What is the degree of authenticity of the hadith specifying the names of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)?

The questioner: His EminenceThe Shaykh : What is the degree of authenticity of the hadith specifying the names of Allah?

The Shaykh : By specifying, we mean restricting 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 "Sahih"s 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: . This is the authentic version... 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 transmission 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 his saying: , and did not mention that addition. Therefore, this addition can be considered an anomalous addition.
Another point is that the narrations differ in counting these names; some mention one name in place of another. Therefore, the virtue mentioned in this hadith, which is , does not actually mean that a person should memorize these names listed in some compilations like al-Tirmidhi's. If that were the case, entering Paradise would be made easy, whereas that is contrary to the authentic hadith, namely his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . What is disliked about a person memorizing ninety-nine names in 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, and it carries that great reward, that whoever 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 tracing the paths of hadith, it is very rare for anyone to be granted this enumeration that is linked to entering Paradise; because the intended meaning 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, such that if a Muslim were to verify this matter, he would be rewarded with entering Paradise.
This hadith does not mean that Allah has no names other than ninety-nine names; this is not the intended meaning; because it has come in some authentic hadiths: . 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 names, but the names that have this virtue: are ninety-nine names. He confirmed that by his saying: ; so the intended meaning is that whoever extracts these names from the Book of Allah and from the hadith of the Messenger of Allah through seeking, patience, and steadfastness, and is then granted success in that, has certainly entered Paradise. And from where do we know that? There is no way to know that. Rather, it is an encouragement to this great work. And I, to my knowledge, have not found any of the Muslim scholars who has undertaken tracing and enumerating the hadiths by tracing the hadiths and enumerating 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 should be in place of that name or vice versa. The important thing is that the names of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) are more than one hundred, but whoever enumerates ninety-nine of them with an enumeration 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 for entering Paradise.
Other than that?

The questioner : Shaykh, he says: enumeration means: acting upon them and knowing the reality of their meanings and acting upon them.

The Shaykh : This is part of the completion of the enumeration.
Yes.