Is the hadith that limits the ninety-nine beautiful names of Allah and lists them authentic?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Other than that?
The questioner : Noble Shaykh, what is the authenticity of the hadith regarding the specification of the names of Allah?
The Shaykh : Specification!
The questioner : Limiting them.
The Shaykh : The intended meaning is limiting the names of Allah. There are two narrations: one is authentic and the other is weak. As for the authentic narration, it is what al-Bukhari and Muslim reported in their Sahihs from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Ibn Majah 3860Hasan (Darussalam) This is the authentic one.
But this enumeration mentioned in *Sunan al-Tirmidhi* and other books of the Sunnah has two defects:
The first defect is that the chain of narration with this addition, which includes counting the names, is not valid. Moreover, due to its invalidity, it contradicts the authentic hadith, which limited itself to saying:Sunan Ibn Majah 3860Hasan (Darussalam) and did not mention that addition. Therefore, this addition can be considered an anomalous addition.
And another thing: the narrations differ in counting these names, with some mentioning one name in place of another. Therefore, the virtue mentioned in this hadith, which is:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3508Sahih (Darussalam), is not actually intended to mean that a person memorizes these names listed in some compilations like al-Tirmidhi’s, otherwise entering Paradise would be easy, whereas that is contrary to the authentic hadith, which is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2559Sahih (Darussalam) So what is wrong with a person memorizing ninety-nine names from a book?!
We do not have evidence from the Sunnah that a Muslim who memorizes the Qur’an from beginning to end enters Paradise. So how can it be reasonable that there is such a light obligation in the Sunnah with such a great reward, where one who enumerates ninety-nine names written in a book enters Paradise? This is not the intended meaning. I believe that among the great scholars of hadith and those who trace the paths of hadith, it is very rare for anyone to succeed in this enumeration that is linked to entering Paradise, because the intent of this enumeration is to trace the names of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) in the Book of Allah and in the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) first, and then to stop at this number. Here lies the precision in the matter and the difficulty; if a Muslim were to verify this matter, he would be rewarded with entering Paradise.
The questioner : Noble Shaykh, what is the authenticity of the hadith regarding the specification of the names of Allah?
The Shaykh : Specification!
The questioner : Limiting them.
The Shaykh : The intended meaning is limiting the names of Allah. There are two narrations: one is authentic and the other is weak. As for the authentic narration, it is what al-Bukhari and Muslim reported in their Sahihs from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Allah has ninety-nine Names, one hundred less one. Whoever counts them will enter Paradise.
إنّ لله تسعة وتسعين اسماً، مائة إلا واحداً، من أحصاها دخل الجنةBut this enumeration mentioned in *Sunan al-Tirmidhi* and other books of the Sunnah has two defects:
The first defect is that the chain of narration with this addition, which includes counting the names, is not valid. Moreover, due to its invalidity, it contradicts the authentic hadith, which limited itself to saying:
one hundred less one. Whoever counts them will enter Paradise.
مئة إلا واحداً من أحصاها دخل الجنةAnd another thing: the narrations differ in counting these names, with some mentioning one name in place of another. Therefore, the virtue mentioned in this hadith, which is:
whoever counts them shall enter Paradise
مَن أحصاها دخل الجنةParadise is surrounded by hardships, and the Fire is surrounded by desires.
حُفّت الجنة بالمكاره، وحُفّت النار بالشهواتWe do not have evidence from the Sunnah that a Muslim who memorizes the Qur’an from beginning to end enters Paradise. So how can it be reasonable that there is such a light obligation in the Sunnah with such a great reward, where one who enumerates ninety-nine names written in a book enters Paradise? This is not the intended meaning. I believe that among the great scholars of hadith and those who trace the paths of hadith, it is very rare for anyone to succeed in this enumeration that is linked to entering Paradise, because the intent of this enumeration is to trace the names of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) in the Book of Allah and in the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) first, and then to stop at this number. Here lies the precision in the matter and the difficulty; if a Muslim were to verify this matter, he would be rewarded with entering Paradise.