Rules Concerning the Names of Allah the Exalted

The Shaykh : He says: If by "name" one means the word that indicates the named entity, then it is other than Allah. If by "name" one means the word that indicates the named entity, it is other than Allah. But if by "name" one means the meaning indicated by that word, which is the named entity itself, then it is Allah. For this reason, Allah the Exalted said: So you say, "O Most Merciful, forgive me." And when you say "O Most Merciful," do you mean the letters ra, ha, mim, and nun? You mean the named entity. So we say: if by the name one means its referent, then it is He... You call upon Allah, you call upon the Most Merciful, you call upon the All-Hearing, and you say, "O All-Hearing, O All-Seeing," and so on. But if by the name you mean the letters that constitute the name, then they are other than the named entity. Now, for example, if I write the name "Zayd," "Zayd," and I strike out what I have written, he says, "Is Zayd okay?"
The student: No.

The Shaykh : Why? Because I did not strike out the named entity, yes. But if I said, "Honor Zayd," "Honor Zayd," and he said, "Welcome, I honor Zayd," and he went and brought a frame and placed it on the word "Zayd"... and hung it up, would that be honoring Zayd? He said, "I honored Zayd." Now look, Zayd in the frame is honored... and everything else, what do we say? When I say "Honor Zayd," I mean the named entity by this name. But if I said, "Write Zayd," the meaning is this... This is the distinction that resolves the issue, otherwise... it is a very great delving.
The Fourth Topic, I think, or the Fifth?
The student: The fourth.

The Shaykh : The Fourth? The Fourth Topic: If the names are transitive, then it is obligatory to believe in the name, the attribute, and the ruling, which is sometimes called the effect. If the names are transitive, it is obligatory to believe in three things: the name, the attribute, and the ruling. And if the name is intransitive, it is obligatory to believe in two things: the name and the attribute. An example of this is: al-Sami' (the All-Hearing). Al-Sami' is transitive transitive, so it is obligatory to believe in al-Sami' as a name for Allah, do you understand? And to believe in hearing, which al-Sami' indicates, as an attribute of His, and to believe that He perceives every sound with His hearing, (Glorified and Exalted is He). And this ruling or effect is all one thing, clear? Good, and so on. And if the name is intransitive, then the name and the attribute are affirmed, because it cannot be transitive to another so that it has a ruling. Like al-Hayy (the Ever-Living). Al-Hayy is a name among the names of Allah. Faith in it is not complete until you affirm it as a name for Allah and affirm what it indicates of an attribute, which is life. Does it have an effect that is transitive to another? If someone asked you, "Who gives life?" Who gives life?
The student: Allah

The Shaykh : Good, so this ruling, here, yes, we say this is another attribute. What is it? Al-Hayy is alive in Himself, but al-Muhyi (the Giver of Life) gives life to others. So it is from al-Muhyi, not from al-Hayy, do you understand? Otherwise, if I am alive, do I give life? I do not give life. So life is one thing and giving life is another thing, do you understand... Good, yes.

The questioner : ...

The Shaykh : Yes, Allah. If we say it in the sense of the One worshipped, then it indicates the name and its description, which is that He is worshipped. And the One worshipped must have worshippers, and that is man. But this is not a ruling. The closest thing to uluhiyyah (oneness of worship) is that it is from the category of the specific, meaning from the category of the name that is not transitive. Good, the Sixth Topic... The Fifth: Are you seeing well? The Fourth Topic: The Fifth. Good, the count is upon you... Are the names of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) fixed, or is it permissible for anyone to name Allah as he wishes? The answer is that they are fixed. The answer is that the names of Allah are fixed; it is not permissible for anyone to name Allah with what He has not named Himself with. The evidence is His saying, the Exalted: and His saying: And if the name is a proper noun for the named entity, how do you make a proper noun for Allah that you do not know? If you named a person with something other than what he named himself with, what would be the situation with him? How?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Would he be pleased? Absolutely not. And he is a created being, so what about the Creator?! The Creator is greater than being magnified. (Mighty and Majestic) is more worthy of being magnified and His names respected, so He is not named except with what He has named Himself with. And upon this, the evidence that they are fixed is both auditory and rational.
Good, the topic after that, which is the Sixth: Are the names of Allah limited to a specific number or not? Yes, they are not limited, according to the stronger position. The stronger position is that they are not limited. The evidence for their not being limited is the famous, authentic hadith of Ibn Mas'ud: "I have kept it for Myself in My knowledge of the unseen." Its meaning is that it is the thing that Allah has kept for Himself in His knowledge of the unseen, meaning He has specialized in it. Is it revealed? It is not revealed. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And the non-enumeration... its meaning is that we do not encompass knowledge of His attributes or His names, clear? And upon this, we say that the names of Allah are not limited. They are not limited. "Not limited" means that their limit is not known to us, pay attention. It is possible that what Allah has kept for Himself is a limited thing that we do not know, but for us, they are not limited to a number we know. And the evidence is the hadith. If you said, "What do you say about the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): ?" The answer is that the hadith does not indicate limitation, but rather indicates that among the names of Allah are ninety-nine names. Whoever enumerates them will enter Paradise. Whoever enumerates them will enter Paradise. And this is like the saying of one who says, "I have one hundred dirhams that I have counted for jihad in the path of Allah." Does this contradict that he has others? No, it does not contradict. So the hadith is one statement, not two contradictory statements:
The topic after that: Are the names of Allah (Glorified and Exalted) based on this? What does enumerating the names of Allah mean? What does enumerating the names of Allah mean? Does it mean that you count them by number? No. But the meaning of enumerating them is encompassing them in word and meaning, and worshipping Allah with them. Worshipping Allah with them, or if you wish, it is broader, and calling upon Allah with them. Calling upon Allah with them, due to His saying: And upon this, enumerating them includes three things. What are they?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes, encompassing them in word and meaning, and calling upon Allah with them. And the call is a call of worship and a call of request. So the call of worship is that you worship Allah in accordance with their implications. If you know that He is Merciful, you expose yourself to His mercy. If you know that He is Forgiving, you expose yourself to His forgiveness, and so on. And as for the call, it is that you make them a means for you when calling upon Allah, so you say, "O Possessor of Majesty and Honor, O Ever-Living, O Self-Subsisting," and the like. This is the meaning of enumerating them. It is not the meaning of enumerating them as the common people understand it, where they write them and then hang them on their chest or hang them on their wall. That is not enumerating them. Enumerating them requires that you understand them, yes, that you grasp them in word and meaning, and that you call upon Allah the Exalted with them, both as a call of worship and a call of request. And His saying, (Glorified and Exalted is He): "So call upon Him." The call is asking, and asking may be by the tongue of speech or by the tongue of state. As for the tongue of speech, it is that you say, "O Allah, forgive me, O Forgiving. O Allah, have mercy on me, O Merciful," and so on. And as for the call by the tongue of state, it is worship. For this reason, the scholars said that the call is a call of request and a call of worship. Because the reality of the matter is that the one who worships is not asking Allah by his state? He hopes in Allah (Mighty and Majestic), he hopes for His mercy and fears His punishment. The call is calling upon Allah with them, a call of worship, as I told you a little while ago, to worship Allah in accordance with the implications of these names. You expose yourself to His mercy because He is Merciful, to His forgiveness because He is Forgiving, to seeking provision because He is the Provider, and so on...
Call upon Him. His saying includes the command to know them. Why? Because it is not possible to call upon Allah by them without knowing them. Therefore, seeking knowledge of the names of Allah the Exalted is among what Allah has commanded. This is in contrast to those who say in our present time, among the compromisers, that researching the names and attributes is a matter of no benefit and that there is no need for us to research the names and attributes. I do not know whether these people want to worship something whose names and attributes they do not know? Or do they want to compromise with these distorters and falsifiers so that no debate or disputation occurs with them? And this is undoubtedly a dangerous principle, that it be said to people: do not research the names and attributes. How can you not research? Glory be to Allah. Allah says How can we call upon Him by what we do not know? And the command here is for obligation, and this necessitates the obligation of our knowledge of the names of Allah. It is also known that we do not know them as names devoid of meanings, but rather we must research the meanings, because knowing them as mere words has no benefit? There is no benefit. And even if it were decreed that there is benefit in worshipping by the word alone, that complete benefit is not achieved; it does not achieve complete benefit. For this reason, we say that His saying the Exalted includes the command to know them, includes the command to know them, because it is not possible to call upon Him by them without knowing them. And what is the meaning of "call upon Him by them"? We say it has two meanings: First, that we worship Allah by them, meaning by what those names necessitate. Is calling (du'a) applied to worship? Yes. Allah the Exalted said Yes, call upon Me, I will respond to you. Then he said and he did not say "from my calling," so this indicates that calling is worship, and it is indeed so.
And what is the meaning of calling upon Allah the Exalted in the sense of worshipping Him by them? It means that you worship Allah in accordance with those names. Mercy: The Merciful necessitates mercy; you look forward to the mercy of Allah and do the causes by which mercy is attained. The Forgiver: What is its meaning? The One possessing forgiveness. You expose yourself to the forgiveness of Allah Mighty and Majestic by frequent repentance and seeking forgiveness, and the like of that. The Near: You expose yourself to His nearness by prayer and the like. And The All-Hearing: You worship Allah in accordance with the hearing such that you do not let Allah hear a word from you that angers Him or that He does not approve of. The All-Seeing: You worship Allah the Exalted in accordance with that sight such that you do not let Allah Mighty and Majestic see an action from you that He dislikes. And so on. This is the meaning of the calling of worship by the names.
As for the calling of asking, which is the second type, its meaning is that you present them before your question, seeking nearness to Him by them. You present them before your question, seeking nearness to Him by them. For example, you say: O Ever-Living, O Sustainer, forgive me and have mercy on me. This is calling by them. Is that so or not? And likewise, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the supplication he taught Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), he said in it: This is from calling upon Allah by them, making them a means in your calling for Allah the Exalted to accept you. Because if you call and you attribute, you have praised your Lord with this name by which you praised Him, seeking that it be a cause for the response to your supplication. And I think that seeking nearness by a desirable attribute of the person, or by an attribute of the one being called upon... to it as a cause for response. If a man were to come to a king among kings to ask him and say: You are the one who gives, and you are the most generous of the sons of Adam, and you are such and such, and you are such and such, praising him. Would that be a cause for his giving? Would it be a cause for his giving? But if he entered upon him and said: O oppressor, O stubborn one, O wicked one, yes, give me a gift. What would he say? He would say: I will give you a stick. So the important thing is that praising Allah Mighty and Majestic, praising Allah Mighty and Majestic with His names, is undoubtedly among the causes of response. So this is from calling upon Allah by them. Thus the meaning of His saying Blessed and Exalted is He is the calling of worship, and what after that? And the calling of asking.
Then He said the Exalted "Leave those who leave" means "abandon." And "those" is the object, and the clause "they distort" is the relative clause of the relative pronoun. Leave them. Then He threatened them with His saying which is the distortion. Meaning, they will be recompensed with a recompense exactly matching the deed. For this reason, Allah the Exalted expresses the recompense by the deed, indicating justice, and that He Blessed and Exalted is He does not recompense a person except according to his deed. Who is the... here?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : If... let him be silent for a moment, let him lower his voice. Okay. "Leave them" means "abandon them." Does the meaning imply abandoning them and not doing what they did, not exposing yourself to them, not advising them, and not debating with them? No. It is known that it is not possible to leave the oppressor in his oppression. Okay. "Leave them" means do not follow their path? Yes, it means do not follow their way, just as I say "leave so-and-so," meaning do not walk with him and do not do his deed. So the meaning of "leave them" is to abandon those who distort in His names, for they are upon error and aggression, and they will be recompensed for what they used to do. And the One who recompenses them is Allah Mighty and Majestic.