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.

There are many words in Arabic that translate as "love" in English; two of them are hubb and wudd. What is the difference between hubb (حَبَّ) and wudd (وَدَّ)? Hubb, which is from ح ب ب ، means to love. It is a love that you have for someone or something that you keep inside of you--inner feelings of admiration and fondness. While wudd, from و د د، is a more intense form of hubb, a whole-hearted and deep love. Wudd is the purest form of love, an intimate love, and this love--affection that is more stronger than hubb--turns into actions. Wudd is to express those feelings of love in your conduct, in your actions,in your demeanor, and wudd maintains consistency and persists even if obstacles are in the way.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) describes Himself as "Al-Wadood" (الودود) and this is usually translated into English as "The Most Loving." This Love is constant and spreads to all of Allah's creation, but a special form of this love is for His righteous servants. He says:

Translation: Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds, Ar-Rahman will appoint for them affection. [Surah Maryam, verse 96]

The Name of Allah, Al-Wadood, comes twice in the Qur'an, firstly, Prophet Shuy'ab (عليه السلام) tells his people:

Translation: And ask forgiveness of your Lord and turn unto Him in repentance. Verily, my Lord is Most Merciful, Most Loving." [Surah Hud, verse 90]

And, in Surah Al-Burooj, ayah 14, Allah says:

Translation: And He is Al-Ghafuwr, Al-Wadood (the Affectionate). [Surah Al-Burooj, verse 14]

In Arabic grammar, "Wadood" falls under the fa'ool (فعول) pattern, which denotes Allah's Love as constant and lasting, as well as intense. Allah is Al-Wadood, He loves the believers, and the believers love Him more than anything and anyone. His love is a love that is continual, ample, and vast, and translates into the blessings He gives us, from a simple breath we take to the greatest blessing of Islam.

So how can we live by Allah's Name, Al-Wadood? There are three important factors we have to fulfill:

1. To know that Allah loves you a lot.
2. To fill your hearts with the love of Allah and make our hearts only for Him, and remove from them everything else, such as the love of the dunya.
3. To show the love that Allah is showing you to others--to your spouse, your family, your friends, your community.

Imam Safi Khan. Lecture. Dar-us-Salaam Masjid. College Park, Maryland.

It's a very very deep name—like all of Allah's names, it's very deep. It comes from the root hilm, and hilm means a wisdom and a forebearance that allows a person to control their anger. Hilm is an intelligence that, in our terms, allows someone to control their anger, even if their anger is justified. It allows you to, when you are justifiably angry, to control it and not manifest it. It's usually translated as “forbearing”, which murders the concept of hilm.

So Al-Haleem is the one who has characteristics:

• of them, is knowledge, to know what happend
• of them, is wisdom, to control that which makes you angry
• of them, is that you must be justifiably angry; only a foolish person gets angry for no reason.
• of them, is that the person who's angry justifiably COULD TAKE REVENGE on you; but doesn't. (For example, if a cop gives you a ticket, you can't get angry at him, and you can't take revenge.) Hilm is when you can SHOW your anger and get it out, but still hold it back.

The effects of this name—knowing Allah is Al-Haleem—we affirm that He overlooks the faults of His servants, even though He has the right to become angry at them. Still, He doesn't call them to task, and delays accounting and punishing, wanting us to repent. We appreciate this, knowing Allah is FULLY AWARE of what we do, but doesn't take us to task.

This name occurs 11 times in the Qur'an. 6 of those times, it's in combination with Al-Ghafuwr. Once, it's combined with Ash-Shakuwr. Once, it's combined with Al-'Aliym. Thrice, with Al-Ghaniy. When combined, the meaning is:

• Combined with Al-Ghafuwr: not only does He overlook our actions and not get angry, He forgives and covers them up and protects us from the effects of them!
• Combined with Ash-shakur: not only will your sins be overlooked, you will be rewarded with more then you deserve!
• Combined with Al-'Aliym: not only does He know what you're doing, He's still controlling His anger, he's still controlling that anger, even though you deserve to be shown His anger.
• Combined with Al-Ghaniy: He doesn't need ANYTHING from you, yet He is controlling that anger and forgiving

you.

So remember Al-Haleem and call unto Him in your du'as, and ask Him to forgive you--because only He can protect you from His anger (an anger that is justified)!

Linguistic Meaning: The root of Al-Ghaffuwr and Al-Ghaffar is the verb is ghafara (غَفَرَ), which does NOT mean "to forgive"; rather, it means to shield and protect and cover. Like a helmet, which, in Arabic, is called a "mighfaar."

Islamic Meaning: Islamically, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), Al-Ghaffuwr is the one who shields and protects YOU form the consequences of your own actions. One of the connotations is, you shield and cover something based upon knowledge. So when Allah does maghfirah, he's covering your sins, being fully aware of what they are. So we say he's the one who FORGIVES, regardless of how large the sin his. That's what Al-Ghaffuwr is—the one who does the concept of ghafara to a higher level. Even if it's a large quantity—a HUGE sin—Al-Ghafuwr will cover it up. It's a QUALITY of covering.

In contrast to Al-Ghaffuwr, Al-Ghaffaar is only mentioned about four times in the Qur'an. Al-Ghaffaar is the one who CONTINUES to forgive, again and again and again and again and again. So Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) forgives you REGARDLESS of how many times you sin—again and again, he gives you continuous forgiveness. It's a QUANTITY forgiveness.

Combined Names
This great name of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), Al-Ghafuwr, is mentioned in combination with several other names of Allah.

• Ar-Raheem: 72 times, Allah mentions Al-Ghafuwr with Ar-Raheem, one of the most common sets of pairs of Allah's names—signifying that he COVERS these sins because he's merciful to us.
• Al-Haleem: 6 times, Allah pairs Al-Ghafuwr with Al-Haleem—and Al-Haleem means the one who is able to restrain his anger after being justifiably angry. He is capable of being angry with us, but he restrains and forgives us.
• Al-'Afuww: 4 times, Allah pairs Al-Ghaffuwr with Al-'Affuw, meaning he is the one who covers our sins, and also wipes them out, utterly obliterates them, with his forgiveness.
• Ash-Shakuwr: 3 times, he pairs this with As-Shakuwr (الشكور), the one who appreciates what you've done and rewards you with more then you deserve. Pairing this with Al-Ghafuwr, you get the one who forgives you, and gives you more then you deserve for your good deeds. And Suratush-Shuraa, the people of Jannah say: "we made it because Allah is Ghafuwr and Shakuwr—He forgave us, and gave us more then we deserve."
• Al-Aziz: 2 times, Allah pairs Al-Ghafuwr with Al-Aziz (العزيز), and Al-Aziz is, the one who has honour and power, and the one who has power in himself so he cannot be harmed, and the all-powerful. These are the meanings of Aziz. By combining with Al-Ghafuwr, Allah is saying, "I'm forgiving you DESPITE the fact that I'm all-powerful." Because if a bully comes and hits you, you might forgive him, because there's nothing you can do—you're weak and incapable—but Allah says "no, I forgive even though I am Al-Aziz." And that is the HEIGHT of forgiveness.
• Al-Waduwd: 1 time, Allah pairs Al-Ghafuwr with Al-Waduwd (الوَدُود)--the one who shows extra love, the caring type of love (Arabic has over 10 verbs to describe different types of love). And Al-Waduwd has connotations of caring and loving and protecting. Allah is saying "I forgive you because I love you with that type of love"--best described as a parent's love (wudd) for her child.

And this is Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), our Lord, the one whom we worship alone--not some man-god or pious person, but rather, the one who is Al-Ghaffuwr and Al-Ghaffaar.

And remember--if you've sinned or wronged somebody, or even wronged yourself, call upon Al-Ghafuwr, call upon Al-Ghaffaar, to forgive you--because unlike humans, He (سبحانه وتعالى) never, ever tires of forgiving us.

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

Answerer: Shaykh Yasir Qadhi

The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: "To Allah belongs a Grand Name, that, if you make du'a with it, it will be responded to. And if you plead or request with it, it shall be answered." [Recorded in Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, and others; Saheeh]

This hadith mentions this concept of the Grand Name of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). This Grand Name, the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) didn't tell us what it is, because that defeats the purpose (calling Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) by ALL His names, not just one or two)!

The scholars say there are two very strong opinions on what the Grand Name is:

1. The name is Al-Hayyu and Al-Qayyum (from Ayatul Kursi)
2. The name is Allah (Allah is mentioned by name over 3000 times in the Qur'an)

And the stronger opinion (according to me), is that the Grand Name is Allah. And these are the two strongest opinions.

So there's no problem combining all three when you invoke Allah (i.e. saying "Ya Allah, ya Hayyu, ya Qayyum, ..."). And remember, when Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says he WILL respond, it won't necessarily be what you want--He might give you something better, though you might not see it that way. You can look up this topic in more detail in my book "Du'a: The Weapon of the Believer."

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

Light Upon Light: Fundamentals of Faith 102 is an AlMaghrib Institute course taught by Yasir Qadhi.

Allah. The name conjures up many associations--the Creator, the Sustainer, the only one to be worshipped. The All-Knowing, the All-Seeing, the All-Hearing. Ar-Rahmaan, Ar-Raheem.

But who is Allah? Do we really know Allah (سبحانه وتعال), in all His majesty and glory and might and mercy? Or--like so many of the Muslims today--do we only claim to know Allah, while in fact, we know almost nothing about Him--the one who sent the Prophets as a mercy to us, who created us for nothing but His worship, out of His mercy!

Learn about Allah, Al-Ahad, Ar-Rahmaan, the one who we devote our lives to, from authentic understandings that date back to the Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) himself. Learn the science of knowing Allah, His Names and Attributes, and about the different ways groups deviated in their 'aqeedah.

And Allah (سبحانه وتعال) says in Suratul A'raaf:

Translation:

To Allah belong the most beautiful names, so call him with those names. And leave those who have deviated with regards to his names. They will be requited for what they used to do. [Suratul A'raaf, verse 180]

• Ahlul Sunnah Wal Jam'aah
• Al-Ghafuwr and Al-Ghaffaar
• Light Upon Light
• The Elite 99 Names of Allah
• The Grand Name

• Asmaa-was-Sifaat

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

The root word for ٱلۡقَهَّارُ is قَهر which is defined as:

1. to compel something or someone against his/her wishes
2. to subdue
3. to overcome
4. to force [1]

Thus, with regards to Allah (سبحانه وتعال), the noble name Al-Qahhar can be translated as "the Subduer, i.e. the Subduer of His creatures by His sovereign authority and power and the Disposer of them as He pleases, with and against their will." [1]

Along with ٱلۡعَزِيزُ (the Powerful and Honorable) and ٱلۡجَبَّارُ (the Strong and Powerful), this noble name illustrates that Allah(سبحانه وتعال) has the supreme authority and power to do anything, and He can subdue or force anyone to compel to Allah’s Will against his/her wishes. This supreme power rests with only Allah (سبحانه وتعال).

Allah (سبحانه وتعال) has said in the Qur'an:

Translation: Do they seek other than the religion of Allah, while to Him submitted all creatures in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly. And to Him shall they all be returned. [Al-Imran: 83]

In this verse, Allah (سبحانه وتعال) is telling us that everything that is created submits to Allah (سبحانه وتعال) willingly or unwillingly, such is the power and force of Al-Qahhar. If we ponder over this ayah and look around us, we will see the amazing truth in it. For example, the gravity of earth and the planets ensure that humans can only make an object go only so far. The limitations of the body ensure that we can only go at a certain top speed and nothing more. Regardless of how advanced the technology becomes, this technology will be compelled and will be subdued by Al-Qahhar to comply to His will, whether it is willingly or unwillingly. That shows how finite and limited we are, and how grand, powerful and majestic is Allah (سبحانه وتعال).

Also, this verse is telling us how foolish those people are who seek a religion other than the religion of Allah (سبحانه وتعال) – Islam – because these people are submitting to other object(s) of worship, whereas to Allah (سبحانه وتعال) submits everything willing or unwillingly, and to Allah (سبحانه وتعال) is the ultimate return. Such is the power and force of Al-Qahhar (سبحانه وتعال).

The name Al-Qahhar is found in the noun form in six ayaat of Quran. Amazingly, all six times the name الْوَاحِدُ (the One) is combined with Al-Qahhar. These six instances are:

"O two companions of the prison! Are many different lords (gods) better or Allah, the One, Al-Qahhar?" [Yusuf:39]

Say (O Muhammad SAW): "Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth?" Say: "(It is) Allah." Say: "Have you then taken (for worship) Auliya (protectors, etc.) other than Him, such as have no power either for benefit or for harm to themselves?" Say: "Is the blind equal to the one who sees? Or darkness equal to light? Or do they assign to Allah partners who created the like of His creation, so that the creation (which they made and His creation) seemed alike to them." Say: "Allah is the Creator of all things, He is the One, Al-Qahhar." [ArRad:16]

On the Day when the earth will be changed to another earth and so will be the heavens, and they (all creatures) will appear before Allah, the One, Al-Qahhar. [Ibrahim:48]

Say (O Muhammad SAW): "I am only a warner and there is no Ilah (God) except Allah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah) the One, Al-Qahhar. [Sad:65]

Had Allah willed to take a son (or offspring or children), He could have chosen whom He pleased out of those whom He created. But glory be to Him! (He is above such things). He is Allah, the One, Al-Qahhar. [Az-Zumar:4]

The Day when they will (all) come out, nothing of them will be hidden from Allah. Whose is the kingdom this Day? (Allah Himself will reply to His Question): It is Allah's the One, Al-Qahhar! [Ghafir:16]

The reasons why Allah (سبحانه وتعال) chose to combine these two names (الْوَاحِدُ and Al-Qahhar) together at every mention of the name Al-Qahhar are known only to Allah. However, one can see that one of the reasons for this coupling could be that Allah (سبحانه وتعال) is trying to emphasize that there is only, exclusively, unquestionably one Al-Qahhar. In other words, there is no one who is that powerful and mighty such that they can force and subdue all of the creation – willingly or unwillingly – to comply with their will. No one has this capability, except Allah, الْوَاحِدُ (the One) ٱلۡقَهَّارُ, Exalted is He (سبحانه وتعال).

Also, one can see this combination is done every time, in all six instances in the Quran. This is to further emphasize the afore-mentioned point that truly, unmistakably there is only One Al-Qahhar.

The following is an explanation of two ayaat from the afore-mentioned six ayaat.

The first ayah mentioned (in chronological order) is ayah 39 from Surah Yusuf. In the preceding ayaat, the story of Yusuf (عليه السلام) and his encounter with the wife of Aziz was mentioned. In the story, Yusuf (عليه السلام) was imprisoned even though he had not committed any crime and the entire fault laid with the wife of Aziz. In prison, he was approached by two prisoners who wanted to ask Yusuf (عليه السلام) about the interpretation of their dreams. Yusuf (عليه السلام) took this opportunity to do some da'wah, even though he was imprisoned! In his da'wah, he first disassociates himself from the religion and practises of the people of Egypt and then mentions his religion, the religion of Allah. He then poses an intriguing and awe-inspiring question: Are many gods better, or is Allah, الْوَاحِدُ (the One) ٱلۡقَهَّارُ, better?

The question is obviously hypothetical because the answer is so obvious. How can the acceptance of and worship of multiple gods make any sense when Allah, the True God, is One and Allah is Al-Qahhar, and ONLY Allah is Al-Qahhar? The mention of Al-Qahhar emphasizes that Allah is the One who is so powerful and mighty that He can force and subdue all of the creation – willingly or unwillingly – to comply to His Will. So why, then, worship anyone else who itself is submitting to Allah (سبحانه وتعال)?

The last ayah mentioned (in chronological order) is ayah 16 from Surah Ghafir. The ayah is very clear, explicit and dripping with majesty and grandeur. Allah (سبحانه وتعال) is telling us about the Day of Judgement, and how on that day when all of mankind will be summoned abruptly from their graves, nothing on that day will be hidden from Allah (سبحانه وتعال). The مَـٰلِكِ يَوۡمِ ٱلدِّين will show everyone who is the King and the Master on this day of chaos: it is none other than Allah, الْوَاحِدُ ٱلۡقَهَّارُ.

The mention of Al-Qahhar emphasizes in very clear and certain terms that Allah will subdue everyone and force everyone on that day to comply with His Will. For example, we know from Surah Tariq, ayah 10 that on the Day of Judgment, man will have neither power nor any helper except Allah, الْوَاحِدُ ٱلۡقَهَّارُ. We also know that no one can intercede for anyone except by Allah's leave, nor can anyone help anyone else on this day. So truly, everyone without exception on this day will be subdued and forced to comply – willingly or unwillingly – with the Will of Allah and only Allah, الْوَاحِدُ ٱلۡقَهَّارُ, Exalted is He above the seven heavens (سبحانه وتعال).

1. Vocabulary of The Holy Quran. Abdullah Abbas AlNadawi. Darul Ishaat, Karachi Pakistan.