Clarification that the names of Allah the Exalted are not limited to a specific number.
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The Shaykh : Now, are the names of Allah the Exalted limited to a specific number? I mean, are they one hundred, two hundred, three hundred, a thousand, two thousand, or not? — Move forward with the left hand, move the left hand forward like this. What is it that is occupied with what? Allah is the Greatest. A paper cup is keeping you from offering the right hand. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) liked to prefer the right hand in all his affairs. So, because you offered the left hand, you do not deserve an answer. — Rest, please.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : They are not limited. Good, you did well. Rest. I mean, they are not limited to a specific number, not one hundred, not two hundred, not more, and not less. If someone asks, "What is your evidence that they are not limited?" we say the evidence is the well-known hadith in the supplication for distress and sorrow, the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud, that if a person is afflicted with distress or sorrow and says, among other things in the hadith,Al-Mustadrak lil-Hakim 18:73 And it is known that what Allah has kept to Himself in His knowledge is hidden from others, Glorified and Exalted is He, and it is not known to us. And if it is not known, it is not limited. This is the truth: the names of Allah have no end and no limit. If someone asks, "How do you say this when it came in the hadith Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3508Sahih (Darussalam)?"
We say: The meaning of the hadith is that among the names of Allah are ninety-nine names, and whoever enumerates them will enter Paradise. That is the meaning, and it does not mean that He has no names other than these. It is like saying, "I have one hundred riyals that I have set aside for those who break their fast in Ramadan." Does that mean you have no more than one hundred riyals? No, you may have thousands of riyals, but you have designated this hundred for those who break their fast. Similarly, saying that Allah has ninety-nine names means what? It means that these ninety-nine are distinguished by the fact that whoever enumerates them will enter Paradise. So the names of Allah are great and cannot be fully enumerated, but even so, we do not name Allah except with what He has named Himself.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : They are not limited. Good, you did well. Rest. I mean, they are not limited to a specific number, not one hundred, not two hundred, not more, and not less. If someone asks, "What is your evidence that they are not limited?" we say the evidence is the well-known hadith in the supplication for distress and sorrow, the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud, that if a person is afflicted with distress or sorrow and says, among other things in the hadith,
I ask You by every name that is Yours, by which You have named Yourself, or which You have revealed in Your Book, or which You have taught any of Your creation, or which You have kept exclusive to Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen with You.
أسألك بكل اسم هو لك سميت به نفسك أو أنزلته في كتابك أو علمته أحدا من خلقك أو استأثرت به في علم الغيب عندكIndeed, Allah has ninety-nine Names, whoever counts them shall enter Paradise.
إن لله تسعة وتسعين اسما من أحصاها دخل الجنةWe say: The meaning of the hadith is that among the names of Allah are ninety-nine names, and whoever enumerates them will enter Paradise. That is the meaning, and it does not mean that He has no names other than these. It is like saying, "I have one hundred riyals that I have set aside for those who break their fast in Ramadan." Does that mean you have no more than one hundred riyals? No, you may have thousands of riyals, but you have designated this hundred for those who break their fast. Similarly, saying that Allah has ninety-nine names means what? It means that these ninety-nine are distinguished by the fact that whoever enumerates them will enter Paradise. So the names of Allah are great and cannot be fully enumerated, but even so, we do not name Allah except with what He has named Himself.