The Guidelines for the Names of Allah and Whether They Are Limited to Ninety-Nine
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
And Shaykh Abu Malik said that there are guidelines for the Names of Allah, the Names. So are the Names of Allah limited in Islam?
Answer:
Yes, the guidelines for the Names of Allah al-Husna are what is established in the Book of Allah or in the Sunnah of His Messenger. These are the guidelines: whatever Names of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) are established in the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger, we affirm them; and whatever is not mentioned in the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, we deny it and do not believe in it. These are the guidelines. As for whether the Names of Allah are limited to the ninety-nine, such that whoever enumerates them enters Paradise, as in the hadith? No, the Names of Allah are not limited, and no one knows them except He. But these ninety-nine, whoever enumerates them enters Paradise, meaning whoever knows them and acts upon them enters Paradise. They are not limited, and the number does not imply limitation, as they say. Rather, these ninety-nine, whoever enumerates them enters Paradise, meaning he knows them, believes in them, and acts in accordance with their implications.
As for the Names of Allah, I do not know them except He, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Mishkat al-Masabih 2452 Al-Mustadrak lil-Hakim 18:73. And his saying “or you have kept it to yourself” indicates that there are Names of Allah that no one knows except He (Glorified and Exalted is He).
And Shaykh Abu Malik said that there are guidelines for the Names of Allah, the Names. So are the Names of Allah limited in Islam?
Answer:
Yes, the guidelines for the Names of Allah al-Husna are what is established in the Book of Allah or in the Sunnah of His Messenger. These are the guidelines: whatever Names of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) are established in the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger, we affirm them; and whatever is not mentioned in the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, we deny it and do not believe in it. These are the guidelines. As for whether the Names of Allah are limited to the ninety-nine, such that whoever enumerates them enters Paradise, as in the hadith? No, the Names of Allah are not limited, and no one knows them except He. But these ninety-nine, whoever enumerates them enters Paradise, meaning whoever knows them and acts upon them enters Paradise. They are not limited, and the number does not imply limitation, as they say. Rather, these ninety-nine, whoever enumerates them enters Paradise, meaning he knows them, believes in them, and acts in accordance with their implications.
As for the Names of Allah, I do not know them except He, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
by every name Thou hast by which Thou hast called Thyself, or sent down in Thy Book
أسألك بكل اسم هو لك أنزلته في كتابكYou named Yourself with it, or You revealed it in Your Book, or You taught it to one of Your creation, or You kept it to Yourself in the knowledge of the Unseen with You
سَمَّيْتَ بِهِ نَفْسَكَ أَوْ أَنْزَلْتَهُ فِي كِتَابِكَ أَوْ عَلَّمْتَهُ أَحَدًا مِنْ خَلْقِكَ أَوِ اسْتَأْثَرْتَ بِهِ فِي عِلْمِ الْغَيْبِ عِنْدَكَ
Source
شرح لمعة الاعتقاد [ صالح الفوزان ]، المقدمة — islamhouse.com (52:28)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.