence of the Creator. We call upon God by His names and worship Him through them; by these names, we turn our attention to Him. Thus, we worship God by means of His names—we do not worship the names themselves, for that would be disbelief. Nor do we worship both God’s name and His Essence, for that would be associating partners with Him. Rather, we worship the Essence to which these names truly point. This form of worship is pure monotheism.

عن أبی عبد الله ع قال: من عبد الله بالتوهم فقد کفر و من عبد الاسم دون المعنى فقد کفر و من عبد الاسم و المعنى فقد أشرک و من عبد المعنى بإیقاع الأسماء علیه بصفاته التی وصف بها نفسه فعقد علیه قلبه و نطق به لسانه فی سرائره و علانیته فأولئک أصحاب أمیر المؤمنین ع حقا و فی حدیث آخر أولئک هم المؤمنون حقا
الکافی (ط - الإسلامیه)، ج‏1، ص: 87

Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: “Whoever worships God according to his own conception has disbelieved. Whoever worships the name alone, apart from the One named, has disbelieved. Whoever worships both the name and the One named has associated partners with God. But whoever worships the One named, applying to Him the names that correspond to the attributes with which He has described Himself, holding fast to this in his heart and professing it with his tongue, in private and in public—such people are truly the companions of the Commander of the Faithful (AS).” In another hadith, he said: “They are the true believers.”

أصول الکافی / ترجمه مصطفوى، ج‏1، ص: 116