How do we understand Allah’s names and attributes?
An attribute is used to describe a trait or ability of something. When talking about Allah, His attributes are what we believe about Allah. Such as His Power; we say this attribute describes His ability to create out of nothing. The names of Allah likewise teach us what we believe about Allah. Allah The Powerful indicates His attribute of Power and we understand that to describe Allah’s wondrous ability to create something out of nothing. These attributes and names are necessary to distinguish what we believe about our Creator against what others may believe about their deities.
The understanding of Allah’s names and attributes can be further explained by the statement of Imam al-Ghazali[1]:
من ساعد على أن الله تعالى عالم، فقد ساعد على أن له علما؛ فإن المفهوم من قولنا (عالم)، و(له علم) .. واحد.
“He who accepts that Allah is knowledgeable, has accepted that He has the attribute of knowledge, because the meaning of the statement: ‘knowledgeable’ and ‘Has the attribute of knowledge,’ is one and the same.”
Allah establishes a few of His names at the end of Surah Hashr:
هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلَامُ الْمُؤْمِنُ الْمُهَيْمِنُ الْعَزِيزُ الْجَبَّارُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُ ۚ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
هُوَ اللَّهُ الْخَالِقُ الْبَارِئُ الْمُصَوِّرُ ۖ لَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۖ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ
“He is Allah, the one besides whom there is no God, the King, the Most Holy, the Giver of Peace, the Giver of Security, the Guardian, the All-Mighty, the Supreme in Might, the Majestic. Far greater is Allah than what they describe. He is Allah, the Creator, the Originator, the Structurer, and to Him belongs all beautiful names. All that is in the heavens and earth glorify Him, and He is the All-Mighty, the allWise.”
We believe in 99 names of Allah, as the prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم says:
إن لله تسعة وتسعين اسمًا، من أحصاها دخل الجنة
“Verily Allah has 99 names- one less than 100- whoever learns them will enter Jannah.”
And We believe in the existence of other names and attributes of Allah of which we are not aware, because the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم made Du’a to Allah:
أَسْأَلُكَ بِكُلِّ اسْمٍ هُوَ لَكَ سَمَّيْتَ بِهِ نَفْسَكَ أَوْ عَلَّمْتَهُ أَحَدًا مِنْا خَلْقِكَ أَوْ أَنْزَلْتَهُ فِي كِتَابِكَ أَوْ اسْتَأْثَرْتَ بِهِ فِي عِلْمِ الْغَيْبِ عِنْدَكَ أَنْ تَجْعَلَ الْقُرْآنَ رَبِيعَ قَلْبِي وَنُورَ صَدْرِي وَجِلَاءَ حُزْنِي وَذَهَابَ هَمِّي
“Oh Allah, I ask You by every name that is Yours, that You named Yourself, or that You have revealed in Your Book, or that You have taught anyone of Your creation, or that You have kept concealed with You in the knowledge of the unseen, to make the Great Qur’an a part of my heart, the light of my chest, the removal of my sadness, and the cure to my distress and grief.”
And Allah knows best.
Written by Umar Elhashimi
April 13, 2025
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