Belief & Worship With the Divine

“To God belong the Best Names, so call on Him using them…”

https://stocksnap.io/photo/ZHNV9TMT7ANames of Allah Series:  Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV | Part XV | Part XVI | Part XVII | Part XVIII | Part XIX | Part XX Part XXI | Part XXII | Part XXIII | Part XXIV | Part XXV | Part XXVI | Part XXVII | Part XXVIII | Part XXIX | Part XXX | Part XXXI Part XXXII | Part XXXIII | Part XXXIV | Part XXXV | Part XXXVI | Part XXXVII | Part XXXVIII | Part XXXIX | Part XL | Part XLI | Part XLII Part XLIII Part XLIV | Part XLV | Part XLVI | Part XLVII | Part XLVIII Part XLIX Part L | Part LI | Part LII | Part LIII | Part LIV | Part LV | Part LVI | Part LVII| Part LVIII | Part LIX | Part LX | Part LXI | Part LXII | Part LXIII | Part LXIV | Part LXV |Part LXVI |Part LXVII | Part LXVIII | Part LXIX | Part LXX | Part LXXI | Part LXXII | Part LXXIII

This series began on the 29th of December 2011, and last week was its final article. Elsewhere I have written about al-Jameel, al-Jabbar, and al-Majeed; in total this adds up to a little over 99 Names.

The Names that I have written about here do not follow the ones that we know conventionally, which are based on a famous, albeit weak, hadith (narration of the Prophet ﷺ, peace be upon him). ‘Weak’1 does not necessarily mean wrong, but some scholars contest some of the Names contained therein and have devised other ways to ascertain which of these are authentic. All of the Names discussed here are considered Names and/or attributes by at least some reputable scholars, and are found in the Qur’an and/or hadith.

If there is a difference of opinion on the Names, then how do we know which Names were meant in the hadith that encourages us to learn the Names of Allah as a way of entering Paradise? The hadith states:

“Allah has ninety-nine names and whoever preserves them will enter Paradise.” (Muslim)

One might say that we should just stick to the list as found in Tirmidhi; however, in the Qur’an Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He), tells us that the Prophets call on Him numerous times with Rabby, and that Name is not found in that hadith. Moreover, there are many supplications from the authentic sunnah (traditions of the Prophet) in which the Prophet ﷺ (peace be unto him) calls on Allah with other Names not found in the Tirmidhi hadith, such as al-Mannan. The other opinion is to use the Names found in the Qur’an and the authentic sunnah, yet those amount to more than ninety-nine.

Thus, what al-Khattabi and others have said is that Allah (swt) has more than 99 Names, and the proof of this is in the Prophet’s ﷺ du`a’ (supplication):

“…I ask You by every Name that You have named Yourself, revealed in Your Book, taught any one of Your creation or kept unto Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen that is with You…” (Ahmad)

By saying that whoever memorizes 99 Names will enter Paradise, the meaning is whoever memorizes any 99 of His many Names will enter Paradise. If I tell you that I am going to give you 1000 of my dollars, it does not necessarily mean that I only have 1000 dollars. It means I have more, but I am going to give you 1000 of them. Similarly, Allah (swt) has many Names, some which we do not know, but if we learn 99 of them, then we will attain Jannah (paradise), insha’Allah (God willing). While a few have interpreted ‘learn’ to mean simply memorize, other scholars have said that this cannot be. A good person can memorize these Names, as can a bad person, a Muslim and a non-Muslim, one who understands and one who does not. Ibn al-Qayyim stated that preserving them means three things:

1) Knowing the Names and the number of Names

2) Understanding what they mean (in their many meanings) and what they indicate

3) Calling Allah using them, as He says in the Qur’an: “To God belong the Best Names, so call on Him using them…” (Qur’an, 7:180) Calling on Allah can be simply for praise and worship, as well as for asking for one’s needs.

Thus it is the person who learns them, implements their understanding and connects to Allah through them; this has been the purpose of this series. As Ali bin Abi Taleb radi Allahu `anhu (may God be pleased with him) taught us:

“The basis of this religion is knowing Him.”

You may see my name as the author of these articles, but know that they are simply a collection of thoughts and really a summary from far more majestic sources. I would like to acknowledge these sources:

  • The Ninety-Nine Beautiful Names of God by Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali (English)
  • Asmāʾ Allāh al-usnā by Sheikh Muhammad Ratib al-Nabulsi (Arabic; some articles translated into English)
  • Shar Ibn al-Qayyim li Asmāʾ Allāh al-usnāa compilation by Dr. Omar Suleiman al-Ashqar on Ibn Al-Qayyim’s sayings on the Names of Allah (Arabic)
  • Fiqh al-Asmāʾ al-usnā by Sheikh Abdulrazzaq al-Badr (Arabic)
  • Asmāʾ Allāh al-usnā: Jalālahā wa Laāif Iqtirānihā wa thamarātihā fī ḍawʾ al-Kitāb wal-Sunnah by Sheikh Maher Muqaddim
  • “Bismika Naḥyā” by Dr. Amr Khaled (Ramadan TV series on the Names of Allah, Arabic)
  • Audio lectures by Sheikh Salman al-Odah (Arabic)
  • Audio lectures by Sheikh Waseem Yousef (Arabic)
  • Notes from classes with Sheikh Alaeddine el-Bakri and Sheikh Akram Nadwi

Hours were spent reading books and PDF files, attending classes, listening to lectures, and reflecting on these Names. It is virtually impossible to extract all of the secrets behind Allah’s beautiful Names, but my intent here was merely to open a door to connecting to Allah (swt) through knowing Him. In this regard, I know there are many shortcomings and I take full responsibility for them.

Jazakum Allah khairan (may God reward you with good) for reading through this series, I truly pray that it has been of benefit. Any good is solely from Allah (swt), the One whose Names we have experienced through this journey. Any and all mistakes are from myself.

Please pray for all the teachers above who have taught us and helped us to understand His Names. I am indebted to them.

  1. There are conditions to using weak hadith. For more, please click here. []

About the author

Jinan Yousef

Jinan Yousef

Jinan's main interests within the field of Islamic Studies are the Names of Allah, the life and character of the Prophet ﷺ, tazkiya and Muslim personalities.

28 Comments

  • JazakAllahu Khairan for your work in these series. May Allah SWT accept it from you. Ameen. I’ve enjoyed learning about Allah SWT names in these series. It will be missed. May Allah SWT guide us aright. Ameen

  • Jazaakillahu Khayran Sister Jinan. Its been an amazing journey with you to get to know Allah (swt), that has finally come to an end alhamdulillah. May Allah (swt) reward you and all the teachers you mentioned above with the best in this dunya and nothing less than Jannah Al-Firdaws Al-Aa’la in the Aakhiraah.. aa’meen!

  • Jazaakillahu Khayran Sister Jinan. May Allah bestow His Blessings and Mercy upon you for this effort and reward you with Jannat-al-Firdous. This work has truly helped me understand Allah better and build a relationship with our Master (Rabb).

    • Thank you! I’m so glad you found the series beneficial. May Allah strengthen your relationship with Him even more. Ameen.

  • Jazak’Allahu Khairan one again dear sister Jinan for this series, as with past ones. These articles have been so comforting whenever they appear and at whatever time they are read in the clear of our daily lives.

    May Blessings be upon you and the teachers you refer to and any involved in passing on the knowledge that you have shared with us since that exciting day in 2011. I feel that it was just a few weeks ago :).

    Looking forward to your work in the future and any series on the horizon from the rest of the team here.

    As with the Prayer/Salah Series, this will be missed.

    • JazakAllah khair br. Anees for your constant encouragement throughout the series. May Allah bless you.

  • I have enjoyed this series SO much, subhanAllah, I can’t imagine it has come to an end. May Allah ‘azza wa jal reward you immensely dear Sister Jinan and all those you learned from. Your articles have helped me in so many ways Alhamdullilah, I often refer to them and will continue to do so.

    • Thank you Sara! It feels weird for me as well that the series has ended, subhanAllah. I’m so happy you found it beneficial, may Allah increase you in closeness to Him always. Ameen.

  • JazakAllahu khairan sister Jinan for all those beautiful articles in this series. It will be SO GREATLY missed.
    Just like you’ve mentioned, this series opened the door of my connection with Allah swt and strengthened my emaan.

    May Allah swt bless you and all those teachers you mentioned with Jannat Al Firdaws. Looking forward to new series from you. Please keep writing.

  • Dear Jinan,

    I can not thank you enough. Your texts were the ones who gave me Hope and Courage when I couldn’t move further. They contained the depth I craved for.

    I didn’t read all your articles. I read a little but in them I found a glimmer of hope to continue further when all I wanted was to give up.

    Those magnificent articles just showed what it all is about. And thank you for that.

    I do not know you but what can be concluded out of those articles is one thing: you are a wonderful person, and one of the women in my life who are an example to me.

    May Allah grant you more understanding, more wisdom and more Love.

    I hope that this will not be the last thing of you: I am eager to the next in cha Allah.

    Fi AmanIllah,
    Imane

    • Dear Imane,

      Thank you for your good opinion of me 🙂 I hope you do read the rest of the articles in the series, and let me know what you think!

      Jinan

  • Assalamualaykum Sister Jinan,
    As the blessed Prophet (ﷺ) said: “He who does not thank the people is not thankful to Allah.” For such a beautiful endeavour, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.
    MashaAllah I feel this was such a sincere effort and I was always so glad to see a link in my inbox to one of your articles. They will definitely be missed!
    May Allah bless you through this endeavour, and make it a means of forgiveness for you and an elevation of your rank. Ameen.

    I would like to suggest that you compile your articles into a book, I would love to have a copy to keep and treasure!

    With much gratitude and utmost respect,
    Wassalam

    • W alaykum as-salam w rahmat Allah,

      And thank you for your kind comment! I hope that in the future we can make this into a book. Please keep me in your duas 🙂

      Jinan

  • Dear sister Jinan

    Any shortcomings would be to minimize the birth and end of countless
    stars that shower the heavens so infinite in time and space.
    Jinan, you have chosen the micro to define the scope of human potential
    within the cosmos.
    Creation has it’s place within time and space and knowledge encompasses
    the birth and exploration of language in linguistic fervour beyond our finite
    mind as a mere speck through the lens of conceivability.
    Knowing that the senses are peripheral to your overall scope of exploration,Jinan,
    the concentrate of the divine is so graciously given by conceptual inheritance
    that worship is paramount throughout this whole accord, which then acknowledges
    your deep, profound love and devotion to what is concentrate.
    Please forgive my words for being too allegorical,vague or philosophical for all the tribes
    and languages of human thought and train plus the senses of birds, insects, animals
    and even thunder and lightening can not come close to the infinitesimal of dialogue
    within creation as a whole to what describes a single snowdrop, dewdrop and yet a
    beautiful sister of creation has shed her tears of Godly attributes with us.

    • Thank you brother Anthony. Your poetry on the posts have always been beautiful. I think you could publish a book on poems on the Names of Allah. Thank you again for your beautiful words.

      Jinan

  • Dear Jinan,
    I truly can’t express how grateful I am and how your articles were beneficial to me and helped me increase my knowledge and reflect on many things from a different perspective.
    I will without a doubt read all the articles many times in the future and reflect on it again and again.
    I thank you for the effort you put into these series and for sharing your knowledge and insights with us.
    May Allah bless you.
    Greeting from Morocco

    • Alhamdillah, I am so glad you found benefit! If you have any reflections on the articles, please share your thoughts in the comments. I too benefits from people’s insights.

      JazakiAllah khair.

  • Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh Dear Sister Jinan! 🙂

    JazakAllahu Khair for all these articles! may AllahSWT accept from you and even though i have told you before i will tell it again…i love you for the sake of AllahSWT my dearest sister! I ask AllahSWT to grant you guidance in every affair, accept your good deeds and grant you ease and contentment at all times in this world and akhira!
    And i also pray that if AllahSWT accepts my love for you as a sincere one for His Sake then we be able to meet eachother in this world and be united together with His beloved slaves in the next!

    • W alaikm isalam w rahmat Allah w barakatuh,

      May the One you love me for love you in return, and ameen to the duas 🙂 Who knows, maybe we will meet one day!

      Jinan

  • Asalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahe wa barakatuh

    Thank you Sister Jinan as well as all of the team at Imam Suhaib Webb’s site where the series began and now ended at Virtual Mosque.

    I’ve learned a tremendous amount and will continue to refer to these excellent lessons; and am am thankful to you, all of the team and completely humbled; and pray we’ll all live the famous saying of our beloved Prophet Muhammad salla Allahu alaihe wa salam:

    “Allah has ninety-nine names and whoever preserves them will enter Paradise.” (Muslim)

    Jazikiya wa Jazakumu Allahu khairan katheeran fil darrayn.

    Salam,

    مطيع العمري
    Motie Omari

    • Wa alaikum asalam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh

      JazakAllah khair for your beautiful comment. I pray Allah accepts our work and make it a means for us to come close to Him. May we all be of those who understand and implement the understanding of Allah’s Name in our lives, and may we be of those who enter Paradise because of it.

      Jinan

  • Asalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

    MashaAllah sister,
    i just found these last few episodes. i absolutely love this series and i am planning to use them to share these gems with my daughter inshaaAllah.

    may Allah bless you in abundance in both here and hereafter!

  • JazakAllah Khair for the incredibly useful and powerful work. I have been eagerly trying to find for many years such an easy to grasp quality description of the names of Allah swt. I don’t understand why such an important branch of Islamic studies is so rare to find. I am extremely grateful to you sister for imparting such a pristine knowledge that has huge impact on strengthening the relationship with Allah swt. May Al Wahab bless you and your family with beautiful gifts. Wassalam

    One quick question: we interchangeably use the words Name and Attribute. Is there any technical difference between the Name of Allah swt vs His Attribute.

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