Rules Concerning the Names of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)

The Shaykh : I think we have covered several hadiths regarding the names. Can you give us a brief outline of the main points so that we do not repeat ourselves?

The questioner : All of the names of Allah indicate...

The Shaykh : the Essence and an attribute.

The questioner : All of the names of Allah are beautiful...

The Shaykh : as for what is attributed to Allah, that is fine.

The questioner : ...

The Shaykh : Are there only four categories of what is attributed to Allah?

The questioner : ... 0

The Shaykh : These are outside the scope of the names.

The Shaykh : Now, let us mention two of the rules regarding the names: The names of Allah the Exalted are distinct and synonymous in two respects. What is the distinction and what is the synonymy? Distinct means that each is other than the other, and synonymous means that the thing is the same as the other thing. The names of Allah the Exalted are distinct and synonymous. In terms of their indication of the Essence alone, they are synonymous, because Al-Asma' (The All-Hearing), Al-'Alim (The All-Knowing), Al-'Aziz (The Almighty), and Al-Hakim (The Wise) all refer to a single referent, so they are synonymous. In terms of the indication of each one of them to its specific meaning, they are distinct, because Al-Asma' is not Al-Basir (The All-Seeing), and Al-'Aziz is not Al-Hakim; that is, the meaning of Al-'Aziz is not the meaning of Al-Hakim, and the meaning of Al-Asma' is not the meaning of Al-Basir. Based on this, the invalidity of the doctrine of the Mu'tazilah becomes clear, who say that the names of Allah are synonymous, that Al-'Alim, Al-Asma', and Al-Basir are all one, that Al-Asma' does not indicate anything other than what Al-Basir indicates, and that Al-Basir does not indicate a meaning other than what Al-Asma' indicates. This claim is refuted by all the languages of the world, which refute this, because the derivative from hearing is not the derivative from seeing. Therefore, the names of Allah are distinct and synonymous. If you were asked, "Are the names of Allah distinct?" and you said yes, you would be wrong; and if you said no, you would be wrong; but if you qualified your answer, you would be correct.
And among what relates to the names: Are the names of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) limited to a specific number, or are they unlimited? Some scholars said that they are limited to ninety-nine names, because Allah is odd, and because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . And some scholars said that the names of Allah are not limited to a number, and these scholars cited as evidence the authentic hadith of Ibn Mas'ud, the hadith of "al-hamm wa al-gham" (worry and grief), in which it is stated that if a person is afflicted with worry, grief, or sadness, he supplicates with it, and in it is: The point of this hadith is: Because what Allah has reserved for Himself in the knowledge of the unseen cannot be comprehended; if it could be comprehended, it would not be reserved. And if it cannot be comprehended, then it is not limited to ninety-nine. This is the stronger position, which is that the names of Allah are not limited, and they are not all known to us, because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) says: .
The need remains to answer his statement: We say the answer is: This hadith is a single sentence. "Indeed, Allah has ninety-nine names" is described, because whoever enumerates them will enter Paradise, meaning that there are other names that have no relation to this ruling.