Can a qualified scholar determine the ninety-nine names of Allah?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Do you think it is possible for a qualified scholar to arrive at a determination of the ninety-nine?
The Shaykh : Precisely, it is not possible, but one can count the beautiful names, which are undoubtedly more than one hundred and one. As for those in which there is a virtue mentioned inJami` at-Tirmidhi 3508Sahih (Darussalam), that is extremely difficult.
The questioner : So, do you see that the beautiful names are more than ninety-nine?
The Shaykh : Yes, because the hadith, as I think, is not hidden from you; it does not imply a restriction of the divine names, but rather a restriction of the divine names such that whoever counts them will enter Paradise. I think the difference in my expression is clear?
The questioner : It is clear, yes. And why did we say this statement and adopt this position?
The Shaykh : Because, first, by tracing them, there are more than ninety-nine names. First, second, there is the supplication to the end of the hadith.
Al-Halabi : Or that You have kept it to Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen with You, or that You have taught it to any of Your creation.
The questioner : But this hadith divided the names into three categories. The first category is what Allah has kept to Himself in the knowledge of the unseen with Him, and we have no access to it.
The Shaykh : We have no share in it.
The questioner : And the second category is what He has preferred to give to some of His creation, and this is also specific to them, whether some of the angels, or the angels, or some of the messengers.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The questioner : So what remains is what He revealed in His Book.
The Shaykh : Yes, and this has been answered previously, and thereforeMishkat al-Masabih 2452 also includes human beings.
Another questioner : The beautiful names that he counted himself reached two hundred and sixty names.
The questioner : No, one hundred and seventy-seven.
Another questioner : Are you sure? ... One person brought it to two hundred and sixty-six.
The Shaykh : Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar also in al-Fath.
The questioner : Everything that has been said about the names and attributes, everything that has been said about the names, first, I found that the ones who expanded on them the most were Ibn al-Arabi and Ibn al-Wazir, but by testing these names, they came to one hundred and seventy-six.
The Shaykh : Precisely, it is not possible, but one can count the beautiful names, which are undoubtedly more than one hundred and one. As for those in which there is a virtue mentioned in
whoever counts them shall enter Paradise
من أحصاها دخل الجنةThe questioner : So, do you see that the beautiful names are more than ninety-nine?
The Shaykh : Yes, because the hadith, as I think, is not hidden from you; it does not imply a restriction of the divine names, but rather a restriction of the divine names such that whoever counts them will enter Paradise. I think the difference in my expression is clear?
The questioner : It is clear, yes. And why did we say this statement and adopt this position?
The Shaykh : Because, first, by tracing them, there are more than ninety-nine names. First, second, there is the supplication
I ask You by every name by which You named Yourself
أسألك بكل اسم سميت به نفسكAl-Halabi : Or that You have kept it to Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen with You, or that You have taught it to any of Your creation.
The questioner : But this hadith divided the names into three categories. The first category is what Allah has kept to Himself in the knowledge of the unseen with Him, and we have no access to it.
The Shaykh : We have no share in it.
The questioner : And the second category is what He has preferred to give to some of His creation, and this is also specific to them, whether some of the angels, or the angels, or some of the messengers.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The questioner : So what remains is what He revealed in His Book.
The Shaykh : Yes, and this has been answered previously, and therefore
or taught any of Thy creatures
أو علمته أحدا من خلقكAnother questioner : The beautiful names that he counted himself reached two hundred and sixty names.
The questioner : No, one hundred and seventy-seven.
Another questioner : Are you sure? ... One person brought it to two hundred and sixty-six.
The Shaykh : Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar also in al-Fath.
The questioner : Everything that has been said about the names and attributes, everything that has been said about the names, first, I found that the ones who expanded on them the most were Ibn al-Arabi and Ibn al-Wazir, but by testing these names, they came to one hundred and seventy-six.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.