Tawhid is the thing for which Allah had sent messengers, revealed the Books, and created man and Jinn. For easiness in understanding and learning, Tawhid is studied under three divisions –ruboobiyya, uloohiyyah and Asma' wa sifaat. Tawheed Asma' wa sifaat means “single out Allah with His most beautiful names and most exalted Attributes mentioned in the Quran and sunnah, and to have Eemaan in their meanings and rulings” [1]. All the Names of Allah are beautiful, excellent and reach the extreme of perfection. Holy Quran says “And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them” [7:180]. And there is none coequal or comparable unto Him.[112:4]”.To Him belong the Best Names[20:8]”.
A) THE GREATEST NAME OF ALLAH ( Al Ism Al A' Tham)
From statements of rasoolullah(pbuh) like - "He has supplicated Allah with the Greatest Name, which if He is supplicated with, He responds to and if He is asked, He gives [2]" – we see that there is a Greatest name. But Scholars are in different opinion regarding which is that Greatest name. Some says "Greatness" is the immense reward a person will receive from supplicating with the Name that he is using in his supplication. Mainly there are four views regarding the Greatest name of Allah. They are[3]
1. Allah
2. ar-Rahman ar-Raheem (the Beneficient, the Merciful )
3. Al-Hayyul Qayyum (The Ever-Living, Self-Subsisting)
4. al-Hannaan-ul-Mannaan Badee'-us-Samawati wal-Ard Dhul-Jalaali wal-Ikraam al-Hayyul Qayyum (the Compassionate the Benefactor Creator of the heavens and earth the Possessor of Majesty and Honour the Living the Sustainer )
B) THE NAMES OF ALLAH ARE THEY LIMITED TO 99
The beautiful names of Allah are not limited to 99 and are innumerable. There may be many names and attributes that Allah has kept to Himself in the knowledge of the unseen with Him. Allah's names may be divided into three types[4]:
A) Those by which he called Himself and taught them to whomever He willed of His Angels or
others, but He did not reveal them in His Book.
B) Those that He revealed in His Book and taught them to His slaves.
C) Those that He kept to Himself in the knowledge of the unseen, so none of His creation
knows them.
In a hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah (r), in which the rasoolullah (pbuh) said: "Allaah has ninety-nine names, one hundred less one; whoever learns them will enter Paradise[3]". Scholars like Ibn Hazm takes the literal meaning of this hadeeth and said Allah's names are limited to 99. But the fact that Names of Allaah mentioned in the Qur'aan and Sunnah number over 100, as several scholars have agreed. They explained as that hadeeth does not mean that He does not have any names apart from these, rather it means that whoever learns these ninety-nine of His names will enter Paradise. This is like when the Arabs say: “I have one hundred horses which I have prepared for jihad for the sake of Allaah,” which does not mean that the speaker has only these hundred horses, rather these hundred are prepared for this purpose”[6].
C) THE PRINCIPLE WE SHOULD ADOPT WHEN APPROACHING THE NAMES AND ATTRIBUTES OF ALLAH
1. All names of Allah are beautiful, but all beautiful names cannot be attributed to Allah. He is refereed according to how Allah and His Prophet have described him. e.g. we call Allah Al-Baseer (All seeing) because Allah called himself that, but we do not call him Yahweh like the Jews because Allah and his messenger never used these name to mean God.
2. Do not deny any name or attribute unless Allah or his messenger denied it. e.g. Allah denies the attribute of sleep in the Qur’an - Allah said “Neither slumber, nor sleep overtake Him [2:255]”.
3. Do not interpret Allah's names and attributes based on intellect. e.g. Allah said “The heavens are rolled in his right hand [39:67].”
4. Do not say any of Allah’s names or attributes are similar, like or the same as any of the creations. That means comparison between creator and Creation w.r.t names and attributes is meaningless. Similarity exists only in word and meaning, not in actuality or nature.
5. Do not say how Allah’s attributes work, as only Allah knows how his attributes are. e.g. Imam Malik was asked about the verse “He then settled (istiwa) on the Throne [7:54]”. He answered, “istiwaa is known to us, but its modality is not known [7]”. A Muslim should just say Allah rose above his throne in manner that befits him and only Allah knows how he rose over the throne.
6. Don't attribute names implying signs of weakness like al-Ghadib ( The Angry one) to Allah.
“The salaf of this ummah had agreed upon the necessity of believing in everything mentioned in Allah's Book and sound Sunnah of His messenger w.r.t the names and attributes. They are also of the opinion that such names and attributes should be passed as revealed and we should believe in them as truth in a way that befits Allah, not figurative. For indeed Allah has no counterpart or equal in that. No one knows how they are except Him (Glorified be He)[ 8]”.
REFERENCES
[1] Tawhid of Allah's Most Beautiful Names & Lofty Attributes Muhammad Ibn Khalifah al-Tamimi, page 40
[2] at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasaa'ee, Abu Dawood, Ibn Hibban and al-Hakim, with a correct chain of narrators
[3] http://z8.invisionfree.com/Sunnah/index.php?showtopic=387
[4] http://islamqa.info/en/ref/41003
[5] Sahih Al-Bukhari, 2736
[6] http://islamqa.info/en/ref/41003
[7] Tawhid of Allah's Most Beautiful Names & Lofty Attributes Muhammad Ibn Khalifah al-Tamimi, page 139
[8] Majmoo'al-fatawa – Ibn bazz (r)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Tawhid of Allah's Most Beautiful Names & Lofty Attributes Muhammad Ibn Khalifah al-Tamimi
2. Majmoo'al-fatawa English translation – Ibn bazz (r)
3. http://islamqa.info
4. http://ahlusunnahwaljamaah.com/2010/10/09/allah/
5. Exemplary Foundations Concerning the Beautiful Names and Attributes of Allaah [Part 1], Imam Muhammad Ibn Saalih al Uthaymeen (r)
6. http://ustazkamal3449.blogspot.in/2011/05/are-names-of-allah-limited-to-99-names.html
7. http://z8.invisionfree.com/Sunnah/index.php?showtopic=387
A) THE GREATEST NAME OF ALLAH ( Al Ism Al A' Tham)
From statements of rasoolullah(pbuh) like - "He has supplicated Allah with the Greatest Name, which if He is supplicated with, He responds to and if He is asked, He gives [2]" – we see that there is a Greatest name. But Scholars are in different opinion regarding which is that Greatest name. Some says "Greatness" is the immense reward a person will receive from supplicating with the Name that he is using in his supplication. Mainly there are four views regarding the Greatest name of Allah. They are[3]
1. Allah
2. ar-Rahman ar-Raheem (the Beneficient, the Merciful )
3. Al-Hayyul Qayyum (The Ever-Living, Self-Subsisting)
4. al-Hannaan-ul-Mannaan Badee'-us-Samawati wal-Ard Dhul-Jalaali wal-Ikraam al-Hayyul Qayyum (the Compassionate the Benefactor Creator of the heavens and earth the Possessor of Majesty and Honour the Living the Sustainer )
B) THE NAMES OF ALLAH ARE THEY LIMITED TO 99
The beautiful names of Allah are not limited to 99 and are innumerable. There may be many names and attributes that Allah has kept to Himself in the knowledge of the unseen with Him. Allah's names may be divided into three types[4]:
A) Those by which he called Himself and taught them to whomever He willed of His Angels or
others, but He did not reveal them in His Book.
B) Those that He revealed in His Book and taught them to His slaves.
C) Those that He kept to Himself in the knowledge of the unseen, so none of His creation
knows them.
In a hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah (r), in which the rasoolullah (pbuh) said: "Allaah has ninety-nine names, one hundred less one; whoever learns them will enter Paradise[3]". Scholars like Ibn Hazm takes the literal meaning of this hadeeth and said Allah's names are limited to 99. But the fact that Names of Allaah mentioned in the Qur'aan and Sunnah number over 100, as several scholars have agreed. They explained as that hadeeth does not mean that He does not have any names apart from these, rather it means that whoever learns these ninety-nine of His names will enter Paradise. This is like when the Arabs say: “I have one hundred horses which I have prepared for jihad for the sake of Allaah,” which does not mean that the speaker has only these hundred horses, rather these hundred are prepared for this purpose”[6].
C) THE PRINCIPLE WE SHOULD ADOPT WHEN APPROACHING THE NAMES AND ATTRIBUTES OF ALLAH
1. All names of Allah are beautiful, but all beautiful names cannot be attributed to Allah. He is refereed according to how Allah and His Prophet have described him. e.g. we call Allah Al-Baseer (All seeing) because Allah called himself that, but we do not call him Yahweh like the Jews because Allah and his messenger never used these name to mean God.
2. Do not deny any name or attribute unless Allah or his messenger denied it. e.g. Allah denies the attribute of sleep in the Qur’an - Allah said “Neither slumber, nor sleep overtake Him [2:255]”.
3. Do not interpret Allah's names and attributes based on intellect. e.g. Allah said “The heavens are rolled in his right hand [39:67].”
4. Do not say any of Allah’s names or attributes are similar, like or the same as any of the creations. That means comparison between creator and Creation w.r.t names and attributes is meaningless. Similarity exists only in word and meaning, not in actuality or nature.
5. Do not say how Allah’s attributes work, as only Allah knows how his attributes are. e.g. Imam Malik was asked about the verse “He then settled (istiwa) on the Throne [7:54]”. He answered, “istiwaa is known to us, but its modality is not known [7]”. A Muslim should just say Allah rose above his throne in manner that befits him and only Allah knows how he rose over the throne.
6. Don't attribute names implying signs of weakness like al-Ghadib ( The Angry one) to Allah.
“The salaf of this ummah had agreed upon the necessity of believing in everything mentioned in Allah's Book and sound Sunnah of His messenger w.r.t the names and attributes. They are also of the opinion that such names and attributes should be passed as revealed and we should believe in them as truth in a way that befits Allah, not figurative. For indeed Allah has no counterpart or equal in that. No one knows how they are except Him (Glorified be He)[ 8]”.
REFERENCES
[1] Tawhid of Allah's Most Beautiful Names & Lofty Attributes Muhammad Ibn Khalifah al-Tamimi, page 40
[2] at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasaa'ee, Abu Dawood, Ibn Hibban and al-Hakim, with a correct chain of narrators
[3] http://z8.invisionfree.com/Sunnah/index.php?showtopic=387
[4] http://islamqa.info/en/ref/41003
[5] Sahih Al-Bukhari, 2736
[6] http://islamqa.info/en/ref/41003
[7] Tawhid of Allah's Most Beautiful Names & Lofty Attributes Muhammad Ibn Khalifah al-Tamimi, page 139
[8] Majmoo'al-fatawa – Ibn bazz (r)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Tawhid of Allah's Most Beautiful Names & Lofty Attributes Muhammad Ibn Khalifah al-Tamimi
2. Majmoo'al-fatawa English translation – Ibn bazz (r)
3. http://islamqa.info
4. http://ahlusunnahwaljamaah.com/2010/10/09/allah/
5. Exemplary Foundations Concerning the Beautiful Names and Attributes of Allaah [Part 1], Imam Muhammad Ibn Saalih al Uthaymeen (r)
6. http://ustazkamal3449.blogspot.in/2011/05/are-names-of-allah-limited-to-99-names.html
7. http://z8.invisionfree.com/Sunnah/index.php?showtopic=387
