99 names of Allah

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The Quran talks about "beautiful names of Allah" and the hadiths further specify that there is exactly 99 names. Muslims are supposed to learn these names of Allah, but Muhammad didn't offer the full list of these names. Islamic scholars had to rely on ijtihad (independent judgement) to find these names in the Quran and sunnah and different scholars came up with different lists. Out of the supposed 99 names of Allah, they altogether found at least 276 names.

The phrase "beautiful names of Allah" mentioned in the Qur'an

The Quran says that Allah has beautiful names (الأسماء الحسنى, al-asmaa' ul-husnaa), but doesn't specify what these names are and how many.

And to Allah belong the best names (الأسماء الحسنى), so invoke Him by them. And leave [the company of] those who practice deviation concerning His names. They will be recompensed for what they have been doing.
Quran 7:180
Say, "Call upon Allah or call upon the Most Merciful. Whichever [name] you call - to Him belong the best names (الأسماء الحسنى)." And do not recite [too] loudly in your prayer or [too] quietly but seek between that an [intermediate] way.
Quran 17:110
Allah - there is no deity except Him. To Him belong the best names (الأسماء الحسنى).
Quran 20:8
He is Allah, the Creator, the Inventor, the Fashioner; to Him belong the best names (الأسماء الحسنى). Whatever is in the heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.
Quran 59:24

Hadith

There are many hadith claiming Allah has 99 names, this is one of them from Sahih Bukhari:

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Allah 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.
Sahih Bukhari 9:93:489

Some apologetic sources (including Wikipedia) claim that according to the hadith, there are at least 99 names. But the hadith doesn't say "at least". It says simply ninety-nine (تِسْعَةً وَتِسْعِينَ) and adds that it's one hundred minus one, which seems to emphasize, that it is exactly 99 and not 100 or more. And the hadith also says that who memorizes all these names would go to paradise - though it is not know which these 99 are.

The popular list

Source

The most popular list of 99 names of Allah among Muslims (which is also used on the English Wikipedia) seems to be a list from a weak (da'if) hadith from the collection of Tirmidhi.

Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Indeed, Allah has ninety-nine Names, one hundred less one, whoever counts them shall enter Paradise. He is Allah, the one whom there is none worthy of worship except for Him (Allāhu Lā Ilāha Illā Huwa), the Most Merciful (to the creation) (Ar-Raḥmān), the Most Beneficent (to the believers) (Ar-Raḥīm), the King (Al-Malik), the Free of Deficiencies (Al-Quddūs), the Granter of Safety (As-Salām), the Granter of Security (Al-Mu’min), the Watcher (Al-Muhaimin), the Mighty (Al-`Azīz), the Compeller (Al-Jabbār), the Supreme (Al-Mutakabbir), the Creator (Al-Khāliq), the Originator (Al-Bāri’), the Fashioner (Al-Muṣawwir), the Pardoner (Al-Ghaffār), the Overwhelming (Al-Qahhār), the Giving (Al-Wahhāb), the Provider (Ar-Razzāq), the Opener (Al-Fattāḥ), the Knowing (Al-`Alīm), the Taker (Al-Qābiḍ), the Giver (Al-Bāsiṭ), the Abaser (Al-Khāfiḍ), the Exalter (Ar-Rāfi`), the One who grants honor (Al-Mu`izz), the One who humiliates (Al-Mudhil), the Hearing (As-Samī`), the Seeing (Al-Baṣīr), the Judge (Al-Ḥakam), the Just (Al-`Adl), the Kind (Al-Laṭīf), the Aware (Al-Khabīr), the Forbearing (Al-Ḥalīm), the Magnificent (Al-`Aẓīm), the Oft-Forgiving (Al-Ghafūr), the Grateful (Ash-Shakūr), the Most High (Al-`Aliyy), the Great (Al-Kabīr), the Guardian (Al-Ḥafīẓ), the Powerful (Al-Muqīt), the Reckoner (Al-Ḥasīb), the Glorious (Al-Jalīl), the Generous (Al-Karīm), the Watcher (Ar-Raqīb), the Responder (Al-Mujīb), the Liberal Giver (Al-Wāsi`), the Wise (Al-Ḥakīm), the Loving (Al-Wadūd), the Majestic (Al-Majīd), the Reviver (Al-Bā`ith), the Witness (Ash-Shahīd), the Truth (Al-Ḥaqq), the Guarantor (Al-Wakīl), the Strong (Al-Qawiyy), the Firm (Al-Matīn), the One Who Aids (Al-Waliyy), the Praiseworthy (Al-Ḥamīd), the Encompasser (Al-Muḥṣi), the One Who Begins things (Al-Mubdi’), the One Who brings things back (Al-Mu`īd), the One Who gives life (Al-Muḥyi), the One Who causes death (Al-Mumīt), the Living (Al-Ḥayyu), the Self-Sufficient (Al-Qayyūm), the One Who brings into existence (Al-Wājid), the Illustrious (Al-Mājid), the One (Al-Wāḥid), the Master (Aṣ-Ṣamad), the Able (Al-Qādir), the Powerful (Al-Muqtadir), the One who hastens (Al-Muqaddim), the One who delays (Al-Mu’akhkhir), the First (Al-Awwal), the Last (Al-Ākhir), the Apparent (Aẓ-Ẓāhir), the Inner (Al-Bāṭin), the Owner (Al-Wāli), the Exalted (Al-Muta`āli), the Doer of Good (Al-Barr), the Acceptor of repentance (At-Tawwāb), the Avenger (Al-Muntaqim), the Pardoning (Al-`Afuww), the Kind (Ar-Ra’ūf), the Owner of Dominion (Mālikul-Mulk), the Possessor of Glory and Generosity (Dhul Jalāli wal Ikrām), the One who does justice (Al-Muqsiṭ), the Gatherer (Al-Jāmi`), the Rich (Al-Ghaniyy), the Enricher (Al-Mughni), the Preventer (Al-Māni`), the Harmer (Aḍ-Ḍār), the One who benefits (An-Nāfi`), the Light (An-Nūr), the Guide (Al-Hādi), the Originator (Al-Badī`), the Lasting (Al-Bāqi), the Inheritor (Al-Wārith), the Guide (Ar-Rashīd), the Tolerant (Aṣ-Ṣabūr).”
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 6:45:3507 (weak)

This hadith is weak. Tirmidhi wrote about it:

"This (version of the) hadith is gharib [unusual, scarce]; it has been narrated from various routes on the authority of Abu Hurairah, but we do not know of the mention of the Names in the numerous narrations, except this one."
Tirmidhi comment on the list

Ibn Taimiyya said:

"Al-Walid (one of the narrators of the hadith) related the Names from (the saying of) one of his Syrian teachers ... specific mention of the Names is not from the words of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), by the agreement of those familiar with Hadith."
Ibn Taimyya

The list

The list (which is based on a weak hadith) is attractive at first blush, because it contains references to the Quran, but the list loses it charm when one discovers that in some of these references the word is not actually present in the Arabic Quran. When there is more verses containing the name, only one exemplary verse is mentioned. But if there is more verses and none of them actually mentions the name, all of them are mentioned in the list with the addition "(it's not there)".

Num. In Arabic Transliteration Offical translation Actual translation Reference Notes
1 الرحمان ar-rahmaan The Most Gracious The Gracious Quran 1:1
2 الرحيم ar-raheem The Most Merciful The Merciful Quran 1:1
3 المالك al-maalik The King The Posessor [1] Quran 59:23 Some translations say "sovereign" [2]
4 القدوس al-quddoos The Holy The Holy Quran 59:23
5 السلام as-salaam The Peace Free from defect Quran 59:23 Ibn Kathir understands it as "free from defect" [3]
6 المؤمن al-mu'min The Granter of Security The Believer [4] Quran 59:23 Mu'min in all other verses means "believer" [5]
7 المهيمن al-muhaymin The Controller The Controller Quran 59:23
8 العزيز al-'azeez The Powerful The Honorable [6] Quran 3:6
9 الجبار al-jabbar The Strong The Forceful [7] Quran 59:23
10 المتكبر al-mutakabbir The Supreme The Arrogant/The Boaster [8] Quran 59:23
11 الخالق al-khaaliq The Creator The Creator Quran 6:102
12 البارئ al-baari The Maker The Maker Quran 59:24
13 المصور al-musawwir The Fashioner The Fashioner Quran 59:24
14 الغفار al-ghaffaar The Repeatedly Forgiving The Forgiving Quran 20:82
15 القهار al-qahhaar The Subduer The Despot / The Conqueror Quran 12:39
16 الوهاب al-wahhaab The Bestower The Provider [9] Quran 38:9 Also a name of the founder of Wahhabism.
17 الرزاق ar-razaaq The Provider The Provider Quran 51:58
18 الفتاح al-fattaah The Opener The Opener Quran 34:26 "fath" (opening) is a euphemism for Islamic conquests (futuhaat islamiyya, literally "islamic openings").
19 العليم al-'aleem The Knowing The Knowing Quran 2:158
20 القابض al-qaabid The Restrainer The Grabbing [10] Quran 2:245 (it's not there) قبضة qabda is fist
21 الباسط al-baasit The Extender The Extender Quran 2:245 (it's not there) It should be actually باصط.
22 الخافض al-khaafid The Humiliator The Lessener/Lowerer Quran 56:3 (it's not there)
23 الرافع ar-raafee The Exalter The Raiser Quran 56:3 (it's not there)
24 المعز al-muiz The Giver of Honor The Honored Quran 3:26 (it's not there)
25 المذل al-mudhil The Giver of Dishonor The Humiliating [11] Quran 3:26 (it's not there)
26 السميع as-samii The Hearing The Hearing Quran 2:127
27 البصير al-baseer The All-Seeing The Seeing Quran 4:58
28 الحكم al-hakam The Judge The Judge Quran 22:69 (it's not there)
29 العدل al-adl The Just The Justice Quran 6:115 (it's not there)
30 اللطيف al-lateef The Subtly Kind The Kind Quran 22:63
31 الخبير al-khabeer The All-aware The Informed [12] Quran 6:18
32 الحليم al-haleem The Forbearing The Forbearing Quran 2:235
33 العظيم al-'azeem The Great The Great Quran 2:255
34 الغفور al-ghafoor The Much Forgiving The Forgiving Quran 2:173 The list already contains Ghaffar, which means the same.
35 الشكور ash-shakoor The Grateful The Thankful Quran 35:30
36 العلى al-aliyy The Sublime The Exalted Quran 4:34
37 الكبير al-kabeer The Great The Great Quran 13:9 Not akbar (اكبر) - the Greatest??
38 الحفيظ al-hafeez The Preserver The Preserver Quran 11:57
39 المقيت al-muqeet The Nourisher The Nourisher Quran 4:85
40 الحسيب al-haseeb The Bringer of Judgment The Accountant Quran 4:6 حساب hisaab means account
41 الجليل al-jaleel The Majestic The Majestic Quran 55:27 (it's not there), Quran 7:143 (it's not there)
42 الكريم al-kareem The Bountiful The Bountiful Quran 27:40
43 الرقيب ar-raqeeb The Watchful The Watchman Quran 4:1
44 المجيب al-mujeeb The Responsive The Responsive Quran 11:61
45 الواسع al-waasie The Vast The Vast Quran 2:268
46 الحكيم al-hakeem The Wise The Wise Quran 31:27
47 الودود al-wadood The Affectionate The Affectionate Quran 11:90
48 المجيد al-majeed The Glorious The Glorious Quran 11:73
49 الباعث al-baaith The Resurrector The Resurrector Quran 22:7 (it's not there)
50 الشهيد ash-shaheed The Witness The Witness Quran 4:166
51 الحق al-haqq The Truth The Truth Quran 22:6 Allah in the Quran claims that the Earth is flat.
52 الوكيل al-wakeel The Trustee The Trustee Quran 3:173
53 القوي al-qawee The Strong The Strong Quran 22:40
54 المتين al-mateen The Firm The Firm Quran 51:58
55 الولي al-walee The Friend The Friend Quran 4:45
56 الحميد al-hameed The All Praiseworthy The Praiseworthy Quran 14:8 Muhammad (محمد) is derived from the same root.
57 المحصى al-muhsee The Accounter The Accounter Quran 72:28 (it's not there), Quran 78:29 (it's not there) إحصىء means "statistics"
58 المبدئ al-mubdi The Initiator The Initiator Quran 10:34 (it's not there), Quran 27:64 (it's not there), Quran 29:19 (it's not there), Quran 85:13 (it's not there)
59 المعيد al-mueed The Restorer The Lecturer [13] Quran 10:34 (it's not there), Quran 27:64 (it's not there), Quran 29:19 (it's not there), Quran 85:13 (it's not there)
60 المحي al-muhee The Giver of Life The Giver of Life Quran 30:50
61 المميت al-mumeet The Bringer of Death The Deadly [14] Quran 3:156 (it's not there), Quran 7:158 (it's not there), Quran 15:23 (it's not there), Quran 57:2 (it's not there)
61 الحى al-hayy The Living The Living Quran 2:255
63 القيوم al-qayyum The Subsisting The Subsisting Quran 2:255
64 الواجد al-waajid The Perceiver The Angry [15] Quran 38:44 (it's not there)
65 الماجد al-maajid The Illustrious The Illustrious Quran 11:73
66 الواحد al-waahid The Single The Single Quran 13:16
67 الأحد al-ahad The One The One Quran 112:1
68 الصمد as-samad The Eternal The Eternal Quran 112:2
69 القادر al-qaadir The All-Powerful The Able Quran 6:65
70 المقتدر al-muqtadir The Determiner The Able Quran 18:45
71 المقدم al-muqaddim He Who Brings Forward The Donor Quran 16:61 (it's not there)
72 المؤخر al-muakhir The Delayer The Delayer Quran 71:4 (it's not there)
73 الأول al-awwal The First The First Quran 57:3 The first what?
74 الآخر al-aakhir The Last The Last Quran 57:3 The last what?
75 الظاهر az-zaahir The Apparent The Apparent Quran 57:3
76 الباطن al-baatin The Inner The Inner Quran 57:3
77 الوالي al-waali The Patron The Patron Quran 13:11 "And there is not for them besides Him any patron." - is it really a name?
78 المتعالي al-mutaali The Most High The Arrogant [16] Quran 13:9
79 البر al-barr The Good The Good Quran 52:28
80 التواب at-tawwaab The Ever-Returning The Merciful Quran 4:64
81 المنتقم al-muntaqim The Avenger The Revenger Quran 32:22 It's in plural form.
82 العفو al-'afuu The Pardoner The Pardoner Quran 4:43
83 الرؤف ar-rauf The Kind The Kind Quran 9:117
84 مالك الملك maalik ul-mulk The Owner of all Sovereignty The Owner of all Dominion Quran 3:26
85 ذو الجلال والإكرام dhul jalaal wal ikraam The Owner, Lord of Majesty and Honour The Owner, Lord of Majesty and Honour Quran 55:27
86 المقسط al-muqsit The Equitable The Equitable Quran 3:18 (it's not there)
87 الجامع al-jaami The Gatherer The Gatherer Quran 3:9
88 الغني al-ghaani The Rich The Rich Quran 57:24
89 المغني al-mughni The Enricher The Enricher Quran 9:28 (it's not there)
90 المانع al-maani The Preventer The Preventer Quran 67:21 (it's not there) It's not there at all.
91 الضار ad-daar The Harmer The Harmer Quran 6:17 (it's not there)
92 النافع an-naafi The Propitious The Propitious Quran 30:37 (it's not there) It's not there at all.
93 النور an-noor The Light The Light Quran 24:35
94 الهادي al-haadi The Guide The Guide Quran 22:54
95 البديع al-badee The Originator The Originator Quran 2:117
96 الباقي al-baaqi The Immutable The Remaining Quran 55:27 (it's not there) "And there will remain the Face of your Lord..." - not a name.
97 الوارث al-waarith The Heir The Heir Quran 15:23 It's in plural
98 الرشيد ar-rasheed The Guide to the Right Path The ِRightly Guided Quran 72:10 (it's not there) "And we do not know [therefore] whether evil is intended for those on earth or whether their Lord intends for them a right course (رشدا)."
99 الصبور as-saboor The Patient The Patient Quran 2:153 (it's not there), Quran 3:200 (it's not there), Quran 103:3 (it's not there)

Problems

It is based on a weak hadith

Some names are not actually beautiful

Some of the names, like "The Harmer", even with apologetic translation by Muslims, doesn't seem to be beautiful.

Some names are strange

Why is one of his names "The Believer" (المؤمن)?

Duplicates

The verse 55:27 is considered as an instance of both "ذو الجلال والإكرام" and "الجليل". It is not clear what the difference could be between الغفور and الغفار or between "مالك" and "مالك الملك"

Are they all really names?

Arabic doesn't use capital letters for names. So a noun could be understood both as a proper noun or as a regular noun. For example the Arabic name Abdullah (عبد الله) could be understood as the name "Abdullah", but it could also be understood literally "slave of god". In the same way some of the "names of Allah" could be simply his characteristics, not names. In the same way we can understand "الله الرحيم" as both "Allah, The Merciful" and "merciful Allah". That is also a reason why finding the names in the Quran by ijtihad cannot result in a conclusive answer.

Some names are not actually mentioned in the Quran

Many of the names in the column "In Arabic" are not actually in the Arabic Quran. These names are marked with "(it's not there)" in the table.

Looking at, for example, the last name of Allah, الصبور (The Patient).

First, it's supposed to be in the verse 2:153:

O you who have believed, seek help through patience (بالصبر) and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.


Quran 2:153

The word الصبور doesn't exist in the verse. The word الصبر exists there, but it means "patience", not "the patient one". And if based on this verse "Patience" is a name of Allah, then why not "The Prayer"? The verse talks about patience and prayer in the same context.

The next verse that supposedly includes the word الصبور is this one:

O you who have believed, persevere and endure (اصبروا وصابروا) and remain stationed and fear Allah that you may be successful.
Quran 3:200

This was a verb and it was a command for the believers, not a name of Allah.

Next verse:

Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience (بالصبر).
Quran 103:3

Again it's the word الصبر (the patience), not الصبور (the patient one) and it's not a name of Allah. It's just a command for believers to advise each other to be patient.

Nowhere in the Quran is الصبور mentioned as being the name of Allah, that means the 99th name in this list is wrong and therefore the whole list is unreliable. We could analyze many more of these supposed "names" how they are not actually in the Quran. They are easier ones to debunk, for example The Preventer (المانع) doesn't exist in the verse 67:21, and is not a verb derived from the same root منع. Although the word "Preventer" exists in the Quran (50:25 and 68:12), but it is written as مناع, not مانع and it says "preventer of good" about disbelievers.

Other names not mentioned in the list

Analyzing the list, we see that some of the "names of Allah" don't seem to be proper names, but just simply nouns like "patience". And also sometimes the "name of Allah" is derived from a verb occurring in the Quran. Using the same tactics, we could find many more names of Allah in the Quran. For example, the verse 8:17 says Allah killed people, so why not take this verb and say that Allah's name is القاتل (al-qaatil, The Killer)?

And you did not kill them, but it was Allah who killed them. And you threw not, [O Muhammad], when you threw, but it was Allah who threw that He might test the believers with a good test. Indeed, Allah is Hearing and Knowing.


Quran 8:17

The Qur'an also terms Allah as The Best of Deceivers (khayru al-makireena). For obvious reasons, this name is not there in the above list.

Arabic: ومكروا ومكر الله والله خير الماكرين

Transliteration: Wamakaroo wamakara Allahu waAllahu khayru almakireena

Literal: And they cheated/deceived and Allah cheated/deceived, and Allah (is) the best (of) the cheaters/deceivers.[17]
Qur'an Text/Transliteration 3:54

We could find many other names of Allah in the Quran. The list doesn't contain the word "Allah" (الله).

Contradictions

God is just and forgiving at the same time. But absolute justice means punishment of all crimes no matter how small, while absolute forgiveness means to forgive everything and not to punish at all.

Contingency upon creation

Allah supposedly existed before he created the world. So his attributes must be indipendent on his creation. But many of the names are relational. God can't effectively be for example "merciful" if there is no creation to be merciful upon. How was he "hearing" when nothing existed except him?

Other lists

The Arabic Wikipedia article contains more than 10 different lists by various Islamic scholars. Some of those lists contain the name "Best of deceivers" (خير الماكرين). The lists together contain 276 names of Allah and one can comfortably assume that there are other lists with more names.

Beautiful names of Muhammad

Beautiful names are not limited for Allah. Muhammad also has his portion:

Jubair b. Mut'im reported on the authority of his father that he heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:

I am Muhammad and I am Ahmad, and I am al-Mahi (the obliterator) by whom unbelief would be obliterated, and I am Hashir (the gatherer) at whose feet mankind will be gathered, and I am 'Aqib (the last to come) after whom there will be no Prophet.


Sahih Muslim 30:5810

There are many more such names:

See also

External:

References

  1. ↑ https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83/
  2. ↑ http://quranx.com/59.23
  3. ↑ http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1602&Itemid=115
  4. ↑ https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%D9%85%D8%A4%D9%85%D9%86/
  5. ↑ http://corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=Amn
  6. ↑ https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%D8%B9%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%B2/
  7. ↑ https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%D8%AC%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1/
  8. ↑ https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%D9%85%D8%AA%D9%83%D8%A8%D8%B1/
  9. ↑ https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%D9%88%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A8/
  10. ↑ https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B6/
  11. ↑ https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%D9%85%D8%B0%D9%84/
  12. ↑ https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%D8%AE%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B1/
  13. ↑ https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%AF/
  14. ↑ https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%D9%85%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%AA/
  15. ↑ https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%AF/
  16. ↑ https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A/
  17. ↑ 3. Ali-Imran - The Family Of 'Imran (سورة آل عمران) - Revealed in Madinah (English: Literal) - IslamicNature, accessed August 25, 2011
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