Names of God in Islam (Arabic:أَسْمَاءُ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ,romanized: ʾasmāʾu llāhi l-ḥusnā,lit. 'Allah's Beautiful Names') are names that each containAttributes of God in Islam,[1][2][3][4][5][6] which are implied by the respective names.[7] Some names are known from either theQur’an or thehadith, while others can be found in both sources, although most are found in the Qur’an.[8]
Allāh is theArabic word referring toGod in Abrahamic religions,[9][10][11] thought to be derived bycontraction fromal-ʾilāh, which means "the god",[12] (i.e., theonly god) and is related toEl andElah, theHebrew andAramaic words for God.[13][14] Whether or notAllah can be considered as the personal name of God became disputed in contemporary scholarship.[15] In Islamic usage and indoctrination,Allah was the God's most unique, proper name,[16] and referred to asLafẓ al-Jalālah (The Word of Majesty). Those who claimed that Allah was the personal name of God also denied that this name was a derivative name. Some Muslims may use different names as much asAllah, for instanceRabb,Rahman or "God" inEnglish. The Quran refers to the attributes of God as "most beautiful names".[17][18]
They are traditionally enumerated as 99 in number to which is added as the highest Name (al-ism al-ʾaʿẓam), the Supreme Name of God. Thelocus classicus for listing the Divine Names in the literature of Qurʾānic commentary is17:110 "Call upon Allah, or call upon The Merciful; whichsoever you call upon, to Allah belong the most beautiful Names," and also59:22-24, which includes a cluster of more than a dozen Divine epithets."
Beside these Arabic names, Muslims of non-Arab origins may also sometimes use other names in their own languages to refer to God, such asKhuda inPersian,Bengali andUrdu.Tangri orTengri was used in theOttoman Turkish language as the equivalent of Allah.[20]
These names usually denote his praise, gratitude, commendation, glorification, magnification, perfect attributes, majestic qualities, and acts of wisdom, mercy, benefit, and justice from Allah, as believed by Muslims. These names are commonly called upon by Muslims duringprayers,supplications, andremembrance, as they hold significant spiritual and theological importance, serving as a means for Muslims to connect with God. InSufis, often characterised as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam,Hu,Huwa (depends on placement in the sentence), orParvardigar in Persian are used as names of God. The soundHu derives from the last letter of the wordAllah, which is read asAllahu when in the middle of a sentence.Hu means 'Just He' or 'Revealed'. The word explicitly appears in manyverses of theQuran:
Different sources give different lists of the 99 names. The most commonly known list is based on the one found in theJamiʿ at-Tirmidhi (9th century) that was narrated by al-Walid ibn Muslim, which is the most commonly known.[21] However, al-Tirmidhi comments on his list: "This (version of the) hadith isgharib [unusual]; it has been narrated from various routes on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, but we do not know of the mention of the Names in the numerous narrations, except this one." Other hadiths, such as those ofal-Bukhari,Sahih Muslim,Ibn Majah,al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi orIbn ʿAsākir, have variant lists. Various early Muslim exegetes, includingJaʿfar al-Sadiq,Sufyan ibn `Uyaynah,Ibn Hazm,al-Qurtubi, andIbn Hajar al-Asqalani, have given their own versions of lists of 99 names.
The Most Merciful (in major affairs)/[23] The Beneficent/ All-Compassionate/ Most Gracious/
Quran: Beginning of everySurah (chapter) exceptone, and numerous other places. The firstAyah (verse) ofSurah ar-Raḥman (Surah 55) consists only of this name.
There is no universal agreement among Islamicexegesis scholars about the number of names of God, since it was onlyIbn Hazm who argued a limitation of 99 names. Instead, Islamic scholars such asal-Khattabi,al-Qurtubi, Abi Bakr bin Thayyib, Ibn al-'Arabi (notIbn Arabi),[a]Abu Abdillah ar-Razi,Ibn Taymiyya,Al-Nawawi,Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani,[26]Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya[27] andIbn Rajab,[28] have stated that Allah has aninfinite number of names. While there are rulings that only a few names and their attributes are revealed and known in the Qur'an and Hadiths, the uncountably unrevealed names and their attributes are only known by Allah Himself.[29][30] The basis of these rulings was the Hadith, which contains a supplication as narrated in Hisn al-Muslim:
"I beg You by every Names that is Yours, which You have named Yourself with, or revealed in Your Book, or taught to any of Your creation, or (which you) kept them secret to Yourself in the mysterious knowledge of Yours."
“O Allah, indeed I seek refuge in Your blessing from Your wrath, and I seek refuge in Your salvation from Your torment, and I seek refuge in You from You. I cannot limit the amount of praise to You. You are as You praise Yourself."
In the established Islamic creed about the unrevealed names of Allah, the majority offatwas say it is obligatory for a Muslim to believe in the existence of the unrevealed names and their attributes, but it is forbidden for Muslims to try to search for them without literal evidences from the Qur'an and authentic Hadiths.[26][28][29][27] In the creed ofIslamic eschatology, the hidden names are believed to be hidden from anyone but Allah, and will only be revealed personally to Muhammad duringJudgement Day.[27]
According to Muslims, the names of God must be established by evidence and direct reference in the Qur'an and hadiths (the concept oftawqif). Thus, it is impermissible (haram) for Muslims to give Allah names except with what He has named Himself in the Qur'an or in authentic Hadiths.
TheQuran refers to God'sMost Beautiful Names (al-ʾasmāʾ al-ḥusná) in several Surahs.Gerhard Böwering refers to Surah 17 (17:110) as thelocus classicus to which explicit lists of 99 names used to be attached intafsir.
Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Call upon Allah or call upon the Most Compassionate—whichever you call, He has the Most Beautiful Names.” Do not recite your prayers too loudly or silently, but seek a way between.
Allah has the Most Beautiful Names. So call upon Him by them, and keep away from those who abuse His Names.1 They will be punished for what they used to do.
He is Allāh—there is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him: 'Ālim al-ghayb wa'l-shāhadah (Knower of the seen and unseen). He isar-Raḥmān (the Most Compassionate),ar-Raḥīm (the Most Merciful). He is Allāh—there is no god except Him:al-Malik (the King),al-Quddūs (the Most Holy),as-Salām (the All-Perfect),al-Muʾmin (the Source of Serenity),al-Muhaymin (the Watcher),al-ʿAzīz (the Almighty),al-Jabbār (the Supreme in Might),al-Mutakabbir (the Majestic). Glorified is Allāh far above what they associate with Him. He is Allāh:al-Khāliq (the Creator),al-Bāriʾ (the Inventor),al-Muṣawwir (the Shaper). He ˹alone˺ has the Most Beautiful Names. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth ˹constantly˺ glorifies Him. And He isal-ʿAzīz (the Almighty),al-Ḥakīm (All-Wise).
In a hadith narrated bySahih al-Bukhari, it is mentioned that Allah has 99 names.
Abu Hurairah reported that God has ninety-nine Names, i.e., one hundred minus one, and whoever believes in their meanings and acts accordingly, will enterParadise; and God is witr (one) and loves 'the witr' (i.e., odd numbers).
— Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 8, Book 75, Hadith 419
In another hadith, this fact is also mentioned again.
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "God has ninety-nine Names, one-hundred less one; and he who memorized them all by heart will enter Paradise." To count something means to know it by heart.
Islamic tenets has detailed descriptions about to differentiate names with attributes (Arabic:صِفَة,romanized: ṣifāh plural ofsˤi.faːt), which has literal abilities of their owns. Examples of the attributes are the name of "ar-Rahman" contains the attributes "mercifulness in general",[3] or "fundamental mercy".[33] According to Sahih Bukhari and Muslim, God has 100 kinds ofrahmah (grace/godsend), whereas only one of them already revealed to this world, while the other 99 still withheld for the afterlife. One of therahmah which was sent to the world are sufficient to fulfil the needs of all creatures until theJudgement Day; including humans,Jinns, and even non-sentients such as animals, so the parents of animals would not trample their babies under their foots or wasting.[34] Another example is name of al-ʿAliyy contains several attributes, such as "heightness" and "above all".[3]
This ruling is because the naming of God are limited by the evidences from Qur'an and Hadith in Sunni Islam.[4] Thus, postulating the tenet in Islam's creed that essentially, the name-bearing of God are different from attributes of God.[5] Nevertheless,Salafi scholaral-Uthaymin stated the principal ruling of giving attributes to God is similar with the verdict about giving name to God; that is forbidden to gave attributes without evidence from Qur'an and Sunnah.[35] One of the disputed name of God among the Islamic academic is "al-Hannan",[4] Since it is considered as one of the attribute of "ar-Rahman" name inMaryam19:13, not because al-Hannan is a name itself.[36]
BothIbn Taymiyya in his work,The Treaty of Tadmur, andIbn al-Qayyim have published their statements claiming to be refutingJahmiyya,[4] andal-Juwayni respectively; as Jahmiyya scholars and al-Juwayni rejected the existence of the attributes of God and consider that the names of God are just semantics without any substances in them.[3] The statements of both Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn al-Qayyim became the ruling which was established bySaudi Council of Senior Scholars, as they stated that each of God's name contains multiple attributes.[3] Salafi scholars such asIbn Baz did not consent to the interpretation of the attributes of God.[37] Moreover, Walid Muhammad Abdullah Muhammad al-'Ali, an exegesis professor ofIslamic University of Madinah, has quoted Ibn al-Qayyim's concern regarding the importance of names and attributes of God as part of theTawhid (oneness of God) which is the first article ofThe Six Articles of Faith.[38]
There is a tradition inSufism to the effect the 99 names of God point to a mystical "Most Supreme and Superior Name" (ismu l-ʾAʿẓam (الاسْمُ ٱلْأَعْظَم).[39] This "Greatest Name of God" is said to be "the one which if He is called (prayed to) by it, He will answer."[40] More than 1000 names of God are listed in theJawshan Kabir (جَوْشَنُ ٱلْكَبِير—literally "the GreatCuirass") invocations.[citation needed] Sufi mysticIbn Arabi surmised that the 99 names are "outward signs of the universe's inner mysteries".[8]
Ibn Arabi (26 July 1165 – 16 November 1240) did not interpret the names of God as mereepithets, but as actual attributes paring the universe both in created and possible forms. By these names, the divine traits disclose for humans, whose divine potential is hidden, can learn to become a reflection of such names. However, such reflections are limited; the divine traits do not equal the divine essence of the names.[41] Influenced by the metaphysical teachings of Ibn Arabi,Haydar Amuli assignedangels to the different names of God. Accordingly, the good angels as a whole are a manifestation of God's Names of Beauty.Shaitan (shayatin) on the other hand are a manifestation of God's Names of majesty, such as "The Haughty".[42]
The Arabic names of God are used to form theophoric given names commonly used in Muslim cultures throughout the world, mostly in Arabic speaking societies.
Because the names of God themselves are reserved to God and their use as a person's given name is considered religiously inappropriate, theophoric names are formed by either prefixing the termˁabd (عَبْدُ: "slave/servant of") to the name (in the case of masculine names) or by dropping the definite articleal (ال).
This distinction is established out of respect for the sanctity of Divine names, which denote attributes (of love, kindness, mercy, compassion, justice, power, etc.) that are believed to be possessed in a full and absolute sense only by God, while human beings, being limited creatures, are viewed by Muslims as being endowed with the Divine attributes only in a limited and relative capacity. The prefixing of the definite article would indicate that the bearer possesses the corresponding attribute in an exclusive sense, a trait reserved to God.
Names of Allah in Arabic calligraphy.
Quranic verse 3:26 is cited as evidence against the validity of using Divine names for persons, with the example ofMālik ul-Mulk (مَـٰلِكُ ٱلْمُلْكُ: "Lord of Power" or "Owner of all Sovereignty"):
Say: "O God! Lord of Power, You give power to whom You please, and You strip off power from whom You please. You endue with honour whom You please, and You bring low whom You please. In Your hand is all Good." Verily, over all things You have power.
The two parts of the name starting withˁabd may be written separately (as in the previous example) or combined as one in the transliterated form; in such a case, the vowel transcribed afterˁabdu is often written as u when the two words are transcribed as one: e.g.,Abdur-Rahman,Abdul-Aziz,Abdul-Jabbar, or evenAbdullah (عَبْدُ ٱللّٰه: "Servant of God"). (This has to do with Arabic case vowels, the final u vowel showing the normal "quote" nominative case form.)
Examples of Muslim theophoric names include:
Raḥmān, such asAbdul-Raḥman Al-Sudais (عَبْدُ ٱلْرَّحْمَان ٱلْسُّدَيْس): Imam of the Grand Mosque of Makkah, KSA
Salām, such asSalam Fayyaḍ (سَلَام فَيَّاض): Palestinian politician
Jabbār, such asKareem Abdul-Jabbar (كَرِيم عَبْدُ ٱلْجَبَّار): American basketball player
Baháʼí sources state that the 100th name was revealed as "Baháʼ" (Arabic:بهاء "glory, splendor"), which appears in the wordsBahá'u'lláh and Baháʼí. They also believe that it is the greatest name of God.[43][44] TheBáb wrote a noted pentagram-shapedtablet with 360morphological derivation of the word "Baháʼ" used in it.[43]
^Ibn al-'Arabi fullNisba name is Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Andalusi al-Ishbili al-Maliki, aMaliki scholar who died in 1121 AD.Ibn Arabi full Nisba is Muhammad ibn Ali al-Hatimi at-Tayy al-Andalusi, a philosopher who died in 1216 AD.[25]
^Mark W. Muesse (2018).Four Wise Men. BoD – Books on Demand. p. 240.ISBN9780718895228. Retrieved20 August 2024.... attributes, which name certain qualities that assist in appropriately orienting the mind toward god.
^abcdeM. Saifudin Hakim (9 April 2018)."Sifat Allah: Apakah Hanya Tujuh atau Dua Puluh? (Bag. 3)" [The Attributes of God: Only Seven or Twenty? (Part 3)].muslim.or.id (in Indonesian). Yayasan Pendidikan Islam Al-Atsari (YPIA) Al-Atsari Islamic Education Foundation. Retrieved19 August 2024. References from:
Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal no. 3712. graded authentic by Shaikh Albani inSilsilah Ash-Sahihah no. 3528
^"God".Islam: Empire of Faith. PBS. Archived fromthe original on 27 March 2014. Retrieved18 December 2010.
^"Islam and Christianity",Encyclopedia of Christianity (2001): Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews also refer to God asAllāh.
^Gardet, L."Allah". In Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P. (eds.).Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. Brill Online.Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved2 May 2007.
^Cite error: The named referenceEncyclopediaofIslam was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).
^Zeki Saritoprak (2006)."Allah". In Oliver Leaman (ed.).The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 34.ISBN9780415326391.Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved11 November 2020.
^Vincent J. Cornell (2005). "God: God in Islam". In Lindsay Jones (ed.).Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 5 (2nd ed.). MacMillan Reference USA. p. 724.
^Andreas Görke and Johanna Pink Tafsir and Islamic Intellectual History Exploring the Boundaries of a Genre Oxford University Press in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies LondonISBN978-0-19-870206-1 p. 478
^It is generally accepted that the word is not derived from any root and does not carry a dictionary meaning and constitutes the proper name of the real god, or even if it has a dictionary meaning, it loses this meaning when it becomes the name of the real god./Kelimenin herhangi bir kökten türemiş olmayıp sözlük mânası taşımadığı ve gerçek mâbudun özel adını teşkil ettiği, yahut sözlükte bir anlamı olsa bile gerçek mâbuda ad olunca bu anlamı kaybettiği genellikle benimsenmektedir.https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/allah
^"Names of God - Oxford Islamic Studies Online".oxfordislamicstudies.com. Archived fromthe original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved13 August 2018.Encouraged by the Quran (7:180; 17:110; 20:8), Muslims selected ninety-nine attributes of God, describing his perfection, from the Quran and traditions. Referred to as "the most beautiful names of God," they describe a range of characteristics that balances the power of God (the Creator, the Sovereign, and the All-Knowing) with his love and mercy (the All-Loving, the Most Gracious, and the All-Forgiving). The names are frequently memorized and used in supplications. Preceded by the words Abd or Amat (male or female servant), they are often used in proper names (e.g., Abd al-Rahman, "servant of the Merciful").
^Böwering, Gerhard "God and God Attributes". Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān.
^Please note the written Arabic spelling of the names written in Arabic in the table are in thevowelled Classical/Quranic form (proper = in the Quran and Ahādith) with the square bracketed "[.]" variant of the written Arabic forms given in common or modern texts—usually in media, some long vowels and punctuations are omitted for the easier typing and reading.
^abcdAdika Mianoki (2022)."Berapakah Jumlah Asmaul Husna?" [How many the numbers of Asmaul Husn].muslim.or.id (in Indonesian). Yayasan Pendidikan Islam Atsari (YPIA) Islam Atsari Educational Institute. Retrieved14 August 2024. Reference commentary from=Kamila bint Muhammad bin Jassim bin Ali Al-Jaham Al-Kuwari (2002).المجلى في شرح القواعد المثلى في صفات الله وأسمائه الحسنى [magazine in explaining the ideal rules in the attributes of God and His beautiful names... by Muhammad Salih al-Uthaymin] (in Arabic). Dar Ibn Hazm. pp. 123–132. Archived from the original on 14 August 2024. Retrieved14 August 2024.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^abcdAmmi Nur Baits (2011)."Hafal Asmaul Husna, Masuk Surga?" [(if) memorized Asma al-Husn, (is it) guaranteed entering the heaven?].KonsultasiSyariah.com (in Indonesian). Yufid Institution Network. Retrieved15 August 2024.Ibn al-Qayyim, in Shifa ul-Alil p. 472; Al-Uthaymin; Al-Qawaid ul-Muthla, Pg. 13 – 14
^Muhammad Abduh Tuasikal (2018)."Syarhus Sunnah: Kaidah Nama dan Sifat Allah #02" [Explanation of Sunnah: principles of the Name and Attributes of Allah #02].Rumaysho (in Indonesian). Retrieved19 August 2024. References from:
Al-Minhaj Syarh Sahih Muslim. First printing, 1433 H. Yahya bin Syarf An-Nawawi. Publisher Dar Ibn Hazm.
Syarh Asma' Allah Al-Husna fi Dhaui Al-Kitab wa As-Sunnah. 12th printing, 1431 H. Syaikh Sa'id bin Wahf Al-Qahthani.
Syarh As-Sunnah. Second printing, 1432 H. Imam Al-Muzani. Ta'liq: Dr. Jamal 'Azzun. Maktabah Dar Al-Minhaj Publishers.
Syarh Al-Qawa'id Al-Mutsla. Syaikh Muhammad bin Shalih Al-'Utsaimin. Ta'liq: Abu Ya'qub Nasy-at bin Kamal Al-Mashri. Maktabah Al-Muslim Publishers.
^Walīd ibn Muḥammad ibn ʻAbd Allāh ʻAlī (2004).جهود الإمام ابن قيم الجوزية في تقرير توحيد الأسماء والصفات, Volume 3 [The efforts of Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya in establishing the oneness of names and attributes, Volume 3] (in Arabic). المبرة الخيرية لعلوم القرآن والسنة. pp. 1390, 1412, 2041. Retrieved19 August 2024.
