What is meant by his saying (peace be upon him): “Indeed, Allah has ninety-nine names”?
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The Shaykh : This hadith does not mean that Allah has no names other than ninety-nine; that is not the intention. For it has come in some authentic hadiths: Mishkat al-Masabih 2452 There is a reservation by Allah (Mighty and Majestic) of some names that people do not know. So the names of Allah are more than ninety-nine, but the names that have this virtue: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3508Sahih (Darussalam) are ninety-nine. He confirmed this by saying: So the intention is that whoever extracts these names from the Book of Allah and from the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) through seeking, patience, and steadfastness, and is then granted success in doing so, has certainly entered Paradise. And from where do we know that?!
There is no way to know that. Rather, it is an exhortation to this great work. And as far as I know, I have not found anyone among the scholars of the Muslims who has undertaken to trace and count the hadiths, to trace the hadiths and count the beautiful names, as al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani did in his book *Fath al-Bari*. And yet, we found him hesitating between whether this name is in place of that name, or the reverse. The important point is that the names of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) are more than one hundred. But whoever counts ninety-nine of them, counting based on the Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and is granted success in that work, then that is a good omen for him of entering Paradise. Anyone else?
The questioner : The Shaykh is saying: counting, meaning: acting upon them and knowing the true meanings of them and acting upon them.
The Shaykh : This is part of the completion of the counting, yes.
Ibn Mas'ud reported God’s messenger as saying that if anyone is afflicted by much care he should say, “O God, I am Thy servant, the son of Thy servant, the son of Thy handmaid, and at Thy disposal; my forelock is in Thy hand; Thy judgment is effective regarding me; just concerning me is Thy decree; I ask Thee by every name Thou hast by which Thou hast called Thyself, or sent down in Thy Book, or taught any of Thy creatures, or kept to Thyself in the hidden place of the unseen, to make the Qur’an the Spring of my heart and the means of clearing away my care and grief.” He declared that no one had ever said it without God removing his grief and giving him joy instead of it. Razin transmitted it.
أسألك بكل اسمٍ هو لك، سميت به نفسك أو استأثرت به في علم الغيب عندكwhoever counts them shall enter Paradise
مَن أحصاها دخل الجنةOne hundred except one
مائة إلا واحداًThere is no way to know that. Rather, it is an exhortation to this great work. And as far as I know, I have not found anyone among the scholars of the Muslims who has undertaken to trace and count the hadiths, to trace the hadiths and count the beautiful names, as al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani did in his book *Fath al-Bari*. And yet, we found him hesitating between whether this name is in place of that name, or the reverse. The important point is that the names of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) are more than one hundred. But whoever counts ninety-nine of them, counting based on the Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and is granted success in that work, then that is a good omen for him of entering Paradise. Anyone else?
The questioner : The Shaykh is saying: counting, meaning: acting upon them and knowing the true meanings of them and acting upon them.
The Shaykh : This is part of the completion of the counting, yes.