Names of Allah

[احمد العربى]

Names of Allah
(99-)

He is the One and Only Deity, the One Who is Worshipped and the One Who deserves to be worshipped by the whole of His creation due to the Perfect Godly Attributes that He is described with.
"Allah! There is none worthy of worship but He, the Living, the Sustaining. Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him. To Him belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth. Who is there that can intercede with Him except with His Permission? He Knows what happens to them (His creatures) in this world and in the Hereafter. They will not encompass anything of His Knowledge except that which He Wills. His Footstool extends over the heavens and the earth and he feels no fatigue in guarding them. He is the Most High, the Most Great." (2:255)
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2. Al-Ilaah (The Deity)
This is comprehensive and inclusive of all the perfect attributes and sublime characteristics. Every one of the beautiful names are included as well. Correct is the statement that the word ilaah is the root of the name Allah and that Allah is the name inclusive of all the beautiful names and high characteristics and attributes and Allah is the All-Knowing.
"Allah the High and Sublime states: Verily Allah is the One and Only Deity (Ilaahun Waahid). Far Exalted is He from having a son and to Him belong everything in the heavens and the earth and Sufficient is Allah as a Caretaker. [Soorah An-Nisaa, Aayah 171]
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3. Ar-Rabb (The Lord)
This name has been repeatedly mentioned in many verses. Ar-Rabb is the One Who nurtures and sustains all of His servants through regulating the affairs and granting all types of favors and blessings. More specifically He is the One Who nurtures and sustains those close to Him (awliyaa) by correcting and purifying their hearts, souls and manners. This is why their supplications are frequently made with this Noble Name because they seek this specific nurturing.
"And your Lord is Most Forgiving, Owner of Mercy. Were He to call them to account for what they had earned then surely He would have hastened on their punishment. But they have their appointed time beyond which they will find no escape." (18:58)
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4. Al-Waahid (The One)
5. Al-Ahad (The Singular)
He is the One Who is singled out in all aspects of Perfection such that nothing else shares with Him in them. It is obligatory upon the servants to single Him out alone in belief, saying and action by acknowledging His unrestricted perfection, His uniqueness and singling Him out Alone for all types of worship.
"'O two companions of the prison! Are many different lords better or Allah, the One, the Irresistible?'" (12:39)
"Say: I am only a warner and there is no god except Allah the One, the Irresistible." (38:65)
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6. As-Samad (The Self-Sufficient)
He is the One upon Whom the whole of creation relies upon in all of their needs, predicaments and necessities. This due to His unrestricted perfection with regard to His Essence, His Names, His Attributes and His Actions.
"Say: He is Allah the One. Allah the Self-Sufficient." (112:1-2)
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7. Al-Hakeem (the All-Wise)
He is the One to Whom belongs the highest wisdom, the One Who is All-Wise in His creating and commanding, Who perfected everything He created, "and Who is better than Allah in judgment for a people who have firm faith?" (5:50)
Therefore He has created nothing out of mere frivolity and He has legislated nothing that is vain and of no use. The One to Whom belongs wisdom in the beginning and the end. He has three areas of ruling which nothing else has a share in: He rules between His servants with respect to His Law, His Decree and His Recompense. Wisdom is to place something in its correct place.
"For those who believe not in the Hereafter is an evil description and for Allah is the highest description. He is the All-Mighty, All-Wise." (16:60)
"It is He Who is the only God worshipped in the heaven and on the earth. He is the All-Wise, the All-Knowing." (43:84)
And He is the Irresistible (supreme), above His slaves, and He is the All-wise, Well-Acquainted with all things. [Al-Anam (6):18]
He, the Exalted, the Most Wise, is described as having perfect wisdom and perfect judgment between His creatures. Thus, the Most-wise is He who has vast knowledge and understanding of the beginnings of all matters and their ending. He is vast in His praise, perfect in His power and abundant in His mercy. He is the One who puts things in their (proper) places and settles them in their suitable position according to His creation and His command. He cannot be questioned (concerning what He does) and He cannot be criticized regarding His Wisdom.
His Wisdom Is Of Two Types:
One of them is His wisdom concerning His creation. For verily, He created the creation in Truth comprising all of the Truth. His aim and His intention in doing so was truth. He created all of the creatures with the best organization and He arranged them in the most perfect arrangement. He gave every creation a created form that is suitable for it. He even gave each part of the parts of the creatures, and every limb from the limbs of the animals, its form and its shape. No one sees in His creation any mistake, deficiency or shortcoming. If the intellects of all of creation, from the first of them to the last of them, gathered together to invent something like the creation of the Most Beneficent (Allah) or anything close to what He has placed in existence of perfection, organization and excellence, they would not be able to do so, how could they have any power to do anything like this? It is sufficient enough that the intelligent and wise ones amongst them know much of His Wisdom and they discover some of the beauty and perfection of His Wisdoms. This is something known with certainty due to what is known of His magnificence, and the perfection of His attributes and the results of His Wisdoms in the creation and the command. Verily, He challenges His slaves and commands them to look and look again, and to notice whether they find any defect or deficiency in His creation. Their vision will return to them weary, dim and unable to find a blemish in anything of His creations.
The second type is the wisdom in His legislation and command. For verily, He legislates the laws, reveals the scriptures and sends the messengers so that the slaves may know Him and worship Him. So what wisdom can be greater than this? And what bounty and generosity can be more magnificent than this? For verily, the awareness of Him, worshipping Him alone without any partner, doing deeds solely for Him, praising Him, thanking Him and lauding Him are the best gifts from Him to His slaves. This is the greatest bounty for whoever Allah favors with it. This is the most perfect pleasures and joy for the hearts and the souls. Likewise, this is the only cause of attaining eternal happiness and everlasting pleasure. If there were not in His command and His legislation anything other than this great wisdom-which is the foundation of good acts, the most perfect of pleasures, and because of it the creation was created, the rewards will be deserved and Paradise and Hell-fire were created then it would be sufficient and healing.
Along with this, His legislation and His religion contain every good. Thus, His information (concerning His religion) fills the hearts with knowledge, conviction, faith and correct creed of beliefs. The hearts can remain firm with this (wisdom) and their deviation is removed, It (this wisdom) harvests every beautiful character, righteous deed, correct guidance and sensible conduct. His commands and prohibitions revolve around the goal of this wisdom and rectifying and setting aright the religion and the worldly aspects of life. For verily, Allah does not command anything except that it is entirely beneficial. He also does not prohibit anything except that it is entirely harmful or mostly harmful.
From the wisdom of Islamic Law is that just as it is concerned with correcting the hearts, the character, the actions and firm establishment upon the straight path. It is likewise concerned with correcting the worldly affairs. For the affairs of the worldly cannot be truly corrected except by the true religion that Muhammad (sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam) came with. This is evident and perceived by every person of sound intellect. For verily, the followers of Muhammad (sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam), when they firmly established this religion by acting according to its fundamentals, its branches and everything that it guided to, their conditions were straight and correct. But when they deviated from it, left most of its guidance and did not seek to be guided by its exalted teachings, their worldly affairs deviated just as their religion had. Likewise, look at other nations who achieved power, honor and respectful worldly status but when they were empty of religious spirit its mercy and justice, their harms were greater than their benefits, their evils were greater than their goodness. Their scholars, wise men and rulers were unable to mend the evils that developed amongst them. They would never be able (to remove those evils) as long as they remained in that condition. For this reason, it was from Allahs wisdom that what Muhammad (sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam) came with of the Religion (Islam) and the Quran is the greatest of evidences of his truthfulness and the truthfulness of that which he brought. This is because of its being perfect and flawless which Muhammad could not have achieved without Allah.
In summary, the attribute of being the Most Wise relates to the creatures and the legislation. All of these (creation and laws) are according to the greatest wisdom. For Allah is Most Wise in His Laws and Decree, His Laws of Religious Sanctions and His Laws of Recompense. The difference between the Laws of Decree and the Laws of Religious sanctions is that the decree relates to what Allah causes to exist, and what He decrees to actually be. Whatever He willed will be and whatever He does not will, it will not be. However, the laws of the religious sanction relate to that which He has legislated. The slave (creature) is maintained and he cannot do without these two sets of laws or even one of them. Thus, whoever amongst them who does what Allah loves and is pleased with them, both of these two laws have come together in him. Whoever does the opposite of what Allah loves, then he has in him the law of Decree. For verily, what he did occurred by the preordainment of Allah and His decree. However, his act is outside the law of religious sanctions because he abandoned what Allah loves and is pleased with. Therefore, the good, the evil, the obedience and disobedience, they are all related to and consequences of the law of decree. Whatever Allah loves of these things, then it is a consequence of the Law of religious sanction (or legislation) and it is directly related to it. And Allah knows best.
[Al-Haqq Ul-Waadhih Ul-Mubeen, pg. 48-54, and Sharh Al-Qaseedah An Nooniyyah by Al-Harraas (2/80), Tafseer As-Sadee, 5/621, Tawdheeh ul-Maqaasid was Tasheeh ul-Qawaaid Fee Sharh Qaseedah Al-Imaan Ibn Ul-Qayyim by Ahmad Bin Ibraheem Bin Isa, 2/226].
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8. Al-Haleem (The Most Forebearing)
Allah, the Exalted, says, And know that Allah knows what is in your souls, so fear Him, and know that Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Forbearing. [Al-Baqara (2):235]
He is the One Who causes apparent and hidden bounties to follow graciously unto His creation, even though have many sins and flaws. He is gentle with the disobedience of the disobeyers. He gives them an opportunity to repent and grants them time to turn unto Him. * [Tafseer Ash-Shaikh Abdur Rahmaan As-Sadee, 5/630]
He is the One Who possess perfect mildness that encompasses the people of disbelief, disobedience and wickedness, in that He gives them time (respite) and He does not hasten on their punishment. This is so that they may repent. If He willed He could seize them because of their sins immediately when they perform those acts. For verily the sins require arranged consequences from hastened punishment of various types. But Allahs gentleness is what necessitates their respite. * [Sharh An-Nooniyyah by Al-Harraas 2/86]
This is as Allah says :
And if Allah were to punish men for that which they earned, He would not leave a moving (living) on the surface of the earth; but He gives them respite to an appointed term: and when their term comes, then verily, Allah is Ever All-Seer of His slaves. [Al-Faatir (35): 45]
Allah also says :
And if Allah were to seize mankind for their wrong-doing, He would not leave on it (the earth) a single moving (living) creature, but He postpones them for an appointed term and when their term comes, neither can they delay nor can they advance it an hour (or a moment). [An-Nahal (16): 61]
Al-Haleem is the One Who bestows favors, both outward and inward, lavishly to His creation despite their many acts of disobedience and transgression. He is gentle upon those that disobey him and in censuring them so that perchance they may repent and gives them respite so that they may become sorrowful.
"And know that Allah Knows what is in your minds, so fear Him. And know that Allah is Oft-Forgiving, the Forbearing, rewarding, the Forbearing ." (2:235)
"If you lend to Allah a goodly loan He will double it for you and will forgive you. Allah is the appreciative and

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