Beautiful Names and Attributes of Allah

[Muslimah]

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

Allah

Allah, He who has the Godhood which is the power to create the entities.

Ar-Rahmaan

The Compassionate, The Beneficient, The One who has plenty of mercy for the believers and the blasphemers in this world and especially for the believers in the hereafter.

Ar-Raheem

The Merciful, The One who has plenty of mercy for the believers.

Al-Malik

The King, The Sovereign Lord, The One with the complete Dominion, the One Whose Dominion is clear from imperfection.

Al-Quddoos

The Holy, The One who is pure from any imperfection and clear from children and adversaries.

As-Salaam

The Source of Peace, The One who is free from every imperfection.

Al-Mu'min

Guardian of Faith, The One who witnessed for Himself that no one is God but Him. And He witnessed for His believers that they are truthful in their belief that no one is God but Him.

Al-Muhaimin

The Protector, The One who witnesses the saying and deeds of His creatures.

Al-^Azeez

The Mighty, The Strong, The Defeater who is not defeated.

Al-Jabbaar

The Compeller, The One that nothing happens in His Dominion except that which He willed.

Al-Mutakabbir

The Majestic, The One who is clear from the attributes of the creatures and from resembling them.

Al-Khaaliq

The Creator, The One who brings everything from non-existence to existence.

Al-Bari'

The Evolver, The Maker, The Creator who has the Power to turn the entities.

Al-Musawwir

The Fashioner, The One who forms His creatures in different pictures.

Al-Ghaffaar

The Great Forgiver, The Forgiver, The One who forgives the sins of His slaves time and time again.

Al-Qahhaar

The Subduer, The Dominant, The One who has the perfect Power and is not unable over anything.

Al-Wahhaab

The Bestower, The One who is Generous in giving plenty without any return. He is everything that benefits whether Halal or Haram.

Al-Razzaaq

The Sustainer, The Provider.

Al-Fattaah

The Opener, The Reliever, The Judge, The One who opens for His slaves the closed worldy and religious matters.

Al-^Aleem

The All-knowing, The Knowledgeable; The One nothing is absent from His knowledge.

Al-Qaabid

The Constricter, The Retainer, The Withholder, The One who constricts the sustenance by His wisdomand expands and widens it with His Generosity and Mercy.

Al-Baasit

The Expander, The Englarger, The One who constricts the sustenance by His wisdomand expands and widens it with His Generosity and Mercy.

Al-Khaafid

The Abaser, The One who lowers whoever He willed by His Destruction and raises whoever He willed by His Endowment.

Ar-Raafi^

The Exalter, The Elevator, The One who lowers whoever He willed by His Destruction and raises whoever He willed by His Endowment.

Al-Mu^iz

The Honorer, He gives esteem to whoever He willed, hence there is no one to degrade Him; And He degrades whoever He willed, hence there is no one to give Him esteem.

Al-Muthil

The Dishonorer, The Humiliator, He gives esteem to whoever He willed, hence there is no one to degrade Him; And He degrades whoever He willed, hence there is no one to give Him esteem.

As-Samee^

The All-Hearing, The Hearer, The One who Hears all things that are heard by His Eternal Hearing without an ear, instrument or organ.

Al-Baseer

The All-Seeing, The One who Sees all things that are seen by His Eternal Seeing without a pupil or any other instrument.

Al-Hakam

The Judge, He is the Ruler and His judgment is His Word.

Al-^Adl

The Just, The One who is entitled to do what He does.

Al-Lateef

The Subtle One, The Gracious, The One who is kind to His slaves and endows upon them.

Al-Khabeer

The Aware, The One who knows the truth of things.

Al-Haleem

The Forebearing, The Clement, The One who delays the punishment for those who deserve it and then He might forgive them.

[Muslimah]

Al-^Azeem

The Great One, The Mighty, The One deserving the attributes of Exaltment, Glory, Extolement,and Purity from all imperfection.

Al-Ghafoor

The All-Forgiving, The Forgiving, The One who forgives a lot.

Ash-Shakoor

The Grateful, The Appreciative, The One who gives a lot of reward for a little obedience.

Al-^Aliyy

The Most High, The Sublime, The One who is clear from the attributes of the creatures.

Al-Kabeer

The Most Great, The Great, The One who is greater than everything in status.

Al-Hafeez

The Preserver, The Protector, The One who protects whatever and whoever He willed to protect.

Al-Muqeet

The Maintainer, The Guardian, The Feeder, The Sustainer, The One who has the Power.

Al-Haseeb

The Reckoner, The One who gives the satisfaction.

Aj-Jaleel

The Sublime One, The Beneficent, The One who is attributed with greatness of Power and Glory of status.

Al-Kareem

The Generous One, The Bountiful, The Gracious, The One who is attributed with greatness of Power and Glory of status.

Ar-Raqeeb

The Watcher, The Watchful, The One that nothing is absent from Him. Hence it's meaning is related to the attribute of Knowledge.

Al-Mujeeb

The Responsive, The Hearkener, The One who answers the one in need if he asks Him and rescues the yearner if he calls upon Him.

Al-Wasi^

The Vast, The All-Embracing, The Knowledgeable.

Al-Hakeem

The Wise, The Judge of Judges, The One who is correct in His doings.

Al-Wadood

The Loving, The One who loves His believing slaves and His believing slaves love Him. His love to His slaves is His Will to be merciful to them and praise them:Hence it's meaning is related to the attributes of the Will and Kalam (His attribute with which He orders and forbids and spoke to Muhammad and Musa -peace be upon them- . It is not a sound nor a language nor a letter.).

Al-Majeed

The Most Glorious One, The Glorious, The One who is with perfect Power, High Status, Compassion, Generosity and Kindness.

Al-Ba^ith

The Reserrector, The Raiser (from death), The One who resurrects His slaves after death for reward and/or punishment.

Ash-Shaheed

The Witness, The One who nothing is absent from Him.

Al-Haqq

The Truth, The True, The One who truly exists.

Al-Wakeel

The Trustee, The One who gives the satisfaction and is relied upon.

Al-Qawiyy

The Most Strong, The Strong, The One with the complete Power.

Al-Mateen

The Firm One, The One with extreme Power which is un-interrupted and He does not get tired.

Al-Waliyy

The Protecting Friend, The Supporter.

Al-Hameed

The Praiseworthy, The praised One who deserves to be praised.

Al-Muhsee

The Counter, The Reckoner, The One who the count of things are known to him.

Al-Mubdi'

The Originator, The One who started the human being. That is, He created him.

Al-Mu^eed

The Reproducer, The One who brings back the creatures after death.

Al-Muhyi

The Restorer, The Giver of Life, The One who took out a living human from semen that does not have a soul. He gives life by giving the souls back to the worn out bodies on the resurrection day and He makes the hearts alive by the light of knowledge.

Al-Mumeet

The Creator of Death, The Destroyer, The One who renders the living dead.

Al-Hayy

The Alive, The One attributed with a life that is unlike our life and is not that of a combination of soul, flesh or blood.

Al-Qayyoom

The Self-Subsisting, The One who remains and does not end.

Al-Waajid

The Perceiver, The Finder, The Rich who is never poor. Al-Wajd is Richness.

Al-Waahid

The Unique, The One, The One without a partner.

[Muslimah]

Al-Ahad

The One. (more explained as who Is not consisting of more than one).

As-Samad

The Eternal, The Independent, The Master who is relied upon in matters and reverted to in ones needs.

Al-Qaadir

The Able, The Capable, The One attributed with Power.

Al-Muqtadir

The Powerful, The Dominant, The One with the perfect Power that nothing is withheld from Him.

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

The Delayer, the Retarder, The One who puts things in their right places. He makes ahead what He wills and delays what He wills.

Al-'Awwal

The First, The One whose Existence is without a beginning.

Al-'Akhir

The Last, The One whose Existence is without an end.

Az-Zaahir

The Manifest, The One that nothing is above Him and nothing is underneath Him, hence He exists without a place. He, The Exalted, His Existence is obvious by proofs and He is clear from the delusions of attributes of bodies.

Al-Baatin

The Hidden, The One that nothing is above Him and nothing is underneath Him, hence He exists without a place. He, The Exalted, His Existence is obvious by proofs and He is clear from the delusions of attributes of bodies.

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

The Acceptor of Repentance, The Relenting, The One who grants repentance to whoever He willed among His creatures and accepts his repentance.

Al-Muntaqim

The Avenger, The One who victoriously prevails over His enemies and punishes them for their sins. It may mean the One who destroys them.

Al-^Afuww

The Pardoner, The Forgiver, The One with wide forgiveness.

Ar-Ra'uf

The Compassionate, The One with extreme Mercy. The Mercy of Allah is His will to endow upon whoever He willed among His creatures.

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).

[naseeha]

in my country there are alot of ppl who have these names...

i was wondering... is this permitted or should we only give our children these names if it begins with abd....

e.g. instead of naming your child rahman... name him 'abdurrahman...

i was just wondering...

by thw way....

jazaakillah khairan ukhtii

[Muslimah]

la hawala wala qowata ila billah, to the best of my knowelge u must add Abd to the name, unless a name like Raouf, u may use it as is because Allah called the Messenger in Quran belmo-emeneed Raoufn raheem as an adjective of course.

[naseeha]

Well i know ppl named Majeed

and Rahaman

and all this...

I have no idea how to approach these ppl

But jazaakillah khair for the answer

[Dan]

Bismillah

As salam alaikum

I pondered for hours on this and I think that I came up with am answer that will satisfy all.

Smack them?

It is a win/win sintuation.

Seriously, it is difficult to do. I think that you could just talk about how some people have names that only Allah can have. Then let them do the deductive thinking.

Rahman is definitely NOT a human name. Ameen!

I love you guys!

As salam alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu

[spider]

<i>Originally posted by naseeha </i><b>Well i know ppl named Majeed</b>

and Rahaman

and all this...

I have no idea how to approach these ppl

But jazaakillah khair for the answer

Asalaamu alaikum,

It really isn't that hard to approach these people. You can start by asking if that is their full name. Most probably do have "Abdul" as the full name. Ask them if they know the meaning of their name. If they are unaware, you can simply tell them that their name is actually an attribute of Allah and it is best that they call themselves by their full name as the name is reserved for Allah alone.

-spider

[Muslimah]

Mash a Allah good ideas both Dan and Spider

May Allah help u naseeha for doing this

I d like to add a point, before talking to them, pray 2 raka`a asking Allah for help and support.

[Shereen]

<i>masha allah...........very beautiful names ..........these names shows Allah's other traits </i>

regarding the names........i dont think giving a child names like 'Majeed' is very polite...because these names <b>best suits to Allah ONLY </b> .........but if we wanna use these names we can name them "Abdul Majeed" & "Abdur Rehman" & "Abdur Raheem"