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The Elite 99 Names of Allah

Having already discussed the unlimited number of Allah's names and attributes, we turn now to an authentic hadith that seems to clash with what we said before.

The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said:

Translation: Indeed, Allah has 99 names (one hundred minus one); whoever memorizes them will enter Jannah. [Agreed Upon]

This hadith is talking about the elite 99 names of Allah. Although all of Allah's names are husna, some of them stand out above others.

So which names are the elite 99? Virtually every single scholar of Islam has a different opinion on this. And realize that the common version that we know--like the one in this nasheed--is da'eef.

Why is it da'eef? It comes from the same hadith as we stated above--except at, at some point, one narrator added "And this is what I think those names are." So it's someone's opinion.

And realize that most of the names they've mentioned there are ok--but some are definitely negative (which goes against Allah's names being husna), and some are definitely not Allah's names.

But the good thing is, about 80-90% of the names there are ok. And even among the scholars of Islam, they agree on the vast majority of which names are THE elite 99--but they differ in a few names.

And why is this important to know--aside from for tawassul? Because this is your key to jannah! Another wording of this hadith, instead of using hadifha (to memorize, to protect), uses the word "hisaa" (with saad). The root word has something to do with intelligence and intellect; the meaning is that whoever knows and acts upon these names will enter Jannah.

Having said all that--if these 99 names are so important, why didn't Allah just tell us which are His 99 names?

But think about it--if He (سبحانه وتعالى) told us--would anyone bother with the other names? Probably not. Would anyone try to investigate the meanings of and learn the names? Not really--we'd just have a common list of names passed around, and nobody would do more than memorize.

Instead, by not telling us, He (سبحانه وتعالى) has created a situation like Laylatul-Qadr. Nobody knows when Laylatutl-Qadr is, except Allah--so people strive the last ten days of Ramadan, doing extra nawafil acts, in the hopes that it's Laylatul-Qadr.

And these elite 99 names are like that--you have to work hard, and strive above and beyond just learning 99, if you want to know them for sure.

So learn these names--with their meanings! Subhanallah, nothing will increase your eman quite like this will.

To start you off, you can check our List of Allah's Names post, and also check God Names, a site that details 99 names, with a great explanation of meaning.

May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) help us to learn and memorize and act upon His 99 names, and become those of Jannah by it--ameen ya rabbi!

Yasir Qadhi. Lecture. AlMaghrib. Light Upon Light: Fundamentals of Faith 102. Metro Toronto Convention Center, July 2007.

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Ibn Masood’s Mushaf

Ibn Mas'ood (رضي الله عنه‏) is one of the most well-known companions of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم). (Can someone suggest some good links that detail his biography?) Orientalists--who do not generally fabricate--claim that, prior to the Second Compilation, Ibn Mas'ood's (رضي الله عنه‏) mushaf had two extra surahs that our mushafs today don't have. If you investigate this claim, you find that, indeed, it's authentically report that his mushaf had two extra chapters.

So are these two "lost surahs" of the Qur'an, as they claim, that we don't have anymore?

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

Translation: Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur'an and indeed, We will be its guardian. [Surah Al-Hijar, verse(s) 9] (And yes, the Arabic has three forms of emphasis in it.)

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has promised that He will protect the Qur'an. And whose promise is greater than His?

So when you search further in the authentic narrations--not surprisingly--what do you find? What were these two mysterious chapters?

Nothing more than du'a--authentically related du'a; one was dua-u-qunoot, for salaatul-witr.

(See how Orientalists twist things and slant things to make them look sinister?)

But this post is not about slamming Orientalists-some of them are good, some of them are neutral, and some of them are evil--just like any other group of people.

Rather, this post is about the mushaf of Ibn Mas'ood (رضي الله عنه‏)--a mushaf which, even when the khalifa ordered him to give it up (as part of the Second Compilation), he refused--for a long time, he refused, until finally, he was convinced.

So why would he (رضي الله عنه‏) write du'a in his mushaf? Why not in another place?

There are a couple of reasons. First, paper (or, rather, parchment and similar materials) were very scarce--as was literacy--in the time of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم). It was very hard to gather writing materials. Having a book was itself significant. So Ibn Mas'ood simply wrote du'a at the end of his mushaf.

But isn't there a chance of confusion? People mixing Qur'an and ahadith together, in Arabic, in one book? No, not at all--companions knew which was Qur'an and which was not! So what was the harm in writing them in one book--especially considering the scarcity of materials?

And that, in a nutshell, is Ibn Mas'ood's (رضي الله عنه‏) mushaf.

For more Orientalist refutations, check out the Islamic Awareness site. It details many Orientalist arguments against Islam, and their refutations.

May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) protect us from doubts and whispers of Shaytaan and keep us firm in our eman and on our deen, ameen!

Yasir Qadhi. Lecture. AlMaghrib. Route 114: Qur'anic Sciences. University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus, March 2008.

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Ihsaan

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said:

Translation: Indeed, Allah prescribed ihsaan in all things. Thus, if you kill, kill well; and if you slaughter, slaughter well. Let each one of you sharpen his blade and let him spare suffering to the animal he slaughters. [Saheeh Muslim]

In this crucial hadith, the Messenger of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) explained to us this concept of ihsaan. What is ihsaan?

Ihsaan is often translated as "excellence." Ihsaan means to do things with excellence--properly, at the highest level. And we can see this in the example the Prophet (سبحانه وتعالى) gave us--if you're performing zahiba, slaughtering a sheep for food, then sharpen the knife! Scholars mention that doing so will make the cut cleaner and less painful for the animal.

And that's the crux of Ihsaan--that you do things properly, and at the highest level of excellence.

And ihsaan is really a way of thinking, a state of being--not something you do now and then; you should strive to do ihsaan in everything you do, thus becoming one of the Muhsineen.

One striking contemporary example of ihsaan that comes to mind is job interviews--if you've ever seen someone who was serious about a job prepare for the interview, you'll know ihsaan--a man migt take an hour to prepare--dress properly, iron his shirt and suit, tie his tie properly, straighten it, even apply polish to his shoes! He'll set his alarm early--even though he doesn't wake up early for Fajr--wake up, eat properly; he might spend hours researching mock interview questions and preparing, making sure he's ready for anything.

And that's ihsaan. When the interview comes, he sails through, smooth and smiling and confident.
And if Allah has willed it, he gets the job.

That's ihsaan.

And Allah says:

Translation: Is there any reward for ihsaan other than ihsaan? [Surah Ar-Rahmaan, verse 60]

With that in mind, what are some examples of ihsaan that we can apply on a daily basis in our lives?

And remember--intentions! If you're doing ihsaan to show off, or for some haraam dunya purpose--like to net a girlfriend--you're wasting your time. The reward with Allah is better and longer-lasting then any fleeting desire you might have right now.

• Cleaning Your Room: don't just clean half of it, or hide everything under the bed and cram it into yours shelves--take the time to put everything into the proper place. Fold your clothes properly and stack them up neatly. Arrange papers into folders. Throw out anything you don't need.
• Be an A+ Student: Study hard, make good notes, and aim to get 110% on the exams. Help out those who need some extra help. Don't bum around, skip class, and aim to just pass your tests and exams. (One side note--you'll find your teachers will like you more--because good teachers need good students.)
• Ihsaanified Blogging: think through your blog. What are you hoping to accomplish through it? Have a strong purpose and vision in mind, a need to fill--yours or others. Pick a pleasing design, and tweak it to your writing. Write regularly--whether daily, weekly, monthly, or whatever your schedule. Review and edit posts for spelling and grammar mistakes, inconsistencies, etc.
• Become an Exemplary Employee: When you get assigned work, don't waste time--jump into it, and get it done. Make sure you do whatever you have to do well. Double check it--if you wrote code, test it. If you tabulated numbers, verify them. If it's a contract you've written, re-read it. If you designed something, re-evaluate it. Then submit it.

Insha'Allah if you have any great examples of ihsaan specific to some task or person, post it in the comments insha'Allah.

May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) allow us to understand and implement this amazing virtue of ihsaan into all aspects of our lives, and allow us to reap the rewards of it in the Akhira, ameen!

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Faculties in Islamic Institutes

If you, or someone you know, is planning on studying overseas, this information may prove useful. Most of the time, there's a language barrier between people here and the staff. A lot people apply blindly, especially when it comes to the faculties--which seem to be pretty standard across Islamic institutes--not knowing what exactly to expect.

So we've put together a small list of the common faculties, and what they teach you in each. And of course, regardless of which faculty you study in, you will learn the basics of everything--how to pray, recite, etc.

• Faculty of Qur'an: They teach you the ten qira'aat--that's why you must be a hafidh to enter. You will memorize all ten (eventually) and be able to recite them fluently, with the respective tajweed rules. This is typically the smallest faculty, with only a handful of graduates each year.
• Faculty of Hadith: People who graduate are on the road to becoming muhaddith. They are able to look at hadith, and cut them to pieces, analyze the authenticity of each. Aside from learning the science of hadith, you'll also memorize a few thousand ahadith each year (with chains), not to mention the biographies of narrators. This is the second-smallest faculty, typically.
• Faculty of Shari'ah: This is typically the biggest faculty, because there's a huge need in the ummah for fiqh. Typically, you specialize in fiqh and usool-ul-fiqh, the science of deriving fiqh. By the end, you will have a strong grip on the tools of a mujtahid, with some basis of the skills necessary to make fatwa (as dangerous as that is) on new issues; and you should know some of the tools to research and resolve issues.
• Faculty of Aqeedah and Da'wa: Admittedly, we don't know much about this faculty--so if you do, post it in the comments insha'Allah! In Medina University, this is known as the "easiest" faculty--but people who go in come out very strong. In terms of 'aqeedah, you'll specialize--learning the basics (shirk, kufr, nifaaq) to advanced issues relating to Allah's attributes, the day of judgment, the prophets, and even things like t he dividing line between Muslims and Faasiqeen, and what takes a person out of Islam (because an act of shirk does not make a person mushrik necessarily, nor does an act of kufr necessarily make someone kaaifr.)

And that's it! Insha'Allah if you have any first-hand or second-hand knowledge of these faculties, share it with us! Your comments may help shape the decision and direction of someone's future.

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