Islam: 99 names/attributes of Allah (Creator, Earth, paradise, grace)

[john313]

salaam,
i do not like to limit Allah, even by saying Allah only has 99 names. most all muslims disagree with me on this but i do not mind. where does it say that there can only be 99 names of Allah, i did not see it in the quran?
also, i wanted to discuss something that came to mind recently:
if Allah only has 99 names/attributes, then surely one of these attributes would be "the one with 99 names/attributes" or its equivalent. i do not see this on the list. if this name is not included in the list, then how can people say it describes Allah? i have heard numerous times that sufi's are incorrect by calling Allah by names not on the list of 99 names, but those saying Allah has only 99 names do the same thing, but in a hypocritical way. how can people say Allah only has 99 names/attributes?
i guess i do not want to limit this discussion to just muslims even though it is posted in this forum. i always like intelligent feedback, the source is not important.
wa salaam

[Peace]

wa 'alaikum salam john,

I know two authentic hadith where Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him stated that God has 99 beautiful names.

Abu Huraira narrated that Allah's Messenger peace be upon him said "Allah has ninety-nine Names, i.e., one hundred minus one, and whoever believes in their meanings and acts accordingly, will enter Paradise. And Allah is Witr (one) and He loves ' Witr' (i.e., odd numbers).”

(Bukhari, Vol. 8, Hadith No. 419)

Abu Huraira narrated that Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said, "Allah has ninety-nine Names, one-hundred less one; and he who memorized them all by heart will enter Paradise." (To count something means to know it by heart.)

(Bukhari 9/489 also see 3/894 )

Allah says: "Allah is He than whom there is no other God, the Sovereign the Holy One the Source of Peace (and Perfection). The Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of Safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory to Allah! (high is He) above the partners they attribute to Him. He is Allah the Creator the Evolver the Bestower of Forms (or colors). To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names: Whatever is in the heavens and on earth doth declare His Praises and Glory: and He is the exalted in Might the Wise." (Qur’an, 59:23-24)

[Nehustan]

Bismillah Ar Rahman Ar Raheem

Say: "If the ocean were ink (wherewith to write out) the words of my Lord, sooner would the ocean be exhausted than would the words of my Lord, even if we added another ocean like it, for its aid." 18:109

And if all the trees on earth were pens and the ocean (were ink), with seven oceans behind it to add to its (supply), yet would not the words of Allah be exhausted (in the writing): for Allah is Exalted in Power, full of Wisdom. 31:27

Wa alaykum salaam John. I myself pondered this very question some years ago. The above Quranic quotes show that there is no limit to Allah as you have cited, that he is Infinite and Absolute. However Muslims believe that the revelation to Muhammad via Gabriel proceeds from Allah, thus they are minded to call Allah that which he calls himself. I believe that the 99 names/attributes are thus the names that appear through the Quran. The Muslims strive to avoid Fitnah (disagreement) over the basic doctrine, and people creating names would fall into this category, for instance the Hindus often attempt to tell Muslims that they worship one god and that the 'other' gods are 'manifestations' of the one true god. So it is obvious if Muslims accepted other names, it may be a short step till the less learnéd adopted manifest beings that claim deity i.e. Krishna, this could lead those less well versed in the Islamic sciences away from Tawheed and toward Shirk. Thus the Scholars are in general agreement that when it comes to God's names (at least in public) one should adhere to those revealed in the Quran.

There are some very good books on this subject, one concerns Tawheed and may be purchased cheaply. It is by a Jamaican revert called Bilal Philips, and also appears in the full text on the web the link is below

http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamen.../abutaw_1.html

The next book is by a famous scholar who is considered both orthodox sunni and sufi, it is a little more expensive but certainly worth a read as are all of his books...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/094...63123?n=283155

This book is a great companion to Al Ghazali's seminal work 'The Revival of the Religious Sciences' in particular book 9 of the 40 book series which considers invocation and supplication.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/094...lance&n=283155

As you can see this book is also quite pricey, but you can purchase the whole work (40 Books) from India as I did when I was there.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...519013-2103651

Another very good book which considers physics in the symbology of quranic revelation from a sufic perspective is

http://onlineislamicstore.com/b3730.html

in this book the work of Ibn Arabi is considered by the light of the Quran. Thus it may be argued that by seeking any knowledge we are learning about knowledge of the creation and thus by default the complexity of the infinite, and yet the simplicity of the absolute.

[john313]

peace,
another question for those who limit Allah to 99 names: the most beautiful is not on the list that i read, that means that in your mind Allah cannot be the most beautiful since it is not listed as a name/attribute; what is more beautiful than Allah?

so according to abu huraira all we have to do to enter paradise is memorize a list of 99 names? does that really sound authentic? seriously, that means i can worship idols, get drunk every night, beat my wife and kids, sleep with my neighbor's wife...., but since i know a list of names i am golden. does that sound real? not to me. i recently read that he is sometimes compared to Paul in christianity because of his false teachings.

wa salaam

[Nehustan]

Originally Posted by Peace

Abu Huraira narrated that Allah's Messenger peace be upon him said "Allah has ninety-nine Names, i.e., one hundred minus one, and whoever believes in their meanings and acts accordingly, will enter Paradise. And Allah is Witr (one) and He loves ' Witr' (i.e., odd numbers).”

(Bukhari, Vol. 8, Hadith No. 419)

Abu Huraira narrated that Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said, "Allah has ninety-nine Names, one-hundred less one; and he who memorized them all by heart will enter Paradise." (To count something means to know it by heart.)

(Bukhari 9/489 also see 3/894 )

Allah says: "Allah is He than whom there is no other God, the Sovereign the Holy One the Source of Peace (and Perfection). The Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of Safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory to Allah! (high is He) above the partners they attribute to Him. He is Allah the Creator the Evolver the Bestower of Forms (or colors). To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names: Whatever is in the heavens and on earth doth declare His Praises and Glory: and He is the exalted in Might the Wise." (Qur’an, 59:23-24)

Originally Posted by john313

peace,
another question for those who limit Allah to 99 names: the most beautiful is not on the list that i read, that means that in your mind Allah cannot be the most beautiful since it is not listed as a name/attribute; what is more beautiful than Allah?

so according to abu huraira all we have to do to enter paradise is memorize a list of 99 names? does that really sound authentic? seriously, that means i can worship idols, get drunk every night, beat my wife and kids, sleep with my neighbor's wife...., but since i know a list of names i am golden. does that sound real? not to me. i recently read that he is sometimes compared to Paul in christianity because of his false teachings.

wa salaam

You are of course accurate in your observation that should one merely learn the ninety nice names, as merely a movement of the lips, then one would probably not enter heaven if one's actions did not reflect the characteristic of an Abd (Slave). It is generally thought that while one cannot manifest the attributes of God, one may invoke the human equivalent by being an Adb. Thus Allah is Al Rahman, if one wishes to manifest human grace then one is Abd Al Rahman, slave of the Most Graceful. It is considered that by dhikr, i.e. invocation and supplication to particular attributes of Allah, that He may in his mercy make such as is humanly possible manifest in the supplicant. I think Abu Hurairah is transmitting that anyone who supplicates the ninety nine names, and by the will of God has truly managed as a conscious act to allow them to enter/penetrate their heart this would affect action, and they would be a pious muslim thus if you will 'quid pro quo'.

As regarding beauty, really one can only comment on that which one can see. Allah is the creator, and his creation is beautiful, so muslims would believe that it would follow that he is beautiful, but we have no 'evidence' of that, in fact the actuality would be far beyond the word or any use we may put it to. A sufi brother once told me, that if you desired to see Allah in this world, then look to the creation, its complexity and beauty, and in the creation see the beauty of what Allah has created. I have heard it said that before the creation Allah was a treasure unknown, so he brought forth the worlds so that he would be known. It's not that muslims cannot use infinite metaphor, analogy, parable, descriptive nouns and adjectives to describe their own experience of Allah, rather that the religion as an institution for man is made simple. It was made simple in doctrine etc. and kept simple by the scholars (tho admittedly the complexity of debate in the Islamic Sciences is well documented) so as to keep its integrity and thus strength. It is this 'tenet' if you will which constantly defeats those who try and undermine the Islamic Aqidah (creed) by Bid'ah (innovation) and its close cousin Fitnah (strife).

[Peace]

Originally Posted by john313

peace,
another question for those who limit Allah to 99 names: the most beautiful is not on the list that i read, that means that in your mind Allah cannot be the most beautiful since it is not listed as a name/attribute; what is more beautiful than Allah?

If Muslims say that Allah has 99 names, that doesn't mean that we do limit Allah's attributes, for they are endless. All the 99 names of God are mentioned in the Quran and in the hadith of the our Prophet pbuh.

so according to abu huraira all we have to do to enter paradise is memorize a list of 99 names? does that really sound authentic? wa salaam

[/quote]There is an agreement between all the scholars that ahadith in the book of Al Bukhari and the book of Muslim are considered as authentic ahadith 100%.
You should understand what the Prophet pbuh meant by the word memorize. As brother Nehustan explained you should memorize them not only using your brain but your heart as well. Your heart should be present while memorizing the names of God, and since it touches the heart then that would lead to good actions and manners and not the opposite.

Peace