Is it prescribed to invoke Allah by His ninety-nine beautiful names in a single supplication?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good. A listener named Mubarak Muhammad sent a question, saying: There is an imam of a mosque who prays the tarawih, and in the witr supplication he recites the ninety-nine names of Allah, then says, "O Allah, I ask You by Your beautiful names and Your exalted attributes," and then he recites the well-known supplication that is repeated by many imams. Some of the worshippers objected to him, explaining that it is a bid'ah (religious innovation). Is what they said correct, or is the imam in the right? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
Supplication in the qunut is prescribed. His supplication in the qunut of the witr is prescribed in the tarawih and in other prayers, and it has no specific limit. However, if he supplicates with the supplication reported in the hadith ofSunan an-Nasa'i 1745Sahih (Darussalam) As for adhering to a specific supplication other than what was reported, and persisting in it, or reciting the ninety-nine names as the questioner mentioned, this is an unnecessary burden that is not prescribed. It also involves prolonging the prayer for the followers. If he persists in it, it becomes a bid'ah (religious innovation) by definition, because he has committed himself to something that is not obligatory. Furthermore, the 99 names are not specified, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3508Sahih (Darussalam) and did not specify them. The names of Allah are numerous in the Book and the Sunnah, many names that are not specified as these 99, so that the field is wide open for the Muslim to invoke Allah by any of His names that is easy for him. Allah the Exalted said [Al-A'raf 7:180] So if the Muslim supplicates and seeks nearness to Allah by the names and attributes reported in the Book and the Sunnah, this is a prescribed matter, but without adhering to specific names that he repeats, thinking that they are the ones intended in the hadith to the exclusion of others, or by repeating that and prolonging it for the followers, which causes hardship for them. All of this is an unnecessary burden that is not prescribed, and it may be an innovation. Yes.
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good. A listener named Mubarak Muhammad sent a question, saying: There is an imam of a mosque who prays the tarawih, and in the witr supplication he recites the ninety-nine names of Allah, then says, "O Allah, I ask You by Your beautiful names and Your exalted attributes," and then he recites the well-known supplication that is repeated by many imams. Some of the worshippers objected to him, explaining that it is a bid'ah (religious innovation). Is what they said correct, or is the imam in the right? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
Supplication in the qunut is prescribed. His supplication in the qunut of the witr is prescribed in the tarawih and in other prayers, and it has no specific limit. However, if he supplicates with the supplication reported in the hadith of
Al-Hasan said: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) taught me some words to say in witr in Qunut: Allahumma ihdini fiman hadayta wa 'afini fiman afayta
الحسن اللهم اهدني فيمن هديت، وعافني فيمن عافيت،Indeed, Allah has ninety-nine Names, whoever counts them shall enter Paradise.
إن لله تسعة وتسعين اسما من أحصاها دخل الجنةAnd to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them.
وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 2427- هل يشرع أن يدعى الله بأسمائه الحسنى التسعة والتسعين في دعاء واحد - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.