Names of God in Islam () are names that each contain attributes of God in Islam, which are implied by the respective names. Some names are known from either the Quran or the hadith, while others can be found in both sources, although most are found in the Quran.
AllÃÂh is the Arabic word referring to God in Abrahamic religions, thought to be derived by contraction from al-þilÃÂh, which means "the god", (i.e., the only god) and is related to El and Elah, the Hebrew and Aramaic words for God. Whether or not Allah can be considered as the personal name of God became disputed in contemporary scholarship. In Islamic usage and indoctrination, Allah was the God's most unique, proper name, and referred to as LafẠal-JalÃÂlah (The Word of Majesty). Those who claimed that Allah was the personal name of God also denied that this name was a derivative name. Some Muslims may use different names as much as Allah, for instance Rabb, Rahman or "God" in English. The Quran refers to the attributes of God as "most beautiful names". These names usually denote his praise, gratitude, commendation, glorification, magnification, perfect attributes, majestic qualities, and acts of wisdom, mercy, benefit, and justice from Allah, as believed by Muslims. These names are commonly called upon by Muslims during prayers, supplications, and remembrance, as they hold significant spiritual and theological importance, serving as a means for Muslims to connect with God. Beside these Arabic names, Muslims of non-Arab origins may also sometimes use other names in their own languages to refer to God, such as Khuda in Persian, Bengali and Urdu. or Tengri was used in the Ottoman Turkish language as the equivalent of Allah.
In Sufis, often characterised as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam, Hu / means just 'He', or Parvardigar in Persian are used as names of God. derives from the last letter of the word Allah, which is read as when in the middle of a sentence and appears in many verses as in; "La ilaha illa Hu" Al Imran:18. According to the Wahdat al-wujà «d interpretetion, the universe was a manifestation of God's -the absolute being- names, and was manifestations or notions with no real existence. Haydar Amuli refused to make any distinction on this matter, arguing that evil beings like Satan were also manifestations of God's imperial names.
Some of the names attributed to God in Islamic culture are names that create problems in transition from a personal god to a universal and transcendent god in understanding; ñÃÂÃÂùÃÂøÃÂÃÂàà(al-ÿAáºÂëm) lit means "He was, or became, great in his bone, then metaphorically said of anything ÃÂÃÂèÃÂÃÂñ [or great]". The reflections of the efforts to give a transcendent understanding when translating these names into other languages can also be seen in examples such as al-Mutakabbir (The Proud Oneself), al-Jalël (The Angry), al-Muntaqim (The Avenger) and at-TawwÃÂb (The Returner) (see also: Eisegesis).
Islamic theology rejects definitions and expressions that imply a comparison between God and His creations, because He cannot be likened to His creations in any of His attributes. However, it is observed that many of these names are translated as "the most..." in a comparative mode, as in the expression ' ( , ), which is also used as an Islamic slogan. In Islamic theology the concept of shirk refers to the rejection of any partnership in God's will and actions, and encompasses understandings that liken His attributes to those of created beings, and view them as limited.
In the Quran, names of angels like Gabriel and Michael etc. are linked to El (or Il), as in other Abrahamic religions. The phrase "AllÃÂhumma," used at the beginning of prayers in Islam, should be the Arabic pronunciation of the Hebrew word "Elohim." Elohim is a plural word (singular El) used for exaltation, like the Hebrew expression "Your Majesty!"
Although the holy book and prophets in the Quran frequently connect themselves to Jehovah, the name Yahweh/Jehovah is unknown in Islam. The word "Rabb" (Lord, Master), which is used in place of Yahweh in Judaism, is also frequently used for Allah in the Quran.
The silence surrounding the name Yahweh in Judaism for several thousand years is thought to be connected to the Ten Commandments, "You shall not take the name of your God Yahweh in vain, for Yahweh will not leave it without punishment."
Different sources give different lists of the 99 names. The most commonly known list is based on the one found in the Jamiÿ at-Tirmidhi (9th century) that was narrated by al-Walid ibn Muslim, which is the most commonly known. However, al-Tirmidhi comments on his list: "This (version of the) hadith is gharib [unusual]; it has been narrated from various routes on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, but we do not know of the mention of the Names in the numerous narrations, except this one." Other hadiths, such as those of al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Ibn Majah, al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi or Ibn ÿAsÃÂkir, have variant lists. Various early Muslim exegetes, including Jaÿfar al-Sadiq, Sufyan ibn `Uyaynah, Ibn Hazm, al-Qurtubi, and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, have given their own versions of lists of 99 names.
Based on al-Tirmidhi's list above, the names for which there is no evidence, as specified by Sheikh Abd al-Muhsin al-Abbad, Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen, and others, are as follows:
There is no universal agreement among Islamic exegesis scholars about the number of names of God, since it was only Ibn Hazm who argued a limitation of 99 names. Instead, Islamic scholars such as al-Khattabi, al-Qurtubi, Abi Bakr bin Thayyib, Ibn al-'Arabi (not Ibn Arabi), , Ibn Taymiyya, Al-Nawawi, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya and Ibn Rajab, have stated that Allah has an infinite number of names. While there are rulings that only a few names and their attributes are revealed and known in the Quran and Hadiths, the uncountably unrevealed names and their attributes are only known by Allah Himself. The basis of these rulings was the Hadith, which contains a supplication as narrated in Hisn al-Muslim:
Another Hadith contains a supplication, with multiple chains of transmitters:
In the established Islamic creed about the unrevealed names of Allah, the majority of fatwas say it is obligatory for a Muslim to believe in the existence of the unrevealed names and their attributes, but it is forbidden for Muslims to try to search for them without literal evidences from the Quran and authentic Hadiths. In the creed of Islamic eschatology, the hidden names are believed to be hidden from anyone but Allah, and will only be revealed personally to Muhammad during Judgement Day.
According to Muslims, the names of God must be established by evidence and direct reference in the Quran and hadiths (the concept of tawqif). Thus, it is impermissible (haram) for Muslims to give Allah names except with what He has named Himself in the Quran or in authentic Hadiths.
The Quran refers to God's Most Beautiful Names (al-þasmÃÂþ al-ḥusná) in several Surahs. Gerhard Böwering refers to Surah 17 (17:110) as the locus classicus to which explicit lists of 99 names used to be attached in tafsir.
Another verse references the Most Beautiful Names:
A cluster of more than a dozen Divine epithets which are included in such lists is found in Surah 59.
In a hadith narrated by Sahih al-Bukhari, it is mentioned that Allah has 99 names.In another hadith, this fact is also mentioned again.
There is a tradition in Sufism to the effect the 99 names of God point to a mystical "Most Supreme and Superior Name" (ismu l-þAÿáºÂam (). This "Greatest Name of God" is said to be "the one which if He is called (prayed to) by it, He will answer." More than 1000 names of God are listed in the Jawshan Kabir (âÂÂliterally "the Great Cuirass") invocations. Sufi mystic Ibn Arabi surmised that the 99 names are "outward signs of the universe's inner mysteries".
Ibn Arabi (26 July 1165 â 16 November 1240) did not interpret the names of God as mere epithets, but as actual attributes paring the universe both in created and possible forms. By these names, the divine traits disclose for humans, whose divine potential is hidden, can learn to become a reflection of such names. However, such reflections are limited; the divine traits do not equal the divine essence of the names. Influenced by the metaphysical teachings of Ibn Arabi, Haydar Amuli assigned angels to the different names of God. Accordingly, the good angels as a whole are a manifestation of God's Names of Beauty. Shaitan (shayatin) on the other hand are a manifestation of God's Names of majesty, such as "The Haughty".
The Arabic names of God are used to form theophoric given names commonly used in Muslim cultures throughout the world, mostly in Arabic speaking societies.
Because the names of God themselves are reserved to God and their use as a person's given name is considered religiously inappropriate, theophoric names are formed by either prefixing the term ÃÂabd (ùÃÂèÃÂïÃÂ: "slave/servant of") to the name (in the case of masculine names) or by dropping the definite article al (çÃÂ).
This distinction is established out of respect for the sanctity of Divine names, which denote attributes (of love, kindness, mercy, compassion, justice, power, etc.) that are believed to be possessed in a full and absolute sense only by God, while human beings, being limited creatures, are viewed by Muslims as being endowed with the Divine attributes only in a limited and relative capacity. The prefixing of the definite article would indicate that the bearer possesses the corresponding attribute in an exclusive sense, a trait reserved to God.
Quranic verse 3:26 is cited as evidence against the validity of using Divine names for persons, with the example of MÃÂlik ul-Mulk (àÃÂÃÂðÃÂÃÂÃÂàñÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ: "Lord of Power" or "Owner of all Sovereignty"):
The two parts of the name starting with ÃÂabd may be written separately (as in the previous example) or combined as one in the transliterated form; in such a case, the vowel transcribed after ÃÂabdu is often written as u when the two words are transcribed as one: e.g., Abdur-Rahman, Abdul-Aziz, Abdul-Jabbar, or even Abdullah (ùÃÂèÃÂïàñÃÂÃÂÃÂðÃÂ: "Servant of God"). (This has to do with Arabic case vowels, the final u vowel showing the normal "quote" nominative case form.)
Examples of Muslim theophoric names include:
Baháüàsources state that the 100th name was revealed as "Baháü" ( "glory, splendor"), which appears in the words Bahá'u'lláh and BaháüÃÂ. They also believe that it is the greatest name of God. The Báb wrote a noted pentagram-shaped tablet with 360 morphological derivation of the word "Baháü" used in it.
According to Baháüàscholar âÂÂAbduâÂÂl-HamÃÂd Ishráq-Khávari, BahÃÂþ al-dën al-ÿÃÂmilë adopted the Persian poetic pen name "BahÃÂþ" after being inspired by the words of the fifth Twelver Imam, Muhammad al-Baqir, and the sixth Imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq, who stated that the greatest name of God was included in either the DuÿÃÂþu l-BahÃÂþ, a dawn prayer for Ramadan, or the þAÿmal ÿam Dawà «d. In the first verse of the duÿÃÂþu l-BahÃÂþ, the name "BahÃÂþ" appears four times.