AN EXPLANATION OF THE PERFECT NAMES AND ATTRIBUTES OF ALLAH
"He is Allah, the Creator, the Originator, The Fashioner, to Him belong the most beautiful names: whatever is in the heavens and on earth, do declare His praises and glory. And He is the Exalted in Might, The Wise. (Quran 59:24)
"The most beautiful names belong to God: so call on Him by them;..." (7:180)
It is not possible to perfectly translate the names and attributes of Allah from their original Arabic into English. However, here are some fairly close explanations.
^= letter ain of arabic '= letter hamza of arabic
- Ash-Shaheed
- Al-Haqq
- Al-Wakeel
- Al-Qawiyy
- Al-Mateen
- Al-Waliyy
- Al-Hameed
- The Praiseworthy, The praised One who deserves to be praised.
- Al-Muhsee
- Al-Mubdi'
- Al-Mu^eed
- Al-Muhyi
- Al-Mumeet
- Al-Hayy
- Al-Qayyoom
- Al-Waajid
- Al-Waahid
- Al-Ahad
- As-Samad
- Al-Qaadir
- Al-Muqtadir
- Al-Muqaddim
The Expediter, The Promoter, The One who puts things in their right places. He makes ahead what He wills and delays what He wills.
- Al-Mu'akh-khir
- Al-'Awwal
- Al-'Akhir
- Az-Zaahir
- Al-Baatin
- Al-Walee
The Governor, The One who owns things and manages them.
- Al-Muta^ali
The Most Exalted, The High Exalted, The One who is clear from the attributes of the creation.
- Al-Barr
The Source of All Goodness, The Righteous, The One who is kind to His creatures, who covered them with His sustenance and specified whoever He willed among them by His support, protection, and special mercy.
- At-Tawwaab
- Al-Muntaqim
- Al-^Afuww
The Pardoner, The Forgiver, The One with wide forgiveness.
- Ar-Ra'uf.
- Malik Al-Mulk
The Eternal Owner of Sovereignty, The One who controls the Dominion and gives dominion to whoever He willed.
- Thul-Jalali wal-Ikram
The Lord of Majesty and Bounty, The One who deserves to be Exalted and not denied.
- Al-Muqsit
The Equitable, The One who is Just in His judgment.
- Aj-Jaami^
The Gatherer, The One who gathers the creatures on a day that there is no doubt about, that is the Day of Judgment.
- Al-Ghaniyy
The Self-Sufficient, The One who does not need the creation.
- Al-Mughni
The Enricher, The One who satisfies the necessities of the creatures.
- Al-Maani^
The Preventer, The Withholder.
- Ad-Daarr
The Distresser, The One who makes harm reach to whoever He willed and benefit to whoever He willed.
- An-Nafi^
The Propitious, The One who makes harm reach to whoever He willed and benefit to whoever He willed.
- An-Noor
The Light, The One who guides.
- Al-Haadi
The Guide, The One whom with His Guidance His belivers were guided, and with His Guidance the living beings have been guided to what is beneficial for them and protected from what is harmful to them.
- Al-Badi^
The Incomparable, The One who created the creation and formed it without any preceding example.
- Al-Baaqi
The Everlasting, The One that the state of non-existence is impossible for Him.
- Al-Waarith
The Supreme Inheritor, The Heir, The One whose Existence remains.
- Ar-Rasheed
The Guide to the Right Path, The One who guides.
- As-Saboor
The Patient, The One who does not quickly punish the sinners.
"...There is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things). Qur'an [42:11]
(Arabic transliteration: Laysa Kamithlihi Shayun Wa Huwa As-Sami' ul-Basir)
NOTE:
I found many different versions of the 99 names. The above 99 are on a poster I have. Another list includes Al-Mu'tiy - The Bestower, The Giver and does not have Al-Ahad - The One. Another list did not have Al-Razzaaq -The Sustainer, The Provider but did have Al-Maajid The Noble, The One who is Majid.
Allah (subhanahu wa ta`ala)'s names are not limited to 99, which is a common misconception. There are a couple of evidences, one is the du`aa where one calls upon Allah by the names He (subhanahu wa ta`ala) has kept to Himself (obviously not taking these names since Allah has not revealed them to us); another is the fact that in the narrations of the famous ninety nine names hadith that do contain 99 names, the names are not consistent between narrations (for example, imam al-bayhaqi reports two versions of this hadith, with different 99 names in each). It is suggested by one commentator that the names were not explicitly stated by the rasul (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam).
Last edited by anisa on Tue Apr 01, 2008 8:41 am; edited 1 time in total
